What’s going on out on the land?
A Short List of Bugs I have Eaten
I am very much interested in the edibility of invertebrates. Recognizing that most of the world commonly consumes insects and other inverts, I get to wondering why we in the Northern parts of Turtle Island/North America don’t really consume them.
In light of this wondering I have been setting out to learn as much as I can about which insects I can eat, and how I can learn to prepare them. Below I will be creating an ever expanding list of insects and other inverts I have eaten and how I have prepared them.
Oak Apple Galls at Lake of Bays
Someone in our tracking crew had found a small, pale brown, hollow papery orb with spots on the surface with a couple of holes in it. I recognized it as an Oak Apple Gall, which my partner and I had found last year at Backus Woods. It wasn’t a green one, but it must be the same thing, right?
Last year, I may have looked up a bit on the Oak Apple Gall, but I no longer remember much. It’s like meeting someone again, but not remembering much of the details of your previous conversation. I had to ask some questions again, and here is some of what I have learned.
Follow The Food
Knowing the plants who are in relationship with the animals we track can help us find the animals we want to learn about. They can point in the direction of where the animals are going or where they will be going. They can show us if we are in the right environment or if we need to keep looking.
This entry is pretty much a story of a recent afternoon spent tracking in the Lake of Bays region, just South West of Algonquin Park, where we spent a few hours following the food and then finding the animal.