Pomo Plant Collection During Seasons

I have walked at Bishops Ranch for over 10 years during all kinds of weather and various seasons. It is in the Lytton Tribal area. During different seasons you can notice a change in what is in the air and what types of plants are blooming and have seeds. The Pomo had a strict pattern for their children and they had various ceremonies during the four seasons. In the Spring the Earth was awakening - clover was a ceremony, and we ate miner's lettuce, cattail shoots were eaten like celery. In the Summer we ate Pinole, a mixture of parched seeds and berries as well as grass seeds. This was a time to hunt deer. In the Fall it was called Big Time and we gathered together as tribes and made a big pot of acorn soup. We also fished for salmon and steelhead trout with a weir made out of willow rope. Deer was also caught in the fall. The acorns were the staples of all of Califonia Indians. In the Winter it was called Buckeye Time. The buckeyes were thrown into a campfire till they roasted and then they were processed just like acorn - the tannin had to be leached. There were hazel nuts to collect and there were Bay Laurel Nuts tp roast that perked people up like coffee does today.