It’s Friday the 13th, but I’m not worried! The first thing I saw when I stepped out of my house this morning was a pair of bluebirds, which did indeed bring happiness. Way to go, nature!
I got to our business office in Cameron to receive another surprise, the amaryllis bulbs Mrs. Trubee had planted were all blooming. The big ole wind that’s been blowing since last night had broken one, so it’s sitting on my desk as I type.
But, what about foraging?
Last night was the April Master Naturalist chapter meeting, and the speaker was a really interesting young man named Sean Wall, who has self-published a book on foraging for food in Texas. He’d already sold all the books he’d brought by the time I talked to him, but I’ll be picking up a copy on April 21 at the Rockdale Earth Day event.*
He and his family have a lovely philosophy of life, and their views on living in harmony with the world around them resonated deeply with me. The planet has provided us with all sorts of bounty, if we know where to look, and it’s full of nutrients (and organic, if you don’t gather plants in weird places like on the side of the road).
How about the Hermits’ Rest?
I was extra happy to learn that many of the plants he talked to us about grow right on our property. One (wild amaranth or pigweed) is right outside the front door, because I also think it’s pretty. Pretty delicious, too, apparently!
I now know that all those canna lilies over at the Rattlesnake House are also delicious, so I’ll try to harvest some this winter, and I’ll also get some of them to plant at the main house.
Other plants we learned about were cattail (the FLOWERS are delicious!), delicious and sweet mesquite beans, passion vine, beautyberry, and more. I can’t wait to get the book to see what I can do with curly dock and others.
*The Earth Day event in Rockdale, which will have a lot of Master Naturalists sharing information, will be at the Community Center, 109 N Main Street, across from Wolf Park! Sean will have copies of his beautiful book there. He wrote it, illustrated it, and took all the photos.
The Hermits' Rest 
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