My Wildcrafting Adventure

I was able to take a surprise trip out into nature today. I had not planned on going out today but when my love came home early we got our stuff and headed out.
The first area was by far the most herb filled out of the two areas we decided to explore today.
This spot was a different one than the last several times I have been out. I have to say I really liked it and hope to pack a lunch next time so we may have a small picnic.


I collected a few thorns from what I believe to be a hawthorn tree.


An otter was spotted though they never stay still enough to be able to capture a picture.
We were however able to capture some of the mother goose and her nest of eggs.

She was sitting on the nest up on the small incline at first. I saw her little head from over the ridge, if it hadn’t been for spotting her head I would have missed the nest entirely.
She moved, not because we scared her, but to scare off a dog that was near. We did not touch the nest of course but we did take advantage and snapped a shot of her lovely large eggs. I had not seen goose eggs before today. Guess I should have imagined they would have been as big as they were *laughs*
I was also lucky enough to find many goose feathers on this trip due to molting and the nesting. I of course collected every good one I found for later use.


For some reason this was just a highly amusing picture to take. Later on they were both sleeping near each other. It was quite sweet.


On the way to our second destination we walked by the river where the water was flowing quite rapidly. It was beautiful and so we stopped and took pictures of it all.

We also spotted a bald eagle. I have yet to see one around here before so it was a treat to see. I am told they are out more around winter. I know they have reserve areas specifically for them. I used to see bald eagles all the time when I lived in Washington, but since moving have not seen many.

Another thing we saw when passing by the lake were swans. This is not a very close up picture of them, but they were there. 

My wildcrafting harvest was pretty decent. I ended up with; Mullein, catnip, cleavers, mugwort, two different kinds of pine cones… The non herb collections were goose feathers, some quartz crystals,  and I found a dead garter snake I carefully collected. I saw live ones too but I did not really want to go near those. I used to play with snakes all the time as a young child. It would make my father nervous at times because he was never sure the type I would find.
The snake will be used later for various things.
In addition to the harvested herbs I was able to pick some of them with the root system still intact and am attempting to transplant them into my own garden. The fern I am in the process of transplanting is doing quite well so I am hoping these will do the same. I found mullein was probably the hardest to pull out with the roots without a tool, and cleavers being the second.
I got two tiny cleavers with the root still intact but I am not so sure they will make it to be honest.
I was able to find a small mullein that I hope survives as well as I got catnip which has the best shot of them all I would say. The mugwort I got may have some bits of the root missing on a few of them, but I am hopping just like a cutting, that it will still grow.
Here are pictures of my wildcrafted herbs.
 
I also forgot to mention this really interesting find. It was the knot of a tree that I found lying on the ground. If it is interesting to me I pick it up.

Pictures of my first phase of transplanting. I really do need to get bags of soil for my raised garden bins so I can start planting things. You can see the fern is killing off old leaves and sprouting up new ones. Success!
The little pot is the cleavers that I do not think will survive but its worth a shot.

Temporary homes till I know if they are going to survive. If they do then they will be moved to their permanent homes.


It rained a short while after we left. Spending time with my honey, herb harvesting, rain, and a full moon. What more could a girl like me ask for?

The River and the Woods

Recently I have been able to make a few trips out to the wooded areas near the river. Each time has been quite wonderful and I see new things every time I am out.

The river was quite calm the first and second trip. It rose a lot even just a couple of days later. A lot of the places explored were now under water. The snow has been melting off of the mountains and making the water levels rise. Amazing how quickly it can happen.
There is a swirl in the middle of the river. There were a lot of mini whirlpools that would appear and then disappear as they moved down the river.
New growth. A forest within a forest. I could not help but take a picture of this. Many tiny trees beginning to grow within a small spot of this wooded area. To me it is a magical place where small elves and faeries might wander.   
 
I could not count even if I tried, all the nests that were perched in the trees. There were so many of them. Many different kinds for many types of birds and squirrels too I am sure.


Lots of white budding trees were seen. This is just one of the three or so types I had seen clustered around each other.

 
Beautiful black birds with red spots on their wings were seen. There were a lot of them and this one seemed to like to pose for my camera.

 
This was probably a home for some forest creature at some point but it was empty when I found it. I really like trees that have little pocket holes like this one.
The mushrooms were found at the side of a fallen tree. I was not sure what kind of mushroom they were and since most mushrooms you do not want to touch unless you are sure what kind, I left them be.

A beaver was spotted during the second trip and a single crow was spotted on this last trip.
Crows are known to be messengers to the gods.


During my little magical adventures I was able to wild craft some moss, fern leaves, balm of Gilead, as well as collected pine cones, a couple of feathers, and sand from the river. Once summer comes there will be more things to harvest but for now I think I have collected all I can unless I go to a new area and find something different there.
I found some really interesting branches that I gathered that could make some good staffs. I grabbed a smaller one that twists a bit that I would love to turn into a wand.
Burn some runes or oghams into it, maybe other symbols… Not sure exactly what the plans are just yet for the designs.  I am not the best at carving always nor do I have the right tools for it really, but I hope to craft something with them.

