Hark

Awakened
        by a Crow
        Cawing in the morning light
I sit up
wresting myself from sleep
        so as to hear their message

        What is foretold
on this bright day becoming
                Light
                upon a smattering of leaves at the edges

                my first sight greeting me from the window

                Crickets
                herald the rest of the vibrant eulogy
                and Cicadas and Katydids soon follow
                for they know in death there is life

All going round
All what is
IS

And with that
I take my first step into the day
one step closer to death
and in that embrace
even more alive than before

With All
I AM.

Coronation, or the Act of Crowning, with Mullein

When I was dealing with Corona in my lungs a couple months ago, I utilized Mullein in my formula.  I had some already harvested and dried at that time, but decided that I should also harvest some more to have on hand with this respiratory virus going around.  Mullein is heavy this year, as plants seem often want to do when they are needed, showing their perfect timing and immersion in the flow.

While harvesting I began to sing to Mullein about what was going on and why I was harvesting her leaves and then to sing to the virus that was meshing with my body. 

I'm not singer, but I am a long-time student of breath as a mindfulness practice, and the virus had made me short of breath, just doing simple activities like picking Mullein.  This shortness of breath for no real reason* (I wasn't running up a hill - nor did I have a knee on my neck) was a new experience for me (having never had asthma or pneumonia or anything like it) and I felt it important that I try to deep breathe and stay in touch with my lungs.  I think this is why the singing happened, this undeniable connection to breath.  I felt compelled and I obliged. 

The vibrations from singing with what little breath I could take felt healing for my body, just as I feel the cat's healing medicine when they lean against my chest and purr.  I am thankful for the ~sound.~  I sang to the virus as yet another way to connect to this other part of life that was finding its terrain in my body - lyrics of a willingness to hear its song too.  A mutual expression of meeting, of life, of relationship, of learning.

And here, this weekend, Mullein comes to me again in the most majestic form.  Truly a crowning.  <3

Corona is teaching us to look at what we are giving birth to; various things are coming to term that have long been in the works, but we still have choices to make as to have they are received and what we do with what is born unto us.

Also, I wanted to share my formulary for those who know the herbs well enough by sight.  I do not want to simply share a list of the herbs I utilized to get through the acute stages as they may not be the right ones for you.  There is not a one size fits all answer in Herbalism as the body that a pathogen engages plays a role in how the pathogen manifests - and even if it manifests at all.  This means that herbs are utilized for the specific body that has symptoms and what those symptoms are; Herbalism is not a 'take this for that' modality.  So my formula for Corona may not be your formula for Corona and you do not want to make yourself worse; so please consult with a qualified practitioner if you are wanting to utilize herbs for Corona.  But for those who know the herbs and understand differential diagnosis, I will share pictures for you to see what I utilized, and feel free to talk to me privately.

Mullein, Raspberry Leaf, and Boneset were infused with the decoction below.

Many of you will recognize fresh sliced Ginger root and dried Citrus peel; these support digestion among other things.  This is the formula I used at the peak of acuity with Corona when I felt I was going toward cytokine storm territory.  Severe lung pain that had began at the bottom and worked its way up to feel it was encompassing them, wracking "bone" pain, could hardly take a breath, headache, strange heartbeat, severe fatigue, runny nose, sore throat, neck pain.  I noticed immediate results from the formula.  I had been on a different formula leading up to this point, and after peaking and feeling "better" I moved to formulas more nourishing and recovery oriented. 
I am still doing this now, but seem to have been left with a strange, but not severe, "achiness" in my whole body and strange pains I am not used to along with hands or fingers going to sleep for no reason.  I am working to alleviate this, focusing on Blood.  I no longer have the list of symptoms I had before, all that is cleared up except I still have fatigue, though it's nowhere near what it was.

'Cheshire Kaleidoscope' - a new bio pic / meta-collage!

I wanted to create an avatar pic that represents lots of the things I am into; I managed to incorporate art, gardening, belly dance, herbalism, and beekeeping (and maybe even spirit!) in this meta-collage...

'Cheshire Kaleidoscope'

...and while we're at it, some stimulating reading material (one can never have too much of that!) and lastly, a video that is the Yang to this winter's Yin....

