In about 3 more months, these should be available locally....
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Re Wild Ginger..."Wild ginger has some interesting ethnobotanical uses as well. Native Americans and early Euro-American settlers have used wild ginger as a spice. The root is harvested dried and then ground into a powder.Early settlers also cooked pieces of the root in sugar water for several days to obtain a ginger-flavored, candied root. The left over liquid was then boiled down to syrup that was used on pancakes and other food items. However, you should be aware that scientists have determined that the plants may contain poisonous compounds and consumption of the plant is highly discouraged." This is from an article of the U.S. Forestry Service.
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And while I am thinking or it....about Bloodroot: One source says : The red juice from the underground stem was used by Native Americans as a dye for baskets, clothing, and war paint, as well as for insect repellent.
But a book I have in my possession says that the root should be combined with oak bark to make the dye. According to this book, A Guide to Medicinal Plants of the Appalachia that was published by the US Forestry service, bloodroot is extremely poisonous. It is a source of morphine. It has been used as an emetic and a laxative. because of its expectorant qualities it has been used to treat chronic bronchitis. It is both a pain reliever and sedative.
Coming home Saturday evening late there was a spectacular sunset. Since I do the driving and can only 'sort of' aim and shoot, this was the only one half decent. How I wish you could have seen more. T
Often my train of thought repeats itself...has for years. And that is when out driving about, or especially driving to visit family...I think of how long it would have taken with a regular horse and wagon. And how few times we would have actually seen the girls or family. And I often think of the Amish...and how long it takes them to get from here to there in the horse and buggies. And how dangerous it is for them.
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Different train of thought following.
I never post videos here...but I just have to this time. Every time I hear the words Slow Down, I think of this scene from Taxi. I have never had anyone not like it...even Lorelei thinks it funny...as we still do.
We are having snow as I get this ready to schedule it to post about 3 days from now. It is the most snow we have had in at least a couple years if it stopped now. But we are supposed to get 6-12 inches.
I wish we could have paused for a better pic...this is a quick drive-by shot...on a little curvy country road. It was winding enough till you did not dare stop. I always thought this was for kids to wait in to catch the school bus because it is right down at the end of a drive...very close to the road.
This little cabin sits in the backyard in a small town near us. It is really small, smaller than this photo shows. I am just a bit above 5ft and I could not go through the door without bending over.
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Re yesterday's post of the War Memorial...it is in Indianapolis and is part of the Indiana War Memorial Plaza. You can read about it HERE.
I was surprised Wednesday morning to see this Northern Flicker at my feeder. I bet I don't see one here over once a year, if that. Even before the starlings took over.
This is a quick snap with a P&S camera...I consider myself lucky to get it in the frame even. It is a cropped portion of the original. It could be more in focus.