That is really cool! I tried the acorns as we have a lot of elms on the property. But I found very few useable ones. There are worms that like to bore in. And even if you find any without the hole, most were still no good to eat. I was really hoping to try making acorn flour and acron cheese. But the effort was not worth any potential reward.
What does a beech nut taste like?
Iām not sure if this counts as foraging, but I found a skull in my friendās driveway one day! Iām 99.9% sure itās a house cat skull ā Iām still super shocked that I found it and that isā in near-perfect condition. It was kind of stuck in the gravel of my friendās driveway, but not embedded. I thought it was a mushroom at first 
I could just see the top of it and the color of it made me think that a mushroom was growing in the gravel.
I honestly donāt do a lot of foraging. I donāt currently have a lot of space set up for collections or different things in my house. If I did, you can bet that I would have all kinds of stones and cool looking branches 
As far as the skull goes, I have put it in the freezer twice now to make sure that there are no bugs or little critters inside of it. I got some advice from a friend on bleaching it and cleaning it up, I just havenāt done it yet.
Itās a subtle nutty taste - not quite sunflower, not quite pinenut but similar. Unfortunately, if they roast too long, they turn bitter, and I found a few of those today when I tossed the beechnuts in my salad 
I feel the same way about the chestnuts - so few that were good once I got them all roasted. Might try again next year, weāll see.
Oh I did forget to add an update on the Black Walnuts!
Those are beautiful!
I loved reading about your experience in the kitchen, roasting all these various local nuts. Youāre to be commended for the efforts!
Letās hope they cooperate better if you try this again next year. The ones that turned out as expected sound delicious! 
Score on the black walnuts! I contemplated planting one on the property but it doesnāt play well with most other plants so I decided Iād rather have the space for a bunch of stuff. I did plant a hazelnut tree this year. It will be awhile before I see any nuts from that though. Slowly Iām trying to add some permaculture plantings to my garden. I also added a couple more blueberry bushes, and a highbush cranberry. And asparagus and horseradish.
Does a beech nut come from any specific beech tree? I must have some beech on the land here. I want to see if I can find any and mark them for next year.
Enjoy your bonanza!
I took the chance to collect a couple of mulberry leaves, today. At a move in my peripheral vision, I noticed a cute lizard in the tree. As I stepped back, I almost stepped on a grasshopper! Once he settled a minute, I walked around him to attempt taking a pic of the lizard. No joy there, but the grasshopper stayed and almost posed for me.
Foraging includes photo hunting the local wildlife. 
Entry challenge: Foraging @TheMuslimWitch
I hope this isnāt too on the dark side for some, however I have foraged two very particular items.
1- I found a birdās skull under my house (donāt ask why my cats decided to hide their new kittens under the floor of our house through a hole made for pipes and was very hard for me to fit under there and retrieve 5 of the 7 babies as they were feeding the two we have in the laundry and left those under the house, so I brang them back and blocked the hole):
2- kitten placenta! Yes I know gross and sorry but in my husbandās culture, the one who has a dried kitten placenta will be lucky and wealthy as they are rare to get in the first place as cats usually give birth some where secuded or they eat is straight away and I was able to get 3, two I dried using salt under a dehumidifer, and one in a glass bottle reserving with white alcohol:
The mothers are sisters and both had babies and for some reason they nurse each otherās babies which is good i guess since the babies get fed frequently. Tried originally spiliting them up with their own babies, but Moonlight the white mother, decided to abandon hers and feed her sisterās babies so when I put them together they feed them all and when one mother is either eating or walking about, the other is there to look after them.
Itās a pity this will be over by the time Eric and I go up to the cabin. I will be doing some serious foraging while we are up there. Here, not so much.
Challenge entry. Today my family and I went to the local park. Although we didnāt find anything to bring back home, we got to learn about some of the plants there, including Devilās Cherry! We also got to see some really cool stuff, like a bee, some pretty flowers, and lots fallen walnuts that my son gathered in his bucket to toss into the creek. I did find a piece of an old plate and a pretty shaped quartz crystal that I may turn into a necklace, if that countās lol. Foraging is fun, but it can be challenging too depending on the time of year. Iām actually glad there wasnāt ānormalā things there and instead things we looked up and learned about.
Happy to share and glad you enjoyed it!
Beautiful photo of the butterfly bush 
What a beautiful mound of sage!! Was it very fragrant?
I think the white fluffy seeds you saw are from a milkweed plant. You can see several unopened pods (circled) and in your photo - there is a seed pod in the bottom left that just opened! Very cool!
