I hope you all have been having as beautiful a fall as I have! It's been gorgeous here in Western PA. Pandemic isolation has spurred me to go on long walks every morning after dropping my daughter at school, as well as asking friends if they want to join me on outdoor, socially distant walks. To my delight I have rekindled old friendships and even made some new friends! On my agenda this fall: process acorns into flour, tincture gingko leaves, and try cooking and eating gingko nuts.
Two friends and I met at a local park to gather burr oak acorns, which are large acorns with only a small percentage of tanins - the perfect acorn for making flour! However, when we got to the beautiful burr oak tree, we found the city had "cleaned up" all the acorns! Oh no!
But while we were there one of my friends wanted to show us a gorgeous grandpa gingko tree - so big and all decked out in golden leaves, with a carpet of gold beneath it. So beautiful! We admired the tree and the fallen leaves, and since we had our (empty) baskets anyway, we decided to gather the gingko leaves.
Then I went home and chopped some leaves, filled a small jar, then covered them with 80 proof vodka.
You may be wondering how we were able to lounge comfortably under a gingko tree, especially if you associate them with the stinky fruit they are known for! Gingko trees are either male or female, and the female are the ones with the stinky yellow fruit (next post!) This big old guy was a male tree, hence all leaves and no fruit.
Gingko leaves are great for circulation, especially for the brain and eyes. The tincture is good to help memory. It may seem odd to use yellow leaves that have fallen off the tree...you'd think the summer green vibrant leaves are the ones you'd want, but when tincturing gingko it's the autumn golden leaves you are looking for. You can find a lot more information about the benefits of gingko and what dose is best by doing a quick search online.
I hope you are having a wonderful fall! If you feel lonely and you are able to get out into the woods, go there, you won't be disappointed. Even when I am alone I'm surrounded by trees, leaves, water, birds, animals...I've seen two owls (a barred and an eastern screech), black squirrels, gray squirrels, chipmunks, deer, and lots of beaver activity (though I have yet to spot the beaver!)
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