Spring is here!!!!

 These days I am outside whenever I can... which is not as much as I would like, but there´s little I can do about that. I have been doing a bit of foraging, too. For instance, the plant above is pulmonaria officinalis, i.e. lungwort (in German: Lungenkraut). Good against bronchitis, and will find its way into my cough syrup.

 This is Glechoma Hederacea, ground ivy (in German: Gundermann), a spicy herb, great as a spice, in salads and soups and even as a tea. I also put it in a herbal syrup and into my birch sap mead.

 Jack-by-the hedge or mustard garlic, rich with mustard oil, with a taste similar to wild garlic before blossom, and a taste like cresses afterwards. Good as a spice, on cheese sandwiches, and I put it in spiced oil. Recent studies also claim an anticarcinogenic effect of mustard oil, which also is summat;-) I daresay...;-) Of course, I like wild garlic better, but won´t shun it if I can´t have wild garlic*ggg*.

 Ranunculus ficaria, i.e. lesser celandine, a spicy, tasty herb before blossom. After blossom you should not take the leaves. Then you can harvest the roots which are rich with starch and make a saturating ingredient in wild soups and can be used for binding sauces and soups and even pudding,

 a sweet woodruff pudding, for instance? Just kidding, of course, for sweet woodruff should not be used in large quantities. Just take a handful of plants for about one litre of syrup. Sweet woodruff can induce headaches and impair blood clotting ability due to a high Cumarine content. If you take "blood-thinning" medicaments such as Marcumar or ACC, do not use it before consulting with your doctor.

 I could not resist posting this photo of an oak and a beech making love...

 Stinging nettle, great for soup and stews and spinache! Always pick them from bottom to top, to avoid burning...

 Sloe and wild plum are blossoming. The blossoms are tasty in a  herbal syrup and have a blood cleansing effect.

 I have no shop to date other than the smithy, so I took out my hadseax and the sgian achlais into the woods and worked on it sitting on a stump. It was a great experience, being out in the spring woods, with birds asinging wildly all around, sipping my tea and playing with my tools. The knife is the seax blade that did not want to be an elvish blade;-). Mokume Gane (silver, gold and nickel) bolster, reindeer antler and yew handle. The blade is a three layer laminate, wrought iron from an old villa in Bergisch Gladbach, and 1.2842. I have tested it severely, and bent it at nearly 90 degrees. Had to straighten it afterwards, but the blade came out unscathed other than that. It also chops antler and hardwood and takes a good and keen edge. And as I sat there, sitting at the root of an old oak, I thought that this knife deserved a name, but could not think of any that made sense. Silently the wind rustled in the dry leaves of the oak, left over from last autumn still. Then it was silent again. I sipped my tea and thought hard, when suddenly I started, for there was the stem of the oak I leant to creaking violently. I paused, and asked myself... what did that mean? And as if the tree wanted to make a statement, it creaked again, even louder and longer, and there was no wind then. I smiled. Then all was silent again, and no sound to be heard. And the windd began to blow again, singing a gentler song in the leaves around. And there it was - the name I wanted to find:

Eikinnsleikr.

(Oaken song)

 I admit I brought this socially abolutely inadequate knife with me;-), stashed away at the bottom of my rucksack, of course, and with a lock in the sheath. I could say I did it because I wanted to make a sheath and needed its length to baton through a suitable piece of wood. I could say I brought it with me to shoot photos, or for historical documentation purposes. But truth is, I just love to play with it. I forged it long ago, when Matthias Zwissler was still working at the Krenzer Hammer, together with Harald, from a piece of C 60 Harald gave to me, and it has a selective temper. And I still have to say it´s one of the best knives I have ever made. It´s about 250 mm long, with integral bolsters and a massive copper buttcap. The tang is some 20 mm thick, the handle is Sambar stag.

 It has a very good balance, and thusly it is suited for delicate work as well as hard chopping tasks. I have used it for brutally hard work, such as splitting, batoning, prying and all that fun stuff you should never do to a knife;-). I have to do some blade sports...;-)

 The wild pigs were enjoying the sun, and apparently quite fond of spring also... I like these animals very much. I can relate to them, if that makes any sense;-)...

 The wild sheep rams were out also, and cut a striking figure;-)

 More tree porn...;-)

A relaxing sunbath after the mudbath...

Spring is here! I love it... long was the winter, but nature finally awakens! Isn´t that great? To me, it´s the kindling of a new flame, of hope and of light.

YABR-Cheese bannock

 I almost exclusively feed on bannock and herbs and veggies from the woods these days. It´s cheap, versatile and feeds you, and I even feel healthier this way. For this one I took:

7 tablespoons oat meal

1/2 tablespoon baking powder

1 tablespoon dried hederacea glechoma

2 finely chopped leaves wild garlic

1 half finely chopped onion

pepper to your liking

1 tablespoon cumin

1/2 tablespoon nutmeg

1 knifetip salt

water for a thin dough

6 slices of your favourite cheese;-), mine was gouda;-)

Vegetable oil for frying

heat the pan, add the oil, heat till sizzling temp. Pour in the dough, turn down the temp to milder heat. wait until  the surface shows some bubbles, put the slices of cheese on. Pour some more fresh dough on top. Wait until the surface is dry, flip over. Bake it golden brown. The dough gives out to two big cakes and a little something to my experience.

