It's party time at weedom, and we're giving a little tour, as we eagerly await spring. Most importantly, you must see the central point of our seasonal living. What's the big deal about this body of water, which is so small that it often dries up at the end of summer?
It is a spring peeper habitat. These little froggies wake up at the end of February and announce that winter is busted! Spring peepers are waaay better than Prozac. This year, ours made their first noise on Feb 27. They'll keep growing in number and power as more awaken, until the chorus is loud enough to wake the dead. Other amphibious species awaken among them, and add depth to the symphony. We're willing to pay the mosquito price in order to have our peepers. (That's why we have to make the catnip soap.)
The pregnant, bovine ladies are tired of dry hay, and are watching the grass sprout. Really it's coming. Tiny little blades of grass and little weeds are barely showing themselves after our first real winter in a few years.
Weedom West is under the power lines. That sometimes happens to a farm. Eminent domain. Big towers and high wires, over the rolling hills which have been dubbed the thighmasters. We can follow the deer trails and stay sufficiently pumped.
Most importantly, the weeds are waking up, which is vital fuel for the continuance of this newsletter.
Already covered at weedom is the poison hemlock, (Conium maculatum) a do-not-eat which must be kept under control where livestock grazes. It helps to know it in all of its stages. Here's a little bitty one. Check here to learn all about it.
What punctures the tires of tractors? Lots of things, including this upstart which grows into an incredibly thorny tree, the honeylocust (Gleditisia triacanthos). You haven't seen thorns til you've seen this crazy tree. Other (real) locust trees are in the Robinia genus.
This is almost a monoculture of shepherd’s purse, (Capsella bursa-pastoris) another spring favorite of ours which is delicious, nutritious, a good source of vitamin K, and one of the famous herbs to control bleeding. Early in the spring is the best time gather it for salad use. Scroll to the end for a recipe :-D
The stoner cats already know that the catnip (Nepeta cataria) is showing itself on the south side of the house and the compost pile and in the greenhouse.
The ground ivy, (Glechoma hederacea) is waking up and getting ready to take over the world. This is the bitter little plant that was once used to flavor and preserve beer before hops took its place. It's a digestive herb, which gets the juices of the gut flowing to better do its job on a full meal.
This real winter really knocked back the common mallow (Malva neglecta) on the south side of the barn, but it has returned anyway, and will soon resume its previous shape.
These are the seed pods that empower the sweetgum tree to be a true weed. It's medicinal too. In the fall this tree sounds like rain as it drops zillions of seeds on the ground in the slightest breeze. Finally the the empty pods themselves drop to the ground to poke bare feet in the spring.
Above all of this nascent weedom Spring, little King Renob surveys from his throne.
Nerd power of weedom is very useful for gathering information, and even giving it, but it is not good for self promotion. There was also an initial decision to lean on the subject matter and quality of information, rather than the personal particulars and credentials of the writer.
Despite these marketing impediments, the 1000 subscriber milestone has been exceeded after a little more than 2 years of posting the true scoop about the plants that pop up wherever they want.
It is therefore established that the weeds themselves have sufficient personality, charisma, and charm to attract attention at SubStack.
We are living in a divided world, where people have been manipulated into fighting with each other a lot, and into ignoring the processes by which they are being robbed of the fruits of their labors (and much more), by those who exacerbate the divisions. Into this contentious environment I desire to offer natural products, herbal, and health information in the same way that I had delivered the health services, same quality to anyone, whether or not they would agree with my views or way of living and vice versa. I am weedom1 so that people will just see (and obtain benefit from) the information itself.
The Creator says that the posts of wondrous weeds have to be freely available. Therefore payment is entirely optional. But if you win the lottery, remember that weedom1 loves coffee. Lots of coffee. And wants a fancier phone cam, and to subscribe to more paid SubStacks. If you don't have lots of $$$$, sharing weedom is a super way to give support. Thanks to those who give financial support and to all who have been restacking and sending the newsletter to their friends. There has been some good growth and feedback in recent months, which certainly inspires more output!
And now a recipe for the shepherd’s purse:
Wonton or eggroll stuffing with Shepherd’s purse.
Ingredients:
6 cups shepherd's purse leaves
0.5 lb (or a little more) ground pork.
4 scallions finely chopped
1 shredded carrot optional
1 egg
1 tsp salt
2 tsp chicken buillion powder
1-2 tsp of minced fresh ginger root
Clean shepherd’s purse leaves, and blanch them in boiling water for 1 minute. Strain them, chop them, and squeeze the water out of them before adding them to the rest of the ingredients.
Combine all the above listed ingredients together and mix them.
Use this mix to stuff wonton wrappers. (Wonton folding directions are all over the place online). This mix makes about 18-20 of them. (The mix is also good for filling eggrolls.)
Boil the wontons half of them at a time (to avoid overcrowding or undercooking) for 7-10 minutes. Skins become translucent and the wontons will float to the top.
Strain them and let them dry for 20 min or so, then pan fry them for 5 minutes. These can be dipped in soy sauce or sriracha sauce, etc. depending on your taste. Enjoy!
Thank you. I am going to start identifing these plants on my property and in neighborhood.