Napé oílekiyapi / Dogbane / Apocynum cannabinum

Waníyetu wóečhuŋ/ winter projects, latest installment: My cousin and I spent Christmas (not our religion, but a day off from work) making some Dogbane cordage. It creates a strong string or rope, and is fun to make. Here, you can see all 3 stages, from the dry stalks to the broken-down fibers, to the final

Wagmú waȟčá waŋ

Looking back, posting a pic from September: A late-season squash blossom. I had bought some Mexico-grown kabocha squash in early spring and thrown the seeds out onto the compost pile. A few of them grew into squash vines, but the compost pile doesn’t get great sun, so I transplanted them into the garden. Here is

Winter food resources: Crabapple

Crabapple branch. Covered in frost, but still perfectly edible. Pic taken in Bismarck; there are more food resources than you might think (for people and animals) out there in the winter, even in cities. I have not researched this myself, but I heard from Prof. Linda Black Elk that certain kinds of crabapples are native