Leek Dreams

Two nights ago, I dreamed of our wild leek pasture. Baby Yub Yub, Thag, and I wandered through the fresh spring air, laying in the bright green leeks, discussing all the wonderful things we would make for dinner that week. Though at that moment, I didn't want to enter the kitchen ever again. I just wanted to stay outside with my baby and my best friend in the new air, forever.

When I woke up, the baby, now 2, looked out the window and said, "New snow falling, Mama." It was true. In fact, she can't see out the window without a stool anymore.

Spring seems so far off this winter.

We have spent a lot of time discussing our foraging goals over the last few months. But what was so clear last January is not this January. Eating 100 edibles was fun, but cursory. We crave more substance from our gathering; we'd like a bit more expertise in identifying, collecting, and preparing. So, we are taking our time crafting our goals during this cold, dark season. Thag is dreaming of adding more wild meat to our diets as well as conducting studies on how long it takes to collect certain quantities of edibles in specific time frames. I would like to experiment with new recipes, make wild food a more substantial part of our daily diets, and learn more about storing and preserving foods.

Time will tell what we actually decide to do. But there is no doubt that when this snow finally begins to thaw, we will be outside, basking in the sunlight, hunting out those new fresh foods.