I've always been a book worm, my record at around ten years old was I read all 12 Famous Five books by Enid Blyton in a week. I hid under a table and locked myself out from the world and enjoyed these wonderful adventures. As an adult, I have been known to finish a book in 24 hours, and more recently an e-book in about 3.
Why am I saying this? I hear you say.
Well, believe it or not, I studied for a Fashion Design degree and so wanted to be a stylist or a buyer. I loved putting color, form, and shapes together and love creativity.
Then I got stuck. If you want to be a stylist, I asked myself, ' when was the last time you bought a magazine? Erm, actually, never!
I realized that deep within, magazines were poles apart from books on my love scale.
As the saying goes, if you're unsure what you believe in your life, look at your cheque book. You put your money where your heart is. And even in lockdown, I've had more time for books than any other time I reckon. ( I am so grateful for libraries!)
So my money is on books. Eating well, living well, and books. I love learning and books have been my comfort, source of laughter, knowledge, and guide in so many stages of my life that I'd have no idea what I'd do in a world of no books.
So I finally wrote my own.
And it won't be the last.
I've found something I totally believe in.
Hopefully, it will inspire folk to love the outdoors and enjoy what it has to give.
It's called the Forager's Notebook.
It's available on Amazon.
It has an Introduction and foraging etiquette and spaces to write your own notes.
Separate sections for the seasons' Spring Summer Autumn and Winter, 10 recipes including Hawthorn berry ketchup, Elderflower Cordial Elderberry syrup, and Dandelion honey. There's also a 'Spot the plant' year-round activity for all the family to spot which plants you can see.
A great gift for nature lovers and encourages folk to see the great outdoors differently.
I learned from Lea from Woodland Classroom that the very act of identifying an edible plant can surge the level of serotonin in our bodies?
Wow, how powerful is that?
That we can make ourselves feel great just by knowing which wild foods are edible out there. Serotonin is the happy hormone that gets released from the buzz of exercise ( although I'm still trying to locate that kind of buzz factor in exercise!)
I created this to be a useful tool to have on walks to plan what wild foods can be made throughout the seasons.
Eating seasonally is a proven way to be healthier, the main part being that the nutrients are fresher and more abundant than foods that have traveled a while to get to us.
There is a caution to foraging, of course, there is.
As a beginner, I would start with simple stuff, like an apple, dandelions, or nettles.
Read up from the experts, there is so much out there to grow in this area.
I will be adding a reading book list to this blog soon.
So to recap, my book benefits are:
* It's a year-round notebook with space to write your own notes
* It has 10 easy recipes from foraged ingredients from Dandelion syrup to Hawthorn ketchup
*There's a 'spot the plant' activity for all year round
* There are some introduction to foraging & etiquette notes
* A great gift for folk who love the great outdoors
I have shared my book on this video below and hope it inspires you to get out and about this year in 2021!
( I did the recording on 31st December 2020 when I first received my copy!)
Enjoy your year.
2020 made us more resilient and we didn't go through that to worry and fret here.
When things are bad, just think - we're passing through!
We don't intend to camp here.
The wild waits for no one.
Soon it will be Spring where plants grow abundant and we remind ourselves that
Life is Good!
Big Love, Yuki x