Feast for the Eyes – Tulip Tree Groves in Shenandoah
October 25th, 2010
Tulip tree grove in the Fall
Go now. Drive along Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park. Seldom a better fall show than one experienced there. Red maples, sugar maples, hickories, ashes, and more deciduous trees contribute to the collage of fall colors. But in this park, the tulip trees have a unique story.
In a survey done in Shenandoah in 1940, there were no tulip tree groves to be found. By 1990, tulip trees covered sixteen percent of the park.
Tulip trees, or yellow poplars as they are sometimes called, grow in moist sites. They are tall straight trees that have whitish bark. In late spring they blossom with large orange and yellow tulip-shaped flowers. They are not tulips at all but actually part of the magnolia family. They are frequently found in uniform stands. Because of their fast growth rate they shade out many other plants. Morel mushrooms and puttyroot orchid are some of the few understory life forms found in tulip tree groves.
Common Morel by Ann & Rob Simpson
Tulip trees are a “gap” species. This means that they can sit in the understory of a forest and grow very slowly until they get more sunlight. When an opportunity that allows enough sunlight to reach the forest floor occurs, they take advantage of it and speed up their growth rate. Events that open up the forest floor to sunlight would include a tornado, storm, fire, or human activity like lumbering. Tulip trees are often found in old home sites, along forest edges or former orchards.
One tulip tree grove is found at mile marker 8 in the northern section of the park. In the fall, the filigreed canopy of bright yellow leaves attract an abundance of leaf watchers especially in the evening when the sunlight streams through and highlights the leaves like golden Christmas ornaments.
(by Ann and Rob Simpson, excerpted with modification, from Shenandoah NaturePod)
Jack and the Devil – A Halloween Jack Tale
October 16th, 2010
Jack tales book
Down South we tell stories about Jack. He’s been around for a long time and some of the stories are said to date back to Scotland and Ireland. I am sure that you’ve met Jack before. He’s famous for his exploits with a goose and a beanstalk. But today I would like to share with you another of the many Jack Tales told through the ages.
Every decade it is said that Saint Peter leafs through his book at the Pearly Gates and chooses a subject that seems to sit on the fence. Has he done enough to earn entrance to heaven or should he be banished to the other place?
This one year, Saint Peter came across Jack’s name. On the positive side was a long list of good deeds Jack had done for strangers who passed his way. But on the next page was a litany of dreadful things Jack had done to his own neighbors. “What was this man like”, Saint Peter thought, “someone who could be kind to strangers and ugly to those he lived with?”
Saint Peter had to see for himself, so he disguised himself and hurried down to East Tennessee. He came across Jack working in his blacksmith shop. Dressed in rags and looking disheveled, Saint Peter opened the shop door and asked, “Good sir, I am a weary traveler could I rest a moment here at your shop?” Jack stopped and looked up.
“Sure, stranger,” he said as he crossed the hard packed dirt floor. “In fact, take-a-sit here in my favorite chair.” Jack guided the stranger to a well-worn rocking chair sitting in the corner. Saint Peter was surprised. It was the most comfortable chair he had ever sat in. He was about to comment when Jack turned back to him and said, “I have a bowl-o-beans and a bite-a-cornbread here. Care for some?”
“Thank you sir, I would.” Saint Peter enjoyed the bread and beans while rocking comfortably in the chair. Finally, he confessed, “Jack, I don’t understand you. I am Saint Peter and I have looked at your deeds. You are kind to travelers like me, but difficult on your neighbors. If you continue in this way, I am afraid that I will not be allowed to welcome you into heaven. But I can offer you a chance to improve your life. As a thank you for your kind hospitality, I will offer you three wishes. Use them to make things better.”
Jack mumbled, “Make things better… make things better…” and then louder, “I git three wishes to make things better? I know just the thang for my first wish.”
“Excellent Jack, what can I grant you?”
