The Free Radical

(In the Wild by Swedish prog band Ritual from their 2007 album The Hemulic Voluntary Band)

We’re definitely into foraging season now! A bit of rain and a couple of really warm and sunny days to follow has brought everything to life. The forest and meadows were already buzzing with the activities of bees, wasps and other diligent pollinators– good thing too, because the early bloomers like Gooseberry, Apricot and Apple rely on them to fulfil the contracts for a bountiful fruit harvest.

This wasp is checking the Gooseberry flowers for nectar. Gooseberry is always the first fruit available each season… and they’re virtually everywhere!

I’m often asked what my favourite might be when I’m out foraging. Well, the answer to that is “The spice of life.” Yes, I’m referring to variety. Every day now there’s something new to add to the daily menu… and the flavours are truly incredible.

To start, Monsieur has selected a handful of last year’s dried rose hips. Very good. Next, we shall try the juices of wild grasses to cleanse the palate. This will be followed by freshly dug wild onions. The next course will be dapples of sunshine in the form of dandelion flowers. A few juniper berries will then once again ready the palate for further spice in the form of wild tarragon– all you can eat. Gooseberry and bearberry flowers can serve as desert, but admittedly they are not nearly as good as the mature fruit which they produce. And on tap to quench Monsieur’s thirst we have unlimited glacier water from Dutch Creek.

Tomorrow there will be something new… wonder what it might be…?

What pleasure to be found in wildness! And once the belly is sated, it’s time for a brief nap in a bed of moss. Sitka is really like a little kid. She doesn’t hesitate to indulge whatever fancy crosses her uncomplicated mind.

Saskatoon berries, high bush cranberries, alfalfa and clover blossoms, and all the wild raspberries you could ever attempt to eat will also be along shortly. Don’t miss out on the celebration!