Quarter Call Variety
from the Pythorium
Welcome East, power of Air!
Intuition, knowledge and wisdom,
Come and send forth your inspiration,
And be here now.
Welcome South, power of Fire!
Energy, heat and flame,
Come and send forth your passion,
And be here now!
Welcome West, power of Water!
Emotions, love and courage,
Come and send forth your tranquility,
And be here now!
Welcome North, power of Earth!
Stability, structure, and growth
Come and send forth your strength,
And be here now!
"The fires of Beltane kindle the night reflecting the Green Man’s glance
"The continual exhalation of mosses gives the temperate rain forest much of its essential character; from bird song to banana slugs, it seems as if the entire forest is stitched together with threads of moss" R.W. Kimmerer Mosses are an entrenched and enchanting part of all forests, and none more so than in the Pacific Northwest. This is because mosses need moisture in order to photosynthesize (and thus produce energy); dry moss cannot grow or reproduce. While other plants have roots that soak up water and nutrients from the ground, and strategies to conserve water, mosses absorb them directly from the air and from rain and spray water, and thus they grow most abundantly in consistently moist places. Luckily for them, mosses are poikilohydric- they dry out when the environment is dry, but can revive again once conditions are wetter. Most plants, if dried out completely, will wilt and die. By absorbing and retaining water from air vapour, and slowly releasing it to the ground, mosses actually contribute water to the forest, keeping the soil moist for trees and other plants to grow. As mosses increase, so does humidity from their ‘exhalations’, bringing about favourable conditions for even more moss to grow.
Their role in forest ecology is tied to, but goes far beyond, water balance. Mosses are preferred seedbeds for many tree seedlings, they get woven into the nests of many bird species (often providing a cushion for their eggs), are food for slugs, and countless insects and fungi depend on them for habitat. Large wet moss mats may contribute to the infrequent fire cycle in our regional forests- lightning may smolder on moist moss, but will never ignite. Ferns and other plants that grow on trees do not root directly into the tree bark; they depend on moss to be a substrate. Mosses are not eaten by most animals (including humans) due to the tough compounds in their tissues and their low nutritional value. This is used to good advantage by hibernating bears though- prior to getting into their dens bears will eat mosses and other tough fibrous vegetation, in effect producing an “anal plug” that keeps them from defecating through the winter.
Being food-focused to a fault in my foraging, the many ecological and human values claimed by mosses are an inspirational reminder for me to keep a broad outlook. Consider that historically, dry mosses were used as diapers and as menstrual pads- their combination of absorbency and large air spaces would effectively wick moisture away, while providing mild antiseptic properties that no doubt prevented diaper rash. They were used as lamp wicks, scrubbing dishes, insulation for humans (Otzi, the “Iceman” preserved in the European Alps, had his boots packed with Neckera moss to keep his toes warm) and for homes (e.g. chinking cracks in log cabins), a component of artisan works, and used in food preparation. Salmon were scrubbed with moss prior to being dried, while camas pit-cooks used moss as a source of steam during the cooking. Linnaeus, the father of modern plant taxonomy, bedded down on a portable bedroll made of polytrichum moss during his botanical explorations. It is not known whether he used a pillow made of Hypnum moss (think ‘hypnosis’) that was said to impart special dreams to the sleeper.
Human use of moss today is focused on epiphytic mosses (those that grow on trees) as decorative floral products. Every year tens of millions of kilograms of moss are harvested from the Pacific Northwest, bringing in tens of millions of dollars. Much of this takes place in National Forests of Oregon and Washington, but includes British Columbia (for which les information is available). Moss harvest has been significant since the 1940s, originally for use as a fruit-packing material, and has increased in the past couple decades as alternatives to timber harvest have been sought. It has shifted from patchy harvesting by local residents looking to supplement their income, to full time strip harvesting by seasonal crews from outside the region. While regulations exist, they are criticized as being insufficient and poorly enforced. Modeling exercises have projected the depletion of mosses in some areas if current harvesting rates continue, and some National Forests have enacted a moratorium until better management can be demonstrated. Ecologists are working to develop guidelines based on scientific and local knowledge of moss distribution and growth patterns. Peat moss harvesting from our boreal forests for use in gardening is a topic for a whole other ‘Non-timber Tidbit’.
