womp womp....

For a very brief period of time, we were in the process of buying a house.  I had begun cleaning out my attic, packing, planning summertime campfires, fantasizing about all the great wild plants that would be growing at my new place and storing all of my homegrown canned goods in the root cellar.
Alas, it was not to be.  Long story short, the neighbor is a complete nut job and made us beyond uncomfortable.  The only way we could, in good conscience, purchase this house is if the neighbor moved.
So, we regrouped and decided that the best course of action is to hang back for a bit, keep on where we are at and save more money.
Not really the route I wanted to take, but so it goes.  When life hands you lemons, make lemonade and hope it doesn't taste like shit.

 So, here we are.  Beltane is just a two days away, the dandelions are blooming, the violets are coming up and I've spotted my first bit of purple dead nettle in the yard!

Purple dead nettle (also know as the arch angel flower) is an unfortunate name for this plant as it is not a nettle at all, but in fact a mint!
The easiest way to identify any member of the mint family is to examine the stem.  If it's square, than it's a mint.  Being a member of the mint family, this plant is edible.  It has no aroma (that I've ever been able to detect) and it tastes rather green and refreshing.  It's one of my favorite spring greens.  I just go out into the yard and clip the plant, stem and all, into my salad.  It doesn't get very big, only a couple of inches, so I don't cut it up, I just eat the whole thing.
The leaves are quite fuzzy, which may take a little getting used to, but once you mix it into a salad or add it to a smoothie, you can't tell anyway.
Purple dead nettle is an annual and it doesn't hang around very long.  Once you spot one, pay attention; they will start popping up all over the place.  Many gardeners and landscapers hate this plant because it's incredibly invasive and can take over where ever the seeds land.  However, instead of freaking out over this highly nutrient dense plant, you should be eating it.
If you went out into your back yard right now, I'd hazard to guess you've got a bit of this growing somewhere.  As long as it hasn't been sprayed with anything, you should pick some and add it to your salad.  After this obnoxiously cold, long winter we've had our bodies need bright, nutrient dense, green things.
Thanks for reading this!