A Look at the Neuroscience of Love

     Artists of varying mediums throughout the theatrical, musical, visual and written arts have tried to describe the human condition that is most commonly known in the Western World as “falling in love”. Investigations into the neuroscience underlying mammalian bonding have revealed some of the processes during different phases of attachment and bonding. While there are still many unknowns about the emotional interactions between human beings, neuroendocrinology shows clear patterns indicating that much of what artists have strived to explain through metaphors about “falling in love” may be definitively explained by science. When people fall in love, they often describe it as a magical, mysterious connection between two individual people that could only be the way that it is between that specific pair. Will neuroscience successfully break the connection between lovers down into sequential, compartmentalized components and facts?

     Neuroendocrine science is based on the study of the interactions between the neurological and endocrine systems. With regards to love and related behavioral states, research has revealed the interplay between hormones such as oxytocin and vasopressin, and the neurotransmitter dopamine. The ratios of oxytocin, vasopressin and dopamine vary according to relationship phases (De Boer, Van Buel and Ter Horst 120).

     Oxytocin and vasopressin promote trust, bonding and affection. Oxytocin has been referred to as the “love hormone”. It is released in large quantities in both mothers and infants during birth and breastfeeding, it is released in large quantities when people are physically affectionate with each other, and it is an important component of the “bonding glue” between people in long term relationships (Mikolajczak1, Gross2, Lane1, et al 1). Vasopressin has been referred to as the “monogamy” hormone, when vasopressin levels are adjusted in prairie and mountain voles their relationship longevity in terms of promiscuity or monogamy are predictably altered (Lim, Hammock, Young).

     Dopamine is released when we feel euphoric pleasure; we learn to seek out more of whatever that something was to get more dopamine. According to neurologists it’s not what we are doing that feels good, it is the shot of dopamine that transmits messages of pleasure through the brain’s reward system that feels good. Dopamine is strongly involved with the sensations of pleasure and reward that motivate addictions. It is for the shot of dopamine that the cocaine addict snorts one more line, that the compulsive gambler cashes in on his children’s trust fund to take the chance on a big win, and it is the almost universal craving for dopamine bliss that is at the root of a consumerist culture in which so many will dig themselves deeply into debt in order to buy unessential goods for the rush of acquisition.

     There are uncountable popular references to passionate love as an addiction. Robertson Davies writes “The pleasures of love are for those who are hopelessly addicted to another living creature. The reasons for such addiction are so many that I suspect they are never the same in any two cases.”(qtd. in Brundage, Lahey 422) Modern neuroscientists would most certainly disagree with Davies as it seems that the reason for the addictive quality of love is universally the same in all cases. The addiction to love is seen within the discipline of neuroscience as a basic addiction to the pleasure sensations that spurts of dopamine provide as a reward for romantic interaction that could lead to evolutionary propagation of the human species. The sensations of falling in love are the fodder for prose and songs throughout recorded time; the butterflies in the stomach, the bliss, the anxiety, effects that are explained by neuroscientists and endocrinologists as correlating with various hormonal and neurological processes and substances. But it is ultimately a craving for more dopamine that creates the sense of neediness for the object of our love. Dopamine is what drives us to want to do more of anything that results in a sense of pleasure, most obviously seen working when we observe the drive of the addict to get more of what they feel they can’t live without, including those who would describe themselves as being in love.

Whoa, you like to think that you're immune to the stuff, oh yeah

It's closer to the truth to say you can't get enough

You know you're gonna have to face it, you're addicted to love

-       Robert Palmer, 1986

 

When people describe themselves as being newly in love fMRI imaging reveals that their brains behave similarly to those of addicts (De Boer, Van Buel and Ter Horst 117). All the lover can think about is the object of their desire; they lose sleep, they often forget to eat, and they will obsess over every encounter and how, when, and where the next one can take place. Obsessive being an operative word, there is some evidence that passionate love resembles Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) in some individuals, due to similar patterns of serotonin levels, and that medications used to control OCD symptoms may actually inhibit passionate love symptoms (Langeslag). This could be problematic for OCD patients in their personal relationships; however it could also be a treatment for love “sickness” itself. Examples of where one could be treated for “love sickness” include those who are suffering from the neurobiological effects of love that is unrequited to a degree that it negatively impacts their lives, or the stalker who cannot easily resist the compulsion to be near their target.

