Lichenwood Rambles

Good Vibrations!

The landscape is singing with the high vibration of White Lotus.  I have watched the bud grow and swell and finally today the petals opened.  Last year this plant opened it's flower on August second, but this year has been much cooler and cloudier.  This year White Lotus survived intense hail that pierced its leaves.  Conditions in a wild pond are different from the shelter of the liner pond where this plant lived in 2007.  You can see how this plant looked in bloom last year here.

In less wild parts of the landscape, my "Valentine" rose is blooming.  This bush is one of three that forms the beginning of a dedicated rose garden.  I received this rose as a potted plant on Valentine's Day 2007 and placed it outside as soon as warm weather came.  This is one of the plants I chose to take when we moved.  Yes, I'm sentimental.  I think it's very nice that this rose is bursting into bloom this weekend.  Monday marks our 35th wedding anniversary!

Pondside Pharmacy

A quick walk around the pond reveals much valuable medicine.  I was worried when we moved here that some of my old plant allies might not be part of the ecosystem at the new Lichenwood.  What I have discovered is that not only are the plants present and accounted for, they are closer and more convenient than they were in my old locale.  I have only to take a quiet walk around the pond to find medicine for my herbal pharmacy.

Boneset loves the damp conditions between the pond and stream.  Eupatorium perfoliatum is a relative of Sweet Joe Pye aka Gravel Root.  I need to take a little walk up to the mill pond at Spruce Brook to find Joe Pye, but Boneset is right here offering healing.  This plant is a good immune booster and is a traditional remedy for coughs, colds, and influenza, or what was called "bone break fever".  As the name implies, it can help to mend a broken bone.  Matt Wood says that it causes a more organized proliferation of new cells than does that old standy Comfrey.

Another pondside dweller is Lycopus virginicus or Bugleweed, a member of the Mint clan.  The healing mission of Bugleweed is to assist those suffering from Grave's Disease, hyperthyroidism.

The blue flowers of Scutellaria lateriflora are a signiture for Skullcap's use as an important nervine.  It's often used when siezures are present.  The flower essence is an important adjunct healer for many physical conditions, working on the emotional component of disease.  This is an excellent remedy for massage therapists and Reiki practitioners, benefiting both the therapist and the client. Skullcap opens the flow of psychic healing energy between the hands-on healer and the recipient. The essence relaxes while activating the neurological system and the meridians. Skullcap is very helpful to those dealing with withdrawal from caffeine, tobacco, or opiates. It lessens intense cravings from the substance of choice and lifts symptoms of depression that arise from dealing with the addiction itself.

New Pathways

Each time I walk into Nature I find an old friend.  On yesterday's walk with Lynn and Robyn we discovered this Hawthorn tree laden with beautiful healthy berries.

 I returned today to pick enough to make tincture.  I retraced, more or less, the steps of yesterday's walk along Spruce Brook.  The Hawthorn tree lives along the side of Old Canaan Road.  I entered the dense Hemlock and Pine Forest not far from the Hawthorn.  The sound of water falling on rocks dominates other woodland sounds here.  The forest floor is thick with leaf mold and pine needles, granite rocks and boulders, mushrooms of every color and shape.  Just a little light filters down to show me the way through deadfalls.

The falls today are a steady flow cascading over the ledge outcroppings.  In pools below the falling water, plants and water bugs are immersed in their own little microcosmic world.  I climbed above the spot where the Starbird Mill once stood, following Spruce Brook from one small pool and singing waterfall to another until I came to the place where the forest opens into a very wet meadow.  I could see the sparkle of the brook amidst the tall grasses and goldenrod.  The field is mine to explore some other day.  It was at this spot, between forest and field that I found Turtlehead in bud.  I'll check back next week to see it bloom.