“If we were not so single-minded
about keeping our lives moving
and for once could do nothing,
perhaps a huge silence
might interrupt this sadness
of never understanding ourselves
and of threatening ourselves with death
Perhaps the world can teach us
as when everything seems dead
but later proves to be alive.”
- Pablo Neruda

 

“He who has rejected his demons badgers us to death with his angels”
  -Henri Michaux

 

"When we get out of the glass bottles of our ego
and when we escape like squirrels turning in the cages of our personality
and get into the forests again,
we shall shiver with cold and fright
but things will happen to us so that we don’t know ourselves.
Cool, unlying life will rush in,
and passion will make our bodies taut with power.
We shall stamp our feet with new power and old things will fall down,
we shall laugh, and institutions will curl up like burnt paper."
  - D.H.Lawrence

 

 “Life will break you. Nobody can protect you from that, and living alone won't either, for solitude will also break you with its yearning. You have to love. You have to feel. It is the reason you are here on earth. You are here to risk your heart. You are here to be swallowed up. And when it happens that you are broken, or betrayed, or left, or hurt, or death brushes near, let yourself sit by an apple tree and listen to the apples falling all around you in heaps, wasting their sweetness. Tell yourself you tasted as many as you could.” 

 -​ ​Louise Erdrich, '​The Painted Drum​'​

This video was taken at the height of summer's growth and watching it now in the depth of winter's rest really showcases...
"...when everything seems dead
but later proves to be alive.” 

Milkweed for (Monarch)Butterflies

  Here is a Monarch Butterfly laying eggs on Common Milkweed.  Milkweed is a host plant for their Caterpillars.

It's that time of year when one can find Common Milkweed, Asclepias syriaca, seed pods.

Tiny baby Monarch caterpillar.

Lots of seeds in each pod, arranged like a cone!

Up- CLOSE.  Note the hairs on the Milkweed leaf.

What a lovely flower!

All the seed tufts are lined up ready to fluff up and fly away on the wind.

As you can see, the bees like it too. 

A little fairy who will become a plant.  :)

It has a divine fragrance, particularly at night.  It fills the air.  Bliss.

Here's a big patch in my garden.  It spreads, so give it space to grow...

There are many other types of Milkweeds.  Here is another:  Asclepias tuberosa.

As you can see, other Butterflies like Milkweeds too.  Here is a Great Spangled Fritillary, Speyeria cybele.

Both of these two Milkweeds, Asclepias syriaca and tuberosa, are native to Eastern North America.

Tuberosa is much smaller and less aggressive growing than syriaca - and what a show!

There are other plants the Monarchs like to get nectar from, such as this Oak Leaf Hydrangea, Hydrangea quercifolia, but the Milkweed is important for their caterpillars.

If you have space in your yard or garden and some some sunlight, grow a patch for the Monarchs; they need our help.

Nom nom.

A delight for the yard and garden.  An ally of mine from childhood on...

...and helps the bees too!

To top all this goodness off, the tufts are also used by birds to line their nests, the fibrous stems are used in rope-making, and the Milkweed shoots, flower buds, and pods are edible!  (Be sure to only harvest flower buds and pods in areas where they are very plentiful as this is how the plant reproduces; you are eating hundreds of seeds with each flower head or pod).

Every yard should have a patch - then we would not have to be concerned with the Monarch going extinct.  They are making a comeback; support them today!  and enjoy the bounty that comes along....

For more information and to get seeds see this link and this link and this link and this link.  Enjoy!

Happiness

 
"Capitalism's grow-or-die imperative stands radically at odds with ecology's imperative of interdependence and limit.  The two imperatives can no longer coexist with each other; nor can any society founded on the myth that they can be reconciled hope to survive.  Either we will establish an ecological society or society will go under for everyone, irrespective of his or her status.  Yet we can't stop the process.  A capitalist economy, by definition, lives by growth; as Bookchin observes:  "For capitalism to desist from its mindless expansion would be for it to commit suicide."  We have essentially, chosen cancer as the model for our social system." - Ursula K. Le Guin

"Happiness is an Act of Courage.  Be Brave." 2014 Collage on 2008 painting

"Genuine happiness cannot be achieved through self delusion." - Melissa Sylvan

'Earth is Infernal' 2014 - made on recycled auto magnet, free-form torn collage

November Delight in the Butterfly Garden:  Gentian.