“See here, Saint Peter, ya see that thar chair you’re a sittin’ in? Well my neighbors come by and set themselves into that thar chair and start yammerin’ away at me. I can’t get a dang thing done.”
“Yes… so what would you like me to do?”
“I want the next person that sits in that thar chair to be rocked so turrible that they get thrown across the shop.”
“Jack, that’s an awful wish. I can’t do that.”
“But you said any wish.”
“OK Jack, but let’s make the next two wishes a bit more positive. What’ll it be?”
“OK, see this here hammer? Some of my so-called friends will come by and pick it up without permission. The next time someone does that, I want this here hammer to smack them over-n-over-n-over in the face.”
“Jack!” Saint Peter said horrified. “That is an atrocious wish. I just can’t grant you something like that.”
“I thought so, you really don’t want to help me do you?”
“Jack, I do, I really do want to help you, but these wishes…
“I can be nicer to my neighbors if they ain’t sitting here botherin’ me an’ stealing my tools.”
“OK Jack, I’ll give you the wish. But this third one has got to be a good one.”
“Did you see my rose bush as you came in?” Jack inquired.
“Yes, Jack, I did. It is a beautiful bush with such lovely flowers. Would you like me to make it bloom more often? More colorful? Would you like a second one to go on the other side of the door? Maybe one for a friend? Tell me, what can I do for you and your lovely rose?”
“No, that’s not what I want,” Jack replied. “I want that bush to grab at the next rascal who comes by an’ thrash him about until his clothes are torn to shreds.”
“Oh Jack!” Saint. Peter was horrified.
“Yep, that’s what I want,” Jack nodded.
“As much as I hate this, I will grant your wish. But Jack, I pray you change your ways.” And with that, Saint Peter got up and left Jack’s little shop.
It wasn’t but a little while later when, who would come down the road, but the devil, Beelzebub himself.
He strode right into Jacks shop. He announced, “Jack I’m here to take you with me.”
“What?” said Jack, “I cain’t go now. Cain’t you see I’m busy? Tell you what though, you just go take a seat over yonder on that rocker. I’ll finish up straightaway and then we can be off.”
The devil was a bit put-off, but decided to take a seat and not put up a fight. At the instant his bottom touched the seat the rocker lurched forward violently and then slammed back. Viciously it jolted him forward and back, like a cowboy riding a demon bull. Finally the chair threw the devil all the way across the dirt floor. He crumpled into a heap along the edge of the log wall.
The devil sprang up infuriated. “I’ll git you!” he shouted, and rushed across the shop. Before Jack could react, the devil ripped his hammer from his hand. He raised the hammer up to strike Jack, but at that very moment, the hammer came to life. It turned and struck the devil square across the bridge of his nose. Again and again it struck him beating and bloodying him until the blows finally ceased and the devil dropped the hammer.
The devil was now so incensed he could hardly speak. He staggered around trying to get his bearings. Now, he just wanted to get out. He wobbled on his cloven hooves out the door past the ‘ole rosebush. Suddenly, a calamity arose just outside. Jack knew what was happening. He looked outside when it was all over. The Devil stumbled to his feet, his red garment torn, tattered, and bloody. Rose leaves and petals were tangled in his hair. The devil glared at Jack. Fiery anger seethed in his eyes. Then he turned and got out-a-there.
Many years passed and Jack, finally old and tired, died. He went to the Pearly Gates and met Saint Peter again. But Jack’s list of bad deeds was just too long.
Jack turned and traveled the long road down to the other place. As he approached the gates he saw two little devils playing outside. They spotted Jack approaching and dashed away inside, slamming the gate shut behind them. Jack reached the gate, picked up a large rock, and knocked. The heavy metal reverberated with a loud clang. Jack waited.
Clippity-clop, clippity-clop, Jack heard hoof-steps approaching the gate. A small metal door slid open and the Devil barked, “What do you want, Jack?”
“Saint Peter sent me. He said I cain’t go to heaven, so I have to come here.”
“Well, I don’t want you either, Jack. You’re trouble!”