Afiyet olsún! ;-)

Loooooonnng foraging ride

It´s been a while ago now that I saddled my steed to get in some herbs for tea, as medicine and for soup, and I figured it wouldn´t hurt to get in some real mountainbike riding along the way;-). I started quite early and made for the hills with some eight mousseline bags I prefer to carry that foliage;-). Some hour of quality riding away from home I came across this light and cozy oak, beech and birch wood, carpeted with loads of sweet woodruff, some nettles and mustard garlic.  I collected a lot of herbs of great quality, and had a very peaceful time doing so.As usual, the birds were singing, and there was a gentle breeze rustling in the new and freshly green leaves. Silent it was, too, and that´s something in this mad world.

I find I relish in the silence of the woods ever more so the older I get. It is like lifeblood for me sometimes to get out and sit on a stump or do something simple, and just feel my breath go in and out. Everything is sprouting now like wildfire. But inside my heart I know, this will pass. It is nothing to be feared. This fact, plain and simple, is life. There is death, and there is life. There is winter, and there is spring. And spring bears the seed of winter, and winter the seed of spring, as long as there is something green to flourish. I love spring as much as I love the darkness and solitude and contemplation of winter. Without a winter, there would not be dreams, without spring, winter would convey not meaning, as would spring, as would life without death.

I find myself entangled in this net of life and death, and the more that is coming to be, the more I find I am lost for words, for he who talks, knows not, he who knows, talks not.;-) I believe that only poetry and mathematics are capable of  a description, but what for? There is the sun. There is the snow. And that over there is coltsfoot ;-) (Tussilago farfara), in German "Huflattich". It´s good against a cough, if taken as tea. Tastes spicy in a salad, too. 

 Strawberry (Fragaria vesca, in German: (Wald-  Erdbeere) in blossom. You can obviously eat the fruit, and from the leaves and flowers you can make a very sweet tea with a mildly calming effect. Good for brokers;-) may prevent them from nervously buying Yen like mad and thusly prevent them from being smashed in the face by a Fimbulmyrk fist, I am kidding!!!!!;-) I´d never hit a broker buying Yen like mad in the face. Because that wouldn´t change anything. Instead I´d counsil them to try some mildly calming tea.;-) Might render them less nervous, and thusly less greedy, rant over and out;-). 

 One of my favourites, sweet woodruff (galium odoratum, in German: Waldmeister). Collect them before blossom and dry or make syrup from them. Sweet woodruff can be used against cramps, against wound infections (inside and outside), as a wound desinfection, and has a vasodiletary effect. Sweet woodruff contains Cumarin, and you have to be a bit careful, because it is mildly toxic. When making spiced wine with sweet woodruff, you should not take more than 3 g per 1 litre white wine. If you take vasodiletary medications as Marcumar, ACC or else, you should consult your doctor beforehand or obstain from using it, for it can have a very serious effect up to a heart attack when used with those medications. Do not frequently use high doses of sweet woodruff, for it is supposed to be carcinogenic. Nevertheless, if you are careful, it makes for a very tasty and spicy drink. In ancient times it was either used by witches to fend off demons or to fend off witches with a mixture of woodruff,St.John´s wort, and mentha pulegium (pennyroyal, in German: Poleiminze). I will give you a recipe for "Maibowle" soon, just watch this space! 

 This is hederacea glechoma (in German: Gundermann, no clue what it´s called in English). While it is poisonous for many vertebrates, including horses, a toxic effect on man is not known, and it is used as a spice. Be a bit careful with the dose in the salad, it might get a bit bitter. It tastes a bit like mint, but with a sharper note. You can also use it as a tea against lung disease, headache and plain old cough. Cooked as a detergent it is antiseptic. In ancient times it was used in beer storage, to preserve milk and cheese, against Hepatitis, pain in the hip, as an aphrodisiacum, and as a protective charm against demons and witchcraft.

 Buds from the European spruce (picea abies, in German: Fichte). They are rich with Vitamin C and etherical oils. I use them as a syrup against the cold, as an antiseptic, and I make a liquor from it. Take one handful of buds, five teaspoons of wood honey, add the juice of one lemon, cover with sugar and let rest for three days. Fill up with some pint of gin, schnapps or other clear, hard booze (min 35% alcohol). Let it rest for at least three weeks. Strain through and fill with some quality fruit schnapps (Obstler) until the colour is a light red. In ancient times they were used against bronchitis, to clean the blood circuit, against articular gout, rheumatism, chronical fatigue and stomach cramps. Taste a bit bitter, but are healthy to boot. Take them also as tea. No witches here, though, for a change;-).

 Pine (pinus, in German: Kiefer) buds. You can treat them as fir buds, with similar results. Have to do some research on them, though, might do for the moment that they don´t do you any harm, are rich with Vitamin C, good against bronchitis, to clean the blood circuit, and that you can make an even better schnapps with them;-). Prosit! (Cheers!)

 I rode for hours on end through the hills, fireroads, singletrails, long, long, arduous climbs and quite some funny downhills, with beautiful scenery all the while, and I met two other persons, a girl and a hunter, with both of whom I had some quality time chatting. Seems people tend to appreciate and respect each other more when they are not as abundant;-).




Got some blueberry leaves (vaccinium myrtillus).
 Taste great as a tea and as spice in syrup and have sort of a blood-cleaning effect, too.

 

 Along a hillside roadside I had to cross I found some steel, too. Perfect!!!!

The sun was already sinking as I rode home. On the map it said I did a circuit of some 110 km, and boy sid I feel it! But it was a greatgreatgreatgreatgreat day out in the not-so-wild with quite a loot to carry home.