I didn't do the workshop and instead spent the day in search of figs and nuts. I found lots of figs and brought them home to load up my dehydrator. I love dried figs. Then I went riding about North Portland in search of some hazelnuts. We have lots of hazelnut trees around the NW. One is a native hazelnut called a "beaked" hazelnut. Its rather small and of all the trees I have found hardly any have nuts. When I do find nuts they are hollow inside. I'm guessing either the squirrels get all the good ones early in the season or the trees just have off years of production. Maybe a combo of both. The other hazelnut I think is a european variety that looks very similar but has a bigger nut and different husk. After much searching I finally came upon a bountiful hazelnut tree. So bountiful that I spent from about 10:00am till 3:00 pm crawling about like a squirrel gathering nuts. In the end I had 2 bushel baskets full! Can't wait to make some hazelnut butter!
I am trying to keep on top of hat orders while also trying to store up for winter all the dried fruit, nuts and canned goods I can. The photo below (back to front) is a pack basket I wove this weekend from New Zealand Flax, my hazelnuts, dried pears, acorns for making acorn flour, and dried figs.
