Brain Overload

I think I'm going thru a learning spurt.  It's one of those spurts where you can't seem to find ENOUGH information and the stuff you do find you read until your eyes are about ready to fall out of your head. And then you ask a question, which leads to 10 answers and not all are reliable or accurate so then you have to research the answer.  What I'm getting at is this "wild foraging" thing is the new black for me.  But I don't want it to be a fad so I'm really trying hard to read up on it and learn.  I want to be resourceful in my own backyard or local (non-treated) woodland. 

I've been so inspired by Lisa over at Lilfishstudios and her amazing treks into wild foraging.  It is truly amazing. I've also been able to track down a few other noteworthy foraging blogs thru her and Google.  I've been gobbling up so much info that I've got to back off or else suffer overload.

But here's the depressing part.  For some reason wild foraging in Ohio only seems to come about in the Spring and it's almost entirely because of Morels.  There seems to be a distinct lack of guidance when it comes to edibles in the wild other than mushrooms.  In fact I've never eaten a Morel in my life.  Maybe if I went to our resident "green/hippie/artsy" town Yellow Springs I could find someone but even then I would really have to work at finding local, knowledgeable people who go out in the field to find and forage for these things.  Maybe I should start a group or put pressure on the local parks and state parks to make these groups more accessible.  If the park agency aren't spreading the word I sincerely hope it's not because they fear thousands of people will converge on the supposedly fragile ecosystems.  Well there are fragile systems and people in masses tend to be plagued with a "herd mentality". But I still want to know why is this hard? Why do groups not exist to pass this know-how down to other generations?  I mean, honestly why do people not care about knowing this stuff? And if they do care why are they not out talking about it more?  You can't spread a gospel sitting on your ass.

It may just boil down to a complete lack of caring.  That seems to be the general consensus nowadays. I've found that over the years as I've become older my perception on things has changed (shocking I know), but deep down I've always loved nature.  I think that the further removed from nature you become the less you care about where things come from.  In the end all things come from the earth, even chemicals.  To me if you don't care about where anything comes from or starts from it's the beginning of the end.  If you don't know how to survive then how do you live?

It's my hope that as I learn to live that I also learn how to survive and thrive...and lets face it, probably get wet and muddy in the process.  I personally believe that you can never become fully "green" because you will never stop learning how to be resourceful and respectful of the Earth.