Sweet Birch

The frigid nature of this winter has kept me indoors more often than I would like. Cabin fever seems to be pressing in on all sides.  My house is clean, my work is done and I am a bit bored.  In order to combat the feeling of being stuck inside I have been studying for my Adirondack Guide licensing test, reading books, and have taken a wilderness first aid class.  I also finished up a sewing project that I had put down for a while and started up a new one.  Although these things are keeping my mind occupied well enough they don't satisfy the desire to sit outside and breath in the fresh air.   It was twenty two degrees below zero (Fahrenheit) this morning - that sort of air does not feel good to the lungs.

What did momentarily satisfy my hunger (I suppose I should say thirst) for the outdoors was brewing up some Sweet Birch tea.   I wasn't sure that the year-old dried out pieces of bark would offer up much flavor or nutrition however I was pleasantly surprised with the beautiful and delicious tea that it made.

Sweet Birch, or Black Birch

Birch trees can be tapped and the sap used much like the sap from Maple trees.  If you have ever had birch beer (try Boylan's ) you may, in fact, have drank the sap from a birch tree.   Yellow, white, and black Birches all produce sugary saps.  Interestingly, the prime time to gather birch sap is a month later than maple sugaring season.

This bark contains methyl salicylate (also contained in wintergreen), which is an anti-inflamatory and antiseptic medicine.   Methyl salicylate is used in asprin, mouthwashes, arthritis medicines, etc.

The flavor of the tea is really great.  It tastes a bit like wintergreen but less sharp and cool.  It has a lovely sweet and somewhat licorice like aftertaste which reminds me of sassafras.   Wild teas are one of my favorite things to have on hand while I am out in the woods (or to find while I am out in the woods).  Not only do they have nutritional bonuses of vitamins, antioxidants and beneficial chemical compounds but they are delicious and comforting which I find encourages me to hydrate myself well at the end of a strenuous day.  Add a little sugar and you are replenishing your sugar stores as well.

Even the color of Sweet Birch tea is inspiring!

December

 December left me with no venison.  As soon as I tracked the habits of the deer, and began to see them consistently we found out that we had to move and the rest of the season was unfortunately spent packing and moving.   Yuck!  I did, however very much enjoy the time that I got to spend in the woods.  There were many times when the deer would walk by so closely that I was amazed they did not see or smell me.  It was almost as if they knew I were there but also knew I didn’t have the proper tags (grin).   I am not too disappointed though, as the doe I was hoping to take during muzzle loading season (which turned unavoidably into moving season) will have a fawn this spring and that is almost as good as having killed her to eat.   It will be a sad and hungry winter, however, after having 2 deer last year and this year being quite without meat in the freezer.   


That being said, there are a lot of other things to keep a person occupied during December:

 

Identifying Goldenrods is one of the skills I would like to acquire.  There are many different species and sometimes they vary only a little.   Based on the flower cluster shape, hairy stems and location I believe that this is a Canadian Goldenrod gone to seed.  Goldenrods are used medicinally and some varieties (particularly Sweet Goldenrod) are used to make tea.

 I found these tiny fungi while I was out hunting.  They are sitting on a grapevine and are only a few millimeters in diameter.  They are called Birds Nest Fungus which is of course a very fitting name.  I was very happy to find them as I had heard about them but had never seen them.

 Supposedly the spores (contained in the 'eggs') are ejected from the 'nest' when a raindrop falls into it.

The wild apples are bright in the winter against the snow.  They are only about an inch and a half wide and are probably a wild apple which has bred with a domestic one at some juncture.  They are on farmland which has been in use since the mid 18th century

Bright orange fungus on the "Bear Carving" which has become a landmark at the farm

In the winter, abandoned wasp nests are laid bare as the leaves fall off of the trees.   This nest was in an Autumn Olive bush, and there was one exoskeleton left in it.

The paper surrounding the chambers and making up the outside of the nest is amazingly beautiful.  I don't know why I didn't take a picture of it!

Our new apartment is a few minutes away from 3 different wildlife preserves and I have begun to explore them.  I thought at first that this plant was an Indian Cucumber, but upon further examination, the veins do not go the right way.  Next time I am there I will have to dig one up and have a look at it.  

 

Winterberry is always a good photo subject.  Although not edible to humans, it is an important food to wildlife and is always pretty to look at.