Morels

Morel season is here! Went out foraging this morning and brought home just under three pounds of the beauties. Found both big fat yellow and smaller grayish morels today.

Morel, Morchella esculenta, is a sac fungi, distinguished by the honeycomb-like ridges and furrows of its cap and hollow body. They commonly grow along riverbanks and forests at the base of hardwood trees and shrubs such as privet.

When harvesting morels, I like to use a curved-blade knife to cut them close to the ground rather than pull them up because pulling them can damage the mycelium and hurt the next cycle of fruiting. Further, when harvesting morels, it's good practice to try to leave some behind, both for the deer and also for the propagation of future morels. If we pick every one that we see, we leave none to release spores and reproduce and eventually a patch of morels might disappear. Often, though, there will be enough older morels around that have begun to decay that you can collect the younger fresh ones and the patch will go on to produce next year's bounty.

This is me holding some of the morels I found today! Side note, the shirt I'm wearing is one I got from participating last year in a march to raise awareness of the approximately 22 veterans who take their lives each day. It's tragic and needs more focus and attention. For more on this, please visit https://www.22toomany.com/.

The way I like to prepare morels is to clean them, of course, wash thoroughly and get all the slugs and ants and spiders out of the crevices, cut them in half and rinse off any sand that might be up inside or along the grooves. Sauté them in an ample amount of butter, add a little salt and pepper and cook to a thorough crisp. You want them browned completely, cooked through, they should have a bit of a crunch to them. We really prefer them this way as opposed to any other way, they're not nearly as good if they are at all mushy.  

On my foraging excursion today, there were heaps of mushrooms out. I spotted wood ear mushrooms, some jelly fungi, dozens of little brown mushrooms,  and some healthy turkey tails, Trametes versicolor. These rains have served the springtime mushrooms well. I also picked up these two small puffball mushrooms, Bovista, and spotted this friendly little turtle who hunkered down as I passed. I intend to fry up these little puffballs along with my morels. Should be a good dinner tonight!

My daughter holding one of the larger morels I found today. We'll be lucky if she leaves any for us tonight when we cook them, she loves her some gourmet mushrooms.

For more information about morels and mushroom identification, please visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morchella and I recommend picking up a mushroom identification book or two. Morels are very easy to ID, but there are certain features to be mindful of in terms of the potential for lookalikes. The hollow body is the prime feature to spot, if you cut one in half and it's not hollow, it's clearly not a morel and I wouldn't recommend eating it.

Always be sure you are 100% positive of the identification of mushrooms before consuming them. Regarding the puffballs pictured above, if you're not sure about a puffball, cut it in half, if you see gills, it's not a puffball, it's a young fungi that hasn't yet opened up. Do not eat it. Also, if the puffball mushroom has any discoloration inside, this is a sign that the fungi has begun to produce spores, which are toxic, do not eat it. If you're not sure, ask an expert or do more research.

Thanks for reading and happy foraging!

Peace!

Buzz

The other day I spotted this hanging colony of bees took it upon myself to seek out a beekeeper who could come and safely, humanely relocate the bees to a new permanent home.

In the spring, it is common for a hive to split, a young queen and a mass of workers will depart the original hive and form a new colony. Often, these colonies will amass on a branch, like what we see here. Honey bees will eventually move to a new home in 1-3 days, but until they locate a suitable location, they remain exposed and at some degree of risk. Without intervention, the bees might have soon moved on to a new home on their own, but if they set up that home in an attic or a crack in a home, they'd become a nuisance and liable to be killed, same as if I'd left them hanging, they ran the risk of being disturbed or killed by a frightened passerby with access to Raid.

I looked up humane bee relocation services and found the following site which listed several local beekeepers.

http://beeremovalsource.com/bee-removal-list/georgia/

This is Mike, who came out with his son to retrieve this hanging colony. He has a location in Stone Mountain, GA where he will place this colony into a box beehive and they can produce honey for him.
 

Mike Schaaphok, Atlanta, GA
Phone: 770-265-7662 
Email:  mbschaaphok@usa.net

I was hesitant to stand this close to these bees, but Mike assured me that they are rather docile when they gather like this because they are running on reserve energy until they find a new home.

