Posts Tagged ‘edible plants’
A contest ! What is ‘beelwort’?
In writing my science-fiction book Meniscus: Crossing The Churn, I had a lot of fun inventing plant and animal species to populate the planet Meniscus. I also enjoyed thinking of the various common items a traveller on the planet might encounter. I include a Glossary at the end of the book, to help the reader. However, one item is not identified, on purpose. I thought it might be fun to keep readers guessing about the identity of this item … “beelwort” …
~
What is ‘beelwort’ ???
~
When we first meet Odymn, the book’s protagonist, she is a slave in the city of Prell. She puts in her days at a bar, waiting tables. Being a waitress in Prell is no fun. As the book says, every day has its challenges: boiling coffee thrown, the brutal behavior of the Gel-head customers, and, worst of all —
Slices of beelwort slipped into a pocket …
The “wort” in “beelwort” suggests a plant or plant product. The only other thing I know about “beelwort” is now part of my draft of Book Four — Meniscus: The Town at Themble Hill. Odymn talks about her cooking:
‘When we return to Garth,” she says,
“I refuse to take another turn at cooking.
No one likes what I make.”
“I like what you make,” says the Slain.
“You’d eat beelwort on a stick,”
says Odymn.
~
So what is “beelwort”?
~
For example, a slice of “beelwort” in a pocket might be like having a slice of orange put into your pocket …
~
I am running a contest. The winner of the contest will recieve a copy of my poetry book within easy reach, a book about edible wild plants … not a beelwort among them!
~
To enter the contest, let me know what you think “beelwort” is — the answer can go in my Blog or Facebook comments. Describe it in one sentence (nothing obscene is allowed and I reserve the right to edit or not allow the comment). I will run the answers by the members of my writing group and have them select one winner. I’ll announce the winner by March 31, 2017 and arrange to send him or her a copy of within easy reach, postage paid.
~
available from http://www.chapelstreeteditions.com
~
Put on your thinking caps! What is “beelwort”?
~
~
Copyright Jane Tims 2017
results of the Christmas sale
On this past Saturday, I had the fun of being a vendor at Sandra’s Market Fredericton. This was the first experience of its kind for me, although I have attended such sales for years.
~
Overall, I had a great time! The venue at the Delta was beautiful, not crowded, and set-up was easy. The other vendors were pleasant and very interesting to talk to. A couple of good friends stopped by and there were lots of shoppers. I took a book to read, but watching the people at the sale was too much fun to miss. I sold five books and three paintings, including the painting ‘teaberries’, seen below.
~
I think the best part of the sale was talking to the various shoppers about their experiences picking berries and gathering wild plants. A couple of people mentioned battling the squirrels for hazelnuts. Many of the older shoppers said their berry picking days were over due to ailments. A few people were interested in identifying edible mushrooms.
~
December 8, 2016 ‘teaberries’ Jane Tims (acrylic) 8″ x 8″ $30 (SOLD)
~
Wintergreen
Gaultheria procumbens
~
first gathering in spring
thick leaves as leather crush
weep wintergreen
oil infuses pale tea
milk to swell aroma
sugar and midnight sparks
sweet steam meets breath
aspirin makes undelicate
my heart
~
~
The leaves of Eastern teaberry or American wintergreen contain oil of wintergreen; the chemical in this oil is methyl salicylate, known for its anti-inflammatory properties and closely related to aspirin. Methyl salicylate will build up an electrical charge when dried with sugar and rubbed. In Quebec, the plant is known as la petit thé du bois (little tea of the woods). Flowers are waxy, nodding, bell-shaped and white.
~
~
Copyright Jane Tims 2016
raspberries in winter
On December 11, 2016 (from 10 AM to 4 PM), I will be at the Delta Hotel (Fredericton, New Brunswick) at Sandra’s Christmas Market Fredericton to sell my paintings and books. If you are in the Fredericton area, please pay me a visit!
~
I have a new painting for sale at the event. December 8, 2016 ‘raspberries’ is painted in acrylics, 7″ x 5″, gallery edges, unframed. It reminds me of picking raspberries on a summer day.
~
December 8, 2016 ‘raspberries’ Jane Tims (acrylic) 7″ x 5″ $25
~
~
mended by raspberries
for Mary
~
drove all the way to Flume Ridge
to pick those berries, large as thimbles
~
red as blood after we’d pricked
our fingers on needled vines
~
crossed the covered bridge to nowhere
the through road blocked, the way broken
~
the covered bridge at our backs
the roar of the flume in our ears
~
the tipple of honey bees
lightheaded in the berry canes
~
~
This poem appears in my book, within easy reach, Chapel Street Editions, 2016.
Copyright Jane Tims 2016
getting ready for December – a gallery of ‘within easy reach’ paintings
On December 11, 2016 (from 10 AM to 4 PM), I will be at the Delta Hotel (Fredericton, New Brunswick) at Sandra’s Christmas Market Fredericton to sell my paintings and books. This is the first time I have ever tried selling at a craft show and I will be sure to report back on the experience.
~
I began preparing for this event in July, painting a number of small canvasses, all on themes associated with the poems in my book within easy reach (Chapel Street Editions, Woodstock, 2016). Here are a few of the paintings I will have for sale. They are all priced to sell and I will give a discount for anyone buying both a book and a painting.
