Along with the asparagus, we came home to and discovered ramps! Also known as wild leeks, we've come to find that we prefer these over other onion-like greens, with a great garlicky-onion taste. Not sure what's taken us so long to find these. Though it should be noted that, while they may grow in massive patches, they take a long time (5-7 years according to some sources) to mature so we've stuck to cutting them without pulling out the bulb (despite that being the best part).
The ramps are the broader leaves in the center.
Unfortunately, we still haven't been able to find much in the way of good mushrooms on our small piece of land, but the plan is to hunt elsewhere and attempt spreading the spores around. With luck we may have some in the future!
Now that we've returned I've done some scoping around the land and woods to find a good secluded spot where I can spend more time in prayer. I'm starting to realize its really not the best area in general, but I can probably make do. We live on the highway that goes around Lake Mille Lacs, so traffic noise may become an issue on the weekends. We have a pond behind our house that may be a good spot, though I'm starting to realize that insects are going to be an issue, as well. If you've never been in the wet and wooded heart of Minnesota, we have bugs. A LOT of them. To the point that you have to close the windows, because the buzz of the swarms are too loud. And this year it seems Winter may not have been cold enough to kill off a lot of the eggs from last year, so we arrived to find the mosquitoes have already hatched, matured, and biting though not yet in the quantities we'll see next year. We also have a good number of ticks and we can't really go outside without getting at least one. Anyways, here are some photos of the land, just because.
The trail going into the woods behind our house.
I have been searching back in the woods, as well, though this is technically our neighbor's land. While they are family friends of my partner, they are in the woods often, so it may be weird if they come upon me praying out there and I'm not paying attention. They're only around on occasional weekends, though, so I may be just fine back there.
Some violets!!! Though not at numerous as the dwarf trout lilies, they're everywhere.
We also have quite a bit of trillium flowering, as well.
We're also getting our chickens today, so there will be some photos of those critters later, of course. I also ordered a bodhran and expect it soon which I'm quite excited for. A lot to do over the next few weeks...
