Midden-marauder
Full Member
- Dec 10, 2023
- 218
- 394
It's getting to be that time of year when the lower altitudes begin to heat up and the snow locked higher altitudes begin to thaw. Throughout spring both high and low are manageable but as things heat up we flee to the deep woods up in the mountains. Finding relics gives way to animal observation, herbalism, biology, botany and of course wildcrafting. It's getting to be foraging time but we have a little time yet left. There is snow yet in the lower hills, the animals are largely still hidden away, the plants are only just beginning to make an appearance and the game has not yet begun. Soon, once the snow pack melts we'll be walking through the seasons of the mountain, spring right up until late fall, early winter. It's amazing up there and the wildlife, oh...
Today was a scouting mission to see how things are, the snows are still present in the lower hills but are beginning to clear. Soon now, very soon. I found both puma and squirrel sign up there today, the puma tracks were eyebrow raising as you don't typically see such much of the year. Squirrels are easy to locate if you know what to look for, they have middens, typically not terribly deep or big but sometimes they can be. The ground is covered in pinecones gnawed down like corn cobs, little pieces of the pinecones scattered about, sometimes many seasons old. Aberts squirrel or I'll be damned, down that low almost certainly. There were a few items left over from last harvest season in pretty good condition, there were pinecones not opened up or torn apart by deft little hands, I took a few for our baby at home. Likewise there were rosehips still left from last August that were very ripe, fit to be eaten and pretty tasty or so I think, like tart fruit leather honestly. I harvested a few of those for out little one too but mostly left much of what there was in place so the locals will have something to eat in these lean times. Harvesting, even in the richest of seasons is something we do with a sense of ethics, never take more than we use, always leave a good portion behind and we always try to leave offerings of water to the plants as well as seeds for the other forest spirits. Many wildcrafters will take everything, they don't care if it's endangered, they'll strip the patch anyway and it's awful. It causes a lot of harm to the environment so being mindful there really is important. It's not just humans that can eat these things.
Anyhow, we still have some low altitude activity possible so we'll be kinda going back and forth until it's time to only hit the mountain, 100 degrees down in the city, 70 degrees on the mountain with a solid chance of showers on any given day, it's a great retreat from the brutal summer heat of new mexico. Some minimal relic hunting may take place if we come across a likely spot but largely, between about now and late September it's mountain time and that comes with it's own types of treasures to find. Happy spring, the equinox is right around the corner!
Today was a scouting mission to see how things are, the snows are still present in the lower hills but are beginning to clear. Soon now, very soon. I found both puma and squirrel sign up there today, the puma tracks were eyebrow raising as you don't typically see such much of the year. Squirrels are easy to locate if you know what to look for, they have middens, typically not terribly deep or big but sometimes they can be. The ground is covered in pinecones gnawed down like corn cobs, little pieces of the pinecones scattered about, sometimes many seasons old. Aberts squirrel or I'll be damned, down that low almost certainly. There were a few items left over from last harvest season in pretty good condition, there were pinecones not opened up or torn apart by deft little hands, I took a few for our baby at home. Likewise there were rosehips still left from last August that were very ripe, fit to be eaten and pretty tasty or so I think, like tart fruit leather honestly. I harvested a few of those for out little one too but mostly left much of what there was in place so the locals will have something to eat in these lean times. Harvesting, even in the richest of seasons is something we do with a sense of ethics, never take more than we use, always leave a good portion behind and we always try to leave offerings of water to the plants as well as seeds for the other forest spirits. Many wildcrafters will take everything, they don't care if it's endangered, they'll strip the patch anyway and it's awful. It causes a lot of harm to the environment so being mindful there really is important. It's not just humans that can eat these things.
Anyhow, we still have some low altitude activity possible so we'll be kinda going back and forth until it's time to only hit the mountain, 100 degrees down in the city, 70 degrees on the mountain with a solid chance of showers on any given day, it's a great retreat from the brutal summer heat of new mexico. Some minimal relic hunting may take place if we come across a likely spot but largely, between about now and late September it's mountain time and that comes with it's own types of treasures to find. Happy spring, the equinox is right around the corner!