~
August 20, 2016 ‘pick faster’ Jane Tims (10″ x 10″) acrylic, gallery edges ($45)
~
August 25, 2016 ‘rose hips’ Jane Tims (10″ x 12″) acrylic, gallery edges ($40)
~
October 21, 2016 ‘blueberries’ Jane Tims (5″ x 7″) acrylic, gallery edges ($30)
~
July 31, 2016 ‘wild strawberries’ Jane Tims (10″ x 8″) acrylic, gallery edges ($40)
~
August 14, 2016. ‘wild hops’ Jane Tims (12″ x 10″) acrylic, gallery edges ($50)
~
August 16, 2016 ‘high bush cranberries’ Jane Tims (12″ x 10″) acrylic, gallery edges ($55)
~
My books and paintings would be imaginative Christmas gifts for anyone who loves poetry, wants to re-kindle their own memories of berry picking or gathering other wild plants, or wants a small painting for a corner of a favourite room. I am thinking someone who has a home bar might like ‘wild hops’.
~
I hope the market goers love them! If you are in the Fredericton area on December 11, I hope to see you there!
~
Copyright 2016 Jane Tims
pick faster
October 21, 2016 ‘blueberries’, Jane Tims
~
pick faster
for Dad
~
blue ripens as morning, deft fingers
noisy pails, hail on metal gutters
this bush spent, unsatisfactory
berries over there fatter
bluer
~
I am certain I see, beside mine
my father’s hands, callused
and quick
~
berries roll between
thumb and fingers
~
I try to meet
his expectation
~
pick faster
~
~
Published in: ‘within easy reach’, Chapel Street Editions, 2016
Copyright Jane Tims 2016
~
October 21, 2016 ‘sweet hurts’ Jane Tims
yard work – the grape harvest
We had a frost on October 4 and today, I harvested my grapes. You will imagine tubs of ripe fruit, hands stained purple and a row of grape jelly jars on the counter.
~
my grapes, wandering about in the birch tree
~
But my grape harvest is a bit small. However after ten years, this is the first ‘harvest’ from this vine so I am quite proud! No jelly though. I ate the lot of them, sitting in the yard, admiring the autumn leaves. They were juicy, sweet and delicious.
~
the entire harvest!
~
~
Copyright 2016 Jane Tims
in the shelter of the covered bridge – Malone Bridge
As I prepare for my fall book and art sale, I have tried to bring some of my pencil drawings into acrylic-world.
~
One of my favorite covered bridge drawings depicts a tree of green apples against the backdrop of the Malone Covered Bridge near Goshen in Kings County, New Brunswick. The Malone Bridge crosses the Kennebecasis River where it is hardly more than a stream.
~
~
From this drawing, I have done ‘apple tree, Malone Bridge’. I think this is my personal favorite of all the paintings I have done. The painting is acrylic, 18″ X 18″, gallery edges, using Paynes Grey, Ultramarine Blue, Cadmium Yellow, Titanium White and Burnt Sienna.
~
September 24, 2016 ‘apple tree, Malone Bridge’ Jane Tims
~
~
Copyright 2016 Jane Tims
getting ready for fall – blueberries
Another painting in my series! I could call the collection paintings to illustrate ‘within easy reach’ since each one was inspired by a poem in my book.
~
Blueberries are probably my favorite berry to pick. This could be because every summer, when my family visited Nova Scotia, we spent a week at my Grandfather’s blueberry farm. I picked blueberries with cousins, siblings and parents. I was never very good at the task but my idea of picking is one for the bucket, two for the mouth, so I guess you now know why I love picking blueberries!
~
This little painting was fun to do. I was inspired because I had just finished putting together freezer bags of blueberries from a big box we bought at McKay’s Wild Blueberry Farm Stand in Pennfield, New Brunswick (https://janetims.com/2012/08/04/blueberries/).
~
The painting is 10″ X 10″, gallery edges, acrylics, painted with Ultramarine blue, Cadmium yellow, Cadmium red, Burnt sienna and Titanium white.
~
August 20, 2016 ‘pick faster’ Jane Tims
~
And, to accompany the painting, another sampling from the poems in my book ‘within easy reach’. My book of poems and drawings is available from my publisher http://www.chapelstreeteditions.com
~
~
pick faster
for Dad
~
blue ripens as morning, deft fingers
noisy pails, hail on metal gutters
this bush spent, unsatisfactory
berries over there fatter
bluer
~
I am certain I see, beside mine
my father’s hands, callused
and quick
~
berries roll between
thumb and fingers
~
I try to meet
his expectation
~
pick faster
~
~
~
within easy reach, Chapel Street Editions, 2016
Copyright 2016 Jane Tims
getting ready for fall – choke-cherries
I have finished the final painting in the group for my sale in November. The last one is titled ‘within easy reach’, the title of my book and the first poem in the book! The painting is done in acrylics, 8″ X 16″, gallery edges, with Ultramarine blue, Cadmium red, Cadmium yellow, Burnt sienna and Titanium white.
~
Choke-cherry is a large weedy shrub, found along roadways, at the edge of fields and woods, and in barrens and lakeside thickets. The dark red berries occur in drooping clusters. They are very sour but are used to make jelly and wine. When the choke-cherries are ripe, all you have to do is reach up and your pail will fill to overflowing!
~
August 30, 2016 ‘within easy reach’ Jane Tims
~
within easy reach
~
Choke-cherry (Prunus virginiana L.)
~
Choke-cherries flow
into pail, sunlight
into winter, glint
of ripening by fireside
and flame, a taste
of dry wine, cherry-laden
and summer within
easy reach, berries
by the handful, ice-pellets
against the glass
~
~
within easy reach, Chapel Street Editions, 2016
Copyright Jane Tims 2016
getting ready for fall – rose hips
~
Rose hips ripening … another painting towards my fall sale of books and paintings.
Along the road at our cabin is a small bush. Pink flowers in spring and plump rose hips in fall. Anyone who does cutting or roadwork at our cabin gets strict instructions not to disturb the rose bush!
~
Copyright 2016 Jane Tims
nichepoetryandprose 