Category: About the Blogger

My Love of Foraging Began With Mint 

Being fascinated with herbs and their many uses for as long as I can remember, I have grown and used many of them in cooking since I was a teenager. A friend introduced me to Mother Earth News when I was 15 or 16. After reading about organic gardening, I became especially interested in various herbs and their uses. I continued to read and do research over the years and began to make teas from many of them. Eventually I added wild herbs and flowers to my collection.  

My first tea was peppermint. It settled a belly ache and our doctor said it was safe for my first baby Charles, who was colicky for quite some time. He was eventually found to be lactose intolerant. Charles will be 26 as of July and still drinks my mint tea. He joined the Navy when he was 18. Last time he was deployed I asked what he would like me to send him. The only thing he wanted was my mint tea and chocolate mint which I also started making during his childhood years.  

From the time my youngest son, Chris was a baby he would not swallow pills and would spit out any liquid medicine I gave him. He would, however, drink mint tea. My grandmother used dandelions and was pretty much never sick, so I did research on them. Apparently, it has antibiotic properties. So, I began adding it to my mint tea whenever he was sick.  He could have the worst flu ever and would only be sick enough to stay down for one day. He has drunk that tea every time he gets sick for 22 years now. Evan as an adult Chris will come in and say “Mom I am so sick; would you make me some of that tea?  

As a child we lived out in the country for short periods of time. My dad would take us on walks or bicycle rides on Sunday afternoons. We often picked berries along the way, to take home and eat the next morning for breakfast. At some point he showed how to pull out the petals of a red clover flower and suck the liquid out of them. It was sweet and we began doing that anytime we saw red cover. This memory gave me an idea and I tried adding it to the mint tea. The tea was not sweet enough for my youngest and I really try to avoid sugar when possible. Red clover was a hit! Both boys loved it. Thus began my journey into foraging.  

Who Am I You Might Ask?

Retired Becoming Caretaker Out of Necessity

I worked with troubled youth for 16 years and was also a foster parent. Although I never got my degree, I took several classes for both of those positions every year during that time. Due to my husband acquiring cancer, I retired early from working with youth. The last nine years I spent being his caretaker. The cancer was followed by heart surgeries, etc. and he never fully recovered. Since I was unable to have children until my early 40’s, I was still raising my two sons who were 13 and 16 at that time.  

Found My Forever Home

I grew up in Crystal Lake, Illinois but moved to Indiana in my teens so my father could help care for his father who was dying of cancer at that time. I have visited several other states and lived in California, Texas, Tennessee, and Wisconsin for short periods of time. I always came back to Indiana so the last time I stayed. My roots are here as my grandparents lived here all their lives and I have many cousins who grew up here. I also raised my sons here so this is, and always will be home to me.

Nature Lover and Rescuer Since Childhood

I am a nature lover, fascinated by all living things from animals to insects, to plants. I grow things to attract and feed hummingbirds as well as all other birds and bees. I grow many herbs also which I use for many things including cooking, teas, and salves.  

I am also a rescuer, having rescued animals since I was a kid and added rescuing children as an adult. Unable to give birth to my own children, I switched careers from working for a paper and seniors magazine, to working with children in need. That is how I found my two sons who I adopted, the first at birth and the second at 4 ½ months old. They are my life (even though they are in their twenties), and they always will be.  

Still Rescuing …

Still a rescuer I have two dogs and two cats, all rescues. I help Action for Animals with the many cats who are dumped in this area and get pregnant if they are not already pregnant when dumped. Yes, people are that cruel. We try to trap them and get them spayed. I have trapped mostly raccoons when I try, but I feed the cats and talk to them trying to get them to come near or at least not run so they are easier to trap. The kittens are fostered until they are old enough to get spayed and then taken to Pet Smart to get new families. I am fostering one such kitten now.  

Widowed and Starting New

Now I am a widow. I lost my husband last September. As my husband’s health deteriorated I stepped away from my blog. After six months of intense treatment trying to save him, he finally decided to go through hospice at home until his death. This was a very difficult time for me and I am grateful the Navy let my oldest son come to help with hospice. I was overwhelmed by all the paperwork afterwards and withdrew from everything for a time. Now that I have a little more time I am ready to get back to work here.