The hidden resources

My brother and sister in law lived in China for about 10 months.  They recently returned to find a bit of a culture shock waiting for them.  My brother was telling me how efficiently the Chinese people utilize their land and other resources.  While living there he lived in an apartment on a college campus (he and his wife were teaching English as a second language on the campus).  He told me how the people that lived near them would plant herbs and small vegetables in the space between the sidewalk and the street.  How ingenious!

These stories made me start thinking about how I utilize the land and how I could do better.  I realized I was doing a lot more than I thought.

On a recent camping trip I got to talking with my dad about how most people who get lost in the woods and starve to death are usually surrounded by food.  I imagine if most of us found ourselves in the same situation we too would probably starve.  The vast majority of people today are totally clueless to the abundance of wild foods, even in their own neighborhood.

Most state and local parks are available for gathering everything from herbs to nuts and fruits.  Just a couple weeks ago I took the family to a local county park and noticed as we walked up to the playground a couple of girls using crab apples on their sand castles.  You should have heard the moms freak out about playing with poisonous berries.  Similarly we have a mulberry tree that is quite bushy not too far from my house.  My neighbor told me she wished the owner would cut down that eye sore.  Another example is a tree at work the guys all want cut down.  I objected...it's where I get my persimmons!

Another resource I utilize, as much as possible, is our local water ways.  Ponds, lakes, streams, and rivers are everywhere you look.  They are overflowing with all sorts of good food if you just know how to catch it.  Fishing is not for everyone and luckily pole and line is not the only way!  I have successfully used everything from pole and line on the banks of a farm pond to a trot line on the mighty Mississippi river.  Everything from crawdads to huge catfish are just waiting for their invite to dinner!  

 To sum things up, learn what you have around you and make the best of it!