How fun! Youāll have to let us know how it works out! 
I had to come back and let you know how much I love your collection!! You have so many wonderful and beautiful treasures 
What an incredible collection of conch shells! I am envious of your antler collection as well. I have yet to find a deer antler on my runs/walks/hikes, but Iām ever hopeful!
I completely agree with you on this. The more time I spend outside in nature, the better and more grounded I feel.
Oh my, that sounds wonderful! I love your collection of foraged - you have access to an amazing variety of plants!! 
Sounds like a wonderful way to pass the time, enjoying the bounty and harvesting bits here and there.
What a lovely idea 
and a great way to incorporate the wild into your practice! If you ever feel like sharing in the future, Iād love to hear about it. Iāve found a bird skull, another birdās taloned foot and a domestic catās atlas and axis bones and use them in different ways mostly in divination.
Oh. My. Word. I would love to stroll those grounds and see all the amazing trees and plants! Iām sure there are grand old trees and unusual species there 
Personally I think it counts. It might not be the standard defination of searching for food resources, but I feel that non-food items found in the wild can be foraged for spiritual purposes. Honestly thatās such an amazing find to find it clean and intact.
Thank you! I think one can tell when the topic is something I really love and this has been fun to hunt for nuts and learn how to process them! I enjoyed sharing my adventure
No it doesnāt lol. I was lucky to find a small stand of them on a utility access road that I run on.
Iām still trying to find either American Hazelnut or the Beaked Hazelnut around here but either donāt know what Iām looking for or they arenāt in the areas Iāve looked.
The beechnuts I harvested are from American Beech (Fagus grandifolia). Actually now that I look it up, itās the only species in the genus in North America. Huh. learned something new today! Oh and it does look like itās common in Maine although Beech bark disease and Beech leaf disease impact the population. Looks like NCās population is threateded by Beech bark disease as well.
Sorry, yaāll, went off on a plant/tree/shrub research rabbit hole 
I still want you to share, please! I would enjoy seeing what you find and what you keep to take home
You know I had to look that up! I donāt think Iāve ever heard that common name for it before 
Fits well with deadly nightshade and belladonna.
Very nice, I hope it serves you well as a necklace And Iād love to see it if you do turn it into a necklace!
Whew okā¦ Iāll stop talking now
Well, donāt stop on my account! I love to learn, and you are very knowledgeable about plants and trees, and I always learn something new from your threads. I think itās great! 
Georgia 
Iād say yes! Photos definitely count 
I love huntsman 
they eat all the insects. My verandah plants are alive with little 
and now huntsman
Hello, everyone!
I have never heard of the word āForgingā until this Challenge. I always like to learn something new. So this Challenge is going to be a challengeā¦
According to Spells 8 āForaging is the act of searching for usefulā.
As I was doing research, I found this information
from: Forging Witchcraft Tools, A Conversation With A Pagan Blacksmith.
As Witches, we use a lot of forged tools ā from Athames and Swords to horseshoe nails and cloak pins.
I have 1 day to pull this.
Off.Letās see if I can do itā¦
I Agree with you one hundred percent , keep putting that information out there!
MOTE IT BE
Medea
The forum has become a beautiful treasure hoard full of natural goodies and wisdom! A big thank you to everyone who has shared their foraging adventures and finds so far 
This is a heads up that the challenge is approaching its end. It will close to entries tomorrow: Tuesday, October 21 at 7:00 AM ET (Eastern US Time)
If you havenāt already shared an entry with the coven but would like to join in, this is your friendly reminder that you still have time left to do so.
Also, please donāt forget to vote for your favorite award badge if you havenāt already. Thank you!
Blessed Be 
OMG did I seriously say I collected acorns from elm trees? So you guys know Iām not a dolt, I collected them from the many oaks I have here. Oof.
Given the topic you are discussing is also a favorite of mine, do not stop! I love plants, gardens, foraging. Your jam is totally my jam!
You do realize there is a difference between forging (melting and reforming metal into tools) and foraging (seeking items out in nature which can be useful in daily life)? One letter makes all the difference. Do explore both.
Sorry this came so late for you. However, nature items donāt take much seeking. This challenge is just a matter of getting outdoors long enough to look around for sticks, herbs, local wildlife with whom to make friends, nuts, rocks, shells, feathers, whatever may be available, even if itās just in your own back yard.
I went 
when I read that but figured it was a mistype! Happens to us all. 
This is the last day to join the challenge 