You're my drug

And I don't ever know if I can give you up

Well you bring me colour where once I had just black and white

Now I have rainbows appearing round here in the night

-       Andy Partridge, 1987

 

     The development of neuroenhancing love drugs is also a possible reality in the not too distant future. Experiments on prairie voles that are socially monogamous in ways similar to humans have revealed that when their neurological and endocrine systems are manipulated the relationships and attractions between these animals can be consistently altered. It is unknown if similar manipulations on humans would work with the same consistent efficacy, but there are enough similarities in the neurobiology of humans and prairie voles to indicate the possibilities of pharmaceuticals that could enhance the amorous feelings towards individual and between partnered human beings. These could be use to enhance marital therapy, apparently inhaled oxytocin nasal sprays have been demonstrated to increase feelings of trust. More sinister possibilities include a whole new calibre of “date rape drugs” that could hypothetical compel the recipient to be receptive to an individual by stimulating the parts of the brain that activate trust, yearning, the desire for closeness, and the sensations associated with the perception of falling in love (Young).

     The development of neuroenhancing love drugs that would improve bonding and relationships between people brings up a number of ethical quandaries, for example if one must take drugs to maintain marital fidelity, is this “true” love as we think of and know it? What is the value of “true love”? Is it ethically any different than medicating people for ADHD or other behavioral issues? Would people feel pressured into taking these neuroenhancements in order to feel “in love” with spouses of their parents choosing, or to feel attracted to people they otherwise never would have for reasons of convenience? What is right or wrong about these ethical issues if one feels happily in love, attached, or bonded, regardless of how they got to feel that way? Most people would agree that it would be unethical to drug someone in this way without their consent, however such powerful “love potions” would surely make their way to the black markets, as most pharmaceuticals eventually do despite attempted controls. They may also be used in different ways within different cultures, for instance in many traditions marriage is not based on consent of both partners, nor is there universal emphasis on being “in love” as a prerequisite for marriage, could drugs be used to enhance the amorous feelings between pairs resistant to  arranged couplings?

     There is a body of collaborative research devoted to the study and discussion of neuroethics, in Canada there is substantial work in this field. Ethical questions around research techniques, discoveries and potential brain and behavioural modification developments within neuroscience research are not limited to love drugs, there are other issues involving many facets of this science. The Neuroethics New Emerging Team (NET), a Canadian multidisciplinary research group describes the magnitude of range these ethical quandaries envelope as “matters raised by advances in functional neuroimaging, brain implants and psychopharmacology as well as emerging issues relating to behaviour, personality, and consciousness.” (NET)

     While there are professional and academic bodies that are looking at neuroethics from a wide range of standpoints, it is undeniable that sexual enhancement drugs are popular items on the public markets. Neuroenhancing love drugs that stimulate oxytocin, vasopressin and dopamine productivity could be profitably enticing enough to motivate their rapid development by pharmaceutical interests regardless of what is determined by neuroethical research and collaborative organizations.

It is likely that the understandings revealed by neuroscience on the nature of human bonding, attraction and love will probably lead to shifts in how we understand what the artists throughout time have struggled to define. It is also probable that one day relationship troubles could be treated much in the way other human behavioral difficulties are with pharmaceutical interventions. Passionate love can be a beautiful state of being when it’s reciprocal, a dreadful one when it is not, and a longed for state that some people wish they could have within an existing relationship or with a potential partner for matters of practicality and convenience.  Bonded love can be threatened by any number of incompatibilities as indicated by high divorce rates. There are many circumstances under which individuals might appreciate the option to medicate their brain chemistry to correct processes that are perceived as detrimental to their lives, whether it’s to feel more or less love in its various phases.

     The sciences have been expanding our knowledge about the nature of the material world for centuries, yet our understandings about the neurobiology behind our behaviours, cognitive abilities and emotions are still in their infancy. There could be exciting treatment possibilities, ethical dilemmas, and dissonance between different belief systems as neuroscience unravels the mysteries of our brains and their interconnected physiological systems. Will this reduce the beautiful attempts by artists to describe magic and romance into superstitious drivel, or will the mysteries of our individuality be forever a weak spot untouchable by science, a reliable haven for creative metaphorical expressions to remain relevant?     
(Sources  available upon request)

Tip Jars for Baristas

We've opened up a little espresso & crepe cafe. It's a take out place; people place their orders at a little window, we make their coffees and crepes to go, or to stay on the patio, but they do take their food and drinks to their tables themselves.

