Springtime Revival
Foraging, Firewood, and Outdoor Freedom
➡ This Week’s Takeaway: An annotated list of spring.
Gardening & Treehouses
Spring is when I have an overambitious list of building and gardening projects. For gardening, I perennially peruse and glean inspiration from the Vegetable Gardener’s Bible. I built a treehouse a few years ago, using this book as my primary reference, and this year, my goal is to somehow get it out of the trees in one piece so I can repurpose it as a sauna.
Functional Exercise
By this week of the pandemic, my two children (then 12 and 10) and I were just about full-time stay-at-homers, with the state of Vermont having closed their schools. As a pastime, we took to our woods to improve and build trails. Drainage, water bars, bridges, and chainsawing became daily activities, a standard rhythm. With a rock bar, pruners, and trail-making tools, we could address most trail and road maintenance issues. The beauty of this activity was that, with hand tools only, our land provided an endless supply of work and a labor sink during a very odd time. My favorite reference book became the Appalachian Mountain Club’s Complete Guide to Trail Building and Maintenance.
Wild Foods
Wild leeks (aka ramps) will soon be abundant in the woods. In my cooking, they’re a replacement for onions. Growing in patches, they’re easy to find, and sometimes the inexperienced mistake the young shoots of false hellebore as ramps, and they end up in the hospital. A knowledgeable friend or reference book is essential in knowing which is which.
Don’t Get Too Lost in the Woods
Since our phones now have maps and GPS capabilities, it’s harder to lose one’s way. But batteries die, and phones break, so I believe there is value in knowing some basic orienteering skills. There’s a 100% chance you’ll learn something new if you buy this book. Each time I flip through it, I’m amazed by some of the direction-finding tools available in the natural world.
The Indians of the eastern United States devised a very practical method of marking their trails, by deforming the trees in the direction of the trail (p. 70, Gatty)
I assume most people know this, but if you don’t:
If you use a map application such as Google Maps, OnX, or Gaia, you can download maps for offline use. With the data downloaded, your phone’s GPS will work using these downloaded maps. There is also a satellite messaging capability with iPhones, which I’ve found works and I imagine will soon replace standalone satellite messengers.
Functional Firewood
Usually, in March, I harvest our firewood for the year— between five and ten cords. A day spent in the sunny, cool woods of Vermont felling, pulling, and bucking hardwoods is some of the best exercise I can think of. It is definitely an anachronistic practice, and I usually complain about how long it takes.
But when it’s -20 degrees in January, and I take one of the logs I harvested from our property 18 months ago, and I remember the specific tree it originated from because of a certain bend of the branch or mark in the bark, it becomes worth it.
Interested in cutting down trees yourself? Begin with this book. Fourteen percent of Vermont households heat with wood (the highest proportion of any state).
Maple
Making maple syrup on a small scale is a quintessential springtime activity in the Northeast. Whether it’s on a dedicated maple arch, the wood stove, or the patio burner in the driveway, I try to at least make a little (our record is 20 gallons). In any case, I recommend getting a copy of this maple cookbook before it becomes too fancy/remarketed and expensive. I have an earlier edition, and it cost $1. Some of the recipes will make you chuckle, but they’ll also make you appreciate the maple heritage of this region. Canada (mainly Quebec) produces the vast majority of maple syrup, producing 71 percent of the global supply.
Hate Sunscreen? Sun Protection Alternative
If you’re fishing, canoeing, making maple syrup, or looking for ramps, the sun is getting stronger this time of year. April through September I wear a sun shirt a lot of the time I’m outside in the direct sun for extended periods. I’ve gone through a few of them, including ones from REI and NRS. In the end, the best one in terms of maintaining its form and comfort is this one from Patagonia.
I agree! Growing up we boiled our own maple syrup in a sap shack in Northern Michigan over a wood burning stove and a large, shallow evaporation bath. We also went out, sometimes twice a day, to collect the sap from a nearby maple grove. You cannot beat that flavor because it also had a slightly smokey hint from the wood fire.
Great read. I lived in Huntington and Moretown in the early 2000s such a wonderful place to live. For me, my favorite spring pant is skunk cabbage - grows so darn fast !
I also remember a local classy alcoholic drink with wilds leeks. Do you know the name for that?