Dublin, OH

A recent work trip took me to the small town of Dublin. It's only about 20 min from Columbus. I found this short hiking trail that led me to an old cemetery. Most of the stones were dated in the mid 1800's,

I was able to attend a charity event for the Ronald McDonald House  at the Brothers Drake. The stories of these families were incredible.  The charity provides housing for families while the family members are seeking medical treatment. It was really encouraging to see so many positive people in one place.

Summer Blooms in the Yard

We planted a wildflower mix by the bee hives and they are starting to bloom. They get dappled sunlight and seem to be doing well.

 I love these fuchsia blooms, they are so feathery.

 Day lilies grow wild all around here. Our neighborhood is full of their orange and yellow blooms.

The Old Screech Owl

This backyard cutie is hard to ignore. He likes to frazzle the chickens and get them all worked up despite being half their size. But how can I hold a grudge against him? This is the second year we've been blessed with his presence living out his winter in this tree. I love watching him.

It was one of those peaceful afternoons in the wilderness when the whole forest dreams, and the shadows are asleep and every little leaflet takes a nap. Under the still tree-tops the dappled sunlight, motionless, soaked the sod; the forest-flies no longer whirled in circles, but sat sunning their wings on slender twig-tips. Robert W. Chambers from "In Search of the Unknown"

"The prairies had been his school..he had a natural refinement and delicacy of mind such as is rarely found...His manly face was a perfect mirror of uprightness, simplicity, and kindness of heart; he had, moreover, a keen perception of character and tact that would preserve him from flagrant error in any society." - Francis Parkman

Wintery

...Let the shadows cool the meadows,

And the night sounds whisper low,

In the stillness of the valleys

Where the waters lap and flow.

                      -Maud Russell

Whenever we go out, my son always brings a Lego guy or two.  He is an avid Lego lover - who isn't? He is really into taking pictures of them for his Instagram.  They do grow up so quickly!

The Beginning of Autumn

Mr. Bumps

 Every once in a while we like to re-vamp Mr. Bumps' habitat.  It makes things a bit more interesting for him and he always seems to enjoy exploring the new landscape.

 We also let him wander around the yard as well to stretch his legs and explore the great wide world.

Mr. Bumps will be 4 this fall.  What a handsome fella he is!

Hey there! Let's go for a hike.

This summer has been the strangest I've ever seen.  The weather has been cool and breezy with an autumnal feel.  Normally by the end of summer plants are parched and dry.  This year, August is still full of lush green plants and mushrooms galore.  Take a hike with us and share in our discoveries.

fern forest + stream = perfection

I love these variegated leaves.

Meet: Yoda Bob. We found him mid-hike and spent the rest of the afternoon getting to know him.

This perfect mushroom growing among the moss was a gift, for sure.

These are quite poisonous, known as Jack-O-Lanterns. 

This tiny mushroom forest had an Eco system all it's own.

It's good to be back blogging.  Happy hiking friends!

Pageants of Splendor

The Luna Moth vs. the Cecropia. I prefer the simplicity and tranquility of the Luna moth's color and design. However, I find it fascinating the the Cecropia we came across was laying her eggs which were tinted her same colors!

Such beautiful insects~

Wild Edibles - Part 3

I hope you were encouraged to see what plants were growing in your back yard.  Looking through this new lens of foraged foods is pretty exciting.  

Pictured below, among ALL that poison ivy, are a few leaves of dandelions.  I think most people know they are edible, but in case you forgot, those pretty yellow, flowering weeds in your yard can also be food.  The leaves are best eaten before the plant flowers, but the flowers are also good battered and fried.  I've also used the petals as an addition to zucchini bread and in cookies, just because it's fun to eat flowers.

 This is called Dock.  Plants found closer to water are known to be less bitter.  Steam slightly and use like grape leaves.  It's a great green to wrap foods in for cooking.  It's rich in protein and vitamin A.

 This is a Green Brier - these grow all over our fence and I hate them.  They can be invasive.  However, the very tendril tips look like a pea plant, and guess what? They taste like peas too.  The root-stocks of many species can be used as a gelatin substitute.

 This beautiful flower is from a Black Locust tree.  Oddly, only the flowers are edible on this plant.  They taste and smell like honeysuckle.  It seemed like such a treat to eat one after tasting so many bitter or zingy plants.

 We found Wild Grape Vine.  The leaves are edible. You can boil and eat them or use them for wrapping and cooking foods.  Wild grapes are also edible.

Heading up the hill, Santiago the Turkey still touring with us.

 The last plant on our foraging expedition is Mallow.  I've seen these pretty plants before - perhaps you have to?  You can eat the tiny leaves.  Each plant bears a few pods.  When opened, they reveal the below. These can be eaten just as they are or pickled and used like capers (much safer than the marsh marigold). You can also eat the root of this plant.

We headed to the tee-pee and fire circle to eat a salad of foraged greens mixed with some spring lettuce mix.

We have owned this book for quite a while, but I just looked at it with slight interest.  Taking this class definitely gave me the push and confidence I needed to go exploring on my own.  Knowledge is soon forgotten if not practiced, so I plan on keeping up with this whole learning thing.