Jack didn’t know what to do. He sat down as he heard the Devil walk away. A few minutes passed and he heard the Devil return, clippity-clop, clippity-clop. Locks and chains slipped from the gates and the heavy metal doors cracked open just a few inches. The devil stuck his nose out and called Jack over.
“Put out your hand.”
Jack stretched out his worn and calloused hand toward the Devil. The Devil reached out and dropped something into his hand. It was hot. Very hot.
Jack looked down and then up at the Devil. “What’s this?”
“It’s a little piece of hell. Go start your own.” And with that the Devil slammed the gates shut.
Jack turned and slowly walked away. He wasn’t sure where to go and so he just kept walking. The ember was too hot and not getting any cooler. As he passed through Ireland, he picked up a potato and used it to carry his little piece of hell. The potato burned through by the time he reached Russia and so he traded it for a turnip. That too burned through.
It wasn’t until he reached America that he found the perfect vessel for his ember. He picked up a pumpkin and hollowed it out. He cut three holes to let the heat and light out and found he could carry his little piece of hell rather well. And so was born the “Jack-o-Lantern.”
Fall Colors – Prove me Wrong
October 16th, 2010
A Sampling of Fall's Splendor
Nothing eases the harsh reality of oncoming winter better than a beautiful fall color display. This wonderful show of dazzling color travels from north to south at the rate of about 40 miles per day. It may last a mere three weeks at any given location.
Although environmental conditions do much to affect the brilliance of fall colors (see “What makes Autumn Leaves Turn Crispy Red” ), generally, any given species of tree often has a characteristic fall color. That said, nothing in nature consistently conforms to rules. A given tree can itself be several colors at once. But in general, most of these deciduous species tend to turn these colors in the fall:
Red:
Dogwood, Red Maple, Staghorn Sumac, Poison Sumac, Mountain Ash, Sassafras, Pin Oak, Scarlet Oak, Red Oak, Sweet Gum, Sourwood, Wild Cherry
Yellow:
Yellow Buckeye, Tamarack, Box Elder, Ash, Sugar Maple, Striped Maple, Black Maple, Black Locust, Tree of Heaven, Walnut, Hickory, Redbud, Willow, Tulip Tree, Magnolia, Sassafras, Witch Hazel, Chestnut Oak, Northern White Oak, Sycamore, Sweet Gum, American Chestnut, Wild Cherry, Aspen, Basswood, Mulberry, American Beech ( more like copper color), Ironwood, Hop Hornbeam, Elm, Birch, Alder, Catalpa, Cottonwood, Poplar,
Purple:
Persimmon, Black Gum,
Not every North American deciduous tree species is of course listed, but I tried to include the most common ones.
If a tree species can be multiple colors, I didn’t choose – I just listed it under each color its leaves may “choose” to turn.
I intentionally didn’t include the color “orange” which is a combination of yellow and red, so pretty much any tree in either category can certainly have elements of orange.
I also didn’t choose to include brown, which some leaves turn – some oaks for instance.
I now invite you – nay challenge you – to go outside and find exceptions to these categories. It’s a great fall family game.
Top 10 Things for Every Hike
September 16th, 2010
10 essential items for your pack
As a park ranger and naturalist, I am often asked what are the most important things you should have should you get lost while hiking. So in collaboration with other rangers and outdoorsmen, we have created a top ten list.
1. Food – Don’t ever go out without something to eat in your pack, whether it’s a half or even full day hike. I like to pack those protein bars; you’re not likely to eat them unless you are in an emergency. 
2. Water – Bring at least a quart for a half-day hike, more for a full day or on a hot and dry day. Know where water can be replenished on your hike and what to do to make it safe.
3. Shelter – Afternoon thunderstorms or an unexpected cold front can leave a lost hiker suffering from hypothermia. A good raincoat is a great shelter against unexpected rain or cold. I also keep a large trash bag in my pack for emergency shelter.
