Monday, March 21, 2016

Cattail Dissertation

I've been reading Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer, a gift from my friend A in Vermont. One section of this wonderous book is about cattails. "Meh," you say? Well,  I am here to educate you on survival should you ever find yourself in a great dismal swamp with only a Swiss Army knife.
I used to (stll do) play a game with various of our kids and grands about what to eat and drink and shelter in if we were stuck in these woods overnight ..  J and I decided pine nuts and hickory nuts plus mint leaves and dew drops would keep us alive.  After reading Kimmerer 's book I know how to build a hut, make a fire, find protein as well as carbohydrates to eat, weave a sleeping mat and even a raincoat, stuff a cushion and pack a diaper around an infant-- all out of cattails.  Just enlarge the two pages and read the notes!  Better still, check out this book.

2 comments:

  1. so glad you are reading this fantastic book! cattails also make lovely paper, both the leaves and the tails (seed heads). so add that to the survival list, and with a piece of your fire-charcoal you can write your poems on cattail papers.

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