Exploring New Territories

We moved to the Peoria, Illinois area earlier this year. I have been enjoying learning about my  new home area and exploring the Illinois River valley and surrounding area.  These are just a few pictures from a bit of hiking I have done.

Early morning view as I began my hike.

I stopped along here to investigate and photograph a few nice Ginseng plants; then looked ahead to this view on the trail.

A very nice Ginseng plants along the trail.

Spiderwort in blossom.

Fall Plants - Edible, Medicinal, Tea

We are fully into the Fall season now; and have recently had temperatures below freezing. Now is the time to get out and gather any plants that you want to stock up on over the winter.

I went out a few days ago, nice and sunny, just a bit cool; and quite comfortable with a light jacket.

I searched an area along a small stream for some Ginseng; that I knew grew there. I did not plan to harvest it, but was just curious if it the plant was still living. I did find one of the smaller plants, that has finished it's yearly cycle. There were other larger plants nearby the last time I was through there, that have probably already died off for the year, but it is possible that someone dug those up, even though it is prohibited on that piece of property.

Here is a bunch of Golden Rod that I gathered a couple of weeks ago. It has now dried and I need to pull the leaves off and store it. I use this for a tea, whenever I have a cold, sore throat, etc. ....sometimes just to have a cup. Whenever you make tea from any plant, just experiment to get the strength you prefer. Goldenrod tea can be quite bitter if too strong.

Dandelion is quite hardy and is still about for picking. It has been a while, but I have picked cooked and eaten the leaves. My mother used to gather these regularly. Although I have never done so, I have read that the root can be dried, ground up, and used a coffee substitute, of course caffeine free.

Late season Dock; another edible. I am not sure which variety of Dock this is, so feel free to identify it if you know. Again, with this plant, I have not done so, but have read that the root is edible....please do your own research. I did not notice till posting this picture, but it looks like Wild Strawberry plants growing around ti.

A plant many are familiar with and that I have posted regarding before; Mullein. I sometimes make a tea from this plant also when I have a cold. It is a strong tasting tea, and I prefer it with honey. Some people also smoke the leaves for the same properties that I use the tea for; but I have never done so. The plant shown, is a first year plant. During it's second year, it will grow several feet tall, with a sturdy stalk that is topped by a long yellow blossom. Look elsewhere in my blog for mature plants.

This is a late season Canadian Fleabane plant; useful for digestive problems. Not the best pictures to identify this, but when you know this plant, it is very easy to spot. This plant, the Mullein, Dock, and Dandelion were all in or around the edge of my yard.

Another plant that I always gather this time of year, and have posted regarding in the past also; is Blackberry leaves. They are now turning red and about ready to drop to the ground. I make tea from these, and it has become just about my very favorite tea. It has a great taste! It is a nice relaxing drink. For my hikes and outings in the fall and winter, it is not uncommon for me to take along a small thermos of this to drink.
If gathering this, I recommend using leather gloves, as there are many thorns to give you cuts if you use your bare hands. I have done so without gloves, but it has to be done slowly and carefully.

This is Spicebush; a small undergrowth bush, that I have just recently become familiar with. There was a nice post regarding it on Paleoplanet, that lead to my interest and investigation and I found that it is quite common in my area. The berries are edible, but I did not find them to be that flavorful. They did leave a spicy after taste in my mouth. Some people use the berries as an additive to some food for flavoring. I was also informed that the leaves can be cooked and eaten...again I have just discovered this plant and have not tried that.

Multiflora Rose Hips.....These are a great source of vitamin C. I picked a hand full of these and snacked on them during a hike a few days ago.

Wild Grapes that I came across while hiking the edge of a field near the river. Early in the season, these are very tart tasting, but now when they are ready to drop to the ground, they are nice and sweet tasting. I picked a couple of bunches of these to eat as I hiked and I also picked more and took home with me.

A couple of pictures of the area I was in where some of the above pictures were taken.

Thanks for stopping by! ............now time for me to get my work day underway!

Collecting Mullein Leaves...and hiking

I ventured out over the past weekend for a few hours. It was a nice winter day, with temps in the 20s, so not bad to be out and about. I chose an area that I normally do not go to that often. It is just across the river from where I was on New Years day, but to get there adds about 8 miles or more to my trip; with the exception of last summer when it was so dry that I was able to cross the river easily in many places.

Getting to the area; I had to drive through a wooded area and up a hill that was quite snow packed and slick, with the rear end of my car doing a bit of fancy movement before I got to the top. That hill was on my mind the whole time I was hiking, but coming home, I took it very slowly going down it with no problem

I cut through a campground that is designated as a horse campground, for people that use the local horseback trails that are on the public land. I would normally avoid that, as the people and their horses do not really appreciate the fun my dog has scaring the horses, but on this day the place was totally abandoned, so no problem with that.

As I walked through the woods, I detected the odor of decaying flesh. I moved back and forth, worked my way upwind, and located the carcass of a doe.



The river is running nicely, but was freezing over wherever the current was not moving fast enough. In the time since then, it has began warming up, so some of that ice will break up and disappear soon, if not already. Emma loves to go out and walk or run along on the ice. She made me nervous though venturing out on this ice, that was just downstream a short distance from faster moving water.




I would not walk along this tree trunk with the snow on it!


And as noted in the title, I did collect some Mullein leaves. I dry these and use them to make tea; for use when I have a cold, sore throat, or respiratory problems. I have read of people that smoke it or inhale the smoke vapor to treat the same conditions; and they say it is helpful. My personal opinion is that I see no benefit to myself of inhaling smoke when I have a respiratory problem.....but perhaps it does help some people.