It never occurred to me *not* to have a tip jar. We aren't making enough money to pay more than minimum wage, and I've always tipped at coffee shops, so I assume most people do. I decided to have fun with our tip jars and went online to look for silly tipping quotes to attach to it. I was surprised when I encountered a whole lot of blog posts and published articles by people who strongly disagree with tip jars at takeout places of any kind, including espresso coffee shops where a barista is making their coffees. I found a couple of articles by people who believe making coffee is no different than flipping burgers at your typical fast food chain. These articles were written by people who clearly have no personal experience working in these kinds of places, and who have little understanding of what goes into making an exceptional cup of coffee. So, being the do-gooder that I apparently am, I'm going to put this out there to try and help some readers understand why tip jars at a take out window where a barista is making coffee is a given.

First of all, why do we tip, at least here in North America? To Insure Prompt Service. To take it even further, I would say that people should tip wherever they hope for excellent service involving food or beverages, and where they hope for any degree of special attention to their product. My husband and I both worked in the bar industry; most bars offer waitress service, but many bar patrons essentially "take out" their drinks from the bar counter, and yet bartenders almost always have tip jars and expect to get tipped for the drink they make. In the bar industry, tippers are treated better, their drinks are poured stronger, made better, the bartender will try and remember what the regular tipper likes to drink and how they like it. The tips earn that customer special treatment, faster service, something extra. If things get really busy the tippers will get served first, and the non tippers will have to wait.

Well, the making of an espresso coffee has much in common with the making of a martini or cocktail. I had no idea, until I watched our incredibly talented baristas, how much goes into making these coffees! There are international barista competitions, there is a precise way to tamp the grounds to avoid bitterness, elaborate techniques to adjust the grinds/water temperature/steam the milk, there are barista magazines, endless barista courses and seminars they can take to master their skills. These are things the general public may not realize, unless you've worked as a barista in a coffee shop that prides itself on providing excellent coffees, or unless you're a customer who appreciates an extra good coffee. If a barista puts extra care into your coffee, the coffee will taste a million times better than if the barista doesn't care and just slaps it together. If we tip bartenders even though we carry our own drinks to our tables, we should absolutely tip baristas who make each individual espresso coffee, particularly if we appreciate an excellent cup of coffee vs. any old cup of coffee.

Now, I've worked in the service industry for a long time off and on and I have no problem with tipping in general, though I can agree that there are tip jars in a few places that have me lifting my eyebrow. However if it's students working there, or, if I get excellent friendly service by anyone anywhere I shop and there's a tip jar I don't mind tossing in some change. So in general, I have no hostile feelings towards tip jars in any variety of places really, but I want more people to understand that with coffee specifically, custom made espresso coffees are on par with the making of martinis and cocktails, or pouring the perfect tap beer, or serving a soda and sandwich to a table. Tip your barista~!

Playground Politics

As a mom of three young kids in this era of hyper parenting, I've recognized two categories of parents at public playgrounds/play places.

1) There are the parents who believe that UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES should ANYONE, ANYWHERE dare to EVER, E-V-E-R go up a slide, slides are ONLY for going DOWN on.

2) Then there's everyone else, who fit somewhere on a sliding scale of reasonability.

Our rules on this matter are that we only allow slide-going-upping if no one else is on it, waiting to go down. We understand that slide-going-downers have priority. It's happened in a few instances where my children are happily climbing UP a slide, as that first category of parents loudly proclaim to their children, with voices aimed in our direction, that slides are ONLY FOR GOING DOWN ON. Then they have given us the hairy eyeballs; for not following their rules, and for demonstrating to their over-controlled children that SOMETIMES their parent's rules are not absolutes.

Thankfully it seems that in most places we frequent, we encounter the second category of parents, and it's simply a matter of finding our mutually reasonable solution if we need to step in and help the kids to play safely and kindly.

I was inspired to write this by Dani's "Parents That I Can't Stand Series". Hers is a hoot because I figure most of us fit in there somewhere, I found myself in there as the Burnout Mom. Don't go in there if you're feeling easily offended, but otherwise, she has 6 KIDS and a great sense of snarky humor.

Any of you get the hairy eyeball at the playgrounds for anything like this? Or, are you a firm believer that no one should ever EVER go UP a slide?

