Loose Leaf Notes

Last weekend our neighbors, Dennis and Suzi, invited Joe and I to attend a wildflower walk on their property.  It was a gathering of a local Organic Gardening and Wild Foods group.

It was a nice day and organic gardeners, foragers and others came out of the woodwork.  About 40 people attended, including a couple of biology teachers, a midwife and herbalist, master gardeners, Barbara Pleasant, a new Floydian who is a contributing editor to Mother Earth News and other publications, and local blogger and nature writer Fred First (pictured center).   I call the photo above “Fred off duty.”

With a focus on edible wild plants, some people nibbled on taraxacum officinate, better known as dandelion.

Dennis and Suzi’s dog Claire was the friendly meet-and-greeter. She led a short hike into the woods, where Dennis pointed out a crow’s nest and other points of interest.

This is Dennis about to put his hand into the pond and pull out a palm full of wiggling newts.  He jokingly invited me to do the same.

The pond is as nature intended it, Dennis says, full of frogs, turtles, salamanders and newts. He doesn’t stock it with fish because they interrupt the natural balance.

A potluck followed the hike.  There was homemade beer, a supper spread and lots of desserts made with berries.  It was a good way to spend an afternoon.  I’m looking forward to seeing many of the same folks at the Floyd Earth Day Celebration on April 20^th at the Floyd EcoVillage.  Check out “Floyd Virginia Earth Day Celebration” on Facebook.