Bagel The Beagle Revisited, With Deadnettle

I was SO honored Richmond Magazine took an interest in our off-grid life and our community's revitalization of Pamplin Cit-tay! Listed on Preservation Virginia's Most Endangered List in 2014, Pamplin is now an anchor to Virginia's High Bridge Trail! Y'all come see us!

In the interview, I recalled a legendary family memory during a dire, off-grid situation - as harsh plummeting temperatures of an Artic polar vortex approached, I was alone, struggling with two little kids while my husband worked in DC... when suddenly, a beagle appeared... After I shared the memory with the journalist, I paged through my off-grid prefab house blog to re-read my journal entry of that event, written as it happened.

It’s so interesting what years of distance can do! In my memory as I told it to the journalist, I pictured being at the cook stove cooking dinner, telling myself everything was going to be ok. My journal shows temperatures were negative; it was sleeting, so without shelter, correct, that dog was likely dead. What was NOT accurate is that today my brain thought the beagle just showed up suddenly - my brain still pictures his small face at the glass front door, looking terrified as dusk ebbed into inky dangerous night.

But no, my journal entry shows I was at the computer (not the cook stove!), and first I heard racing-about sounds. Investigating, I found the mastiffs had something, and whatever it was (a dog?!?!), they were playing hackey sack with it. 

I was answering the journalist’s question, “Describe the most memorable, happiest moment/moments living off-grid, and if there was also a most stressful moment, what was that like?” and I reflected: raising our children to participate in the creation of their family farm, to understand stewardship, to learn livestock and pasture care has SO many beautiful and heartbreaking moments, on any farm. 

But one particular memory that stood out that was stressful, but a tale often retold in our family with delight… is the Tale of Bagel The Beagle.

The Tale of Bagel the Beagle: Part I

The Tale of Bagel the Beagle: Part II

(Part II has a recipe! And yes you can substitute cooked deadnettle for the spinach.)

We are SO thrilled for rescued beagles! At the end of every hunting season rural shelters are suddenly full of discarded, malnourished, skeletal hounds, and, at capacity, often put down. Those who aren’t caught are ripped apart and eaten by coyotes or hit by cars. When I encounter beagles on a Richmond walk, I always thank their owners. They really did literally save each one.

Why am I incensed about the plight of beagles? Education on illegal hound hunters helps. Picture this: you’ve invited a friend over. The kids are playing in the back yard, the two of you are chatting in lawnchairs enjoying the sun, while the cat rubs itself around anyone who will listen. A truck inches down the alley and you casually glance at it as the driver comes to a stop, looking at your cat. He slams his door, walks to the truck bay, opens a box, and out springs a thin hound. In a split second, it is trying to eat your screeching cat, the kids are crying, you are screaming while trying to grab the dog…
Let that all sink in a moment.

Thankfully, your cat escapes.
The hound is circling and jumping and nosing for a meal… and then that man WALKS INTO YOUR YARD.
Walks right through YOUR KIDS.
YOUR FAMILY.
Doesn’t apologize or ask if the cat it ok. You SAW that he 110% purposely loosed his hound into your yard after prey. What the heck?!? You’re calling the police while screaming at him. 

“Ma’am, I’m just pickin’ up my dawg, I can’t control where he goes, he can’t read…” he blithely replies, and continues to swagger around your yard, your PRIVATE PROPERTY, trampling your garden, crushing the plants you spent weeks growing while halfheartedly calling, “C’mon here, Red Dawg,” while Red Dawg picks up another scent and rockets away. The police answer the phone and tell you to call DWR (who?) and that what is happening sounds perfectly legal. They tell you that if your cat is hurt you have to prove it was this man and that he was purposely doing it and really, they need to be there to determine if it's real. By now, the man has left. But he'll be back! And if you have prey he hunts, he'll be back with friends.

If you’re livid like we (and many rural families), please reach out to DWR and your local representatives and tell them to stop the unconstitutional practice of Right to Retrieve.

Anyhoo, on to deadnettle, because people in the city are asking about it.

Purple deadnettle with henbit.

Many years, we live permanently on the farm, while also there are years of back-and-forth. Like most in rural USA, we travel to jobs. We love every moment in the office, but equally, telecommuting (for years now, thanks to a retired gentleman who wearied of waiting for big telecoms to come to rural Virginia). 

Here’s a recipe with deadnettle from last year:

Deadnettle Oyster Stew: 
(from 2024’s family Pantry Food & Foraging book)

Chop onions, garlic, hot peppers (I store in the freezer when the fall’s first frost approaches), add a can of tomato, some soy, and greens: deadnettle, bolting creasy, and tender new violet leaves. When the soup is ready, open and add a tin of oysters to give you a shot of nutrition- the violet leaves hit you with vitamins A, C, calcium, are anti-inflammatory, antitumor, antirheumatic, promotes wound healing, is used as a lymphatic stimulant, blood cleanser, & respiratory remedy. Just make sure to pick leaves only during the bloom time as there are several poisonous look-alikes. The oysters give you a shot of iron, magnesium, and 230% of your required cobalamin. DO WE EVEN KNOW WHAT COBALAMIN IS? I don’t! Hold on!

…Ok I’m back! Here’s what Mount Sinai said:

"Vitamin B12, also called cobalamin, is one of 8 B vitamins. All B vitamins help the body convert food (carbohydrates) into fuel (glucose), which is used to produce energy. These B vitamins, often referred to as B complex vitamins, also help the body use fats and protein. B complex vitamins are needed for healthy skin, hair, eyes, and liver. They also help the nervous system function properly. All B vitamins are water soluble, meaning that the body does not store them.
Vitamin B12 is an especially important vitamin for maintaining healthy nerve cells, and it helps in the production of DNA and RNA, the body's genetic material. Vitamin B12 works closely with vitamin B9, also called folate or folic acid, to help make red blood cells and to help iron work better in the body.
Folate and B12 work together to produce S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe), a compound involved in immune function and mood.

Vitamins B12, B6, and B9 work together to control blood levels of the amino acid homocysteine. High levels of homocysteine are associated with heart disease."

***Did you know Vitamin B12 also helps with hangovers by boosting metabolism and detoxifying your body?***

***Did you know foods rich in calcium and vitamins B, especially B12, C and D (like creasy, deadnettle and violet greens) help eliminate toxins?***

Deadnettle is rich in vitamins A, C, K, iron, and bioflavonoids which are anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and boost circulation. Moreover, these leaves also have anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and antifungal properties as well as diuretic, astringent, diaphoretic, and purgative effects.

Toss the stew with cilantro if you find it. Mine’s usually emerging next to the violets on the garden bank.

One last note on deadnettle - a pro tip! Until it's cooked down, it smells! 🦨🦨🦨 KEEP THE LID ON whatever pot or pan you are cooking it in! You're welcome.

Last night's Deadnettle Dinner.
Sautee onions, mushrooms, deadnettle (put that lid on!), garlic, hot sauce of choice, I added some sun-dried tomatoes I made that I keep in olive oil, red wine, s&p, then pasta to make it a one pot meal, and once I served it I liberally sprinked with (vegan) parmesean.