© 2012 Joshua Stark
I took the kids out to a nice greens spot yesterday, took some photos, and posted a piece at my Lands on the Margin blog on picking greens and what you can find right now in California. The link also adds to my collection of Useful Plants of California's Edgelands.
Showing posts with label Lands on the Margin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lands on the Margin. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Other pages here
© 2012 Joshua Stark
If you haven't noticed, I've got a couple of additional pages (linked right below the title up there) for your perusal.
If you have ever been interested in using green walnuts... then, sadly, you are very much like me. Anyhoo, feel free to visit my Green Walnuts page. I've got quite a few recipes for those that get knocked out of the tree early by your friendly neighborhood squirrels.
I also have a link to my "Lands on the Margin" writings. It's still a bit under construction, but over there you can find my love for those little (and big) chunks of land that tend to get ignored, but that have much to offer (foraging, hunting, fishing, and just living). As I organize my thoughts, I'll put together my experiences, advice and recommendations for adventuring in these great places.
Last, I've reposted my River Nature Tours page, with an addition: I now offer services for companies and organizations looking for more inspiring places to conduct conferences and in-service meetings. If you are interested, check out the idea here and then email me for more information.
I would especially appreciate feedback from readers. Let me know what you think works, what doesn't work, and what you might like to see (or read) that I may be able to provide. Thanks!
If you haven't noticed, I've got a couple of additional pages (linked right below the title up there) for your perusal.
If you have ever been interested in using green walnuts... then, sadly, you are very much like me. Anyhoo, feel free to visit my Green Walnuts page. I've got quite a few recipes for those that get knocked out of the tree early by your friendly neighborhood squirrels.
I also have a link to my "Lands on the Margin" writings. It's still a bit under construction, but over there you can find my love for those little (and big) chunks of land that tend to get ignored, but that have much to offer (foraging, hunting, fishing, and just living). As I organize my thoughts, I'll put together my experiences, advice and recommendations for adventuring in these great places.
Last, I've reposted my River Nature Tours page, with an addition: I now offer services for companies and organizations looking for more inspiring places to conduct conferences and in-service meetings. If you are interested, check out the idea here and then email me for more information.
I would especially appreciate feedback from readers. Let me know what you think works, what doesn't work, and what you might like to see (or read) that I may be able to provide. Thanks!
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Lands on the Margin is back! kinda...
© 2011 Joshua Stark
Last year, I stopped posting to my third blog, "Lands on the Margin", because I couldn't juggle all of the ideas I'd had, and something had to give. However, I didn't give up on the concept, and I kept the links to the blog live, just in case. I believed the theory was sound.
Earlier this year, I decided to revive the Lands on the Margin concept a bit, as a component of Agrarianista. In California, the added bonus from the wild seems a natural extension of agrarianism, even of the urban variety, because we are blessed with such a rich diversity of plant life.
So, I've begun a project that combines the earlier blog with a couple of new pages here at Agrarianista around LOTM (that's "Lands On The Margin"): A page explaining marginal lands (with links to the older blog, gear recommendations, and useful plants), and a small (soon to be growing) list of Useful Plants of California's Edgelands, with suggestions on identifying and gathering, and a couple of recipes or tips on how to use them.
The old LOTM blog will be used to post the newest entries to these or other related pages I create, so if you are interested in some information about California's bounteous edgelands, please follow the LOTM blog, too!
As always, I'm interested in getting feedback on these pages, so shoot away here (or at the relevant page, itself).
Last year, I stopped posting to my third blog, "Lands on the Margin", because I couldn't juggle all of the ideas I'd had, and something had to give. However, I didn't give up on the concept, and I kept the links to the blog live, just in case. I believed the theory was sound.
Earlier this year, I decided to revive the Lands on the Margin concept a bit, as a component of Agrarianista. In California, the added bonus from the wild seems a natural extension of agrarianism, even of the urban variety, because we are blessed with such a rich diversity of plant life.
So, I've begun a project that combines the earlier blog with a couple of new pages here at Agrarianista around LOTM (that's "Lands On The Margin"): A page explaining marginal lands (with links to the older blog, gear recommendations, and useful plants), and a small (soon to be growing) list of Useful Plants of California's Edgelands, with suggestions on identifying and gathering, and a couple of recipes or tips on how to use them.
