Friday, September 26, 2008

Solomon's Seal & Friends

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Due to the title of this post, did you hope to find a biblical prophecy theme here today? Solomon was into proverbial wisdom and love songs more than prophecy. The END TIMES may or may not be upon us, but I will continue to take pictures of God's creations.........plants and flowers and whatever else looks interesting! If the Rapture roundup angels come to this area, they may have to look in the road ditch to find me.
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Well, the fruits in this photo below resemble blueberries or small grapes.........but, they're not, of course. They are Solomon's Seal berries and I've no idea whether or not they're edible and am not brave enough to bite into one to find out! My wildflower book states: The roots were used as medicine and food by Native Americans and pioneers, and were ground into flour or eaten boiled.
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Here's a website devoted entirely to Solomon's Seal........this quote can be found there: Common experience teacheth, that in the world there is not to be found another herbe comparable to it. ---- from Gerrard's Herbal, 1597. (I'm not necessarily promoting their product, but it is interesting to read about.)
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Here's something I know is edible........and usable for many, many purposes, from cooking oil to motor oil.........soybeans! The golden leaves of a week ago have turned brown and shriveled, revealing pods clinging up and down the bean plant stalks. Harvest-time for this field looms in the near future.
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This branch-full of wild plums hides out in a road ditch a couple miles away from here.

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And, here's another view of the wild grapevine down by Crane Creek. I adjusted the color a bit so if you click the photo to enlarge it you should be able to see the clumps of tiny grapes draped like strands of jewels around the tree branches!

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Have a wonderful day! Find some autumn beauty in your little corner of the world!

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9 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm hoping to get out and take some autumn shots this weekend. Yours are so pretty, Jeannelle

Pat - Arkansas said...

You find the most beautiful things while you're out and about! Did you pick some of the plums and the tiny wild grapes?

Adventure girl said...

Cool pics~

I made up my own award! It is for "bein' sweet to a newbie". I am giving you one. You can pick it up here: http://adventuregirlwannabee.blogspot.com/2008/09/thank-you-for-being-so-sweet-to-newbie.html

Share the love by passing it to people who were extra sweet to you in your very beginning days;)

DesertHen said...

I am so enjoying your beautiful fall photos........they are so pretty, uplifting and comforting......=)

Thank you for sharing all of the info and pics.

Caution/Lisa said...

Your posts always make me smile. Always. Well, maybe not that last days one!

Anonymous said...

I just adore these posts about your travels around the natural world. With a tiny bit of effort I can see you collecting all these into a book Jeannelle. They are lovely. Pics and little commentary. I think it could be a real hit, especially here in Iowa in the Iowa section of the bookstores. Think about it.!

Egghead said...

Great photos. Our purple grapes have still not turned purple and now we fear it is too late. The cold nights are probably going to take a toll on that. I love that there are wild plums. I wonder if someone had originally planted it. Happy fall!

Jeannelle said...

Thanks, all, for stopping by! We chopped corn for silage all day today. The sunny, dry weather continues.....perfect for field work.

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Kacey,

Yes, enjoy the weekend.....this is such a great time of year!

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Pat,

No, I didn't pick any plums.....am not a plum fan, and the grapes were WAY too high up!

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adventuregirl,

Thank you for the award! You know what......when I started blogging, it was nearly a year before there were any comments, and I doubt there were many, if any, readers. Plus, I didn't get out and about reading other blogs. I still need to do better about that.

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deserthen,

What a sweet comment....and nature is like that all around us....pretty, uplifting and comforting!

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caution,

Yes....I had diverted into rather distressing subject matter which no one really needs to be thinking about, and I'll try not to do that again.


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Sherry,

Oh, my......what an ambitious thought! I'm not very ambitious and wouldn't know how to go about that, but what a nice idea! I'm sure there are many lovely scenes in your area right now, too!


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egghead,

Oh, too bad about your grapes not getting ripe. I don't know if the plum tree was planted there on purpose.....its not near a farmstead. There are many wild plum trees in fencerows around here. I know of people who make jam from them, but I'm just not a fan of the taste of these plums.

Odd Chick said...

Alas, we have no wild plums or grapes or in desert region of southest New Mexico. It's so fantastic to see them growing wildly where you live.