We could see bees coming and going from this colony, they'd land on the mass and do their waggle dance, sharing the information they'd gathered on their scouting expeditions.

It was a pretty neat experience. I am glad I was able to help to give these essential pollinators a new home and a new start at a hive of their own. 

Build: Rustic Wall Decor

Building stuff, creating something new from a collection of individual components has always been a very rewarding enterprise. These are some of the items I've built recently. Co
mprised of recycled materials, wood scavenged from pallets, belts that had seen better days and my two hands piecing it together.

These items are currently for sale, by the way, and I can make additional similar products by request. If you see something you'd like to have, please reach out to me and we'll work out a deal.

I made one of these rustic heart wall décor pieces for my wife, for our 3 year wedding anniversary. Leather is the traditional gift for the 3 year mark, and so this is what I came up with.


Perhaps this week, since it's been raining so much, I'll get my hands dirty and get to work in my garage building something else. I'll let you know what comes of it!


Thanks for visiting my blog!

Peace!

Protect Alaskan Wolves and Bears

Today marks a sad day for any hibernating grizzly cubs in Alaska. A tragic fate awaits the wolf pups sleeping cozy in their dens. The House overturned Federal protection for these and other creatures by passing a most despicable resolution. It now falls on the senate to decide if federal protection stands.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/house-overturns-obama-era-law-protect-alaskan-bears-wolves-n722481


A grizzly bear in the wild. Photo by Jessica Weiller.
Photo via Good Free Photos

H.J. Res 69
http://naturalresources.house.gov/issues/issue/?IssueID=118697

The language of the resolution introduced by Rep. Don Young (R-AK) states that their disapproval under the Congressional Review Act to overturn an August 5, 2016 final rule by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "The rule takes authority away from the State of Alaska to manage fish and wildlife for both non-subsistence and subsistence uses on federal wildlife refuges in Alaska."

Under the overturned federal law, hunters were prohibited from shooting or trapping wolves while at their dens with cubs or using airplanes or helicopters to hunt them from the air. It also prohibited using inhumane traps and luring bears with food to get point blank kills. This act, however, will allow hunters once again to kill such predators from the air or in their dens and to brush the dust off of those old clunky mechanical traps that were for so long forbidden because they cause the animals to suffer greatly.

Wolves and Bears are known as Keystone Species, that is, their presence or absence in an ecosystem has far-reaching consequences that go well beyond themselves. "The keystone at the top of an arch holds all the stones in place. Without it, the arch collapses." - Keystoneconservation.com. Take this species out of the ecosystem, and, more so than a non-Keystone Species, the effects ripple out to create negative impacts on the entire ecosystem, from the health of marshes and grasslands, water quality, vegetation growth and general survival rates within the ecosystem. One particular EPA study noted the role wolves played when reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park. Without the wolves, elk suffered their own population booms and busts, booming, they would nibble vegetation down to the bare earth, to the point where the plants did not survive and thus regrow. Elk suffered massive die-offs due to subsequent starvation. Beavers, also, returned due to the wolves maintaining elk populations, which protected those shrubs along the marshlands to provide crucial habitat, and with the beavers' return, water quality improved, marshlands expanded, thus causing further ecosystem repair with fish and amphibian life thriving.

All ecosystems are very intricately-connected webs, every species has a role that impacts and influences the health and well-being of those animals and plants around it. If we fail to protect Keystone species, we will fail to protect entire ecosystems.


Wolf running in the snow in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. Photo by Barry O'Neill.
Photo via Good Free Photos

Please reach out to your senators and demand they do act in the best interest of the environment. The senate has the opportunity to do the right thing here, we just need to call them, email them, let them know that permitting hunters this level of free reign is most certainly not what we want to have happen. Protections exist for a reason, removing them on this kind of whim is foolish and misguided.

