We have a garden in which i planted herbs for medicine and Dan planted food. We can. I make tinctures and salves. I knit and spin and do less sewing than I'd like. But I have felt a lingering void since living here. I long for the woods and wild places. There are beautiful pockets of nature around me and I try to frequent them as much as possible. I still miss the wild openness of the landscape of northern vermont and the forests of southern new hampshire. I am very excited about getting a car in a few weeks. While I feel conflicted about it envirmontal impacts I know being able to escape the claustrophobia of the city is going to be the saving grace for my happiness and continued city living.
I am lucky to have a strange wild patch of hillside around the corner from my apartment. I've foraged mullein, plantain and lambs quarters just on my walks home from work. The other day I spotted a beautiful jewel on the hillside as I walked by. A crab apple tree laden with red fruit. There are four or five other wild apps trees on th hillside that I've been eyeing but only two bore fruit this year. I somehow missed the crab apple tree during my foraging last year.
Well I strapped on my pack basket and went for a romp. It felt lovely to be picking and munching. I felt so at home on that tiny patch of wilderness. I also went for a closer look at the two full size appletrees. One had wonderfully sweet red apples but most had already dropped or were much too high to be reached. The others were fairly bland but I'm hoping they might get a little sweeter as they ripen. They might make good sauce apples.
Underneath one of the trees I found a large patch on burdock. Some with green leaves and just a few with dead stalks covered in sticky burrs. I'm planning on going back in the next few days to dig up some burdock root for medicine.
Back home I cut those little crab apples up and set them to stew in water on the stove. I strained them and got four cups of sour crab apple juice. I combined the juice with four cups of sugar (although next time I'll do a bit less) and boiled until it hit jelly stage t 222 degrees F. I've never had great luck making pectin less jelly or jam but this turned out ok! It's a little sweet and I could have let it boil for a few more minutes but all in all I'm pleased.
It feels good to make something delightful from something you've found. I love stocking my larder with treats to make winter brighter. In the next few weeks ill be making some simple medicine for the cabinet and I'll be sure to show you those too.
In my old house, we grew apples like this. :)
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