4. Matches/Lighter – A lost hiker will want to build a fire for warmth, comfort, and perhaps signaling. Although we see those survival guys on TV using flints or friction to build their fires, a lighter is lightweight and way easier to use.
5. Pocketknife –Most lost hikers are found within 24 hours, so you won’t need to be hunting or even fighting off the wild animals. A pocketknife with a sharp blade is all most hikers will need.
6. First Aid Kit – Pack along a few essentials: band aids, an ace bandage, your daily meds, and some antibiotics.
7. Map and Compass – Never go anywhere new without a decent map of the area. Learn to use a compass and keep it in your daypack. They’re cheap, reliable, lightweight, and work without batteries. GPS are great, but should the battery go, you’re lost.
8. Flashlight – Many lost hikers are what we referred to in the Smokies as simply misplaced. They have become delayed or took a wrong turn and wound up on the wrong trail. Rangers are sent backwards down the trail to catch the delayed hiker often finding them hiking in the dark. A lightweight flashlight or headlamp will make any travel after dark or the evening in your emergency shelter a lot more bearable.
9. Rope – 25 feet of parachute cord is light, small, and indispensable in an emergency. It can be used to whip up a shelter, hold a pot over a fire, or help rig a splint in an emergency. Throw a length into your pack.
10. Whistle – The blast from a good whistle will travel further than a human voice and won’t get absorbed by the forest. It is the best way to signal your location to searchers. Tie one onto your pack and if you hike with kids, put one around each of their necks. Years ago we had a 10-year-old boy lost in the Smokies for 3 days. When he was found, he told searchers he had heard them the first night, but they never heard his screams. A whistle would have had him home that first night.
Wait, no cell phone? Yup, of course there is the battery issue, but more important is that many locations in our national parks, forests, and wilderness areas are not cell-phone friendly. I carry mine with me, but I wouldn’t trade it for any of the things in my top ten list.
Hawk Migration – Go see the Fall Exodus
September 16th, 2010
Broad-winged Hawk photo by C.Sloan
“Another Broad-winged” the bespectacled lounger shouted out.
“Make that three” another spoke out.
I followed their gaze skyward and spotted small black dots. I tried my binoculars.
Larger black dots. I’m instantly impressed with these people’s bird identification skills.
I’m on top of Hawk Mountain in Kempton, Pennsylvania in mid-September. Dotted on every nearly horizontal surface of North Lookout is a chair where a bundled and binocular-ed bird watchers sits scanning the skies overhead. A uniformed volunteer is the counter and the recipient of the shouts. In her notebook, she keeps a tally of the species and numbers of hawks as they are spotted. The spotters constantly converse about bird numbers and locations to make sure that they are not reporting the same birds. I join the ranks of the dumbfounded. We form a loose bond by helping each other see what the seasoned spotters are identifying.
Broad-winged Hawks photo by Toby Gordon
Such a scene is taking place all over the country this month and next. Hawks, turkey vultures, falcons, eagles and songbirds are concentrating along the pathways of their ancestors, heading south for a dependable food supply before winter sets in. These pathways, called flyways, often follow ridges where updrafts and thermals help the birds conserve energy on their long flights. Hawk Mountain is located along the Appalachian Flyway and averages sightings of 17,925 raptors per year.
Certain locations and weather conditions allow you to see the birds much more closely as they follow the mountaintop where you may be perched. Here is a website of the Hawk Migration Association of North America to find a location near you. Bring your binoculars and maybe a lightweight chair or just spread out on your back and watch skyward. Your hike up the mountain may be rewarded many-fold.
Nighttime Noises Revealed
August 16th, 2010
Moon rising - Night is upon us
In your travels to a distant national park or from your own backyard, have you ever heard a strange nighttime sound? Whistling, screeching, howling, clicking, buzzing and things that go “bump” in the night have kept many a camper wide-eyed and sleepless. We humans are not at our best in the dark of night. If we can’t see it, we don’t like it.