A less commercial human use of moss is to monitor pollutant levels. Mosses usually lack a protective cuticle, and so they readily absorb heavy metals and other substances from the air and rainwater. Since they are often widespread, abundant, and grow in regular patterns, they can be appropriate tools for “bio-monitoring” pollution over time and space.
Recipes for such a non-edible forest product being scarce, the following one for Jamaican Sea Moss Drink, while having no relation to mosses as we know them, may be appropriate, as it includes the tropical non-timber forest products cinnamon, nutmeg, and the beautiful orchid vanilla, as well as the red algae carrageen:
- 1.3 L water
- 15 g dried carrageen
- 400 g condensed milk
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 tp linseed /flaxseed (optional)
- Freshly-grated nutmeg
- Few drops of vanilla extract
- Little rum to serve (optional)
Soak the carrageen in cold water for about 15 minutes. Drain and place it in a saucepan with water, cinnamon and linseed and bring this mixture to a boil and cook until it begins to thicken. Strain the mixture using a sieve and discard the seaweed, linseed and cinnamon stick. Pour the liquid back in a pan and add condensed milk, vanilla essence and freshly-grated nutmeg. Boil the mixture and whisk vigorously to cool it. When this mixture begins to set, whisk it again vigorously and when the mixture cools, whisk once again and then finally cool it in the refrigerator. Before serving, whisk it again and add a dash of rum.
- Space.com
- January 29, 2010
Tonight's full moon -- called the wolf moon -- will be the biggest and brightest full moon of the year. It offers anyone with clear skies an opportunity to identify easy-to-see features on the moon.
Tonight's full moon will be the biggest and brightest full moon of the year. It offers anyone with clear skies an opportunity to identify easy-to-see features on the moon.
This being the first full moon of 2010, it is also known as the wolf moon, a moniker dating back to Native American culture and the notion that hungry wolves howled at the full moon on cold winter nights. Each month brings another full moon name.
But why will this moon be bigger than others? Here's how the moon works:
The moon is, on average, 238,855 miles from Earth. The moon's orbit around Earth -- which causes it to go through all its phases once every 29.5 days -- is not a perfect circle, but rather an ellipse. One side of the orbit is 31,070 miles closer than the other.
So in each orbit, the moon reaches this closest point to us, called perigee. Once or twice a year, perigee coincides with a full moon, as it will tonight, making the moon bigger and brighter than any other full moons during the year.
Tonight it will be about 14 percent wider and 30 percent brighter than lesser full Moons of the year, according to Spaceweather.com.
As a bonus, Mars will be just to the left of the moon tonight. Look for the reddish, star-like object.
Full moon craziness
Many people think full moons cause strange behavior among animals and even humans. In fact several studies over the years have tried to tie lunar phases to births, heart attacks, deaths, suicides, violence, psychiatric hospital admissions and epileptic seizures, and more. Connections have been inclusive or nonexistent.
The moon does have some odd effects on our planet, and there are oodles of other amazing moon facts and misconceptions:
* A full moon at perigee also brings higher ocean tides. This tug of the moon on Earth also creates tides in the planet's crust, not just in the oceans.
* Beaches are more polluted during full moon, owing to the higher tides.
* In reality, there's no such thing as a full moon. The full moon occurs when the sun, Earth and the moon are all lined up, almost. If they're perfectly aligned, Earth casts a shadow on the moon and there's a total lunar eclipse. So during what we call a full moon, the moon's face is actually slightly less than 100 percent illuminated.
* The moon is moving away as you read this, by about 1.6 inches a year.
The moon illusion
Finally, be sure to get out and see the full moon as it rises, right around sunset. Along the horizon, the moon tends to seem even bigger. This is just an illusion.
