Community Care

Community Care.

A few weeks ago I checked out a new trail. At the head of the trail there was a sign posted to a tree. “Watch out for coyotes.” This is community care. We look after us. This wasn’t an “official” sign – whatever that is. This was someone who knew there was a hazard and took action to protect others. Community care. We’re all we got. I don’t want to go off on the many reasons I – or anyone – might be feeling some despair. There’s plenty.

I know that community care can help.

I had the opportunity recently to take a training in Bystander Intervention. In a year of webinars where the presenters wifi was unstable, where they hadn’t bothered to collect themselves or practice, where the information served up was useless this was without question the best training I have done (perhaps ever) and definitely since the pandemic began. Julie S. Lalonde is without question the most accomplished workshop leader I have ever met (virtually). Bystander training gives you tools to use when someone is at risk.

Stand Up!

This is a free, 1 hour, camera off, mic off training that can benefit everyone. It is my – ineptness – that means I am just posting about it now. I have spent the past month and a bit since I took the training telling people personally to sign up. Now I am telling you. This training is community care. It is trauma informed and what I particularly appreciated is that it centers the victim of the abuse. The training focuses on what you can do to make sure that they are ok. Not on punishing the harasser, not on you being the big hero.

Community care.

We often think that taking action means we have to get involved directly. Not everyone feels safe doing this. This training focuses on the 5Ds. Direct action is but one. I found that my superpower might be diversion. Feigning obliviousness is 100% in my wheelhouse.

This is diversion.

I’m a child of the 80’s and that clip speaks to me. We don’t even have to take on bandits! Is there a pop culture moment that says diversion to you? You can take action to the extent that you feel comfortable. How many times have you heard about an incident and thought – why didn’t someone do something? Maybe no one took action because they did not have the tools for community care. This worksop gives you tools.

I can’t recommend it enough.

Ever tried to snap a stick? Not too hard right? What about a bundle of sticks? Much harder. When we come together as a society about what is acceptable we can be like the bundle of sticks – unbreakable.

These trainings will end shortly – sign up today so you don’t miss out.

Burdock

Burdock.

Burdock is naturalized on every continent. This comes from the seeds being tracked far and wide in animals’ fur via the burrs it gets its name from. A member of the Asteraceae family, 2 species are used medicinally – Arctium lappa and Arctium minor. While today we primarily use the root, practitioners in the 18^th century were using the seeds for urinary system conditions and as an antilithic. Burdock is today seen as one of our premiere alteratives, but it came to this identity by being a good replacement for other better-known herbs that were themselves alteratives. I like Matt Woods’ description of an alterative as a plant used as a tonic to alter the whole organism by a diffuse and general action over several different systems of the body.

Soon to flower burdock.

Nourishing Burdock.

It was the eclectics who instigated use of burdock in North America. Prior to the late 1800s the plant was little used on this continent. Originally considered to be an herb that was of benefit to conditions of the kidneys and urinary system; the 1900s saw burdock grow to be one of the premiere herbs for the liver and our single most important herb for the treatment of skin conditions – particularly chronic ones. Burdock is excellent for people in convalescence. After a long illness it is hard to remember what it is to have your health, to be vital and vigorous. Burdock root helps someone who is frail be renewed.

Burdock as an antibacterial.

The leaves are antibacterial and have shown activity against both E. coli and Salmonella bacteria. In the past burdock leaves were used to wrap butter. I wonder if this was anything more than the fact that burdock leaves are nice and big as opposed to other plant leaves or if it did play a role in keeping the butter fresh?

Burdock leaves have shown an ability to disrupt biofilms. Biofilms are becoming understood more by science. Imagine that you have something that can kill a pathogen but because the pathogen is protected by a biofilm you cannot make contact and so kill the pathogen. Anything that disrupts biofilms will help to fight infection. Burdock root extract has shown activity against the biofilm formed by Klebsiella pneumoniae. These bacteria are a common cause of pneumonia and bronchitis and are also a common hospital acquired infection. It inhabits us naturally but in those with weakened immune systems can take hold and cause problems.

Plants blow my mind!!!!!

Burdock seeds have some effectiveness as a diaphoretic and can help to relieve conditions of heat. While burdock is not today much used for respiratory conditions it does have a history of usefulness in these conditions. Burdock is also useful in conditions of the prostate. For BPH burdock can be a deep acting and effective remedy. Better even than saw palmetto. There is good quality evidence that burdock has an anti-tumoral action.

Herbs we use as roots seem for me to share a quality of sturdiness, of resilience. Resilience – there is a word I am liking. Herbs that take us back to our strength. They restore to us a sense that this body is our container – our home. We inhabit it and it is ours to make the best use of that we may.

Harvesting.

