Going Green

Today I am going to a workshop at the Wildcat Bluff Nature Center to learn about making my own household cleaners.  Wildcat Bluff is located in Amarillo, Texas and I am taking classes there as part of the Master Naturalist Program sponsored by the Texas Parks and Wildlife.  Being a Master Naturalist will help me with my business, which is harvesting plants and berries from the wild and turning them into delicious jams and jellies.  I plan to use only wild produce, which I pick myself, directly from the wild.  Last summer and fall, I harvested choke cherries from the Rocky Mountains in Colorado at 10,000 ft. and later in the season, I harvsted prickly pears from my brothers ranch and also around Lake Meridith in the Panhandle.  Last year, I discovered I needed to learn more about the wilderness, and consequently, the Master Naturalist Program offered the education I needed in order to stay safe.  Also I will  learn where I can find wild fruit, berries, and plants for the jams and make the whole experience an adventure.  My great-grandmother on my father's side was a Native American named Earth.  Her English given name was Mary Catherine Hendrickson.  In my study of wild foods, I am learning more about native american practices of preparing wild foods, jams, etc.  They have many customs, which I will talk about in detail later, in harvesting the plants.  More later. gigi