Most Dangerous Pictures I've Taken

Oh my gosh it's been a wild trip the past couple of days. Lily cut her first tooth, she's been clingy and separation anxious, as well as constipated.

Wednesday was exciting when a mama deer left her baby under the front porch for the day. I got pictures of her, which was the most awesome but dangerous thing I think I have ever done. At one point the fawn followed me and started crying.yelling at me and when I turned around she ran right up to me and deer-hugged me. At that moment I heard a crashing in the woods -- Mama Doe. I already saw her go after Tike for getting too close so I ran like hell back inside. I looked back only when I was at the door and mama came out of the woods looking for me. I'm very thankful I didn't stick around...

We had to move the fawn when the people came to take care of the lawn (we being me). Carrying a wild newborn fawn was pretty awesome and scary when I had no idea where the mama was.

But Mama Doe gave birth to her second a little after dropping this one off.  I think I need to say this fawn was at most a couple of hours old when he/she was brought over.

Catch-up In Pictures

I finally found the camera cord, so now I can update the awesome happenings of the past week or so via pictures!  Yay! 

We're da Bob-omb

Wild onion I foraged and ate. Definitely cook with other items.

Tike don't play no games.

Turtle buddy

I let her feed herself yogurt.

Naked time.

That's not how you take your vitamins, Lilz...

Foraging Friday

Lately I've been looking into the foraging scene and blogs like Eat The Weeds, learning how to live off the land.  It might sound weird or gross at first, but talk about the ultimate freebies.  Wild edible plants in your own backyard... Sounds good to me!  Organic and healthy is even better, right?

Plant identification can be tricky and it is important to pay very close attention to what you eat.  Some plants are poisonous, obviously, and can also look similar to edible plants.  BEFORE YOU EAT ANYTHING WILD, BE 200% SURE YOU KNOW WHAT IT IS!!!  Err on the side of caution.

I'm not here to teach anyone about foraging, just sharing my experience. Go to a professional to learn, please.

Dandelions are one of these edible plants. Every part is edible -- leaves, flower, stem, and roots -- all used for different things. Today I decided to cook some dandelion leaves.

Lily is my foraging partner.  She likes to pick up whatever we're around. 

These are the parts of the dandelion, minus the roots I did not get.

Lily decided she wanted to help.

And wanted to try them raw.

"Oooooh, Dandelions!"

This is the broken stem of another dandelion plant.  Notice the white sap?  Most plants with white sap are lethal, so make sure you know which ones are not before munching down!  Dandelions are an exception :)  The white sap makes them bitter though.

This is why we boil our dandelion greens!!  I boiled mine for about 5 minutes, changed the water, and boiled them again for another 5ish.  They could have used a bit more in my opinion, but the boiling helps get rid of the bitterness.

Sideways picture... my bad.

And the finished product!! 

How did it taste?  Well, it actually tasted pretty good.  It could have used some seasonings, but because it was my first try I wanted the full natural-taste experience.  

Dandelions have long been used for medicinal purposes, and the roots for magical purposes.  If I am not mistaken, a dandelion root can make a nice tea :)

I can't wait to try some more!