To harvest the roots – harvest first year plants in the fall, after the foliage has died back. There will be no stalks with burrs on a first-year plant. The looser the soil the easier it will be to dig them up. The roots can also be harvested in the spring heading into the 2^nd year but at that point the plant has used up all the reserves in the root to survive the winter.

Leaves – As needed, better to harvest 1 or 2 leaves from a number of different plants than to decimate a single plant.

Seeds – harvest the burrs near summer’s end. Want to harvest early or they will be wormy. The seeds are often covered with the fine hairs from the burr and it is worthwhile to wear long sleeves while processing and potentially even wear a mask.

Burrs almost ready for harvest.

Partridgeberry and plant identification.

Recently my Mom gave me a plant identification reminder. I was talking to her on the phone and mentioned I saw a large patch of partridgeberry. She immediately told me that my father loves partridgeberry – especially partridgeberry jam. This puzzled me because I’ve tasted partridgeberries and they taste like – nothing. Not bad, not good, just bland and hardly memorable. When was the last time you saw a u-pick for partridgeberries?

My Mom grew up in Newfoundland and Newfoundland is where my Dad learned to love partridgeberries. I decided to investigate and discovered that to herbalist me partridgeberry is Mitchella repens. To my Mom partridgeberry is Vaccinium vitis-idaea aka lingonberries (a relative of cranberries). When my Mom was talking about picking partridgeberries as you would cranberries, I knew we must not be talking about the same plant.

Opposite green leaves of partridgeberry with strong centre vein, last years red berries.

Partridgeberry colony with last years berries.

Latin Names.

When discussing plants to ensure we are referring to the same one the Latin name is the gold standard. Don’t worry about pronunciation as Latin is a dead language and there is no one to correct you. I have seen it stated that each plant has only one Latin name. That is not the whole truth. Latin names do change as scientists learn about a particular species. A specific Latin name, however, will never apply to more than one particular plant. For plant identification it is ok that False Solomon’s Seal is Maianthemum racemosum and was once known as Smilacina racemosa because no one will suddenly decide to name a plant by either of those names. By international agreement a Latin name applies to one specific plant.

Common names can apply to a wide variety of different species and also vary from place to place. I can think of two different plants called Queen of the Meadow. How many different plants have the word “rose” as part of their common name – when they are in no way related to Rosa spp? A common scientific language means herbalists can communicate across cultures. I met an herbalist from Honduras. I could send him a picture of a plant with the Latin name and a ? and he would (assuming he knew) be able to tell me yes or no.

Botany and plant identification.

Plant identification in the wild is about botany. Related plants share similar characteristics. By examining the physical characteristics of an herb, we can succeed in plant identification. Depending on your interest level there are differing ways to learn. Numerous plant apps are available. Not my favorite, too much room for error. Facebook groups that you can post a picture to and if someone recognizes the plant, they will post the answer. Again, how knowledgeable is the group, how good a photographer are you, etc. I’ve seen a picture of goldenrod printed in the Ottawa Citizen and identified as ragweed so there are issues. I have taken and led plant walks and learning one on one with an expert is an excellent way to learn plant identification.

There is nothing as valuable as spending time with a plant and a plant identification book to learn the characteristics of a specific plant. There is a great book called Botany in a Day that is an excellent resource.

Learning Takes Time.

For years I could not remember the difference between False Solomon’s Seal and Solomon’s Seal. Years. Hard to know if I had a block or was busy thinking about other stuff. I would see the plants in the wild. I knew it was one of the two, but I could never, for years, remember which was which. Finally, I made up a memory device. The primary difference is that in False Solomon’s Seal the flowers are in a terminal pyramidal shaped cluster at the end of the stem – much, to my mind, like the curl of an f. In a Solomon’s Seal plant the flowers hang from the leaf axils along the stem. The fruits form and dangle much like miniature seals that one might use to seal a letter.

Solomon’s Seal.

False Solomon’s Seal

This is my own personal memory device. It works for me. This isn’t the best photo to capture the f of the false Solomon’s Seal but I think you can see it. When I first saw motherwort, I made a note that the leaf looked like a quilted maple leaf. That is what I saw. When you are making notes – write what you see. When learning plant identification make up whatever mnemonic you need. I find when they are personal, they work better.

Plant Identification.

If I were casually interested in an herb, I might use an app for plant identification. As an herbalist I seldom have only a casual interest. Particularly in reference to plants that grow in my immediate vicinity. I am continually learning. I don’t know everything but when I know – I know. That is likely for all of us. Continually folks warn to make sure one knows the difference between common elder (Sambucus canadensis) and red elder (Sambucus racemosa). Aside from the fact that common elder flowers form a flat-topped umbel and red elder flowers form a raceme, red elder flowers in May and common elder flowers in late June early July, and the berries of one are red and the other blue-black – easy to mistake one for the other. Snark. Sorry. But I know both these plants.

