Exploring Distinctive, Locally Made Arts & Crafts in the Villages of Mt Hood

If you enjoy shopping for fine handcrafted products, you’ll be delighted at your finds in The Villages of Mt. Hood.  Here, the mountain’s beauty inspires artists to craft art you’ll be proud to own or share as special gifts.

Do you want art you can use every day?  Dulcie Lindsoe’s hand-thrown pottery pieces are decorated with treescapes, plants and animals of the natural world around her.  Her wide selection ranges from bird baths to butter dishes, every size of bowl you could want, and four mug styles.  Wouldn’t a scene of deer or bear in the forest make your workday coffee a little more interesting?

Visiting The Villages of Mt Hood gives you a taste of fresh-air mountain living.  For a delicious flavor to match, try sampling some of Mt. Hood’s wild edible plants.  Within minutes of The Villages, you can be gathering food in the rich alpine landscape.  Here are a few of the natural delicacies you might like to try.  Do take great care in identifying your wild foods, eat only those of which you’re 100% sure, and please don’t over-harvest – take only enough for yourself.

Edible Greens

Start with some greens that are very easy to find:  dandelion leaves and red clover.  Dandelions (Taraxacum officinale) aren’t just those unwanted yellow flowers that crop up on your lawn.  They’re full of calcium and vitamin A.  The newest, most tender of those long, jagged leaves make a refreshing salad green (wash them well first), or boil or saute them for about 5 minutes for a new take on cooked vegetables.  Red clover (Trifolium pratense) leaves can be treated the same way for a green that’s full of protein.