This world belongs to all of us. We must be stewards of this Earth and do our best to conserve and protect crucial diversity of both animals and plants. Shooting or gassing bear cubs or wolf pups in their dens, slaying them from helicopters is not hunting, it is slaughter, it is despicable. Though this action is happening way up in Alaska, not down here in Georgia, I can't help but feel a certain connection to the fate of these snoozing pups and cubs, they were federally protected, that means our federal government protected them for all of us, from the Alaskan to the Floridian or Texan who might never see one up close but will nevertheless appreciate their persisting beauty and the impact they have in the wider ecosystem as a whole. Furthermore, if we don't stand up right now and say no to this trampling of endangered species protections, it's only a matter of time before critically endangered species in our own backyard no longer get the protection they so desperately need and deserve.

Thank you for reading. Peace.


For more information, please visit the following resources:
http://www.vitalground.org/grizzly-bears-keystone-species/
http://www.keystoneconservation.us/keystone_conservation/keystone-species.html
http://www.worldwildlife.org/species
https://www.fws.gov/endangered/laws-policies/
https://www.fws.gov/endangered/map/state/GA.html
https://www.epa.gov/endangered-species/about-endangered-species-protection-program
https://www.nwf.org/What-We-Do/Protect-Wildlife/Endangered-Species.aspx
https://georgia.gov/blog/2016-07-28/endangered-species-georgia

Garbage, Man

Lexi squeals with joy as I pick her up, plop her into her stroller and click the buckles to secure her. Her excitement tends to know no bounds when it comes to our walks around the neighborhood. As always I gather our supplies for the journey, consisting of Lexi’s snacks and water for the both of us and of course a convenient garbage grabber, a plastic bag for garbage, and a second bag for recyclables because why go for a walk when you can instead go for a walk plus also pick up trash along the way.

I lock the door, set out into the midday sun and feel the unseasonably warm February wind blow across our faces. As we venture along, her stroller thumping at each sidewalk’s crack, I stop here and there, click her wheels to the lock position so she won’t roll away, and grab up the litter that dots the roadside.

How it arrives at this unsightly state will forever remain a mystery to me. I can’t for the life of me understand what causes people--so many people; it seems--to be litterbugs, especially considering there is a $1000 fine here in Georgia for littering. In a world in which a trash can is never more than a few steps from any store entry or office lot, it baffles me that anyone would choose to throw refuse from their car window rather than take the minimal effort to dispose of it properly. I simply can’t understand the mindset of neglecting our environment.

My daughter and I, and my wife when she joins our hikes, do our part to beautify the neighborhood. We feel a duty to remove the trash that accumulates in the ditch not simply for aesthetics, but also for the health and well-being of the environment, keeping the trash from washing downstream and into the waterways, to ensure the safety of the animals that might be foolhardy enough to consume the plastics or Styrofoam, and to eliminate the mosquito breeding grounds provided by pooling water inside a Chik-Fil-A or Starbucks cup or the rodent-attracting bags and boxes of rotting Popeye’s chicken bones.

With Lexi locked in place, happily crunching on her snack crackers and chewing on raisins, I yank garbage from beneath a tangle of weeds. I’m retrieving garbage that is so weathered and brittle that it sometimes falls apart, having been there neglected and overlooked for years before anyone had a thought or bothered enough to clean it up. It seems a lonely endeavor, cleaning up roadside garbage. One wonders about the littering habits of drivers of the cars that pass. Was it you? Were you the one who drives this route every day, throwing wrappers to the wind, your daily fast food indulgences floating carelessly toward the wild flowers? Speeding along this route per your everyday habit, seeing but not seeing the blight that mars your world, pretending the mess doesn’t exist and doesn’t belong to you, to all of us, leaving it forever for someone else to clean, for someone else to pick up. It is frustrating, but I just crave to see that other people sometimes care as much as Lexi and I do.

I do, however wonder at why it seems no matter how much I do, how much I clean up, it accumulates. It piles up so swiftly, and takes so much effort to clean. Ever-present flow of waste, cascading across the ditches and gutters, no end in sight since the only ones not littering are those few of us out here picking up the trash from everybody else. The other thing that sets me to ire is the fact that a good lump of what I pick up is alcohol bottles, cans, everything from cute little single-serve Grand Marnier and gin bottles, to 40 oz. malt liquor, piles of Bud Light cans to fat plastic Taaka vodka bottles which leads me to believe that there are an awful lot of people out there drinking in their cars or trucks, guzzling down 1.75mL bottles and hurling the empties out the window as they careen dangerously along to potentially kill somebody. It feels like you see the worst of mankind by picking up the things they leave along the roadside. You see their gluttony, their shame, their secret thirsts, their sheer laziness and ineptitude and their utter selfish disregard.