Capture Spring Time - Dandelion Flower Massage Oil

Find a big patch of big joyful springtime Dandelions and pick lots of flowers. Try and be grumpy while you do this, I did. It doesn't work. These spring-time dandelions are so big, soft and bursting with sunshine that it's impossible to avoid catching their cheer.

Fill some jars with them, then fill the soaces around them with oil (I used cheap canola, it's all I had on hand), then put the jars into some sunshine. Let them sit for a couple of weeks, then strain the oil. Store it somewhere dark and cool, and then use it up within a year. Some say it's better to dry the flowers out a bit before infusing in oil, but I'm skipping that because time to do these kinds of things is limited for me - I had a moment to do this and I went for it. I do see, looking a the pic that I need to add more oil so that the flowers are totally immersed, to avoid molding.

Dandelion oil is an external pain reliever excellent for arthritis, sore joints, and sore muscles. It's perfect for warm massages on sore spots in the winter, and the scent of spring is good for the spirits in the dark season too. Apparently it's very good for massaging sore pms breasts, and for decreasing cellulite. I plan to give small bottles away as gifts for the holidays, who wouldn't want to receive a small bottle of springtime?

To read from more sources about the benefits, uses and methods of making this oil let me google that for you

Chickweed

Chickweed. This plant is so common, we've all stepped on it, weeded it, and seen it pretty much anywhere in the world not covered in snow. It's an incredibly useful medicinal herb, but it's also one of the most nutritious green vegetables you could find, and it's available for free, in all likely hood right outside your front, or backdoor somewhere.

Where I live I see it pretty much all year round, and same with wherever it is that Susan Weed lives. It's so common I was hesitant to identify it, thinking, I see plants that look like this all over the place, it can't be the extremely useful, health giving and legendary chickweed, can it? But yes it is.

I first handed a sprig of it to Hammy the Hamster



Hammy knows the good stuff. I tossed some in our salad, and the texture is wonderful, it's a succulent which means the leaves hold a lot of water; in a salad it's crisp and crunchy like perfect spinach, but with a milder taste.

Here is some of the good stuff I found out about Chickweed:

Ascorbic-acid, Beta-carotene, Calcium, Coumarins, Genistein, Gamma-linolenic-acid, Flavonoids, Hentriacontanol, Magnesium, Niacin, Oleic-acid, Potassium, Riboflavin, Rutin, Selenium, Triterpenoid saponins, Thiamin, and Zinc. The whole plant is used in alternative medicine as an astringent, carminative, demulcent, diuretic, expectorant, laxative, refrigerant, vulnerary. A decoction of the whole plant is taken internally as a post-partum depurative, emmenagogue, galactogogue and circulatory tonic. It is also used to relieve constipation, an infusion of the dried herb is used in coughs and hoarseness, and is beneficial in the treatment of kidney complaints. as an astringent, carminative, demulcent, diuretic, expectorant, laxative, refrigerant, vulnerary. A decoction of the whole plant is taken internally as a post-partum depurative, emmenagogue, galactogogue and circulatory tonic. It is also used to relieve constipation, an infusion of the dried herb is used in coughs and hoarseness, and is beneficial in the treatment of kidney complaints. New research indicates it's use as an effective antihistamine. The decoction is also used externally to treat rheumatic pains, wounds and ulcers. It can be applied as a medicinal poultice and will relieve any kind of roseola and is
effective wherever there are fragile superficial veins or itching skin conditions. Folklore Chickweed water is an old wives' remedy for obesity. (SOURCE)
Traditional Chinese medicine regards chickweed as sweet, moist and cool as well as vulnerary (wound healing). Stellaria dichotoma [yin chai ha]: In Chinese medicine the root of this plant is used to make a decoction which is employed as a febrifuge, emmenogogue, lactogogue, to stop noseleeds, to control heavy menstrual bleeding, and as a tonic for undernourished children.
Stellaria saxatilis [di jin cao]: A decoction of this plant is used in Chinese medicine for aching bones; is cooked with pork for cough and hemorrhage; is steeped in wine for rheumatism; is used as a poultice for rheumatism.

Google for yourself if you're interested in learning more, there's bountiful information on this plant that grows abundantly whether in fields, gardens, or cracks in the sidewalks.