The old LOTM blog will be used to post the newest entries to these or other related pages I create, so if you are interested in some information about California's bounteous edgelands, please follow the LOTM blog, too!
As always, I'm interested in getting feedback on these pages, so shoot away here (or at the relevant page, itself).
Sunday, August 21, 2011
California's big country - and getting to know one little slice of it
© 2011 Joshua Stark
Most people think of California as either Sun, sand, and surf, or as a seething hole filled with people, or as a cosmopolitan bastion of communism. But there is much more to this, the third largest State in the Nation.
California has more climate regions than any other state, and within each region lie dozens, if not hundreds, of microclimates. California has more plant species than all other states put together. It has the oldest natural park in the Nation (Yosemite was created in 1864). It has the tallest peak in the lower 48, the tallest trees on Earth, the oldest living thing on Earth, the largest thing on Earth, the largest animal on Earth (which it shares with other Pacific states), even the largest elk in the country (which it shares with Oregon). It's agriculture is simply unsurpassed. And half of the State is owned by the federal government, which means that huge tracts are accessible for free by all us Americans.
Within California lies the Sierra Nevada Range. Within the Sierra Nevada run a number of big rivers, each an accumulation of huge watersheds. One of these watersheds, the American River system, is very dear to me, and one mountain-side in this watershed, in particular, holds a very special place in my heart. At the base of this mountain, in the river, I proposed to my wife of 8 years. Each year, I get to know this mountain, a very large, craggy-in-places, ecologically diverse sliver of California. It has huge elevation changes which make for amazing habitat diversity, beginning with mixed conifer (but mostly oak) at its base and toying with sub-alpine habitat at its plateau. Its wildlife is equally diverse.
Every time I visit this place, I find something new. Yesterday, I walked the mountainside with bow in hand for the opening day of our archery season. The place was crawling with hunters, "crawling" in the sense that they were slowly picking along the mountainside in four-wheel-drives and ATV's. I found a gully without a truck parked on it, and slowly started walking up-slope. The Sun was creeping up (I'd gotten up late, but wasn't worried - this was more of a scouting trip) over the ridgetops, and below, a couple thousand feet down, flowed the American River through its canyon.
Archery hunters are, by their nature, quieter than gun hunters, and so there was very little human sound in the land. I poked my way up the gully, noting little sign, but fresh in the grass. Nothing jumped out of the thicket, however, and I moved over the ridge to the South slope. It was going to be a hot day (90 F), and I knew they'd be moving to the North side and hunkering down early. At the ridgeline, I looked down at a beautiful reservoir. On the North side, I found new habitat, a great spring running off the mountain (a spring! In late August!), and more good sign, but no deer.
No deer, but my new finds this time were a new meadow filled with yampa, a couple of red currant bushes, another great spot for gooseberries (finally ripening - in late August!), and four coveys of quail with babies. (Babies! In late August!)
It has been a wonderful, watery, verdant year for the mountain. I can't wait to get back up there and find something new.
Most people think of California as either Sun, sand, and surf, or as a seething hole filled with people, or as a cosmopolitan bastion of communism. But there is much more to this, the third largest State in the Nation.
California has more climate regions than any other state, and within each region lie dozens, if not hundreds, of microclimates. California has more plant species than all other states put together. It has the oldest natural park in the Nation (Yosemite was created in 1864). It has the tallest peak in the lower 48, the tallest trees on Earth, the oldest living thing on Earth, the largest thing on Earth, the largest animal on Earth (which it shares with other Pacific states), even the largest elk in the country (which it shares with Oregon). It's agriculture is simply unsurpassed. And half of the State is owned by the federal government, which means that huge tracts are accessible for free by all us Americans.
