©2022 Michael Raven
Because… why not?
Want to learn local plants for ritual/ceremonial, medicinal, edible, just-for-the-hell-of-it uses:
- Every other Sunday, go where local plants are. Initially, these venues will have markers for the plants, but eventually broaden reach to less controlled environments to see if I can identify plants without assistance. I will log geolocation, common name (if known), and take at least three pictures of each plant that piques my interest. When I have time, I will find out more about the plant and any possible use in wildcrafting.
- I have five plants that I will try to geolocate out in the wild for the purposes of wildcrafting my own smudge sticks. I have confirmed that they are part of the local biodiversity:
- Sweet grass
- Mugwort
- Yarrow
- Mullein
- White cedar
- I haven’t decided which plants to focus on that are edible to locate, but I am thinking at least 1 fungus, 2 roots or leafy greens, and 2 non-standard berries (e.g., chokecherry, wintergreen).
New camera, new skills to learn. I’ll be adopting a #100DayProject approach to photography with the new camera (inspired by what Bridgette has done. I’m probably going to do it all wrong, but part of that goal is will include:
- On alternate weekends (opposite the plant learning expeditions), probably on Saturdays, I plan to spend at least a few hours wandering more urban landscapes than those by my suburban home to take at least 50 pictures to try and develop some sense of composition. These pictures may be of anything out and about and definitely more city-like. Plant pictures will happen the other weekend, weather permitting.
- Start of #100DayProject is tomorrow (April 20) and ends 100 days later (July 29).
- Each day, I will take at least 24 pictures of various things with less of a focus on composition and technical skill. I will take 6 additional pictures with an effort to leverage lighting, composition, and themes.
- Periodically (daily?) I will share a single picture, but generally no more than that.
- I will consider buying Affinity Photo to edit my pictures (I am strongly opposed to using a subscription editing software and this seems like a decent one-time-fee alternative to the other actor(s)).
- I will try to maintain a written journal to catalog my intent or impressions for each picture. I may share some of that here.
sceadugenga 
These are wonderful goals! I’m so excited to see what you do with your new camera. I’m also interested in foraging, so I’ll be following your adventures closely.
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Cool. I probably made too many goals, but I need to aim high or I tend to underperform completely.
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Same! I’m going to start posting poetry on Wednesdays, which I’m honestly terrified about. I love reading it, but it’s so challenging to write well! You have such a gift.
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Thank you. I look forward to reading what you write.
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Looking forward to seeing the pictures.💕
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Thank you. I hope I can have a million monkey Shakespeare moment at least once.
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That would be wonderful.💕
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Affinity Photo is a good choice . Looking forward to see the pictures .
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Thank you for the affirmation. I liked other software by Affinity, so I had hoped their other suite software was as good.
🙏
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Start with Dandelion!! Often overlooked, this plant is delicious and really really good for you. Also, you should have horsetail around there, which is packed full of silica. (I recommend chewing and swallowing the spit, rather than actually swallowing horsetail because it’s uncomfortable going down for amateur foragers). Make sure the dandelion (and indeed all plants) are either washed well or in an unsprayed location (natural location) because a lot of people especially in the city, spray these health-bombs as if they are a noxious weed (because that’s what Monsanto told us it was).
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I’d considered dandelion at one point. I’ll see what the U of MN extension has on horsetail. They can at least give me an idea of where to look.
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Typically grows in sandy, disturbed soil like the side of roads, ditches, fields.
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