Then I see my daughter’s smile as she watches me bend and stoop and grumble about the state of our world. I tell her how good a job she’s doing by helping me pick up trash. I tell her that she’s going to be a steward of this Earth; she’s going to do her part to beautify every space she occupies. She already does her part, she's great at taking recyclables to the bin, throwing them inside, she loves this. I tell her how wonderful she is, I thank her for pointing out the tiny bits of trash that I miss. I teach her colors by pointing out the different hues on flapping wrappers and crumpled cans. I point out butterflies, birds and anthills and lift her out so she can sniff wild flowers and feel the softness of their petals. I do my best to instill in her the things that I want to see more of in this world. She'll be a powerful force for change, she'll persist, nevertheless!

Climate change is real and happening swiftly because of the carelessness of humans, burning dirty coal, dumping toxins, pollutants into the environment with rampant reckless abandon, causing the extinction of dozens of species per year so it’s crucial, critical now more than ever before that we each do our part, try a little more, do a little better, it starts with just making that little effort to recycle, to get out there and clean up your neighborhood, take ownership of your world, help make it a better world, if not for you, then for those that come after you, the next generation. Now more than ever, we need people to start vying for life, we can’t live without this planet; we’d better start treating the Earth with some respect and working to protect her.

We will never rid the world of garbage, it’s the cost of our consumption, it is ever-present, but then again, so is beauty, it’s beneath and around the decomposing pizza box, it’s in the box itself in the forms of colonies of creatures seeking opportunities to thrive. It’s in the workout I get from bending and stooping and in the satisfaction I feel by doing my part. There is a positive side to everything, an upside to every woe. It’s in the monthly trip to the metal recycler to trade cans for cash. It’s in my daughter’s smile as she helps by throwing each tidbit of trash she can find into the bag.

If I can instill in her the same love and passion for the environment that I have, I’ll have succeeded as a father and as a citizen of the Earth. I hope I might inspire a reader or two out there to feel the same way. We need more stewards of this Earth; we need to train the next generation of environmentalists. I have hope that we can stand up to the assault that every day threatens wildlife, forests, and waterways. This is important for all our sake.

Specific action that you can take right now is to visit Sweep the Hooch to volunteer for the cleanup along the Chattahoochee River on April 8th. See you there!



Thanks for reading. Peace!


For more information on actions you can take to protect our environment, please visit:
Natural Resources Defense Council
Trees Atlanta
Chattahoochee Riverkeeper
Treehugger
EPA
NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)

Dead Nettle

I mentioned dead nettle in a previous blog post, so I thought it fitting to elaborate on this beautiful plant in its own post. Dead nettle, Lamium purpureum, grows commonly in yards and along roadsides, especially here in Georgia, oftentimes in thick swathes like a groundcover. This plant's flowers provide food for butterflies and bees and, like other plants in the Lamiaceae or mint family, which includes culinary herbs such as basil, mint, rosemary, sage, oregano, marjoram, thyme, and lavender provide edible and aromatic culinary use. 

 

The"dead-nettle" common name  refers to the resemblance and distant relation of Lamium album, stinging nettles, however unlike these, dead nettle does not exhibit stinging hairs and thus are harmless, or "dead". An interesting bit of info on this family of plants is that most of the plants in the family exhibit a square stem, this is apparent in both mints as well as stinging nettles, basil, dead nettle and henbit. While other plants might exhibit square stems as well, it is a hallmark of the mint, Lamiaceae, family.