Mullein is a very hardy plant, and as I did on this day, you can sometimes find plants with florets of green leaves even in the winter.

This is a typical dead Mullein plant with the trademark stalk full of seeds. The stalks are a very attractive yellow during the summer months, and we have some planted at home as landscaping.


Close up of the stalk.


Close up of the leaves on the dead plant. It did not occur to me at the time, but I could have gathered these
 leaves for use. I have done that with dead Goldenrod plants with good results.


Typical wintering plant.


Some of the leaves that I collected.



And just a picture of the dead flowers/seed head of a plant. It somewhat resembles Goldenrod, but I do not know it's identity.


It was a nice relaxing day. As always, it was nice to be out there, no one else around, with just the sound of the wind and flowing water. I headed back home, downloaded pictures, and spread my leaves to dry. They will soon be dry enough to make tea.

To do that, I normally will just put a leaf or two into a teapot, bring to boil, let simmer, then drink; sometimes adding sugar or honey. Too many leaves makes a very strong and bitter tea....so I have learned to start with one or two and add as needed.

Have a great day! Thanks for stopping by!

New Year's Day 2013

Yesterday I was able to continue a tradition I started several years ago; of starting the year by spending time out in the woods; prairie areas; and streams.

We have a bit of snow cover this year, probably just a couple of inches right now. Further west and also south of us, they got up to 12 inches of snow.

The temperature started in the low twenties yesterday and only rose to perhaps 26 degrees, before falling into the single digits by this morning.

I picked a location that is quite easy to get to, provides some nice views, the opportunity to hike through the woods, river bottom, and along the river.

I have taken quite a number of pictures from here, and will likely continue to do so. This high bluff above the Middlefork Vermilion River, showcases a nice view out over the river bottom and wooded areas beyond.

New; over about the last year, is a group of wind turbines in the distance. This picture is cropped and zoomed tighter to show them better.

Red Cedar tree and saplings in the snow.

The Oak leaves will hang on to the branches, sometimes until the new buds force them to drop in the spring.

After spending time atop the bluff, looking about and taking the above pictures; I began working my way carefully down the steep hill to the river bottom. The leaves laying on the ground, covered with snow, can sometime provide treacherous footing. I planted my walking stick carefully to stay on my feet.

At the bottom of the bluff and near the river is the remains of what was probably once a very nice cabin in a nice sheltered location. I often wonder at it's history, who built it, how long it was used, etc. It is perhaps 12 feet x 16 feet; not large, but would have been a nice manageable size. It appears that there had been a small fireplace built into one side of the brick wall.

A view of the bluff, from the river near the old cabin foundation.

The bare woods, especially with some snow cover added, has it's own unique beauty. You are able to see off through the woods, quite easily.

Of course Emma accompanied me. She spent lots of time roaming about, inspecting every hole and hollow tree or log....searching for that elusive raccoon or possum. I hope she never finds a skunk. Many years ago, I had a Black and Tan Coonhound that caught a skunk and it was not a pleasant experience. My parents would not let me back in the house when I got back that night, until I left my clothes outside!
Emma spent considerable time covering a lot of area. I did not know where she was most of the time, but she would eventually come snuffling along following my trail.

Passing through a corn field, the snow cover provided evidence of the activity that had taken place. There were lots of deer tracks, that I did not think to photograph and areas where they had dug up the snow to get to green plants under the snow cover.

An Opossum had also passed along, leaving it's very distinctive tracks.

There were also Turkey tracks. I wish that I had laid one of my gloves down to show how large they are.

I came across very large patches of Goldenrod in the river bottom. If you do some research, you will learn that this is an important medicinal plant. I presently have a nice supply of leaves that I collected about one month ago, just before they dropped from the stalks. I use them to make a tea, which I find very helpful when I have a cold. Please do your own research and learn about this remarkable plant.

This plant and several like it, were out in the open corn field. I do not know it's identity, but feel I should. Perhaps if I saw it in the growing season, I would know it.

The Middlefork River is not a very large stream. It is popular for canoeing and kayaking, but this past summer, we had quite a drought, and it was so low there was not much of that activity, unless you felt like walking and pulling your water craft. I have a kayak and enjoy spending time on this river.

This past summer, I was able to easily cross the river in spots such as this. It was very convenient and a nice opportunity to cross back and forth whenever I wanted, without wading; but I am happy to see the river back at a normal level.

This bend in the river holds a lot of memories for me. It has changed a lot over the last 25 years or so. It is fairly easy to get to from another parking location than I had used today. Our daughter used to go fishing with me here; and caught a catfish that won first place in a fishing contest in the Indian Guides and Indian Princess program that we were members of. Our son later came with me for quite a number of fishing expedition here and all up and down the river. We often waded. It is a great area for Smallmouth Bass.

This tree, whose roots can be seen in left hand side of the above picture, once stood just at the inside of the sharp bend. We often sat on the sandbar (no longer there) across the river and cast our lines into the deep water at it's base. It washes out several years ago as the river changed course and has been pushed up alongside the bank. Over the past summer, it provided a nice seat as I took a rest.

Also this past summer, I was very delighted to bring my 4 year old granddaughter to this location. We walked along the sandbar visible on the right hand side of the river; picked up rocks, looked at small aquatic life, and had a snack and water break....quite a fun day!

And thus concludes my somewhat disjointed, rambling, and out of order description of my New Year's Day; as well as my trip down memory lane.

Happy New Year to all readers!