Within California lies the Sierra Nevada Range. Within the Sierra Nevada run a number of big rivers, each an accumulation of huge watersheds. One of these watersheds, the American River system, is very dear to me, and one mountain-side in this watershed, in particular, holds a very special place in my heart. At the base of this mountain, in the river, I proposed to my wife of 8 years. Each year, I get to know this mountain, a very large, craggy-in-places, ecologically diverse sliver of California. It has huge elevation changes which make for amazing habitat diversity, beginning with mixed conifer (but mostly oak) at its base and toying with sub-alpine habitat at its plateau. Its wildlife is equally diverse.
Every time I visit this place, I find something new. Yesterday, I walked the mountainside with bow in hand for the opening day of our archery season. The place was crawling with hunters, "crawling" in the sense that they were slowly picking along the mountainside in four-wheel-drives and ATV's. I found a gully without a truck parked on it, and slowly started walking up-slope. The Sun was creeping up (I'd gotten up late, but wasn't worried - this was more of a scouting trip) over the ridgetops, and below, a couple thousand feet down, flowed the American River through its canyon.
Archery hunters are, by their nature, quieter than gun hunters, and so there was very little human sound in the land. I poked my way up the gully, noting little sign, but fresh in the grass. Nothing jumped out of the thicket, however, and I moved over the ridge to the South slope. It was going to be a hot day (90 F), and I knew they'd be moving to the North side and hunkering down early. At the ridgeline, I looked down at a beautiful reservoir. On the North side, I found new habitat, a great spring running off the mountain (a spring! In late August!), and more good sign, but no deer.
No deer, but my new finds this time were a new meadow filled with yampa, a couple of red currant bushes, another great spot for gooseberries (finally ripening - in late August!), and four coveys of quail with babies. (Babies! In late August!)
It has been a wonderful, watery, verdant year for the mountain. I can't wait to get back up there and find something new.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Marginal lands this week!
© 2011 Joshua Stark
It is the time of year in Northern California when those of us who know it start hitting the marginal lands, those places on the edges of civilization, looking for good things to eat and a great time while we're at it.
You see, it is Summertime when these lands really provide. We've got fennel blooming, ripe berries and fruits, great fishing, and rabbit season just started. This week, I'll be hitting some of my favorite spots, looking in particular for blackberries, gooseberries, figs, and bunnies. I'll also be trying two new things: Trapping crawdads (which, though not really new to me, still something I haven't done in ages), and possibly bowfishing from a canoe for carp. Hopefully, I'll cajole somebody with a camera to come out, especially for the bowfishing.
It is the time of year in Northern California when those of us who know it start hitting the marginal lands, those places on the edges of civilization, looking for good things to eat and a great time while we're at it.
You see, it is Summertime when these lands really provide. We've got fennel blooming, ripe berries and fruits, great fishing, and rabbit season just started. This week, I'll be hitting some of my favorite spots, looking in particular for blackberries, gooseberries, figs, and bunnies. I'll also be trying two new things: Trapping crawdads (which, though not really new to me, still something I haven't done in ages), and possibly bowfishing from a canoe for carp. Hopefully, I'll cajole somebody with a camera to come out, especially for the bowfishing.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Edible Plants of the Marginal Lands: Wild radishes on the margin (and durn near everywhere else!)
© 2011 Joshua Stark
I've known for a couple of years that wild radishes have edible leaves and seed-pods, and last year I even stumbled upon a ready crop of seeds. By the time I could return, however, they'd already become woody and worthless for eating - in California's Central Valley, the shift from Winter to Spring to Summer takes about four days (this year is far different, by the way).
This year, then, I was ready for them, and sure enough, I've found seed-pods that were ready. Ripe (for lack of a better word) wild radish seedpods are translucent green, long and skinny and bean-looking, and stick straight up along the plant. Of course, the best way to test if they are ready is to eat one: it should taste exactly like a particularly peppery radish from the store, except that I've not yet found a wild radish to be bitter.
Not knowing what to do with them, I pickled them refrigerator-style: Half vinegar, half water, a little sugar - sort-of the encortido version of radishes. I'll let you know tomorrow how it works.
I'm really hoping they work because we love radishes, we have a hard time growing them (our radishes are always extraordinarily bitter), and wild radishes are everywhere around here, as ubiquitous as wild mustard and fennel.