Personally, I've enjoyed dead nettle and henbit simply as raw greens or as a cooked green, boiled, steamed, with some salt and pepper, tastes a bit like spinach, and can be easily added to any stir fry or pasta dish, or eggs, but I've recently been reading about using it to make pesto, much as you would with basil and I'm dying to try that out this spring. I can't stress enough the fact that what people view as "weeds" are really nothing more than misunderstood and underappreciated plants. Dead nettle is a prime example of this. Be warned, however, that if you intend to harvest dead nettle from the roadside, that you might be gathering a plant with a wide array of pollution on it, from the roadway, as well as city maintenance herbicide spray. Best to gather this from your own yard or from a trusted, herbicide-free location. Here's a suggestion, you might spot a giant patch of it growing in the soccer field behind your local church, consult with the pastor, ask if the field is herbicide and pesticide-free, if so, ask if it's ok if you harvest some of the wild dead netttle that flourishes there and enjoy! Hey, if you manage to harvest enough, share some dead nettle pesto with the pastor in a show of good will toward your fellow man.

Once again, this just goes to show that there is bounty all around us if we know where to look. Get out there, get down in the midtown mud and start seeking out these wonderful plants that until now you may have been overlooking! Happy foraging! Peace!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamiaceae

Time Piece - Product Review: EARTH Wood Goods Watch

Let's get down to Earth for a minute. A while back I posted a review of a watch that I own and now I've acquired a second watch by the same manufacturer, EARTH Wood Goods, so I thought I would offer a more in-depth review of this fine timepiece. The company's website, http://earthwoodgoods.com, shows the vast array of beautiful products that they offer, from watches to sunglasses to bags and wallets made from cork and these products all exhibit honestly incredible craftsmanship and they are all made from sustainable materials. This particular watch that I'll be discussing is the Earth Ew1205 Rhizomes Watch.

I've been wearing this watch for nearly a month now and have gotten many compliments on it. Friends and strangers both remark and comment positively on this watch; it's a hit. Indeed, it is quite a beautiful timepiece, and I've happily shared the EARTH brand with dozens of people already. To me, though, the fact that it is so comfortable to wear and lightweight is really the most appealing aspect of this watch.



First off, when this watch arrived, the wrist band was far too large so I had to remove a few links. Using tools from a kit I bought off Amazon for about ten bucks, I carefully popped the pins out and resized it to my wrist.



Sadly, I did end up destroying one of the removed links in the process, which is exactly why the company's instructions state that they recommend you take it to a watch repair shop or jeweler; however, some jewelers will refuse to work on wood watches for just this reason. Certainly sometimes the links can break, wood is inherently more fragile than metal of course and it certainly takes a delicate touch and patience to resize these watches.Luckily it was only one that cracked.



Doing it yourself, with the ten dollar kit, will save you some money, but you'll have both control over the outcome as well as full responsibility if things go awry. Use your judgement.

 
The wood links are smooth and feel great on my wrist; the fit of the watch after my adjustment has it fitting slightly loosely on my wrist, almost like a bracelet, but the overall balance is still there, so that with just a swift little movement, I can bring the face to the ideal position to tell the time. Another thing I love about the wood links is that they don't pinch in any way; I've had watches in the past with metal links that would, from time to time, painfully pluck a hair from my wrist. Never had that issue with EARTH watches. The links are very sensibly shaped so this isn't an issue.



This watch would look even more epic and outstanding on anyone with thick, meaty, burly wrists. I do my best with what I've got, and honestly, while at first I was concerned that the face would look too big on my skinny wrists, I've truly grown to like the look of this watch on me.

Timekeeping has been solid with this watch over the course of the month I've been wearing it. Time will tell, of course, if the ticking begins to slow or fade; however, the other EARTH watch I own has never given me any issues. It's ticked true for about three years now, so I expect this watch to hold up in much the same manner.

One aspect of this watch that I feel might serve a design revisit is the chrome dashes that indicate the hours, the reflective chrome blends a tad too much into this busy, but beautiful, face, sometimes making it difficult to tell the time. My thought was that perhaps white or black dashes might provide more contrast, although, the watch does also have a border which provides reference as well, really, it's just a matter of personal preference or getting used to the style.

Additional bonus points, the hands are phosphorescent, they glow in the dark, which is a nice added feature on a watch. 

All in all, this is a wonderful watch, by far my favorite watch to wear because of the comfort factor as well as the conversation starter that it provides, the fashionable aspect of a natural wood finish watch, truly can be worn in any setting or with any attire, plus it's a solid and reliable timepiece. Love the very idea of wearing products crafted from wood; that grounded, earthy feel, reminder of nature just feels so good.

