Nettles!

Foraging can be unpredictable.

I planned to go look for nettles yesterday, but the frost on the ground and the ice on the roads made me doubt I'd find anything worth while. I went anyway. The sun was out, and I figured I'd enjoy the time outdoors regardless of what I found.

The hike into the nettle patch was great. I had the river shore and forest to myself, and it was good to be in sunshine after a week of rain.

Ciara and I found the nettle patch I was heading to a few years ago. We had good luck there, but that was a week or two later in the year. I was enjoying myself on the hike, but doubted I'd find many nettles.

About half a mile or so of walking along the river shore I ducked into the forest. I looked around the forest floor and within a minute I found what looked to be a good patch of nettles. I was worried that they would have frost damage or be too small to harvest, but they looked great. I put on my gloves, got out my scissors and started to work.

I hope this patch continues to be productive. I did my best to harvest sustainably and left more than enough for other foragers to find. It's my second year going here, and I hope to come back many times.