Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Thanksgiving Eve Stitch & Walk

I don't think my Prairie Schooler turkey will be ready for Thanksgiving.  But, maybe he thinks that it's just fine to miss a Thanksgiving deadline given what often happens to turkeys on that day!

We've had cold weather, but we've also had sunny blue sky weather as of late.  We're all going to eat too much tomorrow, so let's bundle up and take a walk.

The Hazel brush has set its catkins already in anticipation of spring.  I need to read up and see if anyone likes to eat the catkins.  

Besides our stalwart Sword Ferns, we have lots of Licorice Ferns (Polypodium glycyrrhiza)in the forest.  I like them as they often appear in unexpected places - like Big Leaf Maple trees. I read that the Native Americans along the west coast used the Licorce Fern as a natural sweetener. The ferns have a compound which is supposed to be 3000 times sweeter than sucrose.  The Native Americans also used the fern as a remedy for sore throats.

Look how glorious the Rose hips are even in late November.  If I wasn't worried about the cats attempting to consume them, I'd pick a bunch for a lovely late Fall bouquet.

Late November is the perfect time for an Oak Celebration! 

With the leaves having fallen, it is possible to appreciate the structure and architecture of a mature tree.

Oaks are often blanketed in what I (non-scientifically) call sheet moss. When the moss gets heavy and wet, it often falls from the tree in large 'sheets'.  Florists in this area like to use this moss in their arrangements.  

Here's a nice collage of Oregon Lung lichen (Lobaria oregana),Oak leaves, sheet moss.

This large Oak gall is the fortress home for parasitic wasp. 

And look, more signs of the Spring yet to be!  The Oaks are already budded out.

I hope you enjoyed today's walk. Now it's time to get into the kitchen and bake some cookies and brownies for those folks (me!) who don't care for pie with their Thanksgiving meal.

13 comments:

Vickie said...

Not even pumpkin pie?! But hey, brownies are my all time, hands down favorite sweet on the planet. ;)

Tea said...

I love your Thanksgiving cross stitch.

linda said...

Your turkey got a "pardon" this year! He will be in full splendor next year.
Licorice root is good for coughs so I can understand why the Native Americans used the fern for sore throats as well.
Lovely walk; thank you.

Andrea said...

He will be all ready for next year. Loved the walk.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving.

cucki said...

Happy thanksgiving dear..
Love and hugs x

Magiczny Świat Krzyżyków said...

It will be a beautiful turkey!

Margaret said...

That stitching is gorgeous -- it will be wonderful when finished. Lovely nature walk too. :D

Mary said...

I agree Mr. Tom is probably glad to not be finished yet...I am one of those "not a pie fan" brownies are o'kay with me. Actually a vegan bakery in my area makes the BEST brownies. I have two vegan daughters so I tried last year and feel in love with them. Enjoy you Thanksgiving.

Barb said...

Just look at it this way, the turkey will be ready for nest year!! Thanks for the beautiful walk! The hummingbirds were so funny this am. The other birds started coming to the feeder. The little birds looked at them like what are you guys doing here, this is my yard!! They just sat on their feeder and looked!

Pam in IL said...

I'm really liking that turkey! I needed the walk today even though I've been working on tomorrow's feast all day. I can't believe you have buds on the oak trees already! Is that normal? Gosh our trees just lost all their leaves.

Chris said...

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family Beth!!

Catherine said...

Fabulous pictures ~ thanks for taking us along on your walk!

Maggee said...

I always get sore throats from others' germs... and use slippery elm tabs. Wonder if there is a natural form of licorice fern out there for this? Going to look that up!