My Foraging Journey
From a young age I was encouraged to touch the earth as much as I could by my loved ones. My mother and her family showed me their love of the sea on the east coast where I spent a large part of my childhood. My grandparents showed me their love of their home in Jamaica, detailing the crystal clear water of the ocean, lush farms, and beautiful waterfalls. They taught me about gardening and identification of plants in their big garden on the edge of the city. I was lucky to have friends in my teen years and through to the present that have shared their love of travel and landscapes with me as well.
Eventually I found my way traveling around the U.S and my first major trip was to Oregon. There I found a love for wild foraging. I worked on a farm in the mountains entirely off grid where I was taught in my free time to harvest wild foods and natural herbal medicine. My first experience foraging in Oregon was on a foggy and wet morning around 6am where I got to trek up a mountain with the farm crew in my big muck boots and raincoat. I scaled the mountainside where I was shown how to identify the white flowers of the valerian plant, whose roots are known for their relaxing properties. After foraging I was taught back at the farm how to properly dry and later process the root for consumption. It smelled positively vile, a mix of manure and smelly socks. I found a love for valerian in tea that was transferred in the form of a powder. Over the following months I learned how to forage for fruits and the most beloved to me, fungi. I instantly fell in love with mushroom hunting and felt the thrill in my bones of solving the vast mysteries of identification. I still to this day feel it every time I head into nature to forage.
When I forage my heart races as I scramble through my thoughts trying to remember all I’ve read and studied. I always have a giant silly smile stretching my face like a big crescent moon of teeth. I will go into the forest to forage and come out hours later with absurd amounts of miles flown by effortlessly. The sun is always setting and I am always so very happy leaving the path with my basket in hand. I get so excited to compare and eliminate matches while observing each small detail of a specimen. I have particular favorite identification books and guides. I take photographs of every find and head to my books and forums as soon as I get home, full of joy and learning each step of the way. I have found common fungi, rare fungi, colorful fungi, slimy, spiky, opalescent, glow in the dark- you name it. Just like my art, my fungi finds are something I am so proud of. I make sure I never leave a specimen unidentified. It thrills me to learn of new kinds I haven’t heard of and to have new knowledge to work for. I always loved learning and it feels so good to always have those gears turning. I love the feeling of writing, listening, absorbing and mentally evolving. Following my brain injury, foraging became not only a hobby but now something that brought my brain back to life. I felt cognitively more challenged than in Oregon and although it was sometimes difficult, I felt that sharpness and zest coming back. Before I knew it, my hobby turned daily brain puzzles became a life saving activity that quite literally returned me to myself. Now in later stages of recovery, its still my go-to and one of my greatest joys.
I will definitely be sharing more about my foraging adventures, but for now wanted to start out giving my backstory with how I became a consistent and dedicated forager. The best part about foraging is that it is never-ending. Also, I wanted a place where I could share photographs of some of my cool finds and give any tips and tricks I have to those looking to get into it as well. Hope you enjoy my mushrooms (and slime molds!) :)
Love,
Snow
