Canning Freezing Drying drying beans Dig and store potatoes Clear gardens Winter cover and fallow Split wood Hunt molly moochers (morels) Ginseng Gardens Gathering (domestic use) Commercial gathering plow and plant gardens onions greens peas potatoes sweet potatoes corn beans tomatoes dig wild greens ramps poke woolen britches Shawnee lamb's tongue maple syrup sassafras pick wild berries strawberries red mulberries blackberries grapes raspberries huckleberries elderberries currants wineberries paw-paw persimmon Christmas Sumac Witch hazel Sassafras moss ninebark yellowroot bloodroot mayapple hellgrammites Virginia snakeroot Indian turnip Gather nuts hickory beech butternut chestnut walnut hazelnut chinquapin community events ramp festivals tend graves family reunions cookouts fish fries molasses making corn shucking Fishing spring gobblers bear deer squirrels Hunting hellgrammites December November November October September September August August July June May April March February January Harvest Ginseng Berries Planting Deer Mining Logging Services Self-employment Construction Teaching Health Care Year Round Work Tending the Commons

Seasonal Round of Activities on Coal River
Image Version of Seasonal RoundText Version of Seasonal Round

The seasonal round on Coal River, showing the continuing role of the mixed mesophytic forest in community life. Many of these activites rely on common pool resources located in the mountains. Adapted from the graphic by Suzuki Graphics, based on interviews and a field sketch by Mary Hufford.

* The asterisks indicate species either extinct or in decline and cultural practices no longer observed.

Tending the Commons