Wild Blessings

Welcome to Wild Blessings

A learning resource that can help you get outside and connect with nature

We offer instruction and resources to help you enjoy and benefit from time outdoors, your guide to learning more about creation and the One who made it!

 

Upcoming Classes – October 2022

Here are the next Wild Blessings classes on the calendar. Click learn more for each class to get details and other dates.  Besides the weekly online Teaching Tuesday classes that are offered for free, there will be the following In Person WB adventures.

October 4 – COOKING W/ CHESTNUTS – Tuesday, October 4, 2022 9-noon, Todd, NC $35/person – $20 for Wild Blessings Patreon members. LEARN MORE         

October 18  – MAKING WILD MEDICINE INTENSIVE – Tuesday, October 18, 2022 9-12 PM, Todd, NC – $35/person – $20 for Wild Blessings Patreon members. LEARN MORE

October 22 – COOKING W/ FALL ROOTS – Saturday, October 22, 2022 1-4 PM, Todd, NC – $35/person – $20 for Wild Blessings Patreon members. LEARN MORE  (details coming soon)

October 25 – FORAGING W/ HOLLY – Tuesday, October 25, 2022 9-12 PM, Todd, NC $35/person – $20 for Wild Blessings Patreon members. LEARN MORE (details coming soon)

Classes fill quickly. Sign up now to reserve your spot. Reservations are required and class sizes are limited. Payment in advance through PayPal, Venmo, or direct arrangement by contacting Holly Drake at 828-406-8241.

 

What People Are Saying

Linda Runyon – WildFoodCo.

I have been following Holly’s work for sometime now.  Her writing and enthusiasm takes me back to my earlier homestead memories.  Holly has a wonderful way to present the age old wild food plants.  Her recipes are absolutely magnificent, her presentations are to perfection, and anyone who is lucky enough to have even a tiny part of her enthusiasm and knowledge of wild food would be very fortunate.  Don’t hesitate to listen, hear, see, and taste where the skills of foraging have taken this young lady. Only from God and nature can they be so evident.

Dee James

Have you ever forged for your dinner then prepared it and cooked it then ate it with new acquaintances and then magic…… Six hours later you are dear friends of all these incredible talented North Carolinians… your dinner was made from all the items you picked and dug up from the earth!!! One of the healthiest experiences of my life mentally emotionally and a totally delicious meal we all prepared together…

Kitty Rosatti – Patterson School Incubator Farm

Hard to say which was more enjoyable, I’m glad I don’t have to – – the fabulous raw, foraged food, the awesome people who participated, getting to meet Holly‘s talented husband Jason and getting blown away by his artistic gifts, and of course getting to study with Holly our extraordinary hostess.

Natalie Holshouser

Loved every minute of talking with each of these amazing friends.   We had an Exceptionally Fabulous time.

Mary Lou Fodor

Fantastic, everything! Holly created such a fabulous opportunity to meet a dynamic & thought proving group of people. All the knowledge she shared and the love, hard work and inspiration that went into last nights Forage to Feast was truly, truly amazing. Loved it all.

Laura Weant

“Ever wanted to know what plants are edible in your own backyard?  Curious which plants on your property would have been used for first aid situations by humans in previous generations? To forage safely for wild edibles and medicinals, you need a guide. And if you live in the High Country or are visiting, you’re in luck, because Holly is amazing. She can show you the poisonous look-alikes, teach you about the plant’s properties and nutrition, AND show you how to prepare them – or, rather, she has you do the hands-on work yourself. I’ve learned so much from Holly over the years, and am proud to call her a friend. You should check out her class! (I don’t do promotions, but I love Holly and her work, and think humans should reclaim some of this lost knowledge about the plants around us. Did you know you probably have a spinach substitute growing on your property that is tastier and packs more protein – and it’s free? You have to find out!) —”

 

Classes Offered from Wild Blessings

Wild Blessings Classes are an important way to get involved in learning with real hands-on experience. Check often to see updates. 

Class choices (click to learn more)
• Teaching Tuesdays
• Plant Walks
• Befriending Plants
• Forage to Feast
• Special Events

TEACHING TUESDAYS

A free video class provided each week online following nature’s wave.

When: Every Tuesday, free online, 8-9pm EST

Where: Facebook: Wild Blessings w/ Holly Drake (a private group, request to join) or Wild Blessings YouTube channel

RECENT CLASSES: The Wild Intentional Garden Part 1, Part 2, Blackberry Preparations, Befriending Blackberry , Poisonous Plant Ponderings, Poison Ivy, Edible Flowers

PLANT WALKS

With food prices soaring, it is time to Forage!   Ever wonder what wild riches lie all around you waiting to be discovered and valued as they have been for centuries past? I can help you! Join me for a plant walk to discover what is in God’s grocery stores. Knowing plants in all their life cycles, learning which parts to gather and how to prepare them for food and medicine is a skill that you can cultivate, one plant at a time.  I will be featuring many wild edible plants that likely grow near you or in your yard.  You will learn to recognize them by careful observation, and fun introduction methods to help you remember each plant and learn how to harvest and use each of them for food and healing.  We will enjoy a wild tea and snack together.

