What plants are edible? What if I mistake a poisonous plant or berry? Some people are sure that the work they expel while hunting down food is too much, especially when a supermarket, just down the street, is filled to the rafters.
While intrigued with foraging, I am one of those who does not have a mentor and so it was one of the things on the bottom of my skills-to-learn list but I did know I wanted to learn.
The kids and I got a crash course yesterday when meeting up with friends to hike a local trail. Right at the start of the trail I spotted two trees with bright red apples on the branches. The trees were hidden by smaller trees and bushes all around. Looking from the trail you would not have noticed there were apple trees without looking up.
My daughter was sure they were "crappy apples" but I didn't think so. After our walk the kids were hungry but I didn't have anything besides water, so I joked about them climbing the apple tree for a snack. And they did! My daughter was the first one to bite in and she said they tasted so sweet!
We spent nearly an hour picking apples by any means necessary. Both of the trees were so densely covered with neighbouring plants one trunk could not be accessed. Left to their own devices the trees have grown gnarly, and their branches were high. There were thorn bushes as well but getting threw that was half the fun.
The kids climbed as far as they could, they began using sticks to nudge apples from the spots and eventually when all that were in reach were gathered they began throwing the sticks and collecting whatever fell.
We gathered enough for an apple pie, I am sure. Even though some are a bit scabby it will peel and the fruit inside is quite sweet. In the end, it was such a good day and I was so happy coming home with my backpack full of 'found' apples that I felt closer to self-sufficiency.
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