Permaculture;
it has a magazine and everything. Permaculture Magazine has highlighted this
particular group, Brake the Cycle,
which hosts grueling rides across the UK with stops at holistic lifestyle
(permaculture) facilities. We are not talking breweries or pubs, sorry Metro
Mountain Bikers, but farms and such.
Or you can go with this Brake the Cycle, the World
Vision Aspen International Bike Ride; a very worthy, a bit more adventurous and
clearly more dangerous bicycle trek. This year's ride has passed, it was on my
birthday, but keep it in mind for next year. I hear the beer market in Africa is
expanding rapidly; wink wink Metro. Ah… I missed the last meeting.
Emery’s is having a
huge sale at their Menomonee Falls location, Friday and Saturday only. In three
weeks there is a Tour de’
Chequamegon up there in the north woods there, eh. A three day adventure brought to
you by the Fyxation Bicycle
Co.
But this blog is not about feel good
altruism, it is about me. Yes, I tore out that barberry monster and cleared the
fence line. Just look below at this beast I defeated further down the line. The
determined and unrelenting application of brute force brought me victory in this
battle. Not sure if you younger readers can relate with that.
I found a wonderful
berry company and put in an order. I will line the fence with berry bushes.
More to come in the Spring. There is no diet I have seen that does not recommend
berries. Everyone loves berries. Blueberries are a bit too attention demanding for me to attempt to grow at this time. We ordered and planted some currants and an aronia bush. The honeyberry is on my mind for the Spring.
I had done an Internet search for “berries that grow
in the shade” and various alterations on that theme and found nothing.
Researching berries on YouTube many mentioned that currants grow and produce
well in the shade, even full shade. A gardener at the DNR’s State fair facility
enthusiastically conveyed to me the same information. Some have said their
raspberries do fine in the shade.
I also found what some are now calling the #1 super
food in the world; the aronia
berry native to eastern North America. Also known as the choke berry, not
choke cherry, it is the next up and coming craze, along with the haspak berry AKA the
honeyberry.
The currants have a high concentration of natural
pectin. You can make a jam by adding only an equal weight (of the berries) in
sugar and simmer until it gels on a cold plate. If you don’t have a thick
bottomed pot a splash of water would be prudent. You bring the berries to a boil
then add the sugar and simmer.
There was a wild berry growing along our fence that I
had the hardest time trying to identify via the Internet. Finally searching
“poisonous plants in Wisconsin” I could identify the plant. I will not show a
picture of this poisonous plant to avoid confusion with edible berries. It looks
very similar to another berry that people grow as a super food. But this
particular variety, growing wild all over the place, is poisonous, particularly
before they ripen. Did I mention this is a poisonous plant (that I have not
pictured or described). Never eat anything without verifying exactly what kind
of plant it is.
The reality is, plants do not like to be eaten. Sorry
vegans. That is why you have to soak and cook beans. Otherwise you’ll be
poisoned.
Berries are a perennial, an easier food crop to care
for. There is also a perennial bean, if you live in a warmer climate than
Wisconsin, that is native to the Americas. That is the runner bean and for some
reason it is far more popular in England than the United States. It will survive
mild Winters.
Known as the Scarlet Runner
Bean Thomas Jefferson grew them in his garden as an ornamental. They have
beautiful scarlet flowers and produce continuously once mature. Their vines grow
to ten feet. It is a favorite of humming birds.
The pods are eaten raw when very small and sweet. In
England they seem to cook the sliced up pods when they are much bigger but
before the beans begin to develop. If you let the beans mature and dry on the
vine you get large beans from black, to pink, to purple, or a combination of
colors. They are very large and attractive. Though it is said you can eat these
beans, someone called them Oregon Lima Beans, I have found no recipes for the
fully mature beans online. I did see one photo of the beans in a dish however.
Of course you would have to soak and cook these beans, like other
beans.
My wife and I made this baby, as is typical for making
babies. She took it to a baby shower to the joy of many. Afterwards we enjoyed
the leftover scraps, which I called baby bits. Very macabre of me I know but in
my defense…
Halloween is just around the corner. And you know in
some cultures women did eat the placenta after birthing.
The $141 question: What were my three most favorite
WORS
races? Keeping the same question. Check out
the Charity Jackpot Page link in the sidebar to possibly triple the
amount.
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