If you’re reading this, you probably don’t know what you’re missing. Everybody else is in the woods.
The snozzberries are out.
Continue reading “Foraging in Minnesota: Snozzberries”If you’re reading this, you probably don’t know what you’re missing. Everybody else is in the woods.
The snozzberries are out.
Continue reading “Foraging in Minnesota: Snozzberries”It’s blackberry season. While I sit here typing this out in mid-August, I have a hunch there are literally tons of them out there going unpicked. And while not every year is good for blackberry picking, we’ve had good rainfall in 2020, which is a good sign. It was the same last year, when I literally picked gallon after gallon throughout most of August and into September, within a mile of my home. Continue reading “Foraging in Minnesota: Blackberries”
Berry foragers, rejoice! The juneberry crop this year appears to be robust- as was last year’s- and they’re fruiting right now. Never had juneberries? I’m not surprised. They’re easy to miss, but maybe you should give them a closer look. Continue reading “Foraging in Minnesota: Juneberries”
Every year about this time there is a lull in the foraging season here in Minnesota. The early season has passed and the frenzy over morels, fiddleheads, and ramps is over. The summer mushrooms and berries really haven’t started. However, while raspberries, blackberries, thimbleberries, and other members of the Rubus clan have yet to even finish blooming, their little brother is here to take center stage.
Enter Dwarf Raspberry. Continue reading “Foraging in Minnesota: Dwarf Raspberries”
If you’re itching to get out and forage some wild berries this year, I have good news for you: the strawberries are in. They won’t be for long and they won’t offer the volume of picking as later berries, but they’re still worth pursuing. Continue reading “Foraging in Minnesota: Wild Strawberries”
I’m sure you’ve heard of “black cherry,” either as a flavoring or as a type of wood. For me, the name evokes a certain flavor of candy. But did you know it’s a harvestable fruit here in Minnesota? Yes, it is. And this year was outstanding.
I’d been waiting several years for a good crop of these cherries- perhaps 4 or 5. They were not something I went out of my way for, but I usually checked on a couple different trees at least once toward the end of each summer. Well, this year, it was clear conditions were somehow just right. Branches were full of green clusters by July all over in my area. Continue reading “Foraging in Minnesota: Black Cherry”
Believe me, I’ve been there too. You find yourself in the presence of an abundance of some kind of foraged treasure- perhaps for the first time– and you collect more than you know what to do with. Most of the time these things can be preserved, and we can decide what to do with it all later. For some reason I always seem to envision this taking place on a January day so nasty I can’t even go ice fishing.
Anyway, the time to decide what to do with all those chokecherries has come. If you’re like me, you’ve made a couple batches of pancake syrup and/or jelly, but there are still several bags of berries waiting down in the basement freezer. The good news is, chokecherry syrup and jelly are unique and tireless, at least in our house (I believe every forager owes it to themselves to at least try the pancake syrup). The better news is, you don’t have to restrict yourself to syrup and jelly. If you use your imagination a bit and have the patience to endure a little trial and error, there are lots of uses for your purple tree caviar. Continue reading “What to Fix- Chokecherry Recipes”
After the Public Lands Day rally at the state capitol rotunda last year, it seemed like a good idea to keep track of my public land usage until the next rally rolled around. I normally visit a lot of state and federal public lands throughout the year, but never kept a record, and so never really knew the extent of my own personal use. My mission to document my outings proved not only enlightening, but also spurred me on to go new places and try new things.
The following is a visual representation of my visits- as well as my varied activities- on Minnesota’s public lands since last April. You may notice that not every single day or visit is represented by a photograph. For instance, some photographs represent an activity carried out on several different parcels, at noted. Likewise, some outings occurred on many different days, such as foraging in Chippewa National Forest and George Washington State Forest throughout the summer and fall. I only wish I had remembered to bring my rally sign with me every time; regrettably, there are some gaps in coverage.
Our public lands, as you can see, are important to me throughout the year for camping, fishing, hunting, foraging, educating my children, and much more. If you are so inclined, please consider joining the Public Lands Day rally at the Minnesota state capitol February 7th, at 3:00. Thanks, and get outside.
Sucker fishing and camping, Cloquet Valley S.F. and CC Andrews S.F., April 2018 Continue reading “My Public Lands: 2018”
The fourth Thursday of November is still more than a month away, but now is the right time to go out and find that Thanksgiving staple: the cranberry. Didn’t know cranberries are growing wild in Minnesota? You’re definitely not alone. Continue reading “Foraging in Minnesota: Cranberries”
After a hot and sweaty couple of miles on the trail, it didn’t matter how cold the water might be or that there wasn’t really a beach. Once we’d found our campsite, taken off our packs, and changed, my kids and I took to the lake for our hard-earned reward. We spent about an hour playing in the water before going ashore for a break. I was made to promise we weren’t done swimming. After sitting in the shade and eating raspberries a while, my son said wistfully, “I wish we could stay here a week, just to swim and eat berries.” He was in paradise. We all were. Continue reading “Bring a Kid: Backpacking”
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When nature isn’t giving you what you want, maybe you have to re-think what you want from nature. Such was the case for us a few years ago on Labor Day weekend. Raspberries and others were a disappointment that year, and I had wanted to try making some jellies or jams. Continue reading “Foraging in Minnesota: Chokecherries”
August 2005, Isle Royale My wife and I went ashore from the ferry as it stopped at Windigo. With half an hour until the ferry continued around the island, we went into the visitor center to get our book stamped and ask about what we might find on the trail. We learned about the wolves, moose, and thimbleberries. “Whatberries?” I wasn’t sure if I’d heard correctly. “Thimbleberries,” repeated the Park Service employee. She described the berry she was talking about, and sure enough, we found plenty over our 6 days of hiking the island. Continue reading “Foraging in Minnesota: Thimbleberries”
Are you looking for a way to get kids into the outdoors? Do you want to do something simple, accessible, universally appealing, and fun? Take them berry picking.
I took my kids yesterday to some public land in east central Minnesota with the hope of finding some mushrooms and, if lucky, some raspberries or blueberries. Well, blueberries ended up being the main attraction, with some bonus raspberries and mushrooms as well. This is why we call it “foraging,” and not simply “harvesting.” You never know what you’re going to find. Continue reading “Bring a Kid: Berry Picking in MN”
Roy Heilman is a lifelong outdoorsman with a love for storytelling. Fishing, hunting, and foraging topics are of special interest to him, especially when those topics intersect with getting kids outdoors, public lands, and Minnesota’s natural resources. An adventurer at heart, he is always looking to do something new.
In addition to writing exclusive content for Never A Goose Chase, Roy also produces material on wide-ranging topics for newspapers and magazines. Publications where his work has appeared include American Hunter, Pointing Dog Journal, Minnesota Conservation Volunteer, Whitetails Unlimited Magazine, Outdoor News, MidWest Outdoors, and MDHA’s Whitetales Magazine. He has been a freelance contributor to Press Publications newspapers since June 2021, and Mankato Free Press since September 2021.
Roy is an award-winning communicator and an active member of the Association of Great Lakes Outdoor Writers (AGLOW) and Outdoor Writers Association of America (OWAA). A naturally curious lifelong learner, he is a graduate of Gustavus Adolphus College and the New England Conservatory of Music.
This website is dedicated to the idea that when we venture outdoors, it doesn’t matter if we return with a stringer full of fish, a basket full of mushrooms, a belly full of berries, or nothing at all. What does matter is that we go out, we make memories, and we make our lives richer. No matter what, it’s Never A Goose Chase.
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