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I Am So Confused

So I was sitting here, at work, doing work stuff, when a reminder popped up. “Work in 14 minutes”. “Wait a second,” I thought “I’m already at work.” I check the calendar. I’m not supposed to be at work till 3. My (atomic) watch said it was 2:47. Time.gov agreed with it.

I’m supposed to be in class 2-3 – but I went to that class. The professor was there, my friends were there.

Was the entire class an hour early?

Will I be late to my next class?

What time is it?

Tune in next week…

Time is Overrated

I was late to my next class.

I think I need to take tomorrow off.

Living Earth Herbs

Paid a visit to Living Earth Herbs today.

They just moved up from Eugene.

I now have an Alfalfa infusion brewing on the stove.

herb, review, survival, bushcraft

Edible and Medicinal Plants

I’ve signed up for Wilderness Awareness School‘s Edible and Medicinal Plants course. It’s taught by John Gallagher, of Learning Herbs.

Have you ever wanted to know the plants that grow all around you? Would you like to learn how wild plants, even in cities, can both feed you and take care of your health? This informative and hands on weekend experience introduces participants to the most common and useful plants of our area through direct experiences of touching, eating, cooking, and making meals and medicines. The nature of this weekend offers a new relationship with plants--whether found in urban yards or vast wilderness--that intimately connects us to their lives while enhancing the nourishment, nutrition, and health of our own. Skills include:
  • Plant identification to confidence and safety
  • Herbal oils and salves for most minor first aid situations
  • Tincture making with wild plants for cold & flus
  • Herbal teas and infusions
  • Herbal nourishment for better daily health
  • Mineral vinegars: the ULTIMATE "vitamin"
  • Making a wild foods meal that is nutritious AND delicious
  • Poisonous plant identification
  • Herbal first aid so you can treat yourself naturally
  • AND lots of other fun herbal surprises
We will weave all these skills into a way for you to bring wild herbs into your life to enhance your health. What is seen by many as an overwhelming subject will be presented in a simple way, so you can easily access herbal wisdom on your own. There will be a good balance between class time and herbal activities. Students will go home with herbal remedies for their home first aid kits. Students will also go home with a free copy of Wild Foods for Every Table, an amazing 100 page wild foods books with delicious recipes such as sorrel soup, creamy nettle soup and spiced wildberry jelly.

For signing up early, John sent me the Herbal Remedy and Vitamin/Mineral wall charts. I recommend the Herbal Remedy chart – it’s been useful to me already.

review, books

Poets on the Peaks

John Suiter’s Poets on the Peaks: Gary Snyder, Phillip Whalen & Jack Kerouac in the North Cascades is a biographical account of these Beat Bards, with emphasis placed on their wilderness outings and spiritual explorations, painting them as 20th century Thoreaus.

This book – the images, the text, the characters – are beautiful. It renews the magic of this place.

A portrait of mountains and rivers and Buddha and zen and trees and poetry. America.

Backcountry Boo-Boos

Abby, one of my WFR classmates, has had a short article on the class published on page 13 of the latest issue of Cascadia Weekly.

That Ain't No Marching Band

Last night somebody setup a keyboard on the street corner and serenaded me to sleep. It didn’t sound like the guy had ever taken a piano lesson in his life, but I respect him for performing a random creative act.

A Challenge

The next time you find yourself in the forest, lay down on your belly and take a look around. Then roll onto your back and gaze at the canopy and sky.

Changing your perspective shows you a whole new collection of life.