If you live around here, any vacant lot, road's edge or fallowed field will likely hold wild radishes. They can grow from a few inches to three or four feet tall, and are often found in fields with wild mustards - the yellow flowers are mustard, and the white or lavendar flowers are radishes.
I've known for a couple of years that wild radishes have edible leaves and seed-pods, and last year I even stumbled upon a ready crop of seeds. By the time I could return, however, they'd already become woody and worthless for eating - in California's Central Valley, the shift from Winter to Spring to Summer takes about four days (this year is far different, by the way).
This year, then, I was ready for them, and sure enough, I've found seed-pods that were ready. Ripe (for lack of a better word) wild radish seedpods are translucent green, long and skinny and bean-looking, and stick straight up along the plant. Of course, the best way to test if they are ready is to eat one: it should taste exactly like a particularly peppery radish from the store, except that I've not yet found a wild radish to be bitter.
Not knowing what to do with them, I pickled them refrigerator-style: Half vinegar, half water, a little sugar - sort-of the encortido version of radishes. I'll let you know tomorrow how it works.
I'm really hoping they work because we love radishes, we have a hard time growing them (our radishes are always extraordinarily bitter), and wild radishes are everywhere around here, as ubiquitous as wild mustard and fennel.
If you live around here, any vacant lot, road's edge or fallowed field will likely hold wild radishes. They can grow from a few inches to three or four feet tall, and are often found in fields with wild mustards - the yellow flowers are mustard, and the white or lavendar flowers are radishes.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Edible Plants of California's Edgelands: Pick with caution!
© 2011 Joshua Stark
I'm back with another installment of the "Lands on the Margin" series on edible and useful plants, this time with a really interesting find: Nettles!
Nettles are found throughout the world. The most common nettle for me while growing up was known locally as "electric grass" (Urtica dioica), and it was found in folks' ditches. It's a nasty plant to brush up against, as it is covered in tiny hairs that emit a stinging acid when touched.
Lately, California has been invaded by a nicer, gentler nettle plant, Urtica urens, the dwarf or common nettle. Though it, too, stings, it has far fewer hairs, and it stays small when it grows. I believe dwarf nettles are resistant to glyphosate (Round-up herbicide), which is why they are starting to make a strong showing throughout farm country.
This video was shot and dramatically improved, again, by abbynormal of This Old Blog, an incredible videographer. Only the mistakes were mine.
I'm back with another installment of the "Lands on the Margin" series on edible and useful plants, this time with a really interesting find: Nettles!
Nettles are found throughout the world. The most common nettle for me while growing up was known locally as "electric grass" (Urtica dioica), and it was found in folks' ditches. It's a nasty plant to brush up against, as it is covered in tiny hairs that emit a stinging acid when touched.
Lately, California has been invaded by a nicer, gentler nettle plant, Urtica urens, the dwarf or common nettle. Though it, too, stings, it has far fewer hairs, and it stays small when it grows. I believe dwarf nettles are resistant to glyphosate (Round-up herbicide), which is why they are starting to make a strong showing throughout farm country.
This video was shot and dramatically improved, again, by abbynormal of This Old Blog, an incredible videographer. Only the mistakes were mine.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
My first attempt at video!
© 2010 Joshua Stark
If you are interested in learning about gathering and processing acorns, please take a look at this, my first YouTube video:
Being extremely uncomfortable with my physical self, it is very scary to put up my first attempt at a YouTube Marginal Lands video. But, Abby Jaske, the person who filmed and edited, did such a great job with the iffy material I provided her, that I would be a very bad person, indeed, if I didn't share this.
Pretty soon, be ready for a (shorter) video on how to gather and prepare nettles! There may even be a beer recipe in that one.
If you are interested in learning about gathering and processing acorns, please take a look at this, my first YouTube video:
Being extremely uncomfortable with my physical self, it is very scary to put up my first attempt at a YouTube Marginal Lands video. But, Abby Jaske, the person who filmed and edited, did such a great job with the iffy material I provided her, that I would be a very bad person, indeed, if I didn't share this.
Pretty soon, be ready for a (shorter) video on how to gather and prepare nettles! There may even be a beer recipe in that one.
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