There is no reason that lack of money or lack of decent produce for sale in the stores should hinder families from eating healthy, fresh vegetables on a regular basis. Between sprouting, and wildcrafting (gathering wild plants to eat, like chickweed!) there is ample cheap and ultra healthy vegetation available to anyone for mere pennies in the case of sprouting, or for free in the case of wildcrafting. Whether one is poor or not, eating greens fresh from a garden, or fresh from the earth is eating vegetables at their peak of healthfulness. Chickweed is free for the taking almost anywhere people live. Watch for this little green treasure wherever you may walk, wherever in the world you are reading this from.

Links about Chickweed:
http://www.herbalcuisine.com/Chickweed.html
http://www.herbalremediesinfo.com/chickweed.html
http://www.sacredearth.com/ethnobotany/foraging/Chickweed.php
http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/Plants.Folder/Chickweed.html
http://www.healthy.net/scr/article.asp?ID=1651
http://www.gardensalive.com/article.asp?ai=871&bhcd2=1233443833
http://herbalistpath.blogspot.com/2007/04/chickweed-itch-oil.html

Clothing sizes belittling women and girls. Bad bad Garage!

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You make me feel like a natural woman

Before I had kids, I was a real man's woman.

Meaning that my friends were mostly men. I was comfortable with men: I swore, spit, played pretty good pool, drank bourbon, and I liked a lot of aggressive music.
I have a crappy fashion sense; if I spend money on myself it's on books and bad habits. Unlike many women I knew back then, I didn't generally wear shoes that were worth noticing. These differences often made me feel apart from the rest of my gender who often seemed to me to be a completely separate species. That was before I became, well, a woman's woman.

I easily developed good, comfortable platonic friendships with men. My friendships with women were tumultuous, competitive, and melodramatic. I loved my female friends when I hung out with them individually, but I would escape groups of women to hang out with more comfortable groups of men, or mixed groups; I was some sort of alien in a strange land when left to awkwardly flounder in the exclusive company of women.

All that changed after my first miscarriage. As my body painfully expelled a tiny embryo that I was hopelessly in love with, I realized that I was experiencing something very womanly. My suffering was a story going back to the beginning of human time, more specifically, women's time. When I began looking for answers, I lucked upon an online support forum where women who were suffering grief from losses and/or difficulties trying to conceive shared their struggles and knowledge. I found myself in the company of women, and for once, I felt that I shared something major with them, that I was even one of them.

My male friends were for the most part, well, useless in these times (exceptions being Scott, the night my world really fell apart, and George, an inspiration I will never forget, RIP). As that bloody nightmare of a year went on to feature two more miscarriages, my male friends retreated, unable to relate to me any more in my world of baby obsession and loss. It was my girlfriends who got me through. Most of them online, but a community of them nonetheless. We were a loyal, funny and loving bunch on the former boards at women.com and at lifecycle, which became ovusoft.com. I lost touch with many of my first, bestest online friends from those times, but I'll never forget those women who supported me in my bluest hours, who welcomed me into the folds of their communities, who welcomed me into the world of women as if I belonged there.

I've not left the company of women since; three miscarriages, three full term pregnancies, three births, child rearing, play dates, homeschooling groups online, homeschooling gatherings offline. For the most part, all of these communities  are run and populated by mothers and their children. A few men enter those worlds sometimes, and when they're there it's wonderful, but it is primarily women who I interact with in my life as a mother.

Thank you, women of the internet, and mothers in my offline community, who let this macho freaky lady with bad shoes and sometimes an abrasive personality into your world. Thank you for taking me in.

Rose Bud or Petal Tea

An easy and delicious tea can be made out of rosebuds. Petals work too, but rosebuds are sturdier and less likely to get crushed during transport. I have read that you can use any kind of rosebuds and petals, organic ideally, but Dog Roses are often used for edible and medicinal purposes. They grow wild in many regions, and they have a certain wild rose taste that is different than the roses more commonly cultivated in people's gardens. I collect mine from wild dog woods that bramble around my neighborhood.

It's incredibly easy to make rosebud tea. Pour very hot water on them and let it sit for a few minutes, strain the fragrant water into a cup, and add a little bit of your preferred sweetener. Then drink your divine concoction and enjoy a gentle mood lift along with the sweet flavor. A muscular macho friend of my husband's was visiting when I made the pictured cup of tea, and he thinks I'm weird anyways, so it was with amusement that I prepared this in front of him. I offered him a cup; at first he scowled at the idea of drinking flower petals, but he admitted after drinking it up that it was surprisingly delicious, not at all what he had expected. I assume using more commonly cultivated roses for this would result in a rosier kind of flavor, dog roses really do have a special scent and flavour of their own. Many herbalists and old world Europeans make rosehip tea, which is very high in antioxidants and vitamin C. Rosehips sit there for our picking throughout the late fall and winter, just when we need the vitamin C the most.

