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The Unplugged Family Activity Book

Herbal Adventures

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Rachel Jepson Wolf
Plant nerds, unite! Lupine and I just returned f Plant nerds, unite! Lupine and I just returned from one of our favorite weekends of the year: the Wild Harvest Festival, held not far from our home every autumn. This event is brimming with my favorite plant people, sharing their wit and wisdom in brilliant hands-on classes for beginners and seasoned foragers alike. To get to spend the weekend with the likes of Sam Thayer (Forager's Harvest), Linda Black Elk, and Alexis Nelson (BlackForager), and more makes for a top notch weekend in the woods. Not to mention dining on five-star meals created by Alan Bergo and team (Forager Chef). What are you learning and loving this season? I'd love to hear about it!
We’re doing back-to-school pictures, yes? Becaus We’re doing back-to-school pictures, yes? Because today I dusted off my teacher hat (okay, there was no hat, however there was a giant mason jar full of weeds, so…). I headed over to the local high school to teach a beginning herbalism class for teens! So fun. I definitely had the new kid nerves, but the students were all grace and kindness and enthusiasm. Phew! The class coincides with one that Lupine is taking as homeschooling enrichment, freeing me up from homeschooling for the afternoon. I can’t wait to get started infusing oils and making syrups, blending teas and crafting all kinds of potions with these inspiring humans. 🌿✨
Sneak peek! My son Sage (@oakshedironworks) and I Sneak peek! My son Sage (@oakshedironworks) and I collaborated on a foraging bag tutorial for @taprootmag. What fun to co-create this with my (grown) kid. 💕 Find it in the upcoming issue, HARVEST.
We're down to just THREE available spaces for our We're down to just THREE available spaces for our Wild Ireland 2024 Herbs and Handcrafts retreat! Is one of those spots yours? We'll forage and hike, deepen our connection with Ireland + our ancestors, meet kindred spirits, enjoy exquisite local food, and slow down to savor all that an off-the-beaten-path journey has to offer. Drop a note below tagging someone you'd love to take this trip with! Or comment below if you'd like more details.
Yesterday Lupine had a taste for mushroom hand pie Yesterday Lupine had a taste for mushroom hand pies. We were going to rehydrate the chanterelles we foraged last month, but wanted to go to the woods to search for may apples anyway, and decided we’d check the mushroom honey hole that Sage’s partner discovered early this summer. And we hit the gold mine. The golden oyster gold mine! Golden Oysters (Pleurotus citrinopileatus) are new enough here in southern Wisconsin that they don’t appear in any of my mushroom field guides. A newly escaped cultivar, this native (white) oyster mushroom relative hails from Russia/China but escaped into the wild in 2012 and have been on the move through the midwest ever since. In all, we harvested over 6 lbs of mushrooms. Most went straight into the dehydrator for winter meals, but the rest we sautéed with lambs quarters, potatoes, wild bee balm, and caramelized onions for the most delicious hand pies of all time. (The base recipe was from @taprootmag issue 32 TEND, recipe by @annaghewitt that we come back to year after year.) What are you harvesting/foraging/cooking/baking/savoring this August?
Our summer 2024 Wild Ireland Retreat is nearly ful Our summer 2024 Wild Ireland Retreat is nearly full! Just 8 spots remain. (I don't have another tour planned after this one, so if you're dreaming of an off-the-tourist-trail trip to Ireland, this is your chance.) Parents/homeschooling friends, did you know this trip is open to mature pre-teens and teens? It's a phenomenal opportunity to connect deeply with your teen, while exploring geography, geology, history, art, biology, and more. Our trip will explore the lesser-known parts of Counties Clare and West Cork, while avoiding the popular tourist sites loaded with busses and packed with visitors. Instead, we'll enjoy rarely-seen views with the people working to preserve them. We spend our days with local biologists, herbalists, foragers, storytellers, historians, and artists, discovering their passions alongside them. It's an experience unlike any I've had before while traveling throughout the world, and honestly, it's my favorite way to dive deep into culture, history, and place. If you're thinking about joining us, now is a great time to reach out with any questions you have about the tour or to reserve your spot! I can't wait to travel with you next summer.
Many of you will remember my son Sage's belt bags Many of you will remember my son Sage's belt bags that he's been selling for a few years in his Etsy shop. Well, I'm delighted to share that Sage @oakshedironworks and I co-wrote a tutorial and pattern so you can make your own. You can find it in the upcoming issue of @taprootmag (HARVEST)! Which means... today's a great day to subscribe, don't you think? (They are offering a new 3-issue trial subscription if you're not ready or able to sign up for a full year.) Our prototype is made with leather scraps repurposed from our friends at @aurorashoeco!
Lupine and I had an epic mushrooming day yesterday Lupine and I had an epic mushrooming day yesterday. We brought home a bag each of yellow foot chanterelles (Craterellis tubaeformis) and actual chanterelles (Cantharellus cibarius). We also found some rishi (Ganoderma tsugae) that we left behind. All were found in the course of a couple of hours wandering the woods! We also found quite a few poisonous (yet adorable) baby Aminitas, whom we left in the woods, for obvious reasons. ☠️ I love the last photo, me looking absolutely disheveled, mosquito-battered, and over the moon delighted with our finds! What’s in your foraging basket this week?
Show of hands: do you ever turn your car around, w Show of hands: do you ever turn your car around, while gasping and muttering aloud, “Ooooh! Who are YOU?” upon spotting a new-to-you wild plant? 🖐️ Needless to say, we met a new friend yesterday. This beauty is Spirea alba—North American native white meadowsweet (not to be confused with European common meadowsweet, Filipendula ulmaria). She’s lovely. I’m not sure how I’ve lived in and wandered Wisconsin for 50 years without meeting her before, but here we are. Every day’s an opportunity to make a new acquaintance! This summer we have also stumbled upon New Jersey Tea (Ceanothus americanus) for the first time as well as Purple Prairie Clover (Dalea purpurea), and a few other fresh discoveries. What wild edible or medicinal plants are you getting acquainted with/swooning over this season? 📷 ✨ @lythari_arts
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