Insects, amphibians, mammals and birds make themselves heard at night. No need being scared out of your wits unnecessarily. I thought I’d provide you a brief sampling of some nighttime sounds to change the “frightening” to “identifiable”. Once you know what you are listening to and decide you don’t like it, then you have my permission to be frightened.
Insects can fill a summer night with pleasant music. Members of the Orthoptera family are primarily responsible. These include crickets, grasshoppers and katydids. The following insect recordings are from the Singing Insects of North America (SINA) website. This fantastic site is still being compiled and is a great library of sounds. Click on the animal name to hear their recognizable sounds.
Southern Ground Cricket (Allonemobius socius) This is one of 900 species of crickets. Only the male cricket makes noise. It is done by rubbing the row of teeth-like ridges on the edge of a wing against the other wing edge. The wings themselves act as sounding boards.
Snowy Tree Cricket (Oecanthus fultoni) The chirping rate of this cricket can tell you the air temperature. The temperature in Fahrenheit is calculated by counting the number of chirps in 14 seconds and adding 40.
Katydid (Pterophylla camellifolia) There are roughly 6,400 species of katydids, but this is called the Common True Katydid and one that you might recognize.
Northern Mole Cricket (Neocurtilla hexadactyla) The northern mole cricket burrows underground and comes out to chirp at the entrance of its burrow.
The following amphibian recordings all take you to one website, where you can hear these and more, thanks to Michael Benard. His excellent collection of photos and recordings are for reference and enjoyment.
Gray Treefrog (Hyla versicolor) This arboreal frog is probably quite familiar to you if you live in the Eastern US; if not by his appearance, then by his song. Gray treefrogs can camouflage themselves according to the substrate they are sitting on almost as well as a chameleon. So anything from green to gray are normal on their mottled, warty skin. You’ll probably hear a number of treefrogs chorusing from treetops throughout the midsummer night.
Other frogs and toads are commonly heard in the spring during their breeding season.
Spring Peeper (Pseudacris crucifer) This little fellow ( yes, only the male sounds off) is heard in the spring when it is calling for mating rights from nearby marshes, streams, and ponds.
Green Frog (Rana clamitans) is abundant in the eastern US in pretty much any fresh body of water.
The following mammal and bird recordings are from Borror Laboratory of Bioacoustics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH.
White-tailed deer snorting – usually silent, deer may give a loud air-filled snort when alarmed.
Raccoon - an adult male
Coyote - howls and whines from a pack
American alligator – listen to the low rumbling and disregard the bird
Barred owl – A mnemonic for this nighttime singer almost sounds like, “Who cooks for you, who cooks for you all”. When two call at each other, people mistake them for monkeys, but of course no monkeys live in North America where these birds reside.
Barn owl – this spooky sounding character has the white color of a ghost to boot.
Of course this is not a complete list by any stretch. It is however, a fun sampling to help you become more atuned to what is happening in nature when humans are generally “out of it”. This concert will make a night around the campfire, on the back porch or in your tent an entertaining adventure.
Be aware that all rights are reserved for all these recordings. The sounds are property of the Borror Laboratory of Bioacoustics, Singing Insects of North America, and Michael Benard and can only be used for personal listening. Any other use requires you to contact them directly for permission.
National Monuments & the Antiquities Act – Oh to Wield Such Power
August 10th, 2010
The first family in Acadia National Park
Like many Americans, President Obama took his family out to visit a national park this summer. He, Michelle, Sasha, and Malia visited Acadia National Park last month. It’s a shame his handlers took his cell phone away; he could have downloaded a NaturePod for his visit.
Standing on top of Cadillac Mountain he might have had the same thoughts that many of us have had; wouldn’t it be great to preserve a big piece of land like this for future generations. Unlike us though, he has the power to do just that.
