Nuts, Berries, Bark and Bait

[talia343]

One of the ideas I have for food sources would be to be able to locate nut catches from squirrels. You could find them stashes in little areas next to trees, or in fallen trees if you were lucky.

Another thing would be, there are typically berries on bushes all year round. Having the option to eat them, while they may be poisonous, not all are, like Juniper.

Also, tree bark, when ground up, and mixed with water can be eaten in the winter time. One of the best for this is from Birch trees, and you already can find harvestable birch bark. So it would make the question become, do I use this for a food source or a fire source.

Another idea I had was, there are ice fishing places, and you can find hook and line, but no bait. If there was bait, that could a, increase your chances of catching a fish, or you could cook/eat the bait for an immediate guaranteed food source, as you can eat bugs.

I have included a link for a search I did on edible winter foods that includes some of the information on trees and other plant materials that could be found in the winter to eat, and generally how to eat them...

http://www.ediblewildfood.com/blog/2013 ... od-part-2/

[toebar]

Most squirrels in this area will cache pine/spruce/fir cones rather than nuts--there just is not much for nuts around those parts.

There's not that many berries on trees through the winter. Rose hips are one; they're in game already. Bush cranberries (Viburnum spp.) would be another, and other cranberries (Vaccinium spp), but they'd be under snow most likely. Juniper may be an example, but they're barely a food source--I really can't imagine trying to eat a bunch of them. Maybe if I was realllllly hungry

The inner bark of trees is a survival food source, but I'd be eating up all my pork and beans before I turn to that if you know what I'm saying.

I do like your bait suggestion in a way. Ice fishing would be much better (at least more realistic) if they required the use of bait to catch fish. Bait is not restricted to worms-- it could be any kind of meaty substance and still likely work fairly well.

There's some good info in that link, but given the temperatures we see in game, it's likely that most or all of the herbaceous vegetation (as suggested in the winter photosynthesis section) has completely died off, and most likely it would be buried in snow regardless.