I am sure there will be more trips out to this place but now that I have explored here there are others I want to go to that sound promising.
Those are a little bit farther of a drive to get to though. Not as far as the deep woods, but still enough to take a bit more planning so to not run out of daylight too soon.
I am not a morning person which is why planning is needed *laughs*
I would also like to start going out and exploring the more desert parts of this area. I already have plans with a friend of mine to go exploring those lands at some point. No official date has been set yet, just the understanding that it will happen at some point in the future when the timing is right.

I had given an offering to the nature spirits but a few days ago. I was happy to find that the spirits accepted my offering. My offering of nuts, seeds, and grains is being eaten up by the birds, squirrels, and probably other little creatures that eat the same. Giving food to the spirits, gods, and nature, is a way of giving thanks for all they provide for us.  Why should we take from them and give nothing back? Doing this is respectful, shows you are grateful, and adds to the balance of things.

It is supposed to storm tomorrow, I can’t say for sure if it will but I actually kind of hope it will. It says it will be nice the day after so storming for one day is most welcome to me. I do love storms. The way the air feels during and after is amazing. The smell of the wet leaves and soil. Its very calming and exciting at the same time. Contradicting I know. Sometimes I find interesting things after a good rain as well. Not to mention dancing in the rain is always fun. Especially if it is warm rain.

New painting, nature, and gadgets

I finished a painting today. It is not the one I was commissioned to do. This one I have been doing in between that one.

It is titled “Dracula’s Castle”
The painting is on 9x12 canvas and done in acrylic paints.
Painting is of Dracula's Castle at sunset.
Debating on whether its finished or if I want to add the small black trees on either side of the castle… For now at least it is finished unless I change my mind.
I will take better quality pictures later.
Yes this painting will be available for purchase. Let me know if you are interested in buying it.

I have gotten a lot more work done on the commissioned painting as well. So lots of painting has been going on recently. It’s not over yet either. there is still more to be done.


We were able to make it out to a small portion of a forest the other day.
Lots of beautiful things to be seen there. The greenery went along a river with small ponds along the path that I am told house tadpoles at times.
This tree had really beautiful roots. The picture does not do it justice. I could not get a wider shot to show it all sadly. I am still happy with the picture I was able to take.
This is a large tree near the opening of the forested area that I took a picture of as it was getting dark out. I love trees like this with large twisting branches that look eerie at night.

This is a picture of a small abandoned old beaver dam I found. There were two of them but this one was in better shape than the other one was.

I was able to collect fern leaves, moss, pine cones, and various other items during our little adventure. I hope to go back soon as well as visit other forests and desert areas. Lots of things to explore now that it has warmed up.

Speaking of nature… My garden is growing in nicely. I have been putting the trays in the sun now that the sun is actually around. *laughs* Many more pots have sprouted up since they were planted. I got the things I needed to plant them outside when the time comes.

Pictures of the two trays I have planted. I would plant more… but I have pretty much found all the seed packets of herbs and flowers that would be useful to me around here, and do not really want to go through the process of ordering more packets online.

Been working hard on shop products and formulating new ideas for future items. Still have more items to type up descriptions for and list. It will all get done in due time.
I may have another booth set up here in a couple months, maybe sooner… Need to figure out the date(s) but so far its a go.

My writing has been put on hold to make way for all my other works. It is still on my mind of course but not being worked on at the moment.






I will be upgrading my phone soon and I am not sure which phone I want… I have two I am thinking about. The Droid 2 Global and the Thunderbolt. Both have features I like about them. I wanted the Droid 2 Global because of its sliding out keyboard. The phone I have now has both a keyboard and a touch screen that I can use with my nails and not just fingertips. They have not made any phones with a touch screen that I can do that with that I have seen. The Droid has a 5 megapixel camera while the thunderbolt has an 8 megapixel. Though the thunderbolt does not have a slide out keyboard like the droid 2 global does. The droid is a 3g and the thunderbolt is a 4g. It is a big plus for the thunderbolt with it being a 4g phone… I am just not sure how I could handle not having a keyboard that slides out. They aren’t making many phones with keyboards anymore so I guess I would have to get used to an all touch screen phone at some point but still, the choice is tough. The thunderbolt costs a bit more but it also just came out and is 4g rather than 3g. I honestly am torn.

On another gadget note I do like the new tablet they came out with, the xoom. I might honestly like it more than the galaxy tab… its got a lot better… well everything.. ram, processor, memory.. etc, though the galaxy tab still has the side benefit of fitting in a purse which is handy for business and portability. The xoom is not too much bigger but a bit big for a purse, well my purse at least. I am sure there are purses it would fit in. I also like the bluetooth keyboard you can get to go with either. Both are spendy though.
The galaxy tab can be less expensive now if you buy the tab with a 2 year service contract. I however did not want to put service on it and would have used it with wifi connections. The xoom does not have a 2 year price to it yet and is up there price wise as well.
The xoom while a bit larger is still really easy to handle in my opinion. I still like either better than an Ipad or Ipad 2. 


Lots of things to plan, create, and do… And still I want to do more *laughs*

Anyways I believe now is a good time for some tea so I will end this post now.
~Lotus