Revisiting a Wayside Bounty

Without being in the position to have ever met our Museum's first director and naturalist, I appreciate the ability to find traces of her in nearly every corner of our recently-constructed building. Lois Nestel's taxidermy work remains scattered among our many animal mounts. Her delicate yet vibrant paintings of northwoods mushrooms hang along the walls leading to our education classroom. Lois has written many beautiful words on her so treasured Cable landscape, resulting in various manuscripts preserved in our care. Within such a rich Lois Nestel collection, there remain a few special pieces that make me wish I could yet run to her and say, "I am so happy to know someone who loves this thing too!" 

The cover of "Wayside Bounty," indeed highlighting
the area's many bounties. 

What objects from our collection excite me the most? There will always be a great many at any given moment. Just this past week, I peered inside an archival box to see an illustration of a hand holding a whole bounty of familiar wild edibles. "Wayside Bounty," a manuscript written and illustrated by Lois, serves as an account of various edible plants that naturally grew in the spaces where she would wander. For someone who regularly forages this area, running into Lois's work at this particular time felt like anything but a coincidence. I took some time to read through her information, comparing it to my own experiences with these plants. I also examined her illustrations--light pencil sketches occasionally peeked through the yet vivid pigments left by her strokes of watercolor paint. As I have been preparing for my own foraging programs this summer, I made it a sort of professional obligation to search through "Wayside Bounty."

A few plant species Lois included were those which currently sat in my refrigerator at home. One that I affectionately know as Lamb's Quarters, Chenopodium album, develops rampantly when left to grow in plots at the Cable Community Farm. While I imagine none of the other gardeners intend for this plant to take up space in their plots, it remains a worthy edible that I allow to grow for some time in mine. Lois says of lamb's quarters, "Of all the wild greens this is a personal favorite to the extent, even, of leaving patches of the weeds growing until their useful green stage has passed."  Perhaps as I do, she appreciated the taste or the versatility of this plant as a green akin to spinach. Lois didn't discuss any preparation considerations for the leaves, but I will happily continue to use them in my salads with the knowledge that another member of the community has enjoyed lamb's quarters as much as I do. 

Lamb's quarters, otherwise known as pigweed, often grows
unwarranted in gardens. 

Purslane is another weed-turned-delightful dish that tends to spread across my garden plot. The Museum has a pressed specimen of Portulaca oleracea, even though the alternative common name of Little Hogweed was recorded with it. Lois included this plant in "Wayside Bounty," with her lovely illustration articulating its sprawling nature. I was pleased to see purslane listed, as I have not known many to find excitement in its presence--other than my father who first introduced me to the plant in my pre-gardening years. The leaves are incredibly succulent and taste mildly of citrus. Younger plants work well in salads, or the leaves will do fine plucked as a fresh nibble while combating quackgrass. Lois wrote of cooking it up with bacon, suggesting to first cook in salted water and then fry the leaves with bacon bits and drippings. Surprisingly, not many Americans recognize the potential in this so-called weed. Lois was apparently one of those with the uncommon recognition of a weed's usefulness. 

Purslane trails along the surface of soil, quickly spreading from its center root.

Another rather timely plant found in Lois's manuscript is Common Milkweed, Asclepias syriaca. This important pollinator plant grows in patches in many areas that I frequent--across from my driveway near the Forest Lodge estate, the eastern perimeter of Cable Town Park, the pollinator garden adjacent to the Museum's front entrance, and in the Wayside Wanderings Natural Play Area fields (actually the Nestel's old residence). While many may recognize the plant's significance as a host plant of the Monarch butterfly, Lois was one to understand its many states of edibility for people. Common milkweed is currently blooming, but one can still find plants where "the flower heads have formed but are still in firm, tight clusters. These may be gathered and cooked to be served with butter and seasonings or sauces as one would serve broccoli." I agree, and collect a small amount of clusters from each patch to use in a stir-fry whenever broccoli isn't readily available. Lois made sure to illustrate representations of four stages of the plant, three of which having certain edibility. 

On the far left, Lois illustrated a common milkweed plant during bloom. Prior to pink flowers, 

tight green buds make an excellent wild edible. Seed pods, while young, can be eaten when properly prepared.

After giving 34 accounts of individual plants, Lois noted how readily others may seek such a bounty. "Those interested will not find it difficult to pursue the subject to their own satisfaction." It certainly would not be difficult for those reading through her pages--full of notes on additional plant species, a selection of recipes, and some resources still pertinent to this day. Though there are plenty resources for interested foragers in libraries and online sources, the knowledge found in "Wayside Bounty" is particularly comforting. As I prepare for some foraging programs of my own this summer, I thank Lois Nestel for being one who aimed to share with others an appreciation for nature's many bounties.