At lunch today we went up into the nearby hills to collect Wild Leeks also known as Ramps.

After fruitlessly searching marshy lowland spots for Ramps for many years, I stumbled on this immense colony during a random lunchtime walk one spring day. Until that moment, I didn’t realize that these moisture loving plants might find happiness in ledgey wet pools on top of a hill- yet there they were as far as the eye could see in big gorgeous clumps of aromatic glory.

All the green in the distance are Ramps. Somehow the photo doesn’t do the scene justice.

Yesterday, Ben suggested we go up and see if the Ramps were big enough to be harvested. Since they were, we collected enough for him to pickle up a quart.

Ramp season is a short one of only a week or two so we set right off today for more. Laura, Thembi, Lizzy and baby Grace went on this second expedition as everyone wanted some after seeing Ben’s harvest yesterday.

As I noted to Laura, I only have pictures of her shoveling. She seemed to like this identity as the muscle of every task! In this photo you get more of a sense of exactly how many Ramps there are on this hilltop.

Grace continues to like her role as supervisor of all she surveys.

Thembi holds the full trug. The harvest made for a nice bunch for everyone to take home for supper with six zillion Ramps left to prosper and grow!