| Story Views | |
| Now: | |
| Last Hour: | |
| Last 24 Hours: | |
| Total: | |
Fall Foraging
Beautiful autumn weather seems to be meant for foraging.
 |
| Good pecans this year |
I’ve gathered quite a few pecans, and so far they’re all good ones.
 |
| Shelling pecans for Thanksgiving’s sweet potato casserole |
We have a number of pecan and hickory trees, and interestingly, they all produce different size nuts. The squirrels love pecans too, so there is competition for these.
 |
| Only a few persimmons left on the upper branches |
There is competition for persimmons too, because deer and possums love these, probably other critters too. Our persimmon tree is tall, so the fruits look like dots on the branches. I can only collect the ones that fall to the ground. I can see the top of the tree from where I sit at the milking stand. It is visible out the door and above the treetops. I managed to get some last year, but this year, there isn’t much left.
We are having a bumper crop of acorns!
 |
| Acorns |
These are from white oaks. In some places, the ground is completely covered with them. I collect them to feed to my goats when the winter forage pickings get slim. They aren’t especially rich in protein, but they do add roughage, carbohydrates, and fats to their winter diet, and they love them. We could eat them as well, though I haven’t tried that yet. (For more information on processing acorns, read Jackie Clay’s article, “Harvesting The Wild: Acorns”).
I’ve also managed to collect a few wild rose hips.
 |
| Wild rose hips |
I showed you my rugosa rose hips in my “Last of the Summer Harvest” post. These are teeny in comparison; all seed and no fruit. I tried making jelly of these, but it turned out pretty badly. That’s one of the reasons I planted the rugosas. Plus those hips are easier to collect.
The goats love the wild ones though, both leaves and hips. We used to have tons of wild rose bushes before we got goats. Most of our bushes were cut back when we added fencing. What remains the goats eat. Only a few are out of their reach and these are from those bushes. I gather what hips I can, to dry and feed to them during winter for vitamin C.
Some things, like the acorns especially, may seem a tedious thing to gather. But a pocketful here, and a pocketful there, make for a pleasant way to take a break from other chores, or to spend a few minutes outside when I’m doing indoor projects. It reminds me to be thankful too, for all the little things. Acorns included.
2012-11-27 10:26:11
Source: http://www.5acresandadream.com/2012/11/fall-foraging.html
Source:
