Edible Florida Beauty Berry If you were to become lost in the woods, would you know enough about the local flora to live off the land until you were found? Do you know which plants are edible and which are poisonous where you live? Do you have what it takes to survive? While I have no plans to forage for survival any time soon, the back-to-the-earth food movement fascinates me and I was excited to learn more about foraging and Florida's wild edibles with St. Johns County Naturalist AyoLane Halusky.  The kids and I started our school day with an introductory wild edibles class at Alpine Groves Park along the St. Johns River in NE Florida. One doesn't have to trek far into the mountains to forage for food. There are wild edibles all around us.  One must consider pesticides and pollutants before popping a leaf into their mouth though. Our friendly naturalist guide recommended being extremely cautious: "When I find a plant, I look it up in a book, then locate i...

Mushrooms are rather terrifying. I love them in my salad. Grilled, sauteed, fresh, they're nutritious and delicious. They are also fairly interesting to spot and try to identify in the wilderness. Yet eating the wrong mushroom can kill you and there are so many lookalikes in the mushroom kingdom that it it can be frightfully difficult to distinguish between a safe fungi and its poisonous or hallucinogenic counterpart. Yet I've also read a lot lately about farmers successfully growing and harvesting their own mushrooms. There's a whole world out there I know little about: mycology.  Interesting blogs and Twitter feeds led to books and fascinating groups. There are entire associations devoted to mushrooms. Some people live and breathe mushrooms. I'm on the other end of the spectrum: I have a tiny knowledge  of mushrooms and a spark of curiosity. This led me to want to know more. An interesting Facebook event populated my newsfeed. One of my favorite local farms, Ea...

There's just something about nature and being way out on a trail with the twittering birds and seasonal flora that keeps me coming back again and again. Perhaps it's because I was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, in the shadows of mighty Mt. St. Helens and among the misty fir forests. I feel more alive in the woods than anyplace else. I love the workout. When hiking, I use muscles I wouldn't ordinarily use. Blood pressure decreases. My heart grows stronger. Hiking rejuvenates my soul. Any season is great for hiking and has a lot to offer, but I am partial to spring.  Here in Ne Florida, the forests are thick with vibrant greenery and birds abound.  The eighty-degree weather begs for outdoor activity and feels like warm silk on one's skin. How could we possibly stay indoors? The kids and I hit the trails at the University of North Florida today and marveled at the tiny pink and white blossoms on the wild blueberries. We discussed the animals that mi...