Wild Blessings Plant Walks will be held on most Saturday mornings throughout the Summer at various locations.  I’ll post new sign ups a week before each event.  September has 3 Wild Blessing Plant Walks –

September 3, 9-11am 

September 10 4-6pm

September 24 9-11am

Classes fill quickly. Sign up now to reserve your spot. Reservations are required and class sizes are limited. Pay in advance through PayPal, Venmo, or direct arrangement by contacting Holly Drake at 828-406-8241.

September 3 Wild Blessings Plant Walk

When: Saturday, September 3, 2022 9-11am

Where: West Jefferson, NC  (details at the event page)

Cost: $25/person – $10 for Wild Blessings Patreon members

Who: Class size is limited to 15 people. A waiting list will be kept to fill any cancellations.

 

 

BEFRIENDING PLANTS INTENSIVE

When: Bimonthly on Tuesday’s from 9-Noon and now bimonthly on Saturdays for those who can not attend on weekdays.  Dates listed below with links.

Where: At Holly’s house – 279 Deer Crossing, Todd, NC 28684

What: This is an in-person gathering where we celebrate one plant (some of my green allies) to get to know it utilizing all of our senses.  Experiencing each plant through observation, learning, writing, drawing, story telling, poetry writing and then herbing around with it to make a fitting herbal preparation (to take home) and wild snack to enjoy together.

We will spend the first hour foraging for our featured plant, the next hour herbing around with it and the 3rd hour learning about it’s multifaceted gifts.

Who: People who really want to make the green world their grocery store and medicine chest.  This is an investment to take your herbal learning to a whole new depth.

Cost: $35 general admission  $20 Patreon members  (please pay via PayPal, Venmo in advance, at hollydrake56@gmail.com)

Next Class:  Tuesday, September 6, 2022   Queen Anne’s Lace 

Each class we will sample the tea of our featured plant to get to know it by the taste of it’s simple tea. Everyone will have an herbal preparation of our plant to take home and the handouts that I provide for this class.  By the end of a season of this in person herbal intensive you will have learned the basic herbal preparations, lots of wild cooking tips and started to build your own herbal monographs, and personal apothecary.

Future dates for Befriending Plants Classes 

September 10 (Saturday) Queen Anne’s Lace

September 27 (Tuesday) Befriending Chestnuts

FORAGE TO FEAST

I am a wild foods chef and have offered many wild food feasts where the guests come to learn, forage for wild edibles, and cook a meal together. The cuisine is sometimes Asian, Greek, Italian, Mexican and Indian or just seasonal. All non-wild ingredients are organic, farm fresh and increasingly gluten free.  Meats are grass finished, happy animals from local farms or local game. Here is a blog showing what Wild Blessings Forage to Feasts have looked like over the many years of hosting them.  https://wildblessings.com/wild-times-remembered/

Sign up now to reserve your spot minimum of 24 hours before event. Reservations are required and class sizes are limited. Pay in advance through PayPal, Venmo, or direct arrangement by contacting Holly Drake at 828-406-8241.

September 17 Forage to Feast Italian Cuisine

When: Saturday, September 17, 4-8pm

Where: Meet at Blackburn’s Chapel parking lot where we will carpool to our ‘wild shopping centers’.

Cost: $85/person – $45 for Wild Blessings Patreon members

Who: Class size is limited to 10 people. A waiting list will be kept to fill any cancellations.

What:  A forage to dining experience.  Foraging, Cooking and Eating together

Wild Italian Menu 

(Menu subject to change depending on the number of cooks signed up!)

Wild Beverages: Elderberry Sparkle, Hibiscus Tea, Peach Tea

Future Forage to Feasts this Summer of 2022 will be held on these dates:

June 18 (Wild Brunch)

July 16 (Wild Fiesta)

August 20 (Wild Greek Cuisine)

September 17 (Wild Italian Cuisine)

October 22 (Wild American Cuisine)

FORAGING ADVENTURES

Foraging for wild edible plants is always a surprise of discovery, delight and abundance.  We’ll forage for whatever is on nature’s shelves and cook up one wild dish to enjoy.  Recipes and handouts provided.  Learn by doing!  Foraging scratches the shopping itch to get ‘deals’!

September 13 Foraging Adventure

When: Tuesday, September 13, 9-noon

Where: Meet on the porch of the Todd Mercantile, park in the General Store parking lot.  We’ll caravan from there to a nearby wild shopping center.

Cost: $35/person – $20 for Wild Blessings Patreon members

Who: People who want to hon their skills in foraging

What:  You will learn the rules of sustainable foraging, tips on gathering, garbling, preserving and preparing the wild harvest in each season.

 

Videos

Classes presented online are available for viewing through YouTube. Click to watch.

           
The Wild Garden Part 1         The Wild Garden Part 2                 Blackberries