Jenn and I enjoyed an inspiring naturalist-led hike at Burr Oak State Park on the equinox. Our fearless leader not only brewed teas for us to taste, she also stashed jugs of the refreshing liquid along the trail so we could sample each type as we ambled along.

My favorite was spicebush, made from the berries, twigs, and leaves of the aforementioned bush. I hadn't known the berries were edible, but it turns out you can cook them up into jam. I sampled one on its lonesome and found it too strong for fresh eating, although the first bite had hints of avocado and was intriguing to me.

Runner-up teas included sumac (from the berries), sassafras (from the roots --- too strong for my tastes), and multiflora rose (from the hips --- very mild and I would have liked to taste it without the sweetening).

We also sampled jewelweed seeds, which were nutty but had too much of an aftertaste for me and Jen. The green seeds weren't quite so strong and might be a better start. Perhaps that's what the chickens preferred too?

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About us: Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton spent over a decade living self-sufficiently in the mountains of Virginia before moving north to start over from scratch in the foothills of Ohio. They've experimented with permaculture, no-till gardening, trailersteading, home-based microbusinesses and much more, writing about their adventures in both blogs and books.



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