The Trout Lily
The woodlands are a special place
during this time of year when winter is packing and spring is at the
front door.Many of the native spring flowers are blooming such as the
Trout Lily pictured above. Most sources state the lily was named
because of it's similarities to the appearance the Brook Trout. Interestingly, the Brook Trout is Pennsylvania's State Fish and the
only trout native to the state's waterways.
The plant is also medicinal and is also edible. It helps to provide nectar to pollinators inducing bees.
Another Important and Good Tasting Plant
Another early spring plant which grows in large colonies, are edible and extremely flavorful are the wild leeks.
Wild leeks only last about a month or so. My practice is to take a clump or two from a colony and then move on to the next. They can be pickeled, dried, or place in water and frozen.
I took the dog yesterday, a shovel and a bucket and dug several clumps. It was a relaxing and peaceful couple hours. At the moment there is potato, leek and home soup simmering in the crock pot and I am thinking about tossing in a couple turnips which I missed in the garden last fall and survived the Polar Vortex winter.
The Honeybees and the Baptism
We got the five frame nuc box on April 16 from Charlie Vorisek. He has about 130 hives, sells honey and honey products at his
Backyard Bee Farm in Linesville, PA near Pymatuning.
Ever since I was a kid I have been fascinated by honeybees and wanted to get some. This year, as mentioned in an earlier post, after reading books, watching You Tube Vids and attending workshops, I took the Baptism of Fire.
As with any new adventure, there's always a surprise. I had thought I was buying a five frame wooden box as the first step in getting prepare for bees. Well, what I bought was a cardboard box with five frames and what seemed like 10,000 bees.
Charlie, luckily, was able to see me a spare box he had, some frames and a a frame of honey. There isn't a whole lot blooming for the bees and the honey frame and the homemade sugar water bottle on top of the hive will help to provide them some food.
Getting the frames from the cardboard box to the hive was something else. I made a smoker out of an old coffee pot and improvised a bee suit. Well, the bees didn't really like getting moved but I only got stung about six times, the poor dog got it much worse. Thankfully, I took a couple aloe vera leaves from a houseplant and they worked great for me. No problem.
In front of the hives is a garden about the size of a football field. We made plans yesterday to get it tilled and plowed; about half of it will be dedicated to a wild flower garden for pollinators. Many more updates as we forge ahead...up and down the road I go.
Photo: Special Thanks to Rachel Gilbert, a student at Edinboro Univeristy
With the arrival of spring, the maple runs are finished. The fires are out in any Sugar Shacks until next March. According to many producers, it was a good season and the syrup appears to be of very fine quality.
Maple syrup played an instrumental part in the history of Edinboro and the surrounding Lands of the Living Snowflake. Please check the post below for much more information on some of the events which will be taking place including the dedication of the region's newest Historical Marker.