"And now you ask in your heart,
"How shall we distinguish that which is good in pleasure from that which is not good?"
Go to your fields and your gardens, and you shall learn that it is the pleasure of the bee to gather honey of the flower,
But it is also the pleasure of the flower to yield its honey to the bee.
For to the bee a flower is a fountain of life,
And to the flower a bee is a messenger of love,
And to both, bee and flower, the giving and the receiving of pleasure is a need and an ecstasy."  

- from Kahlil Gibran’s 'The Prophet'

Balsamic

 

Japanese Knotweed - Lime Bars and Native Mason Bee Housing - A Primer on this Ubiquitous Weed

Japanese Knotweed

Japanese Knotweed Lime Bars

Japanese Knotweed utilized as part of a Mason Bee House

I just love utilizing invasive non-native plants.  I can feel good about harvesting them because I know it helps other plants that are native and/or not invasive by keeping down the growth and spread of the invasive AND I know I won't hurt the plant's ability to survive (try as I might). In some instances, like Garlic Mustard, you just can't eradicate it even if you want to.

Up Close

It's that time of year when Japanese Knotweed Polygonum cuspidatum sends up it's new stalks from the Earth.  These can be eaten like Asparagus, though they also work well in deserts, and have a lemony type flavor, as we shall see...
The roots are used medicinally and are called Hu Zhang in TCM; they have been used for an assortment of issues such as cancer, cystitis, Lyme, and traumatic injury (see a qualified practitioner for this).

To make this delectable desert:

Harvest the stalks before they have done much leafing out, remove any leaves and the very top where the leaves are forming (these can be added to an omelette or the like); chop the remaining stalks up into small pieces.  You want about 4 cups of chopped stalks, a little more or less is fine.

Leaves and tops to use for another dish.

Chopping into small pieces.

Splitting the larger ones lengthwise before chopping.

Preheat oven to 350.  For the bottom layer:  melt a stick of butter in an 8" x 8" pan, once melted mix directly in the pan with the butter:  one cup of whole wheat pastry flour and one cup of raw cane sugar.  I like to use all organic ingredients so I'm not ingesting pesticides or contributing to their being sprayed on farms and poisoning the water and land (along with the food).  Mash this dough evenly into the bottom of the pan covering the entire bottom.  Bake for 15 minutes. Allow to cool so it hardens.

The top layer mixed and ready to pour onto bottom layer.

In the meantime, make your top layer:  mix 3 eggs, 1 c. raw cane sugar, 1/2 c. whole wheat pastry flour, 1/4 c. lime (or lemon) juice until well blended then stir in the chopped stalks.  Pour this over the cooled bottom layer and spread evenly.  Bake one hour, turning oven to 400 for last 15 minutes.  Make sure the topping is set up; it might need a little longer cook time. 

Delish!

If you build it they will come:  the Mason Bee House on the art studio, L'Atelier.  Netting is to keep birds out.

A...n...d....  another use for those stalks after they die back in the fall (they persist through winter so you can harvest them right up into early Spring) is housing for Mason bees.  These solitary bees nest in tubes, whether that be hollow plant stalks, holes beetles have drilled in trees, or anything similar such as holes we drill or tubes we put out.  They live for 6 weeks in the Springtime right at the moment fruit trees bloom.   
***If you have fruit trees, you want these bees on your property.***  They are easy to care for and do a better job with fruit trees than honeybees because of how they gather nectar.

Drilling the starter holes in 7" pieces of Fir 4" x 4", then on to using a hand-held drill to finish them.

Mason bee cocoons gifted from a friend, thanks Laura!  Males on left, Females on right.

Mason Bee cocoon, they hatch from the nipple end, so this needs to face out if placed in a tube.

Here is a great book if you want to learn more.  Here is one of many houses you can purchase for them.
If you want to make your own, they prefer 5/16th size holes 6" deep (don't use pressure treated wood).  And of course, if you have access to a stand of Japanese Knotweed (bamboo also can work well), you can harvest your own as I did (seen collected in the 4 black pots in above picture of large Mason bee house).

A simple, smaller house can be made too, such as this one upper left.

~~~

Collage from the Archives

Matthew 10:16  2010

"Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves, 

be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves."

"It is ironic that, while concentrating on the defense of our country from enemies 

who would destroy it from without, 

we should be so heedless of those who would destroy it from within."

​                                                                                              - Rachel Carson​

~