The Pithole Hermit

Yeah. I got bored. I have made it 9 days and don’t care to go all 30. I know I am capable. But living on just wild vegetables is not only boring but also drains all my energy. I have no energy to do other tasks or even take walks with my dog. I could survive on it but who wants to? I don’t know how vegetarians do it. Manufactured supplements I guess. No wonder cultures who just gathered vegetables never had any other accomplishment. They were too weak.

Here is a PDF of the original 30 days I actually completed in 2010. But I had meat then. And I was younger. I never did video then.
http://pithole.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/30-Days-Living-Off-The-Land.pdf

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Yes, it is snowing today. I will be munching on leftovers of previous plants. The ones that don’t wilt.

BECAUSE OF WINTER RUNNING THROUGH MAY THIS YEAR THIS IS THE LAST REGULAR POST OF LIVING OFF THE LAND. THERE WILL BE MORE VIDEOS RANDOMLY THROUGH THE YEAR.

Here is a video of the spring sunshine.

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This is a weed that people try to get rid of almost as much as dandelions. What a shame.

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It is cold. The weather keeps getting worse instead of better. 38 degrees today. Down to 34 tonight with a chance of snow.

Today’s new plant is the Bigleaf Aster. Also called the Large-leaved Aster, Big-leaved Aster or many more. You get the idea. An Aster with big leaves. My favorite name? The Big-Assed Leafster.

This plant grows in big blankets around the forest floor.

It is not a delicious plant in my opinion. But also not terrible. More of a good survival plant than a daily vegetable. It is very easy to gather. Easy to gather means less calories expended which could mean life or death in a survival situation.

It can be eaten raw or cooked like spinach. The flowers that come out later are also edible. The plant is said to be very nutritious.

The roots are not necessarily edible but have been used by the Iroquois and Ojibwa for medicinal uses.

The top of the leaves are smooth while the bottom and stems are fuzzy. At this time of the year they can be confused with Bitter Dock, which is also edible. Later they look much different. Seeing them side by side shows they are quite different. The video displays the features a little better.

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I mentioned Trout Lilies earlier. Today I went back down to Oil Creek to collect some bulbs. Trout Lily bulbs are crunchy and delicious but they are tiny and difficult to gather. You need to not only dig the plant, you need to dig the area. The bulbs could be up to a foot away from the plant they are attached to.

Note in the picture the long stringy roots. The bulbs are at the end. The roots themselves taste a lot like the bulbs. These bulbs are very tiny. I have found them up to marble size. Shooters.

The video is a tour along beautiful Oil Creek several miles from my cabin.

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Today a short video on Cleavers. Again I will edit to add content. I am having problems with my computer. My phone or tablet is hard to work with.

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I’ll write this up later. Enjoy the video.

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