Birthday Foraging Expedition

Susan tries something green and hearty during our foraging tour - brave girl!

We are having *crazy* weather here in New England this summer. Today it is so humid that I am huddled by our new air conditioner, hoping to get a little bit of relief from the sticky, icky, yucky day. It has been much improved by my cold glass of white wine, and a tour of this summer's photos...including those from my birthday. My birthday falls at the end of June, and we spent the evening at Waltham Fields Community Farm - just what I love! Susan, Tim, Andrew, and I participated in a foraging tour of the farm, we ate birthday potluck dinner (including rhubarb pie!), and stayed to watch Andrew host star gazing night for farm members. It was a happy, relaxing way to spend the evening, and a fantastic way to forget that I am currently in my mid-30s.

WFCF in the evening light.

On our foraging walk, we learned about many, many plants that one can harvest from the Massachusetts landscape - I will admit that I'm a bit lukewarm about the greens, but the nuts and berries are quite tasty. We enjoyed fruit leather made from Autumn Olive, toasted black walnuts and hickory nuts, and a June berry pie made by the leader of our foraging expedition. As the guide said, we do NOT recommend that you go out and pick things from the landscape without a proper guidebook - there are few things in Massachusetts, besides mushrooms, that could kill you, but you do not want to get sick. If you are interested in attending a foraging walk or learning to forage with a guide book, check out Russ Cohen, our guide. And, now, enjoy our photos!

Russ Cohen educates us about the natural bounty of the landscape.

Tim was totally into it!

Though they are an invasive species, autumn olives are a lovely berry that make great fruit leather.

Hickory (l.) and black walnut (r.) - we ate them both, but I preferred the hickory nut - black walnut is definitely an acquired taste, but is widely available in New England forests.