It pains me to sound too much like a commercial, but seriously, when I find a product that I love, not just on a personal use level, but also on a level of respect for the company itself, I want to share that. EARTH Wood Goods is an American company using sustainable manufacturing practices, sourcing sustainable materials, that's the kind of company I'm happy to promote.

EARTH Wood Goods Twitter
EARTH Wood Goods Facebook



Thanks for reading this review of this EARTH Wood Goods watch! Peace!
 

 

 

Honey-Do List: Five Things We Can Do to Help Bees

The rusty patched bumble bee was recently listed as an endangered species, the first of its kind to gain such federal protection. Bumble bees are crucial pollinators of wildflowers as well as nearly one third of all crops in the US.


Image Courtesy of picturesflowers.net Source: http://www.picturesflowers.net/free_flowers_pictures/honeybee_on_a_thistle_flower_collecting_pollen_0001-0408-3110-3930.html

Threats seem to be coming at these essential and beautiful creatures from all sides. From diseases spread by commercially-reared bees, to climate change by disrupting and altering floral bloom times, and habitat loss caused by human expansion, to pesticide use--primarily a toxic agent known as a neonicotinoid, the threats that bees are currently facing are enormous, devastating and challenging. Things look pretty dire and this should concern all of us, that's why I felt the need to take the time to write up my plan of action and share it with those who happen to read this here little blog.

These are some small acts that we can all take to do our part to try to save the bees.

1. Plant bee-friendly flowers, flowering herbs in your pesticide-free garden.
Not only does this help bees, but planting flowers alongside your veggies will benefit your yield. Pesticides are not the only way to eliminate unwanted insects from a garden. If you're out watering your garden every day, take a moment to inspect your plants, unwanted pests, just pluck them off, kill or relocate. Do you have broken terra cotta pottery? Place pieces around your garden to create spaces, homes for toads, lizards, spiders to set up shop, better yet, if you find toads in your yard, relocate them to your garden, same with spiders, especially golden orb weavers.

For a list of plants that bees love, check out this link: http://www.themelissagarden.com/

2. Let your yard run wild.
Who wants a yard that is uniform, populated by a single species of grass, with no variation or diversity whatsoever? Well, HOA's tend to demand it of your front yard, but I say, do as you please in the backyard! Let the clover grow, let the henbit, deadnettle and dandelions and whatever else pops up flourish. I love the diversity of nature, seeing the various random plants pop up in my backyard is a treat for me with the added bonuses of lending to a more healthy backyard ecosystem, reduced herbicide use, and occasional edible plants to pluck from time to time. Henbit, deadnettle and dandelions are all edible, if your yard is thick with them, at a certain point, the entire yard becomes one big garden. Whomever decided to call these wonderful plants "weeds" needs to truly rethink their perspective.

3. Water the bees.
Bees are thirsty. Birdbaths aren't just for birds. Bees have been known to frequent fresh water set out in birdbaths and this helps them to keep on flying at full force. Set a few stones in the water so that the bees have something to land on and crawl around on as they get a drink.

4. Buy local, organic produce.
Supporting local farmers who produce crops using sustainable, pesticide-free practices ensures that there is that much less pesticide in the environment. 5. Buy local, raw honey.

5. Support your local beekeepers, keep them in business, keep their hives profitable. Added benefit of local honey is that eating local honey has been shown to reduce allergies. By eating local honey, your body takes in and acclimates to the region's pollen and is better able to tolerate that pollen when it starts blowing around in full.

Thanks for reading, thanks for caring about the bee situation. As an added treat, below is a label that's decades old, it's from when my grandparents up in Platteville Wisconsin had their farm operation going strong. They kept some bees and sold the honey around town and this is one of the labels that they had on the product. 

For more information on bees and details of the protection of honeybees and bumble bees, please visit Scientific American article US Lists a Bumble Bee Species as Endangered for First Time and Xerces.org.

Other resources to save the bees:
sos-bees.org/
http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/sustainable-agriculture/save-the-bees/
https://savebees.org/

Sign this petition and this petition at Xerces.org.

Thanks for reading. Peace.