Lilac and turquoise porcelain berries

During the past few years I have made a point of paying regular visits to the waterfront in Tallman Park(on the Hudson River, just north of the border with New Jersey.)  This is a place I’ve known for over 30 years, and being a naturalist, I have made mental notes of the plant life that has visited the area during that time.

About 5 or 6 years ago, I spotted a porcelain berry plant that I had only previously seen in the marshes at Cape May.  It was such a beautiful and exotic plant, that I couldn’t understand why they wouldn’t want it growing there.  But it was considered invasive, and therefore a nuisance to be “managed”.

Porcelain Berry Vine “Tree sculpture”

On my own property at the first signs of the porcelain berry vine, I will eagerly pull it up, roots and all.  It is a voraciously greedy plant that spreads both above and under the ground, covering everything in its path, and choking out all other species, including the tallest of trees, until all that can be seen are the silhouettes of the dead skeletons supporting the green mass of foliage.

Over time I have watched the waters edge of the park transformed by these plants, that have now spread out into the phragmites marshes and are advancing up the hillside into the park.  I have often wondered why there was never that same urgency in this park as there has been in Cape May to eradicate the vine, before it was too late.  Alas, we have now gone beyond that point.

Having said that, I am bound to admit that there is an exotic beauty that come along with the transformation of the park, that has given this area a mystical beauty that it never possessed before.  Close up, one is greeted by the multiple colors of the berries and from a distance there is a sculptural magic to the grand displays of the vine cloaked landscape.

Porcelain Berries are closely related to grapes and are consequently edible.  For those of you who enjoy bland food with a slightly prickly aftertaste, they would make the ideal snack food, especially if you also enjoy a slimy texture.  However, since they are so uniquely interesting, they can be used as a colorful garnish, without fear of accidentally eating one or two.

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The Hunger Games is about survival, but then so is life itself.

Many of us are fortunate enough to lead comfortable existences where we take shelter, food and water for granted  But for many people across the world, that comfortable life often ends very suddenly, and they are left to depend on their wits and knowledge to survive.  They may not be fighting an enemy determined to destroy them as in the story, but their survival is just as dependent on their knowledge and abilities.

Disasters happen every day, such as hurricanes and tornados, that leave people stranded or homeless, where often they must depend on their skill and wits to stay alive until help arrives (if it arrives at all!).

This is why, even we who live in the “cradle of civilization” should always be prepared for such eventualities.

The true hunger games will likely happen when the industrial food chain breaks down and food suddenly becomes scarce (which is a strong argument for local agriculture and vegetable gardens).

One might store food in readiness for such an event, but just as in the story of The Hunger Games, one has to be able to hold on to it.  When there are a lot of starving people roaming around, things will get nasty and personal food stores will be prime targets.

The safest survival stores you can have, is knowledge.

Those who can turn to nature for shelter, water and nourishment will stand a far greater chance of survival.  This is why I have always felt it very important to develop my basic life skills and learn what plants can be eaten and which ones are poisonous.  My knowledge of wild foods and primitive skills has given me an inner confidence that has taken me through life.

Living off the land in an emergency is not easy,

nor is it necessarily very pleasant, however, it can mean the difference between life and death.  A knowledge of the medicinal uses of common plants can also be invaluable when there is nowhere else to turn.  The healing properties of common weeds such as plantain could stave off a serious infection when it is applied to an injury.  Common yarrow has historically been employed to stop bleeding on the battlefield and shepherds purse will help with internal bleeding.  We don’t have to wait for the arrival of a silver parachute sent by some distant benefactor, if we know how to make use of the herbal pharmacy that surrounds us.  Nor need we go hungry.

Of course, there are many other nature crafts and skills that would serve us in a survival situation.

Knowing how to build shelter, make fire, find water, fish, trap and hunt using only what nature provides, are skills that we may never need, yet given a true emergency situation, this ancient knowledge could mean the difference between surviving and becoming another statistic.

The post How to Survive the Hunger Games – Suburban Foragers’ Style – part I appeared first on Suburban Foragers.

There’s a big hoopla about West Nile Virus right now and I wonder what is really behind it.  So few peoplehave ever contracted it, and very few have died from it.
In fact, you stand more chance of dying by falling off a donkey.

It is hardly a reason to go spraying millions of gallons of poison across the landscape, in the hopes of killing off the mosquito population.  So why aren’t they out there spraying for donkeys?  It’s just as ridiculous.

Rather than poisoning the area for the rest of its inhabitants (including bees), a less toxic approach to the problem is to make ourselves less desirable to the mosquitos.

When I’m out in nature, I resort to a number of tricks to keep those flying critters at bay.

I’ve had some success using plants extracts, like marigold and catnip.

On a trip to Maine, I found the woods to be full of mushrooms (which I didn’t eat) and mosquitos (which did eat me). I had noticed that the fields around there were covered in Tansy plants.  That evening, I crushed some tansy leaves and flowers and slowly sautéed them in some coconut oil, for about 3 hours then drained off the resultant oil.  The following morning, I lathered myself with this makeshift repellent and went back to the woods.  I was delighted with how effective it was.

I’ve experimented with various herbs for smudging, where a bundle of dried herbs is burned and the smoke used to drive out everything from insects to evil spirits.

It is usually accompanied by a ritual or prayer performed while the smudge stick is being waved around a room or a person.  White sage is the most popular herb to use, but in the east I generally use dried mugwort which smolders well and deters them skeeters.  I’ve often added strips of cedar bark or lavender for a different aroma.  In either case, it works pretty well.

When I’m camping, I often build a fire, even on a hot day, as wood smoke is very effective.

The smokier you smell the less the mozies like you.  After a couple of days without bathing, nothing (or nobody) wants to be near you.  Sometimes, when the little critters are particularly bad, wiping mud on your skin helps, but it is not too comfortable, and tends to scare the guests at garden parties.

There’s a few don’ts with biting insects.  Don’t wear perfume.  Don’t wear bright colored clothes and don’t breath.  That last one is a toughy, but carbon dioxide is like a magnet to those little buggers.  However, chewing on garlic helps.  They don’t like garlic, so eat it regularly when you are in the woods.  Besides, it helps boost your immune system.  I like to gather and pickle field garlic bulbs.  They make a tasty bug repellent snack.

As Tony Isaacs points out in his recent article on the Natural News Website,

there is a safe, non-toxic insect repellent from Herbalist Debra Nuzzi-St. Claire that suggests using the formula:

* 1/2 ounce citronella oil

* 1/4 ounce lavender oil

* 1/8 ounce pennyroyal oil

* 1/8 ounce tea tree oil

* 1/8 ounce jojoba oil

I’ve used a very similar repellent and found it to be a pleasant and effective alternative to the chemical sprays on the market.

Of course, one of the best protections against diseases, is a healthy immune system.  This requires eating fresh nutritious foods and drinking teas made from immunity-boosting herbs, such as echinacea, elderberry (and flowers), astragalus, goldenseal, oregano and heal-all.  You can buy these as ready made dried teas or gather and dry your own.

However, since your chances of dying from West Nile disease is about 7,500,000 to 1, I wouldn’t go getting bent out of shape about it.  The bottom line is, you should be careful when riding a donkey and always take what the media is feeding you with a pinch of salt (preferably sea salt!)

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