Tag: foraging
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Showers
This is embarrassing, but I haven’t had a shower in 8 days now. Although…if I look at it another way, I am in a shower nearly every day as it has been raining a lot! It seems it should count for something, even if I’m wearing raingear for my showers this week. With the cool…
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Whittier and Cordova, a few highlights
This ten day trip deserves several posts. We loved both Alaskan towns and definitely want to go back. However, packing isn’t leaving me much time to write. With snow arriving in Healy, we want to head south soon! On day three, we left Whittier on the M/V Aurora (Alaska Ferry), for a 12 hour boat…
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Alaska in August
C and I think August is the best month for sportfishing as we enjoy fishing for silver salmon (coho). https://roaming-nature.com/2023/08/15/long-weekend-with-coho-count/ If you want to fish and visit Denali National Park, spend several days (or more) in Southern Alaska to fish, then head north for several days (or more) in Denali. We ate a lot of salmon…
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Persimmons and Pomegranates
Oatmeal with pomegranates reminds me of my Alaska spring oatmeal with lingonberries. Deliciously tart red jewels, yum! While I can’t grow pomegranates in Virginia, there are lots of options for persimmons. I can forage for tiny native persimmons, and ate a few this year. The cultivated varieties are bigger with fewer seeds. I grow ‘Ruby’,…
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Packing Begins, Week 26 in Healy
We arrived in Healy on March 17 and plan on leaving September 21, just shy of 27 weeks living in a tiny dry cabin in Alaska. We did bring more than we needed. Both of us have too many clothes and plan to take the surplus back to VA. Some of the gear can go…
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Long Weekend with Coho Count
Salmon: 11 coho, 5 pink, 1 chum Rain: 6 out of 6 days (never all day) Foraging: red raspberries, highbush cranberries, sea lettuce seaweed Glaciers: Lots! (At a distance) August 10 Melissa worked in a.m. then we drove south to Montana Creek. Lots of pinks and chum, not many coho though we saw someone catch…
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Pumpkin Berries and Ptarmigan Berries, Week 20 in Healy
Three more edible berries are ripe nearby. We have a lot of pumpkin berries (Geocaulon lividum) around the house. While they look gorgeous, edible does not equal tasty. The pumpkin berries can stay on the plant as yard decoration. Fortunately the Ptarmigan Berries (also known as alpine bearberries, black bearberries and many other names) are…
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Blueberries, Week 19 in Healy
July 23, blueberries are coming out strong. We have a few wild blueberries in sight of the house, and loads of them less than a mile away. C doesn’t like eating them, but was kind enough to pick. What a lovely hour, spending time outdoors with my favorite person, hearing birds chirping, seeing views above…
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Spring Foraging, Week 11 in Healy
Fireweed & rose shoots have finally brought some freshly harvested greens to my diet. I also added some variety to my berries today. The bog cranberries taste similar to lingonberries (Vaccinium vitis-idaea, lowbush cranberry). Both overwintered well & are very juicy despite being around 7 months old. My tastiest find was a few dried blueberries.…
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Lingonberries, Week 9 in Healy
These tart berries overwinter! They can be eaten after fall frost, dug from the snow, or – in my case – harvested as the snow melts. They are also known as low bush cranberries, and are related to cranberries and blueberries. All around the cabin we have mats of Lingonberries mixed in with Labrador Tea…
Me & C 