The peace-making hero Pomeroy opposum lived in a persimmon tree along with his parents Big Bertha and Little John, and his nephew Baby Nu Nu who weighed 250 pounds and had a huge hollow in between his shoulder blades which came in handy for storing and carrying all kinds of things, including persimmons .

All Pomeroy’s animal friends had great names, like Cruiser and Bruiser the bear twins.  They learned to work together to support each other through droughts, floods, and sparse harvests.  Dad’s amazing adventures of the family of woods creatures planted seeds for my life-long love of local flora and my curiousity of our inter-connectedness (thanks Dad!).  I love knowing that some of the same trees Dad camped and hunted under as a teenager, inspired my childhood story time and now nourish me with their beauty and gifts.

Yesterday my friend Leif Diamant and I were scouting out our trail for Friday’s Wild Autumn Walkabout at the Shakori Hills Festival when we discovered freshly-fallen-to-the-ground perfectly ripe persimmons.  As I happily ate my first yummy persimmon of the year, I thought of Pomeroy who loved to lay around all day and feast on the sweet bright orange fruit.

If you’ve tried un-ripe persimmons you know they’ll make your mouth pucker and turn inside out.  Some folks have heard you have to wait till the first frost to enjoy ripe persimmons but I find if you harvest them freshly-fallen off the ground this time of year, they have lost their astringency and are my favorite local fruit, close behind figs and the rare paw paws.

Leif and I also enjoyed hackberries and black haw berries right of the trees.  Come join us as we delight in the fruits of fall and all other kinds of wild wonderment this Friday, October 8th from noon-2pm.  Maybe we’ll even catch a glimpse of Pomeroy .

Celebrating connections with Teen Nature DIVAS

Welcome to my “Journal of the Seasons”.  It’s a blog where I’ll be exploring interconnectedness and abundance.  That really leaves it wide open since I believe everything is connected: you, me, what’s wild and edible growing in the yarden right now, how community dances are revolutionary and fun…

So check back for seasonal recipes on how to prepare yummy healthy food and medicine from “weeds”, reflections on sharing yoga with teenagers, lessons from my Grandma Margie who lives down the road, and yes, stories from my amazing life.  There will also be a lot of themes I can’t even imagine right now, but you will somehow play a part in…since we’re all connected