Herbal Morning

Today, was misty-rainy outside, was slightly humid, was a day for taking a long walk to see what's growing now. I woke up in a sort of herbal trance.  Herbs and wild plants were on my mind big time and so remained there all day.  I took a long walk, just a tad short of two hours, around our farm.  I was looking for new blossoms, edible plants, Elder flowers, and sweet blackberries. 

Before I even left out in my rain boots, my journal entry for today went like this. 

I have the desire, and have maintained the desire for three years, to make oils, tinctures and teas from herbs that I grow and find in our fields and woods. 

Wild Bergamont - I feel extremely lucky to have a wild growing patch right behind the house and down a bit.  I want to collect Sorrel Dock as I have read that it helps psoriasis, of which I am a candidate.

I am hesitant to get in to it because I don't want to waste. I don't wish to make, dry and do and not have the interest to use what I make.  So I find these plants and maybe I will study each one and figure out how each plant could benefit me and uses, I will do it in time. 

I truly wish there would be an old wise woman come in to my life that knows all of the wild plants by name and their uses and would show me how to do this stuff. 

Maybe I am that old woman, in the making.

I had a similar conversation with Shaun after my walk and he said "maybe she is you." 

My walk included a walking stick, rain boots, camera, waterproof shoulder bag, scissors, herb book, journal, pencil and my phone... on vibrate. 

This is the Wild Bergamont patch. 

The leaves as well as the blooms are edible.



 I learned today that honey bees are unable to reach the nectar,

but bumble bees don't have that problem.

 Butterfly weed.

I picked some of this for the tables at our wedding.

 From this spot in the woods. 

I probably stood in this spot for twenty minutes, listening and looking.

I saw two different woodpeckers. 

A small bird was very interested in me and kept flying from branch to branch in front of me.

Mint was in the air.

Sweet blackberries were my snack.

 This one was soft and tall and had the most wonderful scent.

 This, what I called onion top, came home with me and is in my window vase.

They are everywhere in the field.

 I take pictures of plants that I find so when I see them in a book I can identify them.