Some springtime goodies from the yard...
Looking around for some fiddleheads to munch on. Apparently Ostrich fern is the type that's best, and I know where there's a good patch of them in the back yard.
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| NOT Ostrich Fern. These ones you're not supposed to eat. |
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| These are the ones I'm after! |
In just a couple minutes of picking, I had enough for two meals. I've read you're only supposed to take a couple from each "bunch", so you don't weaken or kill the plant. There weren't many unfurling yet, so it was easy to avoid. Should be a bunch more in the coming weeks.
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| Bag of fiddleheads. |
Fiddleheads acquired, I headed back toward the house. Lots of turkeys making racket in the distance. Spotted a bird I've never seen before but couldn't get any pictures of it. Drew a sketch from memory when I got back to the house, then identified it as a male rose-breasted grosbeak (
Pheucticus ludovicianus)
. Pretty neat. Also passed through abundant wild leeks:
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| Wild leeks aplenty, as usual. |
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| Didn't take any more than I needed, despite the thick carpet of them. They'll be around for a while, so I can get more when I want them. |
Once I got home, I decided I'd combine the two and cook myself a foraged lunch! It turned out excellent. Here are a couple photos to document the (simple) process.
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| Fiddleheads, leek bulbs, and leek leaves. Diced the leeks and sauteed the lot in a bit of butter. |
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| Voila! Mmm, mmm good! |