Beyond just nutritional benefits, there are known medicinal benefits inherent in roses. They are nervines that can calm depression and stress, either by ingestion, or even by smell alone. Apparently they are good for asthma, by inhaling the essential oil vapors . At the time of this writing a Wiki has this interesting bit of lore that is new to me:
"Rosa Canina was dried and then smoked with tobacco to produce mild hallucinogenic effects and abnormal dreams." For further info by a couple of really good herbalist bloggers on roses and their uses, visit Gaia's Gifts and A Medicine Woman's Roots. Roses have been used for culinary, cosmetic and medicinal purposes in India and surrounding regions for centuries. Many scrumptious Indian and Mediterranean sweets are prepared with rosewater, and rosewater beauty products are abundant in many ethnic stores. I once bought Jasmine and rosebud tea in Chinatown primarily because of the beautifully designed tin that contained it, but the taste of that tea was astonishingly delicious.

Next time you pass some wild rose bushes, take a few petals or buds, or hips, (never all of the buds or flowers from one plant) and bring them home to try for yourself. Your body, your mind, and your taste buds will thank you. And it is safe for children as well, unless smoked of course.

Wildcrafting

Identifiable by their triangular/roundish leaves and wee white flowers in the center, Miner's Lettuce grows prolifically in the forested part of our property. It is an unassuming little succulent that is as common as dandelions in some parts of the West Coast, yet rarely noticed unless one knows to look for it. It has a crunchy texture as delightful and refreshing as spinach, and it is a rich source of vitamins and minerals. I'm a fan of Miner's Lettuce leaves tossed with small young Dandelion leaves, fresh Parsley and Chive cuttings from my garden, and a little leaf lettuce to mellow out the flavour for my kids. I usually drizzle this salad with a balsamic vinaigrette, and if I have some on hand I crumble some warmed goat cheese on top.

Emma enjoys Wildcrafting with me. It's a special thing for us to do together. My own Mommy (RIP) used to take me wildcrafting as a young girl; we'd walk through rural Manitoban fields and forests as she taught me about medicinals and edibles. I remember studying burdock plants and their multi-year growth cycles, learning about crushing certain flowers for mosquito repellents, and nibbling on edibles as we walked in a peaceful way so that deer and other animals wouldn't be frightened of us. Now I am able to share this magic with my own little Emma. I'm only familiar with a few edibles and medicinals by sight, but I look forward to learning more with both of my girls through the years. We are lucky to live where we live; we are surrounded by lush healthy forests with cleared trails, a wildcrafter's dream.

Last spring I discovered the ease of cooking with Stinging Nettles. Once cooked the sting is gone and since I was pregnant last spring, this exceptionally nutritious and healing plant was welcome in my kitchen as a frequent pot herb. I have used it in vegetarian chillis, soups, pasta sauces, stir fries, stews and used the cooking water as an addition to my herbal teas.

Why dine on weeds some people may wonder? Well, they are more nutritious than any green you will find in your mainstream grocery store (at least the three I have listed here), they are free, and it is a pleasure to be out in the natural world collecting them. It's an ancient practise that connects us with the wise peoples of generations behind us. My Croatian mother in law calls Stinging Nettles

"Cope-rrrrra-va" and told me that throughout old world Europe they are sauteed with garlic and oil and relished as a cooked green, as are Dandelions. It's incredible to me that gourmet restaurants sell dandelion greens in their salads while charging a bundle for such fanciness. Meanwhile poor people are unaware of the plethora of nutritious, free foods that are there for the taking anywhere that weeds have been allowed to grow!

For anyone inspired to try this at home, there is a season for most wild plants and their edibility. Spring is best for nettles and miner's lettuce, dandelions are best for salads when the leaves are young and smooth, though the big leaves can be good for cooking with if they are not too hairy.

For more information on wildcrafting in your regions, type wildcrafting and the area name into Google. You are sure to find that you are not locally alone in your interest, and you will also learn about which plants are safe for consumption where you are planning to forage.