Here at Jams Gone Wild, we are gearing up for the farmer's markets of Summer 2012.. Wildharvesting this year, consisted of traveling south for prickly pears and north for wild plums and chokecherries from Colorado. The plums did bloom in the Texas Panhandle but the caterpillars took over and obliterated them.. Peaches and apples were also toast after a severe drought, which is supposed to return this summer. I am still shaking my rain stick I bought at Palo Duro Canyon in hopes of more rain or snow..Shake..shake..shake..
The advantages of a drought are other trees in the wild, such as the mesquite, really produce beans in abundance. The mesquite tree was as important to early Native Americans, who once inhabited the Panhandle of Texas, as corn was. Magically, during a drought, the mesquite tree produces beans and more beans, and more beans. Within the bean are seeds, which many animals love during periods of drought and depend upon. The Mesquite is 30 percent sugar, which when boiled for several hours, produces the most beautiful honey-colored juice you have ever seen. The juice can then be turned into Mesquite Honey or Honey Mesquite Jelly. There are several types of mesquite trees, but the major tree in the Panhandle of Texas is the Honey Mesquite. The bean ripens in late August and September and must be picked from the tree and not from the ground. Once on the ground, insects find them a delightful treat, so we only pick our beans from the tree. Last year, was my first experiment making Honey Mesquite Jelly to decide whether we would offer it as one of our products for Jams Gone Wild.
In the summer and fall, I work as a National Park Ranger for National Park Service, an agency of the Department of Interior. This May, I will begin my second season as an Interpretive Park Ranger. I lead interpretive hikes at Alibates Flint Quarries and Lake Meredith Recreation Area. I have made many new wonderful friends at NPS and the rangers have agreed to be my taste testers for jellies and other products we make at our company. Last year, the big hit was Honey Mesquite Jelly and of course, Wild Chokecherry from Southern Colorado. Harvesting at 11,000 ft, I also picked rose hips along the Continental Divide. The Chief of Resources and Conservation loved the Continental Divide Rose Jelly, which is very sacred. The reason it is so sacred, is it takes so many rose hips to make one jar of jelly. If you are lucky enough to purchase this rose jelly, it tastes like liquid sunshine because of the elevation and mostly because it is labor intensive to make it. I climbed the Los Lobos Trail on the Continental Divide to pick these rare babies.. The rose hips stay on the bushes year round and are food for deer, bears, and other animals during the winter.
When you spread your jelly or mesquite honey on your biscuits, toast, bread, or whatever, think about the process to bring these fresh "from the wild ingredients" for you to enjoy. The Continental Divide Trail was very steep in some areas and takes several hours to complete. The view from the top is so beautiful and you can see where the eastern and western watersheds are divided by the Continental Divide. You can see for miles and the air is so fresh and clean. I think the berries and rose hips picked at higher elevations, closer to the sun, are so much sweeter than berries at lower elevations. The wilderness is wonderful and wild harvesting is an adventure!! See ya in the wild!
