If the politically driven farce of Covid-19 hadn’t struck, I would be living in the Pacific Northwest right now, spending my weekends purchasing locally grown produce from farm stands, and exploring the coastlines and forested regions, foraging for wild herbs, berries and wild foods.
I purchased literally DOZENS of books on my new home – books on hiking, foraging, local foods, mushrooming, rock hounding, animal and bird identification, local history and on and on. I was excited and on board!
When Covid first struck, our move date of March moved back… then it moved back again.. then again… Now it’s June and we are looking at an August or later move. I have been living in transition mode and let me tell you, it’s exhausting and depressing. One thing that I resent and miss, is that I had been really looking forward to foraging in a truly wild and pristine environment… living in the Central Valley of California, which is a very populated desert of industrial farm and cattle land doesn’t exactly lend itself to wild foraging. Living off the land here basically equates to eating from CAFO’s and Monsanto funded frankenfood farms.
This morning, I was hit with a bit of guilt-laced revelation. Yes, I’m still in moving limbo. But I DO have the ability to bring a bit of the wild urban landscape out of the outdoors and onto my plate.
On the side of my house, there is a random patch of wild mint that I did NOT plant myself. The side of the house was a patch of empty dirt, and a few years ago I decided to plant a tree there. I installed an automatic watering system, and flooded the area to help the tree take root. To my surprise, not only did the tree flourish, but an ornamental fern and a TON of wild mint – long dormant from who knows how long ago – popped up and took over the area.
I’ve used the mint on occasion, but I have never really viewed it as a source of “eating local” and urban foraging nutrition. So I’m going to shift my mindset and start looking at the possibilities in my surroundings RIGHT NOW – not “when we move” or “someday”. I’m going to get out of the frustrating mindset of thwarted expectations and be grateful for what nature is providing RIGHT HERE and RIGHT NOW.
Right now, my only local (as in, in my own yard) option is the wild mint. But when in season, I also have wild dandelion greens, dandelion blossoms, figs from our fig tree, oranges from our orange tree, goji berries from a goji berry bush, and pomegranates from the neighbors tree that overhangs into our yard. If we are here when those come back into season, I am committing to foraging them to the fullest extent!
As to my wild mint? Today I picked two giant sprigs (they are HUGE!) and sliced up a lemon, and put them in a huge pitcher with water and have it chilling in the fridge. Today all my water will be mint and citrus infused! I’ll find some more ways to incorporate mint into my meals throughout the next few days and weeks.
CURRENT STATS
Start Weight (May 15, 2020): 201 pounds
Current Weight (June 25, 2020): 187
Total Pounds Lost (Since May 15, 2020): 14
Pounds Left to Lose to Reach Goal Weight of 130 pounds: 57
