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Lately I've been thinking about foraging for food. Now, I live in the Sonoran Desert, so it's not like when I was back in Pennsylvania. In PA, I wandered all over, picking berries (raspberries, mmmm) and finding other wild things to sample.
Here, it's a little different.
Plants are more protective of their fruit in more overt ways.
Cholla, for instance, is very spiny, and the spines have barbs which make removal difficult and painful.
One well-known cactus - so well-known that my in-laws had a patch of it in their Delaware backyard - is prickly pear, whose fruits are tasty and used in jams/jellies, drinks, and candies. In Native American cultures of the southwest, prickly pear fruit and paddles (nopalitos) were most definitely on the diet. Prickly pear has been found to have a beneficial effect on blood sugars, something that the modern Western diet lacks. Native peoples who have gone back to traditional foods have found their health much improved. You can buy canned nopalitos in the stores here, or you can go out and harvest your own (but watch out for the stickers & spines!). Want some recipes?
The most majestic of all the cacti in the desert southwest are, of course, the saguaro. They are endangered, and you must have a permit to move a saguaro. On the ends of the arms, and on the top, you will see the flowers, and then the fruit. Many people harvest saguaro fruit each year - very carefully! You never want to hug a saguaro, I promise. Neither of you will appreciate it. I've seen friends climb tall stepladders, and use a long pole to get to the saguaro fruit. The climber knocks it off, and someone below gathers the fallen fruit. Here is some interesting info on saguaro fruit processing.
On to the comments:
From brillig:
Not sure about the first sentence's accuracy, but delver rootnose's second sentence gets my nod for Top Comment, as well as the entire thread it engendered.
My picks:
We'll get around to you, Turkana says. I hope sooner than later.
True Independent advocates for a true WPA program to build infrastructure as well as jobs.
The failure of voluntarism shows why we need a solid plan, per randomfacts.
Plubius snarks correctly.
askew asks how do we limit hours worked by salaried employees? Interesting comments follow.
Top Mojo is provided by brillig, who is always on the ball.
Top 30 Comments excluding tip jars, first comments and stuff:
1) Dems are in on this. by xxdr zombiexx — 141
2) That man has never had an original thought by Benintn — 122
3) Obama lies. Roche tells the truth. by blue aardvark — 90
4) Right-wing terrorists are "patriots." by Bush Bites — 82
5) Mr. Cheney, raise your right hand . . . by Above the Clouds — 78
6) nothing. the corporate media is complicit and by worldforallpeopleorg — 76
7) This is a way of life on MSM...... by importer — 74
8) You nailed it. by Fiddlegirl — 73
9) Why doesn't diary have more anti-Obama content? by Inland — 73
10) This is why... by Josiah Bartlett — 67
11) Sadly, here in Ky.... by imabluemerkin — 67
12) it continually astonishes me by Turkana — 63
13) I wonder if they wrote the YOU LIE shtick too. by MinistryOfTruth — 63
14) and have you seen ANYTHING by Turkana — 61
15) "SOME" fear reality. by funluvn1 — 59
16) "Some" HOPE Bush could be target of NY trial. n/t by Taxmancometh — 56
17) For US workers, lost 4 decades by Wintermute — 55
18) No, of course not by Montco PA Dem — 54
19) Horrified and speechless. by worldforallpeopleorg — 53
20) .... by Jahiz — 53
21) Its time WE start calling them out on it by solar thermal — 52
22) no question by Turkana — 52
23) They don't get it. by brooklynbadboy — 51
24) Alert Glenn Beck! by blue aardvark — 51
25) The Specific Funny Thing That Happened in the 80s by Gooserock — 50
26) Separaton of... by delver rootnose — 49
27) Chemical Weapons by sny — 48
28) Hell They Write Bills, Why Not Speeches? nt by Gooserock — 48
29) I didn't want to repeat other diaries. ;) by blackwaterdog — 48
30) This is infantile nonsense by Airmid — 47
Top 30 (plus ties) Comments with no exclusions, aka the Tip Jar list :-):
1) Tip Jar by Montco PA Dem — 343
2) investigate by Turkana — 311
3) Tip Jar by blackwaterdog — 304
4) Tip Jar by funluvn1 — 268
5) Tip Jar by solar thermal — 240
6) Tip Jar by Marc in CA — 199
7) Tips for ending the incrementalism by MinistryOfTruth — 174
8) After all, when we're done with Earth, we can by RLMiller — 172
9) Tip Jar by jovie131 — 156
10) While they are arguing about by shpilk — 144
11) Tip Jar by bruh1 — 143
12) Dems are in on this. by xxdr zombiexx — 141
13) Just a little fun with science. by One Pissed Off Liberal — 132
14) That man has never had an original thought by Benintn — 122
15) Tip Jar by Jonathon Cumberland — 122
16) Obama lies. Roche tells the truth. by blue aardvark — 90
17) <<<<Tips>>>> by whoknu — 90
18) Right-wing terrorists are "patriots." by Bush Bites — 82
19) TIPS by Trix — 80
20) Mr. Cheney, raise your right hand . . . by Above the Clouds — 78
21) nothing. the corporate media is complicit and by worldforallpeopleorg — 76
22) This is a way of life on MSM...... by importer — 74
23) You nailed it. by Fiddlegirl — 73
24) Why doesn't diary have more anti-Obama content? by Inland — 73
25) Tip Jar by Dean Barker — 70
26) Tip Jar by slinkerwink — 69
27) This is why... by Josiah Bartlett — 67
28) Sadly, here in Ky.... by imabluemerkin — 67
29) Tip Jar by Engine 08 — 64
30) it continually astonishes me by Turkana — 63
31) I wonder if they wrote the YOU LIE shtick too. by MinistryOfTruth — 63