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[patheticgardener]

Inonotus obliquus, commonly called chaga, is a fungus in the family Hymenochaetaceae. It is parasitic on birch and other trees. The sterile conk is irregularly formed and resembles burnt charcoal.

Animal and test-tube studies found that chaga extract may boost immunity, prevent chronic inflammation, fight cancer, lower blood sugar levels and reduce cholesterol.

We spent the afternoon hiking and found some up in the birch trees. We took it home and dried it all, placing it in jars for the future.

Take a chunk and simmer for three hours by placing it to steep on something warm like a stovetop or perhaps the wood stove.

It has a slight vanilla flavour and is a wonderful coffee replacement.

[patheticgardener]

Today was wonderful. In the spirit of the time we spent in Europe, we decided to pick up a charcuterie and cheese board, baguette and have a picnic along the River. We snuck down to a lesser known area of the park and enjoyed watching the pelicans, ducks and geese. When we sat down we could smell a familiar herb next to us. 🌿 Right next to where we were sitting a vast amount of Wild Mint was growing. We enjoyed a meal, and we brought some home to dry. I took some plants to transplant in the garden so we had mint for the rest of the summer.

[patheticgardener]

“When I see the moon smiling at me, reminds me at once of your brighter and sweeter smile”.

[patheticgardener]

When the baby squirrel 🐿 feels your energy. 🥰

[patheticgardener]

Okay so I call this Huevos El Bosque (Eggs from the Woods) my take on Huevos Rancheros.

Key differences are that it is sourdough discard flatbread with cilantro, instead of corn tortilla switching up the prairie grasslands wheat 🌾 for the Spanish corn 🌽 . For the the meat I used deer meat 🦌 that we hunted and butchered last season (slow cooked and shredded overnight) instead of beef 🐄. And then using a salsa verde to make the green colouring pop more with the avocado, to give it the forest vibes. 🌳 🌲 🌲

I probably would’ve added a sprig of pine needles for the final touch. 😉

I try my best to think of all aspects of a meal. The look, the taste, the placement and arrangement, the source of the ingredients. I’ve never been to cooking school but I understand beauty and food.

[patheticgardener]

Sourdough pizza crust, pepperoni, cheese and cilantro.

🍕

[patheticgardener]

Ok so this week I was told to use Strawberry 🍓 Jello powder in a hole about a foot deep to try and bait the pigs. I’m going to head out and try to check the trail cams this week with a taxidermist and outfitter who has shot a few pigs with bow in the area. In exchange he may take me hunting for bear this year which is something I have wanted to do for a while.

Bear is a great wild meat, but you do need to cook it properly as all bears carry trichinosis similar to pigs. I have heard that bear meat can make excellent sausage as well.

[patheticgardener]

Spent hours in the bush trying to hunt these wild boar again with no luck. But this happened tonight. As I was leaving I saw something tiny. And I mean tiny. This fawn was probably only a week old. I was on an old grass road and wouldn’t be able to get by safely so I had to grab some gloves and move the little runt right off the path. I heard the mom blowing/snorting in the bush so I know it was going to be ok but my heart melted. Take care little buddy. 🦌

I feel like people don’t understand hunters. We absolutely love animals (most of us). We only hunt to connect with our traditions, to connect with our food, and to respect that if you’re going to eat and consume (veggies included all you vegetarians who kill tons of microbial and bug life just so you can eat your plant based burgers, you’re not free from killing either)....you MUST respect the thing(s) you eat.

Give blessings to that which feeds and nourishes you. Appreciate the abundance around you. Live in harmony with all things.

[patheticgardener]

Lilacs (Syringa vulgaris)

We’ve been trying to grow lavender for a years with little success, however while I was looking out the window the other day, I noticed the lilacs in full bloom. They have a lovely scent and since we don’t have lavender around, why not use what we have?

I started to make diy salt scrubs at home, I’ve been slowly perfecting the right recipe. First, I used kosher salt, sugar, and essential oil. Essential oil needs to be mixed with a carrier oil to be applied topically; so I tried coconut oil, however I found coconut oil is comedogenic (i.e. clogs pores). So I changed the recipe to sea salt, epsom salt, glycerin oil, and I’ve been using dried hibiscus leaves, basically loose tea leaves for scent. It is a significantly better recipe however, I’m not a fan of the staining from the tea leaves. Which is where the lilacs come in! They are only around for a short period of time in the spring, so we harvested a bunch of the flowers and are trying 4 separate ways of preserving them: freezing, air drying, in coconut oil, and in honey. Lilac flowers are also edible. so we will be posting the various things we try to do with these beautiful, fragrant, flowers!

[patheticgardener]

I found my very first morel and I couldn’t be more pleased!!!

It was so good.

[patheticgardener]

☁️ ☁️ Big sky ☁️ ☁️

I found more pig trails in the bush and will be setting some bait out to catch them on camera again. These boar tear up the farmland.

I made food and sat on this hill to eat. I found some wild 🍓strawbebbies, 🌿 yarrow, 🪴 sages, and 🌱 plantain.

[patheticgardener]

🦫

[patheticgardener]

This weekend was beautiful 🌈. We planted more at our shack, got video of the boar we are hunting. And we got all our starts in the beds at home. 🌱🌱🌱 🐗

[patheticgardener]

🍅 Finally got the tomatoes out. We are early and we may get a few cold nights 🥶 but we’ve got a nice thick insulating plastic to keep them protected. We will finish the other beds soon, and I think we are on track to have an earlier harvest this year.

Things we are working on:

Succession planting

Crop rotation

Heat tunnels

Possible clover cover crop

Holding moisture (were in a dry season)

Also, due to a busy life and moving things around I have completely lost track of which varieties are which, which are determinant and indeterminate. Sigh.

[patheticgardener]

You can judge a mans character by the thickness of his pancakes. 🥞

And if he uses real, genuine Canadian maple syrup. 🍁

Breakfast time. ☀️

[patheticgardener]

This loaf had some “inclusions”, green onion, garlic and cheese. I’m stepping it up a notch.

🥖

[patheticgardener]

Update!

Spent the weekend trying to hunt some pigs doing damage to our family land, with no luck.

And now it’s Monday. The day starts with making coffee, making a loaf of bread (Soelt and Whole Wheat Sourdough), putting out the plants (which will need to be planted this week!) and getting the boy ready for school. Dropped him off after breakfast (today was some eggs).

We are heading back into a big lockdown and he will be home from school again for two weeks. And he’s not happy about it but at least we can camp for his birthday.

Now it’s time to get to the laptop and start remote work all day.

Have a great Monday!