A Snail Tale

June 8, 2008 by Penny Scout


Helix aspersa

“Honey, I have something to tell you. I’ve got snails.”
“What, does that mean I have ‘em too?”
So went the conversation between Urban Scout and I when I phoned from the Oregon Garden to tell him about my latest foraging score.
Long-time fans may remember my first wild snail experience about a year ago, borne of a morning of failed fishing. Those were a mysterious variety of pond snail. These were, however, real escargot, also known as Helix apersa, introduced to California for food by the French in the 1850’s. Eating snails didn’t particularly catch on, but the snails did, taking well to the mild climate.

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Ask Penny #3: Do Plants Talk to You?

May 27, 2008 by Penny Scout

Penny Scout’s All Natural Ants ‘N Nuts Bars!!!

May 12, 2008 by Penny Scout

Got Ants in your panties? Feeling like you’re going nuts? Try the treat with a tang that can‘t be beat! After days of research Penny Scout is proud to bring you this high-quality-crunch-in-your-mouth snack. From the first moment Penny summoned the courage to pop a wiggling ant in her mouth she was in love. She scoured the world, eventually traveling several miles to bring you the most flavorful ants on the planet. Some taste like hot pepper, some are sweet, and others have described a variety that tastes like “a baked potato with butter”, but Penny’s very favorite kind of ant are the mouth puckering, sweet-tart ants found exclusively in the steep canyons of the Molalla River Corridor. Not only does your purchase taste good, it feels good too. 15% of the profits from the sale each Ants ‘N Nuts Bar goes towards helping the natives of this area restore and protect their traditional ant harvesting grounds from further development. So rewild your tastebuds and feed your indigenous soul with Penny Scout’s Ants ‘N Nuts bars, the ancient snack with a modern twist!

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The Story of Eek

April 10, 2008 by Penny Scout

Moving to the Country, Gonna Eat a lot of…Christmas Trees???

March 15, 2008 by Penny Scout

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Silver Falls State Park, Silverton, OR

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Legal Sticky Buds!

February 17, 2008 by Penny Scout

A Short Tirade Against the City

February 13, 2008 by Penny Scout

As you may well know I’ve had a difficult time adjusting to life in the Pacific Northwest, but I’ve taken to biking and running alone in whatever scraps of nature I can find and I’ve come to believe in the last few days that it’s not so much Pennsylvania I miss as the outdoors in general. Since my arrival here I have been suffering from severe nature deficit disorder. Scout and I have gone out to the woods on only a handful of occasions whereas I used to go hiking, harvesting, exploring, or be working on some primitive project, in the winter, let’s say once a week, and nearly every day in the spring and summer. There wasn’t really anything else to do. But it’s not Urban Scout’s fault, I haven’t even desired to work on primitive skills or learn about nature since I got here. The city seems to take that desire and suffocate it, overwhelming you with other stimuli, making it impossible to concentrate. On the other end of the spectrum, times back east when I went camping in the woods for days or weeks on end I found the desire to learn skills and pay attention to nature infinitely easier than even in my country home. It was impossible not to know the phase of the moon, or the direction the wind was blowing, or wonder what kind of frog makes that noise. I’ve come to believe that if you have to make yourself pay attention to these things, making a concentrated effort to go outside and record them in your little journal, there’s something very wrong with the way you are living.

As I said in comments on my last blog, I understand why people raised in the city would not feel the soul-crushing horror that I do living in the city, how it’s “good” for them in the same way my sugary comfort food is “good” for me, but in the end I simply find it incongruous with the values of rewilding. Yes, it is possible to connect with nature on a deep level while living in the city, but it isn’t easy. You’re working against the grain as well as exposing yourself to (more) toxic air, water, noise pollution, light pollution, electromagnetic fields, and crime. Cities, as the epitome of civilization, are irredeemable in my eyes, and like the Ring of Power they corrupt all those who come near. (Note: I’m not really a nerd. I’ve only even seen one of the LOTR movies.)

In these primitive circles I often hear community being valued over nature because “people are social animals”. Those who wish to run away from it all and move to the wilderness are ostracized and ridiculed as not getting what rewilding is all about. I can’t disagree with this viewpoint enough. For one, the person who runs away to live in the woods, generally does not want to be alone at all, but is forced to be alone because the abusive and hypnotic nature of the city has his friends and family ensnared in its ugly tentacles. Secondly, it’s a limited point of view that includes only humans in the definition of community. Nothing underscores my point more clearly than what happened yesterday. We went to harvest wapato, an important and much talked about native food for the region. Many of my friends in Portland have been espousing these anti-civilizational values for the last10 years, yet we went to a location based not on firsthand experience of harvesting wapato before or seeing wapato growing there but by following someone else’s directions. Needless to say we barely found any wapato. I find this sort of incident completely unforgiveable. You can’t rewild philosophically without a sound knowledge of place and you can’t rewild physically without a community. So city people shut up, get outside, and walk your talk, and country people stop whining about how lonely you are and start reaching out to whoever (person, plant, or animal) you can find. We need both.

Just Kill Me

February 7, 2008 by Penny Scout
Being the myriad failures of Penny Scout conserning the conquest of her unfortunate illness and meloncholia.
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Here is a quick list of some of the things I’ve tried to help my anxiety/depression/back pain/etc. since I first got sick as well as the results and the cost. Of course, I’ve forgotten many of the exact names and can only guess at the prices.

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Chickweed: It’s Not Just for Chicks Anymore

February 4, 2008 by Penny Scout

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Here in Portland the rainy season brings on a lush new growth of this mild tasting and easy to harvest green. Found in lawns and gardens on nearly every street in town, it’s one of the best greens for consuming raw. Try it in place of lettuce or sprouts in a sandwich (I like a BCT, bacon chickweed and tomato) or make a salad of chickweed and chopped celery splashed with a little olive oil and raw apple cider vinegar. It’s also great cooked and can be used in most any recipe in place of spinach.

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A Blast From The Future!

January 29, 2008 by Penny Scout


ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

Nuclear Winter Formal Brings It!

Post-Apocalyptic News Network

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