Lots of folks are out harvesting elderberries, especially the North American native American Elderberry, or Sambucus Canadensis. Health benefits abound! BUT, many people are posting photos of Pokeweed or Pokeberry (also known as Pokesalat) on social media, and asking: Are these Elderberries? NO! And knowing the difference when you’re harvesting elderberries is critical! Pokeweed berries…
Earth Day’s 50! Then:/ I’m in Milwaukee’s River./ Now: I’ll plant Earth’s fields. Earth Day is 50! A half century ago I stood in the Milwaukee River in Estabrook Park near my home in Glendale, Wisconsin, loudly singing with other youth and cleaning out the old tires, mattress springs, tin cans and other junk that…
Old satellite dish,/ turned skyward, filled with water:/ Fine redneck birdbath.
Picking Redux: The Last of the Late Season Blueberries It was, they said, too late in the season to find even the last of the late season blueberries. For weeks, pickers and birds had scoured the field for the small, blue bursts of anti-oxidants and health and taste. OH! The taste! Our house chef was…
Two days after going away and then returning from a week-long trip to the Enchanted Isle that is Puerto Rico, I finally went out walking my few acres of property. Guess what? I kept finding new paths, new bits of nature I hadn’t experienced before. I discovered small plants, large trees with small budding spring…
Wildflowers and butterfly beauty is one of the best parts of rural life. As people go back to the woods or the fields, focusing on being self-sustaining and off-the-grid, one of the first questions they ask is: “What should I DO?” One of the most vital things I tell them is what they should NOT…
Something I’ve been doing for awhile is now named Forest Bathing. Because I believe Forest Bathing — emersing ones self in Nature, feeling the natural harmonic — is a way to relax, to connect with the Earth, to connect with God or a higher power, I’ve been going to the lake, the river, the mountains,…
Every place has pests and problems to deal with, its own Trouble In Paradise. Wisconsin mosquitos and cold, Arizona’s oppressive heat and poisonous bugs and snakes, Washington state’s rain and mold and rain and dampness, Georgia’s bugs and heat and humidity and CHIGGERS! As part of the #LightTheWorldNow #BuildHisKingdom project, I was thinking about the…
I’ve recently seen several unusual living creatures in and around my place (aka: Hickory Hill Haus). I thought I would start cataloguing the wildlife and, maybe, if I get the chance, take photographs of the different wildlife here. Broadhead Skink (Eumeces [Plestiodon] laticeps): At least I think that’s what these are. I saw a large…
You might think you’re on Nature’s treasure heap. You might be weeping for the beauty of it all. You might want to share it with the entire world. Certainly, you want to share it with family and friends, the people who matter the most to you. Why? Because you think, hope, wish and pray they’ll…