You can prove to yourself that this is an illusion. Taking a small object such as a pencil eraser, hold it at arm's length, and compare its size to that of the moon just as it rises. Then repeat the experiment later in the night and you'll see that the moon compares the same in both cases.
Alternately, snap two photos of the moon, with a digital camera or your cell phone, when the moon is near the horizon and later when it's higher in the sky. Pull both photos up on your computer screen and make a side-by-side comparison.
Astronomers and psychologists agree that the moon illusion is just that, but they don't agree on how to explain it.
Copyright © 2010 Space.com. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
‘Tis the season for that sweetest and most Canadian of non-timber forest products- it’s maple syrup time in the Vancouver Island bush! Many people associate maple syrup with the sugar maple (Acer saccharum) that grows in eastern Canada, and for good reason. Quebec produces most of the world’s supply of the sweet stuff (with Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia pitching in modestly as well), for a total of over 25 million liters (L) per year. But hobby and commercial maple syrup tapping on Vancouver Island is growing, and an industry based on our regional bigleaf maple (Acer macrophyllum) is emerging. Its syrup is darker and has a unique flavour which has been described as more robust than that of sugar maple. Sap usually flows heaviest and sweetest in Dec- Feb, but the season can run between the tree’s leaf-fall and bud-burst (Nov- early March). The sugar content of bigleaf maple is slightly lower than that of sugar maple (about 2% and just under 3% respectively), and it takes about 40-65 L of bigleaf sap to make one of syrup. A good tapping tree will produce 60 L of sap per season, though harvests of 200 L have been recorded. Unlike its eastern counterpart, bigger bigleaf maple trees are not necessarily better producers, but those growing in open areas and forest edges tend to do relatively well. While sap flow varies among trees in an area, those that are heavy-producers tend to be consistently productive over time.
Maple sap makes a refreshing drink that contains amino acids, vitamins, and minerals, including potassium, calcium, and magnesium. You can add richness and flavour to hot beverages, baked goods, rice, soups, and stews by cooking with sap in place of water. It is said to make bread rise higher; some dispense with yeast altogether when baking with sap. The uses for maple syrup go far beyond pancakes and french toast of course; use it as a sweetener when baking or for hot drinks, as a glaze when cooking fish or meat, add it to baked beans, top off ice cream or any other dessert, or ferment the syrup for beer, wine, or vinegar. For more information, inspiration, and a rousing good time, take part in the Bigleaf Maple Syrup Festival in Duncan on Saturday February 6th! (http://buybcwild.com/sweet-winter-festival-west-coast-maple-syrup)
While it's tempting to go on in celebration of maple syrup, we would be remiss not to discuss all the other values that maples offer. Bigleaf maples are tall, beautiful, and sprawl across coastal landscapes from BC south to California. Well-named, they have typically maple-shaped leaves that grow 15-30 cm wide and v-shaped pairs of winged seeds (samaras). Mosses, lichens and ferns often completely cover bigleaf maple, encouraged by the high calcium levels found in the tree’s bark. The total weight of these other organisms can be up to 4-times that of the tree’s own foliage, and can form a mat thick enough to provide a substrate into which other trees at times take root.
First Nations across the country have used the bark of various maple species medicinally. Infusions and decoctions have been taken to treat tuberculosis, coughs, boils, sore throats and diarrhea. Some communities traditionally rubbed leaves on a young man’s face so that he would not grow thick whiskers. The wood has been used to make paddles, spindle whorls, and other implements, while the wide leaves have been fashioned into temporary storage containers. The flowers make a nice and colourful, if somewhat tart, addition to a salad. Sprouted seeds were sometimes eaten by Nlaka’pamux, and bark from sugar maple has been dried and pounded and sifted into flour for making bread. In the spring the bark and inner bark of bigleaf maple can be crafted into rope and baskets respectively. The wood is used for furniture, musical instruments, paneling, or veneer, but generally the fast-growing trees frustrate foresters more often than excite them, as they compete with local conifers.
