An Afternoon of Wild Foraging
Part of the fun of buying a new farm or homestead is getting to know the plants around you. We have a ton of red buds, wild cherry trees, rose of sharons and crepe myrtles that the previous owners lovingly planted around the house. However, today I went walking back in the field.
It hasn't been cut in months, between buying the house and buying a tractor, it's been left to grow wild - and I'm so glad that it has. We've got a combination of good and bad in that field. A part of it is covered in milkweed, which brings in the Monarchs. We've got tons of medicinal plants, too - clover, goldenrod, and thistle, for example.
But we also have lespedeza (a horrible invasive that nothing but goats will eat) and dog bane (which is poisonous to all animals). I guess you have to take the good with the bad, huh?
I wanted to share some of the pictures I took this afternoon while wild foraging. I did harvest some goldenrod and thistle to make tinctures, and will harvest clover, red raspberry and rose hips later.
Enjoy!
(I've identified the plants below by Google :) So if I've got any of them wrong, please leave me a comment and let me know!)
Goldenrod
Red Clover
Thistle
Thistle Close Up
Dogbane
Wow...nice photos of those plants...good post @aibell you did well and wish you success
Good luck for ur life job
Thank you!
many of these same plants are native to my homestate of Indiana. We had loads of the red clover and I used to pull out the purple buds and suck on them lol. They are really sweet. Which state is your homestead in @aibell? I like this post, reminds me of home. Upvoted and followed.
I post a lot of photos about nature myself. If you like travel, food, writing & photo blogs give mine a peek. I'm currently focused around Southeast Asia, particularly Vietnam, Cambodia & Thailand. If you like what you see give me a follow and I will gladly share the love back! Happy steeming!
https://steemit.com/@jakehorn87
Hi Jake! We're out of Virginia. LOL I knew you could dehydate red clover and make a tea (what I'm doing with them now), but I've never just sucked on them! I've followed you and will check out your posts now. I've done a LOT of traveling, but never hit Asia. It's next on my list!
@aibell Virginia is beautiful, especailly Shenandoah National Park. I went there on a trip with my family about 3 years ago and it was stunning!
And yes, as a kid we would just pull out the purple bit and the green ends were very sweet. Not sure if its the same kind that grows in Virginia or not, but just a fond memory from my childhood. Guess you should give it a taste then! lol
And thanks for checking out my blog! Asia is great, really another way of life. If you ever get the chance to check it out, it is most certianly worth the trip, I promise!
Will keep an eye out for more of your stuff. Thanks for your comment and take care!
I enjoyed your photo's. Its good to be able to put a name to the plants you see around you.
I loved your pictures. I invite you to vote on my last post: https://steemit.com/life/@emmanuel250998/walk-through-the-laguna-de-la-restinga-national-park
I voted in your post and I'm following you from now on... please follow me back: D
Beautiful pictures. I don't think I have seen dogbane before.
I certainly hadn't! It's neat to watch...now that the last few days have been so much colder, the stalks have all turned a dark crimson. It's very beautiful, but kinda scary with animals and a toddler running around.
Yes, I try to keep poisonous plants out of my yard as long as the kids (grandkids) are small and like to eat what they see....
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