NOMMM? - OMNOMNOMMNOMM!!!! - my apothecary and treasure vault

 Foraged for boletus and mugwort, and lesser plantain,and sage, lavender, marjoram, willow-herb and the like. The ´shrooms were eaten and dried (no secrets), and from the lesser plantain (plantago lanceolata, in German: Spitzwegerich) I made some syrup concoction.

First I chopped the leaves and blossoms coarsely. I added as much honey as was needed to completely cover the leaves entirely, one shot of citric acid and 2 cl of a special liqueur (mainly consisting of spruce hips, honey, lemon juice, sage, thyme, and brandy.

Now I will leave it to rest for some three days in the sun, then six weeks in the dark.

Left to right: Lavender, sage, and marjoram stored to dry.

Left to right: St. John´s wort, common yarrow, willow - herb to dry, willow herb in a cotton bag to ferment, tussilago farfara (coughwort), chamomile,

....lady´s mantle, sage, common yarrow. In the jar there´s wild garlic oil. The herbs are, for the most part, already dried, and await to be put away in tins and boxes.

Another foraging stroll

Two weeks ago I went for another stroll after work. I just took the bus, had a coffee at an old smithy that now´s a restaurant, damnit;-) and a piece of cake, and then went into the woods to make for the long way home. In the woods there are many ancient crap deposits of the farms over there, and look, what I found: Those are railroad bolts of a high carbon content, aproximately 0,75 % after the spark analysis.

 I take this to be a feather from an Eurasian Jay, but might be mistaken... I took it behind my hatband, for I like the colours very much!

 TANK BURRRRRLLLL!!!!!;-) Now that´s a burl, is it?

 European larch hips. Taste great, have a very high content of Vitamin C, and, if you pour honey and schnapps over ém, make for an interesting drink that´s good against the cough and the cold...;-).

In another deposit I found this railroad bolt, some C 75 content, too. How they come to be disposed of there I can´t tell, but I do not complain any;-). 

Oh, and greater plantain (spergula mersonii, in German: Breitwegerich). Makes for a great herb against bronchitis, as an antiseptic in wound treatment, you can eat it in a salad (did that!;-)), and got some common plantain (plantago officinalis, in German: Spitzwegerich), too. This last herb is even better against bronchitis. I use the sap and cook it with honey, add thyme and salvia and some gin to preserve it and dissolve the etherical oil of the plant.

Once again I came home with quite a loot! Sometimes I am not quite sure if it might be just the hunt;-)