I had a foraging epiphany today. There are many reasons I forage (exercise, yummy food, time outdoors, constant learning, etc.), and I've always looked at them as being of roughly equal importance. (Left: Violet Field by wide eyed lib)
Today I spent some time looking for pineapple weed (Matricaria discoidea), from which I make my favorite herbal tea. In this one area of a park the path is paved with old, crumbling cobblestones, and I've seen pineapple weed there in the past.
Suddenly, I saw it, and I felt a physical jolt of recognition, like a mild electrical shock. It's hard to describe, exactly, but it was a very similar pleasure to coming across someone I haven't seen in a long time in an unusual place.
All at once I felt hyper-aware of everything and completely and utterly alive. I'm sure that sounds corny, but it's true. That feeling is, I think, the number 1 reason I forage on a regular basis. There's nothing else quite like it.
Pictured: pineapple weed, yew, goutweed, cleavers, wild ginger & clover
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