235. Foraging in the Woods

Being out in the woods is something I love. I love knowing all the types of plants and animals that exist there, though observation seems to be more my thing. Still, foraging for types of foods in the woods has always really interested me. I spend hours in late summer just hiding in the trees picking huckleberries and that seems like heaven to me. Right now I’ve noticed the locals are picking mushrooms and I think it’s about time I went out and picked a few.

Getting out in the woods to forage for some types of foods is not anything that’s necessary these days, but it really is a healthy thing to do. You get more nutrition out of things in nature just like you get more out of organic produce that is grown sustainably than you do the produce that is farmed on a large-scale basis with insecticides and herbicides. So there is that, but it takes a great deal of time to get out and forage, especially if you have work to do. But that’s probably why I do love to go out in the woods foraging for mushrooms or huckleberries. I’m away from all those pressures out in the fresh, pure scented air enjoying every little plant and bird that I see.

I really think the exercise and escape is good for the soul, so going out in the woods for any reason is good. But the fantasy of being completely self-reliant, or at least thinking you could be, is also a great way to relieve pressure and just enjoy nature. It’s a huge American ideal in our mythology, in what people have done, and the long line of historical writings. So to get out and enjoy nature and bring a little bit of that home for dinner is a very pleasant thing. A few mushrooms in your pasta, or a huckleberry cobbler or muffins make the combination of being at home and in nature mutually satisfying. And trying new ways of getting some nutrition is also satisfying and healthy. Rosehip tea blended with a little black tea warms you up and protects you from sickness. I’ve put crushed Douglas Fir needles into Christmas tree sugar cookies just for authenticity and a bit of a vitamin C boost. Some of it is just experimentation, but foraging in the woods satisfies my soul.

 

234. New England

I haven’t really written about regions of the country that I like, but I’ve made it pretty obvious that I like my part of the country and that I like travel. I’ve also written about specific spots and cities that I like, but I haven’t said that I love New England. While I can’t see myself leaving the Northwest, if I had to live anywhere else in the US I would live in New England. Like the Northwest, New England has similar seasons, family ties, and mountains. Maine even grows potatoes and has the White Pine as its state tree, like Idaho. Those things make a place home and I very much feel at home in New England.

I did my first trip to New England when I started graduate school in Vermont at the Bread Loaf School of English. I spent time in Vermont and Connecticut and driving through Massachusetts to get back and forth between those places. The thing about New England that I love even more than the Northwest is the sense of history. I had family colonize Plymouth and soon thereafter move to Milford and New Haven, Connecticut even before 1700. That’s really interesting to me. I’ve got a cousin who has researched the family genealogy and it pretty much matches the stories that have been handed down. So I have a strong sense of American pride rooted directly in New England. I love their sayings and accent. Things are “wicked cool” in New England and people in Boston are “wicked smaht.” While I might park the car in Idaho, in Boston someone “pahks the cah.” Obviously language and accents are a big love of mine, so the New England accent is just plain fun. And it’s not the same from southern to northern New England, ayuh (Vermonter for the NW yeah…).  

I also love the coastline of New England, the harbors filled with sailing boats and fishing boats. In Maine the mountains rise up out of the sea much like they do in Washington and Oregon. Boston Harbor exudes a sense of pride in being American and NOT British. The Boston Tea Party made us a coffee drinking nation. The Shot Heard ‘round the World was fired nearby in Concord and Lexington. American intellectualism was enshrined in Cambridge. It’s just a great part of our country and I love it in New England.

233. Bloomsday

I’ve already written about running in a zillion different ways because I love it. There is a particular race that I especially love: Lilac Bloomsday in Spokane, Washington. It occurs on the first Sunday of every May and has been happening since 1977—46 years!

Spokane is beautiful at this time of year because all the trees are beginning to bloom. Some years (not this one) the lilacs have actually started to bloom. The river is full of water from the snow melt in the mountains so the falls are rushing, noisy and beautiful. The Inland Northwest is full of active people, so Bloomsday brings us out by the thousands. Some years it has been upwards of 50 thousand. That’s a lot of people running the streets of a small city that is only a few hundred thousand itself.

I don’t honestly know how many times I’ve run the race. The first times I did it in the mid 80’s I was quite competitive so I would get right up on the starting line and run as fast as I could for 12K—more than seven miles. My goal was to always beat 50 minutes and I did it. Now my goal is usually somewhere around an hour fifteen if I’m feeling prepared for the distance. This year I was definitely not prepared for the distance, but I still did it in an hour twenty-five minutes. I was pleased with that because I haven’t run anything beyond three since December.

I always see people I haven’t seen in a while. They are people who live in the Inland Northwest but I don’t keep in touch with. It’s a great place and time to reconnect and celebrate by running. This year I reconnected with a former student. Sometimes I see people from Potlatch. I almost always try to connect with some people from Potlatch, maybe catching a ride or planning to run it together. I missed it over the last two pandemic years, but I did it remotely and somehow still felt connected to the community. It’s a great social event and a great race. I just love Bloomsday!