Dandelion Salad

This morning was quite chilly, so we made a fire in our wood burning stove...an efficient household item that we installed last spring, with the intent of warming our cabin without electricity.  This determination was made after the preceding winter, we lost power for almost 24 hours, and by the end of that time, with only our fireplace to keep us warm, we were very cold and becoming very grumpy.  I must say, from a living off the land perspective, a wood burning stove is a must!
Oh, back to the fire this morning, we drank our coffee and cooked fresh oatmeal on the top of the stove, feeling very rustic and mountain-like! We began our work for the day, me still with my need to organize and Johny with his love of working with wood and accommodating my wishes (a fortunate benefit for me of his loving to create with wood).  He would build some small corner shelves for the bathroom, and I would reorganize the kitchen.  We also visited our friends up the mountain a spell, thank you Tipper @ Blind Pig and the Acorn for the vocabulary http://www.blindpigandtheacorn.com/, and had a lovely time chatting up a storm!  Then we walked to our mailbox, about 1/2 mile down the mountain, visited again with another friend, found we had no mail yet :( , and then remembered that it is much easier going down than coming up the mountain.  Did I mention we have committed ourselves to walking to the mailbox (like they used to do years ago) each and every day?  We'll see how that evolves with the weather!

We enjoyed our first dinner prepared here at that cabin this evening.  We had venison burgers, the meat was harvested by the same friend we shared dinner with last night, that I prepared with fresh ramps picked by Johny this afternoon (onion/garlic type wild edible) instead of onion in the burger see picture to the right.  He also picked fresh dandelion greens and flowers, which made a delectable salad. 

While Johny was picking dandelions, I came upon a hungry butterfly feeding upon the delectable blossoms...

Day 3 has been a delightful representation of what living off the land means to me...I am so excited about what each new day will bring as Johny and I learn more about the wild edibles growing on our land, fulfilling the desires we have to create, organize & simplify, and enjoying the incredible nature that surrounds us. 

We are indeed fortunate and I am filled with gratitude!