There’s a little bill that made it through Congress back in 1906. It’s called the Antiquities Act. It was written by a Congressman from Iowa to stop the “pot hunters” he felt were robbing America of its history. Artifact hunting was a big business back at the turn of the century and unscrupulous treasure hunters were ransacking western federal lands. Congressman John Lacey wrote a bill with just 4 paragraphs designed to give land management agencies a tool to fight the marauders. President Teddy Roosevelt signed it into law.
Lacey might have been concerned about protecting Native American artifacts, but Roosevelt read a broader message in the law. Section 2 gave the President the authority to establish national monuments to protect “historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest that are situated upon the lands owned or controlled by the Government of the United States.” Roosevelt quickly set aside Devil’s Tower in Wyoming as America’s first national monument.
Devils Tower - the first National Monument
Roosevelt might not have read the law very clearly for it states “the limits of which in all cases shall be confined to the smallest area compatible with proper care and management of the objects to be protected.” At more than 50,000 acres, Devil’s Tower National Monument was a bit of a stretch.
Two years later Roosevelt was at it again. He set aside 800,000 acres as Grand Canyon National Monument. By the end of his term, he would establish 18 monuments. Other Presidents would follow, for the Antiquities Act allowed a President to quickly preserve lands at peril. The Congressional route to National Park status was often too slow.
It wasn’t until Franklin Delano Roosevelt that Congress modified the Antiquities Act. By 1943, FDR and his predecessors had used the act nearly 100 times to establish or enlarge monuments. Congress had even taken the next step and reauthorized these monuments as national parks. But now FDR wanted to establish Jackson Hole National Monument in Wyoming and the state’s congressional delegation opposed the move. A fight ensued. The monument was established, but the Antiquities Act was amended to prohibit its use in Wyoming.
Alaska forced a similar amendment after President Jimmy Carter used the Act to establish 15 national monuments in 1978.
President Obama has yet to follow in the footsteps of his predecessors, but in less than 2 years he has already taken his family to 4 National Parks, 2 of which, Acadia and Grand Canyon, began as national monuments formed from the Antiquities Act.
Acadia National Park Carriage Roads
July 20th, 2010
Horses on Acadia National Park Carriage Road
John D. Rockefeller Jr. became interested in Mount Desert Island in the early 1900’s when he and his wife spent several summers vacationing in Bar Harbor. Their son Nelson, future vice president of the US, was born here.
In 1910 John D. Rockefeller Jr. purchased a house in Seal Harbor and over the years converted it into a large 100 room mansion known as the Eyrie. He was very interested in the preservation of land on the island and became the greatest donor of land and money to the formation of what is now Acadia National Park.
In 1913 he began building the carriage road system. Initially it was just around his property but in time his interest expanded and construction continued until the early 1940s.
In the end John D. Rockefeller Jr. built 16 stone bridges, 57 miles of carriage roads and the two gate-lodges most of which have been given to the park. Along with over 10,000 acres of land and several million dollars for various other projects including the construction of the park loop road and restoration after the 1947 fire, John D. Rockefeller Jr. has been the single greatest benefactor to Acadia National Park.
To this day the Rockefeller family continues its interest and generosity to Mount Desert Island and Acadia National Park.
The significance of the carriage road system is not simply a generous gift or an engineering feat but as a pathway into the heart of the park, where people can experience the full beauty of nature away from human influence.
Today, the carriage roads are wonderful opportunities to experience Acadia by bicycle. Your only companions may be pedestrians and horses. Find out more about biking in Acadia here.
Make Birch Tea from the Bubble Gum Tree
July 6th, 2010At ECOS, our environmental school, I barely get to tantalize the 4th graders with the highlight to their trip in my introduction to the day. Some kid always brings it up first. “Can we go to the bubble gum tree?”
I wasn’t ready for this question when I first started teaching in the program. I didn’t know what tree they were talking about. My first thought was the spruce. Woodsmen used to pinch off nubs of sap from the bark and chew it like gum. But how could this be it? The stuff tastes awful. The kids can’t possibly be all hyped up about such nasty tasting tree gum.