It is a bit like being at a fabulous cocktail soiree and being introduced to many different people. If you are looking across the room it might be hard to remember if that person standing by the bar is James or Jeff. If you’ve known James for years you could recognize him even if he had his back to you. It is the same with plants.

Umbel of common flower, still weeks from flowering.

Common elder, weeks from flowering.

Cream coloured raceme of red elder in flower in early May.

Red elder in flower, early May.

I’ve said it before but here we go again. Take a single plant. Spend time with it. Know it intimately and you will be a better herbalist for it.

This summer I am on a quest for balsalm poplar. I’ll let you know if I find one.

Wild spaces.

No matter what struggles I might be having I am grateful to live close to wild spaces. I wish I could capture the feeling I have in my heart when I am in the woods. I have a – roster shall we say – of locations and I pick and choose depending on how long I have to spend and what mood I might be in. Am I looking for a specific plant or am I just out to see what I can see? Each of these wild spaces has a different feel, a different energy, a different personality. Even when many of these spaces are within the same tract of wilderness.

Mystery is hard to capture in words. I think the poets have come closest but I am no Wendell Berry or Mary Oliver. For me it is that there is quiet at the heart of the woods; a quiet that in turn quiets my heart. It soothes my soul and helps me let go of all that is unimportant to the larger questions of our lives. Time in the wild strengthens my spirit. We have serious problems in our world and I want to be part of solving them. I want to do it with grace, kindness, and wisdom. The moments when I brush up against the mystery of wild spaces remind me to be honoured that I am called to this work. They remind me to be humbled that I am called to this work. The ancient Gauls had a word – nemeton – that translates as sacred space. It is this sacredness I want to touch and take back with me whenever I spend time in the wild.

What changes might we make if we saw the world as sacred?

Nemeton

Pickled Spruce Tips

Pickled Spruce Tips.

The man who built our house took care not to cut down the massive spruce that stands in front of the build site. Each spring I look forward to the tender new growth and to making pickled spruce tips. Spruce tips are high in vitamin C and vitamin A. The new growth tips are soft and feathery on the mouth – unlike old growth. By pickling the spruce tips I can bottle some of the magic of spring.

New growth spruce tips.

Harvesting.

When I harvest spruce tips I pick from as many different trees as possible. The spruce tips are the trees new growth. We want to be respectful of the tree and not harvest too much from any one individual. When harvesting – pick the spruce tips evenly. If you only harvest from branches on one side of the tree the tree will be lopsided. Similarly, if you only harvest from one side of a branch the new growth on the other side will make the branch lopsided. Aim to pick symmetrically.

The new growth has a brown papery cover. You’ll know it is time to harvest for pickled spruce tips when the brown cover slips off easily into your hand. I never want to harvest more than I need so I usually pick enough to fill a single jar and then multiple that by the number of jars I want to make. A 250 ml jar takes a little bit less than a single cup of spruce tips.

Spruce tips have a mild citrusy flavour. Like any wild food there is a moment when they are perfect for picking. I like to harvest when the tips have feathered out just a bit but are still in a compact shape. Aside from the brown cover on the tip the new growth has a lighter more vibrant shade of green than last year’s growth.

Close up of spruce tips with brown papery cover.

Perfect for harvesting.

Brine.

1 cup vinegar (your choice) I love the bright green colour of pickled spruce tips so I usually use white wine vinegar.

2 cups water

2 tablespoons salt

2 tsp sugar

aromatics – I like to enhance the citrusy flavour by putting a lemon slice to each jar. I also add 1 clove of garlic, 4-6 black peppercorns. The aromatics portion is where you can experiment and find your perfect flavour combo.

Pickling.

Wash and sterilize your jars. My dad always taught me to keep them hot holding in the oven once they had been sterilized. You can rinse your spruce tips before putting them in the individual jars. I keep track of rainfall and harvest from pristine wilderness areas. Much like I would if I were picking out apples at the supermarket I pick the tips that look the best. Put the aromatics in the bottom of each jar. I always like the look of a wagon wheel circle of lemon on the bottom of the jar so that’s where I place it.

Pack each jar with spruce tips, leaving about a 1/2 inch of headspace. Bring the brine to a boil and pour over the spruce tips to fill the jar. Use a chopstick or the handle of a wooden spoon to release any air bubbles. Ensure that the pickled spruce tips are completely covered by the brine. Put on the lids and place in the fridge. You’ll want to let them sit for at least 2 days before enjoying. Stored in the fridge these pickles will be good for 2 months. If you want them to last longer you can process them in a water bath.

I am more motivated by savoury flavours but I do appreciate a sweet when someone else makes it. Gather Victoria is doing work that I really admire and have this shortbread cookie recipe available that also uses spruce. I have also made spruce tip vinegar and you can make spruce tip sugar as well.

I missed fiddleheads this year because of – everything. Now that I know that the spruce tips are in their prime I want to make sure I take time to pickle some.

Last years harvest.