Name that Fern!

 I need your help in naming this fern.  I totally forgot what it was called, but it's absolutely the coolest thing I've seen a plant do outside a Venus Flytrap. This plant was in our Behind the Seeds Tour at Epcot.

The guide joked with us that she has one at home and when new guests arrive she likes to show off her fern.  As the guests are ooo-ing and ahh-ing over it's neato defense system she'll bump the table and the whole plant with contract ALL of it's itty bitty leaves at once.  The guide then likes to tease the new dinner guests by telling them they've killed her plant.  Of course it's not really dead and the plant will open itself back up in a matter of minutes.  Spurred on by this news 3 younger boys in our group promptly gave the potted fern a good shake and made it wilt before our eyes.

Boys will be boys.

Behind the Seeds Tour

Of all the things we did on vacation this was probably my second favorite (sorry but Harry Potter was just too cool)  The "Behind the Seeds Tour" at Epcot basically went "behind the scenes" of their hydroponic gardening center and let us release ladybugs, eat hydroponic veggies and generally look in awe at all the bare rooted, MASSIVE plants growing around us.

All the while asking questions about how the systems work, what's actually in their hydro solution and how you can build your own hydroponic garden at home.  If you want to do anything extra at Disney it always costs more, but because of that the groups are usually smaller and definitely more intimate.

There were so many unusual things going on, not to mention the reDORKulous size of the fruit and veggies.  As it was all inside a giant greenhouse they had fans to circulate the moist air.  The outside walls were lined with corrugated cardboard which trapped the moisture the fans were pulling out of the greenhouses and that water would drip into a tray and off to a holding tank where it would be recycled back into the whole system.  Pretty spiffy, eh?

Even more amazing were how fast the plants grew in a soil-less environment.  Pepper plants were literally maturing within 2 months if not less.  Lettuces were ready for harvest in a matter of weeks.  It's so low tech it's high tech.  I've seen hydroponic gardens done with 2 liter pop bottles on a PVC frame, but this place was on a whole other level.

I wouldn't mind working in a place like that, you'd learn so much, but I don't tolerate Florida heat that well and I burn too easily.  C'est la vie.

A Mushroom Update

I received this email the other day when I sent out an inquiry about the Ohio Mushroom Society.  I asked why there were no events in SW Ohio and if there were any other clubs of the fungus or foraging type around my area.  This is what I got back.

" Rebekah,

 

Unfortunately, we do not have any active members in SW Ohio and there are no local clubs there.  This could change as in the past we had members in Xenia and we forayed at John Bryan St. Park.  Those members have  passed on and no active members have surfaced. "

That really makes me sad.  This particular society is most active on the opposite side of the state from me and all the events are over there too.  I don't want to drive 4-5 hours across the state for an event.  I don't understand why there is no local push for groups like this around here??  It's insane that the members closest to me have all but passed on from this life and no one has taken their spot.  It's like society doesn't give a poo about Nature or what she can do for us.

Down but not out.

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.

A Trip and A Half

Last week we went to the "Happiest Place on Earth".  

While I would beg to differ on the title of "happiest place" it was definitely a different sort of place.  We haven't been on a vacation since our honeymoon in Charleston so it was time we went out of state for a change. We also jumped over to Universal Studios for two days so we could geek out at Hogwarts.

I'll be talking a little more about each place once I've settled back into a "normal" schedule again.

Some days were better than others.

Stockings for Craft for Hope's Christmas in Dixie

This year's weather has just been insane here in the States.

Thanks to a heads up from Lupin over on Bugs and Fishes I found out about Craft for Hope's #14 Project: Christmas in Dixie.  You can read more about it here.  It's a special project to help families hit hard by this year's devastating tornadoes by bring back some holiday cheer in an unexpected way.  The project is making handmade stockings!  If you wish to participate the deadline is September 23rd, 2011, that's when your stockings need to be at the address posted on their blog.

There are some basic requirements but the key is they should all be handmade.  I'm very excited to do as many stockings as I can, even some pet themed ones, before the deadline.

For those who lost everything this year I hope that we can help you start some new traditions that you can rebuild with, our hearts and prayers are still with you all :)

The Crash Club

I've got stuff to do.  LOTS of stuff to do because Hurricane Irene or not we're supposed to head out to Disney here on Saturday.  The only thing is that yesterday we went mountain biking.  It was really fun and my second time out on the trails.  I was doing excellent till I rounded a bend and the path went between two trees and then did a 90 degree right turn, all downhill.  I'm sure you can guess where I'm going with this.  I made it between the two trees, but was going a little too fast into the immediate turn and hit my brakes a little too hard and fell off to the side of the trail.

Fortunately for me Chris was with me (remember kids never ride a trail alone for this very reason!) as was one of his co-workers who was right behind me.  After I brushed my bum off we figured out that I had a really good busted up knee and my left wrist and elbow were pretty stiff and starting to swell.

THEN as if it couldn't get any more "worse", after biking nearly 7 miles thru the woods and crashing, I heard thunder.  And literally out of nowhere a BIG thunderstorm started to roll in.   It happened no more than maybe 5 minutes after my crash.  So in alot of pain, we lucked out by discovering we were right by a trail exit to a paved road. Chris took off for the car as it started to rain and I waited with Chuck, I swear adrenaline makes me want to barf once it subsides.  Chris ended up going the wrong way on the road and had to double back past us.  By then it was a monsoon rain.  I looked at Chuck and told him it couldn't possibly get any worse and laughing hobbled myself back onto my bike and we charged thru the torrential downpour and hail of lightning.

We managed to load the bikes back up, say our good-byes and headed off to the closest Urgent Care which was about10 miles away.  We had to stop off at my parents, who lived nearby, to ask them where it was because I couldn't remember.  After getting x-rayed it was determined that I sprained my wrist, bruising the base of my left thumb joint pretty good and hyer-extended my left elbow, but no broken bones.  Hooray for strong bones, a good husband and finding an Urgent Care open on a Sunday.

I'm just stiff for now and my knee is finally turning into a giant scab, but hell I guess I can now say I'm officially in the Crash Club for mountain biking.  It could've been worse.  I mean after all I could've broken something.  Then I would've had to walk around Disney in sweltering heat with a cast.

I hope to be back on my bike in two weeks once I can bear weight on my arm for an extended period and back on some trails in about 3.