Herbal Scavenger Hunt, July 27th-28th, 2007

I mentioned that I wanted herbs to make infusions (an explanation as to exactly what this means and instructions on how to make one will be included in a blog as soon as the harvest dries). I really only needed one herb, but Urban Scout had me make a list of all of the possibilities I could think of for infusions and we ended up collecting them all (except burdock root which is right here in his backyard, but I didn’t want to dig up because it’s tough, I’m lazy, and I think it’s an undesirable time of year).

On Friday, we found most of the plants on a bike ride around the neighborhood. I collected mullein and comfrey volunteers from neighbor’s front yards, the red clover came from a vacant lot, and raspberry leaf came from our friend Willem’s backyard. Today I picked up nettle behind the archery range after a practice session and we drove to another park to find the violet leaves I vaguely remembered noting when I was on a walk with my friend Meghan (I thought for awhile I was mistaken, and hadn’t seen them after all, but then BAM! there they were en masse. Thank you, plant memory).

Comfrey

Mullein

Red Clover

Nettle

Violet

While looking for items on the list we ran into other good things. For example in one park we collected some nice big logs for burn bowls from the hedge clippings and debris pile. In another park first I got some rosehips, then we found some stellar sumac berries to make rhus juice, and I finally found a horizontal bar so I could show Urban Scout my favorite childhood trick, the Windmill. This is something I’d been trying to show him since he came to Pennsylvania and it just wouldn’t work out. First off, most if not all of the great playgrounds of my youth have been destroyed and replaced with fucking ultra-safe, low to the ground, molded plastic and don’t include a simple gymnastics or pull-up bar (yes, I am bitter about this). Then I found us a park with bars and just as I am motioning for Scout to get out of the car, the police show up. I ask the cop if the park is closed and he says “Yes, I believe so…” Then he remembers he is in a position to abuse authority and quickly corrects himself, “Yeah. It’s closed.” We meant to come back the next day, during daylight, but we forgot. I fear my trick was a bit anti-climatic after all that build-up, but Scout assured me he was still impressed.

I was pretty surprised that we found all of the plants on my list. Scout was wondering how it was different for me foraging in the city. In some ways it was easier. For one it’s a lot more fun foraging with a companion. And even though in Pennsylvania I would be able to get some of the plants right in the backyard, I have yet to find a stinging nettle patch large enough to merit harvest and my comfrey patch is an hour away in Salamanca, NY. There are a lot of plants in Portland. In fact, and this is probably just my own prejudice, that’s the only remarkable thing I notice about it as a city. The yards tend to be particularly lush and weedy. The climate is more temperate here meaning a multitude of fruit trees and other plants like giant rosemary shrubs can grow that I’m not used to seeing, and because it’s a “green” city a lot of people have permacultured their yards, including that little strip between the sidewalk and the road. The sad thing is that because it’s a city everything is dirtier, covered in a layer of city dust and grime and you always wonder about the plants you are picking, how concentrated with heavy metals they are, how many dogs have peed on them…These are things I don’t worry about at all back home. Another difference is that wherever we go here we arouse curiosity, not in a bad way, people just ask us about what we are picking. At home I normally don’t even see any people when I am foraging.

Stay tuned for more on infusions…