Pathetic Gardener 🌾

Inonotus obliquus, commonly called chaga, is a fungus in the family Hymenochaetaceae. It is parasitic on birch and other trees. The sterile conk is irregularly formed and resembles burnt charcoal.

Animal and test-tube studies found that chaga extract may boost immunity, prevent chronic inflammation, fight cancer, lower blood sugar levels and reduce cholesterol.

We spent the afternoon hiking and found some up in the birch trees. We took it home and dried it all, placing it in jars for the future.

Take a chunk and simmer for three hours by placing it to steep on something warm like a stovetop or perhaps the wood stove.

Today was wonderful. In the spirit of the time we spent in Europe, we decided to pick up a charcuterie and cheese board, baguette and have a picnic along the River. We snuck down to a lesser known area of the park and enjoyed watching the pelicans, ducks and geese. When we sat down we could smell a familiar herb next to us. 🌿 Right next to where we were sitting a vast amount of Wild Mint was growing. We enjoyed a meal, and we brought some home to dry. I took some plants to transplant in the garden so we had mint for the rest of the summer.

Okay so I call this Huevos El Bosque (Eggs from the Woods) my take on Huevos Rancheros.

Key differences are that it is sourdough discard flatbread with cilantro, instead of corn tortilla switching up the prairie grasslands wheat 🌾 for the Spanish corn 🌽 . For the the meat I used deer meat 🦌 that we hunted and butchered last season (slow cooked and shredded overnight) instead of beef 🐄. And then using a salsa verde to make the green colouring pop more with the avocado, to give it the forest vibes. 🌳 🌲 🌲

I probably would’ve added a sprig of pine needles for the final touch. 😉

Sourdough pizza crust, pepperoni, cheese and cilantro.

Ok so this week I was told to use Strawberry 🍓 Jello powder in a hole about a foot deep to try and bait the pigs. I’m going to head out and try to check the trail cams this week with a taxidermist and outfitter who has shot a few pigs with bow in the area. In exchange he may take me hunting for bear this year which is something I have wanted to do for a while.

Spent hours in the bush trying to hunt these wild boar again with no luck. But this happened tonight. As I was leaving I saw something tiny. And I mean tiny. This fawn was probably only a week old. I was on an old grass road and wouldn’t be able to get by safely so I had to grab some gloves and move the little runt right off the path. I heard the mom blowing/snorting in the bush so I know it was going to be ok but my heart melted. Take care little buddy. 🦌

I feel like people don’t understand hunters. We absolutely love animals (most of us). We only hunt to connect with our traditions, to connect with our food, and to respect that if you’re going to eat and consume (veggies included all you vegetarians who kill tons of microbial and bug life just so you can eat your plant based burgers, you’re not free from killing either)....you MUST respect the thing(s) you eat.

Lilacs (Syringa vulgaris)

We’ve been trying to grow lavender for a years with little success, however while I was looking out the window the other day, I noticed the lilacs in full bloom. They have a lovely scent and since we don’t have lavender around, why not use what we have?

I found my very first morel and I couldn’t be more pleased!!!

☁️ ☁️ Big sky ☁️ ☁️

I found more pig trails in the bush and will be setting some bait out to catch them on camera again. These boar tear up the farmland.

🍅 Finally got the tomatoes out. We are early and we may get a few cold nights 🥶 but we’ve got a nice thick insulating plastic to keep them protected. We will finish the other beds soon, and I think we are on track to have an earlier harvest this year.

Things we are working on:

Succession planting

Crop rotation

Heat tunnels

Possible clover cover crop

Holding moisture (were in a dry season)

And if he uses real, genuine Canadian maple syrup. 🍁

This loaf had some “inclusions”, green onion, garlic and cheese. I’m stepping it up a notch.

Spent the weekend trying to hunt some pigs doing damage to our family land, with no luck.

And now it’s Monday. The day starts with making coffee, making a loaf of bread (Soelt and Whole Wheat Sourdough), putting out the plants (which will need to be planted this week!) and getting the boy ready for school. Dropped him off after breakfast (today was some eggs).

We are heading back into a big lockdown and he will be home from school again for two weeks. And he’s not happy about it but at least we can camp for his birthday.

Now it’s time to get to the laptop and start remote work all day.