My only other thought was the black birch, Betula lenta. Now that smells great and was used to flavor candies, gelatin and of course, bubble gum. Kids could get psyched about that. My colleagues later confirmed that this is the tree they touted as the “Bubble Gum Tree”.
Kids don’t seem to be disappointed that they can’t pluck off pieces of bubble gum like they envisioned. The flavor can be detected in the twigs. Just under the bark one can smell oil of wintergreen. They light up when they find their own bubble gum tree using the scratch and sniff method. Scratched twigs smell so deliciously cool, fresh and minty. I let them collect a 6-inch section and then share how I make birch bark tea. Here’s how:
Black Birch
1. Collect
It’s the twigs that you’ll need, so tall adult trees with branches out of reach will not do. Saplings or seedlings will need to supply twigs within reach. My backyard is full of B. lenta trees, so I frugally trim a few branches here, a few there, or when I have to get rid of a wayward seedling, I at least use it for tea.
stripping birch twigs
preparing birch twigs
2. Twig Prep
Strip the leaves off. Break up the twigs to be 2-4 inches long, or however short they need to be to fit into a pan. In doing so, expose the cambium, where the oil of wintergreen can be detected in the sap. I strip the bark on a couple sides of the twig. Fat twigs don’t contribute much, so stick to flexible twigs less than 1/8 inch thick I’d say. Just keep sniffing as you go to stick with those end twigs that have the most odor.
simmer twigs until brown
Infusion of birch twigs smells great
3. Heat it up
Cover your collection of twigs with water. Simmer – don’t boil. You want to extract the oil of wintergreen flavoring from the twigs but you don’t want to boil the flavoring away or make it taste harsh. Your kitchen will smell great during this process!
On this hot summer day, I’m thinking about making birch tea using the sun tea method. I imagine, putting the twigs in a clear container out in the sun for a while might extract the flavor as well. I haven’t tried it yet, but maybe you can give it a go and let me know.
filter out floaters
4. Filter
Once the water is nicely brownish, I call it finished. You want to separate the water from the twigs and other stuff you don’t want to swallow. I often use cheesecloth, but a paper towel serves the same purpose as a filter. I just put it in the mouth of my container and pour my tea right through it.
Refreshing black birch tea
5. Enjoy
At this time of year, I stick my tea in the fridge to drink cold. In the winter, I prefer it warm. I have a sweet tooth and sugar usually goes in other teas, but black birch tea tastes just fine as-is.
At the end of our day, among the many frameworks-oriented lessons they’ve learned, my kids go home with lots of super skills. They’ve gained some plant identification skills, learned to look closely at nature and used their senses. Lastly, they realize there is specialness in plants. Well, at least one plant in particular. That’s my particular passion that I hope they pick up on – the unique world of plants.
Day Lilies – Eat Them
July 6th, 2010
Yesterday a bud, tomorrow a wilted has-been, but today a glorious beauty.
Garden fare is not just limited to your vegetable garden. Do you have day lilies blooming in your yard now? They are quite edibly delicious. If you are familiar with Asian cuisine, you may be familiar with eating lilies. Blossoms are sometimes stuffed. I like to eat the buds. Here’s how:
Day lily cluster
1. Collect:
It is called “day lily” because each day, one flower in the cluster blooms. They take turns. Tomorrow’s is fine, but the next day’s bud and the following day is the best. Any further than that, and they are kind of small.
Day lily buds to pick
Here are buds of just the right size.
Day lily buds
Just the right amount for a nice side dish for two.
Be conservative in your picking so that the beautiful orange blossoms can continue to decorate your landscape.
2. Cook:
Day lily buds ready to steam
Prepare the buds just like you would green beans. I like to steam my green beans. They won’t take as long to cook though. They’re just tender little things.
Then, I season with butter and a a bit of salt, but do whatever you like.
I’ve tried the buds raw and don’t care for them as they leave a nose-scrunching aftertaste.
Enjoy your new found flower garden side dish.