Dandelions

The Dandelion although not occurring in the Southern Hemisphere, is at home in all parts of the north temperate zone, in pastures, medows and waste ground. It is most conspicuous in the early months of the summer but can occur at any time in the year.

The leaves are shiny and without hair, the margins of each leaf cut into great jagged teeth, and these teeth cut here and there into lesser teeth. It is this somewhat fanciful resemblance to the canine teeth of a lion that gives this plant its name Dandelion, a corruption of the french Dent de Lion.

The first mention of Dandelion as a medicine is in the works of Arabian physicians of the tenth and eleventh centuries who speak of it as a sort of wild endive called Taraxacon. We find allusion to it in the Welsh medicines of the thirteenth century.

Dandelion roots have long been used on the continent, and the plant is cultivated in India as a remedy for liver complaints.  

Spring Sounds

Everything feels alive today. Pulsating and rejoicing in the much needed sunshine. All noises, bird song, breeze shaking branches, cars, lawn mowers, alarms, dogs, are all together in one noise, all unified in one sound. 

Wild Pesto

Pesto seems to be a more and more loosely used word to describe any sauce using greens, nuts of some kind and oil. To me Wild Pesto is just another way of getting wild green goodness into you and also extending its shelf life a bit. So..

You will need.

A few handfuls of wild greens

Toasted nuts

Olive oil (or any oil you care to use)

Parmesan (if you like)

I have taken inspiration from a wonderful Japanese Blog called Shikigami and decided not to go down the blender route. Instead take a handful of geens onto your chopping board and start chopping. When nice and fine add another handful on top. This does take longer than using a blender but it gives a really good consistency. Keep chopping and add your nuts more greens and eventually your cheese if you are using it. When everything is finely chopped transfer to bowl and add your oil. Eat immediately and place anything left over in a jars. Yum.

 

Bitter Spring

No sign of this mini ice age shifting. It dose take a lot of will power to walk out further than the local park, but today I managed a racing stomp all along the river my eyes peeled for signs of dandelions. I have seen them of course in great abundance in all the wrong places, too close to the road and too close to where dogs are. But perseverance will pay off and I am dreaming of dandelion bitter abundance.

Dandelion of course is a great Spring tonic, all that bitterness working its self through the liver and gallbladder, tonifying the blood the kidneys and the liver. A lovely stimulant and a cleans for the spring months helping the body to move from the stagnation of Winter into the renewal of Spring, however late Spring might actually be. In simplified Chinese terms Spring time is associated with the liver and liver energy and the taste associated with that is bitter. It makes sense when you give it a bit a think that bitterness would have a cleansing stimulating action. 

Mid March Ramble

Its mid March and the weather has turned a nasty and unexpected shade of Siberian. So other than reading Field Notes from a Hidden City I have made little head way into my to do list. I managed a cycle in the park on Sunday and a quick gathering of wild garlic there, but I almost fingers in  getting there and back.

Short rambles to and from the nearest park are the order of the day. Today the park was completely deserted by the local Mums and Dads keeping an eye on their kids playing in the little playground in the center of the park. And no dog walkers. Instead there were starlings twittering in their strange language, two gulls stomping and squaking on the grass and a good mixture of thrushes, black birds and crows going about their buisness.

There is a eucalyptus beside the gates. A lot of its upper branches have been lobbed off at some stage which gives it a strange forlorn look. The trunk though is a real beauty

All sorts of colours, shapes and patterns emerging from the bark. I was doing a little poke around on google and found that in Israel genetically modified eucalyptus trees are being grown. They are extremely fast growing making them a good cash crop. Experimental groves could be planted over vast swathes of Brazil. Land reclaimed from the forrest now to be planted with mega crop from which paper, fuel pellets for power stations and pellets to fuel cars can all be made.  Madness.

March Weather

Its been drizzling for the past two days now and the temptation is to stay inside and read or potter here and not bother engaging with the outside world unless I really have to. However a shift in attitude and some rain gear has me back out tramping through wet grass looking to see how things are doing. Everything is sodden and shiny from constant rain. but its actually quiet mild and some of the ice has lifted from the air making it almost mild and once you are moving around its pleasant enough. Of course March and April are the real unpredictable months and you can go through all the seasons in a week or even in a day.

I am making it my business to get outside everyday whatever the conditions. Its part of the slowing down and noticing the details process.