But back to maple syrup now, and a delicious Recipe for Maple Candy courtesy of the Vancouver Island Sapsuckers newsletter:
- Butter a 9x9” glass baking dish and add about ½” of syrup.
- Bake at 250º F for several hours until thick and bubbly. Cool until it forms a thick taffy-likeness. Pour onto wax paper and place in the freezer for 30 minutes.
- Melt chocolate in a microwave oven or in a double boiler (nut lovers may want to add nuts to the melted chocolate).
- Remove maple from freezer; break into pieces while still frozen. Dip maple pieces in melted chocolate and place on wax paper.
- Place the chocolate coated maple in freezer for a few minutes to solidify. The end result is a bit like the Turtles candy only better.
Cautions: Seeds from some maples are reportedly poisonous. Teas and decoctions of bark and inner bark of some species cause vomiting or diarrhea.
Who knew, but junipers are not just lovely to look at, beautifully fragrant, ecologically valuable, and the flavouring used in gin! Juniper is an important traditional medicine, particularly for Interior First Nations, and was often used for purposes related to childbirth or urinary conditions. Teas made from the berries have been taken to stimulate the appetite, calm hyperactivity and ease water retention, as well as to treat a range of conditions including colds, diarrhea, swelling, bleeding, and heart, lung, and kidney problems. Traditionally juniper boughs were burned or boiled to purify houses and inhabitants from infection and harmful spirits. Nowadays juniper incense is still commonly used and has been commercialized. Though used more commonly as flavouring rather than as food, some First Nations traditionally cooked up juniper berries and dried them into cakes to eat throughout the winter. People would also chew on small bits of bark or berries to suppress hunger. European chefs are particularly fond of juniper berries, and use them in soups, marinades (see recipe below), stuffings, stews, and sauerkraut. Their bitter-sweet taste and aroma are said to be particularly suitable to stronger meats and game.
The berries have also been used to make jewelry- some people would scatter them over anthills, allowing the ants to eat out the berries' sweet centres thus leaving a hole for threading onto necklaces. Strings of berries would then be dried over a greasy fire and polished. An anti-dandruff hair rinse can be made by boiling juniper branches, and most parts of the plant produce a brown dye, using ash from burnt green needles as a mordant. The boughs of juniper are also used and sold as a floral green, and the plant is often used in landscaping as a garden ornamental.
Various juniper species abound in our BC woods, with the common juniper (Juniperus communis) most frequently encountered. The species lives up to its name as it is the only circumpolar conifer in the northern hemisphere. Junipers are low-growing conifers that trail along the ground, forming mats up to 3m in diameter and 1 m in height. Their needles are green and prickly, their bark is thin and scaly, and their cones look like berries- pale green at first and bluish when mature.
Berries should be harvested either when they are still green but fully grown (for gin) or when they are completely ripe (to flavour food). Dry them and store in an airtight container in a cool place, away from direct sunlight, and lightly crush them just before using to release their flavour.
Those who love the flavour of Bloody Mary's but don't want the alcohol are advised to soak juniper berries in tomato juice for a few days and then follow your favourite Bloody Mary recipe, omitting the alcohol. Though the conventional drink is made with vodka, this variation apparently tastes just like the real thing! Once you've got that under your belt, try this recipe for Juniper Wild Meat Marinade:
1 onion
1 carrot
1 stick celery
4 tbsp Olive Oil
300ml/10 fl. oz. red Wine
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 bay leaf
3 sprigs thyme
3 sprigs parsley
2 sprigs marjoram
1 sprig rosemary
6 black peppercorns, lightly crushed
6 juniper berries, lightly crushed
Slice the onion, carrot and celery. Heat the oil in a saucepan and sauté the vegetables gently for 6-8 minutes, stirring. Add the wine, garlic, herbs, peppercorns and juniper berries. Bring to the boil and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. Cool before using. Strain after marinating and use as cooking liquid, either alone or mixed with stock.
Cautions: Pregnant women should avoid juniper as it can cause uterine contractions and thus miscarriage. Large or frequent doses can lead to convulsions, kidney failure, and an irritated digestive tract.
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