Archive for the ‘Truckee’ Category
By Tim Hauserman
Once, in my early 20s I went backpacking in Desolation Wilderness with a copy of a book about edible plants of the Sierra Nevada. I was bound and determined to locate wild food that could sustain a person in the wilds of the Sierra. It’s a good thing I brought food, because there was a real dearth of wild foraging to be done, with one exception: The Thimbleberry.
In late summer and early fall, depending upon the amount of moisture we received the prior winter, thimbleberries finally turn bright red and are ready to eat. The name comes from the fact that the berries look like tiny thimbles.
Thimbleberry, rubus parviflorus, is a member of the raspberry family, and while I find raspberries delicious, thimbleberry are just as good, with perhaps a bit more flavor. They are smaller, more fragile, and soft, and thus are not grown commercially, although in some parts of the country they are prized for making jam.
In the Tahoe region, thimbleberries are quite common in the shaded understory of pine and fire trees, as well as near creek beds. The plants grow in the 1-2 foot range for the most part, with large palmate leaves with five lobes. They have a very large similar to maple leaf appearance. The cycle begins with white flowers with yellow centers in the early summer, transitioning slowly through hard green berries to the lush red ones by harvest time.
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A highlight of many an early fall hiking trip for me was to run into a patch of thimbleberries at the height of ripeness. It’s always worth a short break to forage your way through the berries. It’s somewhat of an art to pick the right berry as some are not so tasty or too seedy, while the really red and soft ones are delicious and melt in your mouth.
While thimbleberries are also a popular plant for Tahoe area landscaping, they seem to grow more berries in their natural surroundings, away from all the coddling they get from humans. Which is good, if you wish to savor something as tasty as a thimbleberry, you should have to work for it.
Your best bet for finding thimbleberries right now is at the higher elevations, as the berries at lake level are almost gone.
THINK OF ME, LYNN RICHARDSON, FOR ALL OF YOUR LAKE TAHOE AND TRUCKEE REAL ESTATE NEEDS!
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By Tim Hauserman
Ah yes, there we are merrily enjoying the beauty of the waning Tahoe summer when they arrive. Swarms of them, we can hear them in the forest, we can see them all around, and if we get between them and our food they may choose us as their evening punching bag. Yellow jackets. Not Tahoe’s favorite animals. Especially when you are camping in the forest or throwing some chicken on the barbie. They do, however, consume massive quantities of other pest insects and apparently whether we like it or not, are a part of the mountain ecosystem.
Since we are stuck with them, I suppose it is a good idea to understand them. First, yellow jackets are not bees, they are wasps. Predatory wasps of the genera vespula dolichoespula to be exact. Females are capable of stinging with their lance like stingers that have small barbs on the end. Similar to bees, they are not a threat to humans, unless you have a reaction to the venom, in which case they can send you to the hospital.
Yellow jackets live in colonies in tree stumps, soil cavities or nests. The weather in the spring helps decide what sort of a yellow jacket season we will have. Cold, wet springs can wipe out the queens, giving us a respite from the little buggers. This was not a cold, wet spring, so we got em all over the place this fall. While the nests are formed in the spring, it is in the mid-summer when the adult workers emerge to forage for food. This is when they bring food back to the nest, which enables the queen to expand the nest rapidly, creating wasps like crazy. Once the wet and cold arrives in the fall, the yellow jackets die off and their nests do not make it through the winter.
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How to keep the infestation down to size?
-Yellow Jacket traps can be found at hardware stores. Don’t scrimp. Get more then one and place them in your yard, especially near garbage containers and the BBQ.
-They are attracted to sugary drinks and may fly into a can. Pour the drink into a cup so you know if a yellow jacket has decided to take a sugar swim.
-If you find a nest near your home, you can contact a pest control company to eliminate it.
-When eating outdoors in areas where yellow jackets are active. Cover all food until you are ready to eat. You can build do it yourself traps with a coffee can. Put soapy water in the bottom. Put a stick with a piece of meat on the top. Once they eat they drop into the water and can’t get out.
Treating a sting:
For most a yellow jacket sting is painful, but not threatening. Wash the area with soap and water. Apply cold water or ice to the site, perhaps with a bit of meat tenderizer. Take Benadryl to reduce swelling and deal with a reaction.
Often if there is one yellow jacket sting, their buddies get excited and don’t want to miss out on the action. This is when things can get dicey. If you are allergic, seek medical help right away. Especially if you are the victim of more then one sting.
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THINK OF ME, LYNN RICHARDSON, FOR ALL OF YOUR LAKE TAHOE AND TRUCKEE REAL ESTATE NEEDS!
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By Michelle Portesi
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May you all have a safe and fun filled 4th of July. Area beaches such as Tahoe City, Incline Village and Donner Lake will be holding their annual celebrations tonight. There will be a free concert in Incline Village for the holiday.
Be sure to bring a flashlight if you are walking home, and please remember to remove your trash from our beautiful mountain environment. Drive safe, and be patient. Holidays always bring a huge influx to our small community’s roads, so allow for extra time while trying to get around. Be careful with fire, as we are still considered to be under drought conditions, with the American River Canyon fire being fought as I write this.
Have a wonderful time. For more events in the area and fun things to do and see, please visit Tahoe Weekly Magazine’s Event Calendar: thetahoeweekly.com
THINK OF ME, LYNN RICHARDSON, FOR ALL OF YOUR LAKE TAHOE AND TRUCKEE REAL ESTATE NEEDS!
Share this: Lynn Richardson, Your Friend in High Places
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