Blessings from the nature

you get so much from the forest in spring. ive been going foraging with my dad to pick or dig wild edibles. i dont know if any of these are familiar in your place but ill list some names of the plants. young stems of udo, or aralia cordata (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aralia_cordata), tara-no-me, or shoots of Aralia elata (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aralia_elata),
warabi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiddlehead), zenmai (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zenmai), yomogi/mugwort, etc.
they might seem too wired to you but they are pretty good when processed/cooked in certain ways.
i especially like yomogi leaves. it has great smell and is good for you. im drying them to make tea and bug repellent.

cherry blossoms were blooming, so were wild strawberry bushes. they are everywhere in the woods. im excited to pick berries in june. i want to try making jam and wine out of it.

i became friends with this lady Amano-san, 74. she was very ill when she was young. western medicine couldnt cure her illness so she looked for solutions and learned alternative medicines. she leaned from George Oosawa, or Nyoichi Sakurazawa, the father of macrobiotics (a diet based on seasonal organic whole foods, with no animal products). she knows so much about medicinal power of wild herbs and plants, as well as the benefits of macrobiotic lifestyle, and leads her life upon them. it is kind of rare to meet people like her so im glad to have met her.

there may be more to report on but this is all for now.