The Pine Trees are Blooming

The pine trees are in bloom and have spread yellow pollen everywhere over the past several days. I took the opportunity to try my hand at collecting pine pollen, which reportedly has some great health benefits.  My chosen method of collection was painstakingly slow.  I used a small Ziploc bag (that was all I had with me), put it around the catkins, and gently shook the pollen into the bag.  While I did collect a bit of pollen, I had more covering my arms than I had in the bag. Next time, I will use a larger paper bag so that I can put it around the end of the entire branch and collect from multiple clusters at a time. I did collect a few of the catkins themselves to see if dehydrating them and then collecting the pollen will be a viable option this late in the season. I read that it is best to try this method just before the pollen is released or at the very beginning of the pollen season.

In spite of my questionable pollen collecting experience, my foraging walk was fruitful.  I not only collected a bit of pollen, but I also found a few bits of resin that had fallen off a pine tree.  I will be researching how I would like to use this before I search for a bit more. I have a friend who made a beautiful pine resin balm last year. I have also been told that it makes a great fire starter. If you have experience using pine resin, feel free to share your favorite uses in the comments section.

We were blessed to have all of our children (three of whom are now grown) home on Sunday, so in addition to foraging, we spent time at the river with the family. Some waded in the water, some dipped their feet, and some fished from the banks. We finished the day on the porch enjoying the sunshine and the view.

I hope you all had a fabulous weekend!