A Walk on the Wild Side

China my pal

It is a balmy May day today. I took the bus out to Winter Hill Farm, Ashby West Road, Fitchburg. No one was home. Good plan. I had the farm to myself for a few hours. Let China, 11 year old cat out. She loves it when I come and wants to pal around with me.  A mourning cloak butterfly flew into lilac and a yellow tiger swallowtail was seen flitting about on flowers in the front yard. It is only May and the swallowtails are here. This is early.

ladyslipper

Picked up my bamboo poles, a pail with fresh composted earth and aged manure, a trowel and my seeds. And out to the Wild Butterfly Habitat I went.  Removed some blackberry bramble and cleared a small area. Put plastic down, I hated to, but I didn’t have any newspaper. Instead I put my composed  soil on top and firmly planted seeds. My hope is that the seeds will germinate and I will be able to transplant them to a better soil preparation that I will undertake over the next few weeks.

I came back to the barn and pulled up a lawn chair to sit on and ate my bagel with cream cheese and chives and drank from a bottle of water. A short while later my brother in law came out of the house. He had arrived home from work when I was up in the woods.

Jack offered me a ride on the ATV and I hitched a ride back up to the woods. This time I was headed to Frog Pond. He left me where the trail forked because there are too many rocks and boulders to cross over. Then I headed out by foot and found the trail that leads to the pond.

 

Lobilia cardinalis

There with memories of the past in Lusby, So. MD, and my friend Audrey Scharmen, a writer and plant friend, I planted beloved Lobilia cardinalis. The cardinal plant likes to have her feet wet and head in the sun. I planted her in the peat moss and decayed leaf compost. I hope they make it. I have waited so long  to have another encounter with one of my favorite plants that still clings to my memories of beautiful things in my life.

Illness is the teacher

I can attest to the truth of these words. A few years back an elder Ojibwe friend told me this. Margaret was a wise woman who spoke volumes in short bursts of wisdom, which I absorbed.

I  have COPD and my lungs and bronchial tubes are at a risk when I catch cold or flu. Since January 1, I have had two bouts of chronic bronchitis. Both times I needed antibiotics for five days. I am on a five day regiment now.

I believe in complimentary medicine. I know that some seeds, herbs and plants are good for treating respiratory ailment.

Come spring, I will transplant more woodland medicinal plants in the woods that my family owns in Fitchburg, MA.

Today, I am making a tea with fresh anise seed (breaks up bronchial mucus.)  I added dried peppermint( energizer), Throat Coat tea by Traditional Medicinals.

I learned about the benefits of slippery elm bark, cinnamon bark, wild cherry bark and fennel seeds and they are some of the ingredients that make up Throat Coat tea.

After I let the tea come to a boiling point, I turn stove off and let the concoction sit for a least five minutes.

I strain the tea and pour the ingredients into a tall drinking container. Before I add the tea, I squeeze a lemon slice and honey into the drinking container first. I remember my grandmother making hot fresh squeezed lemon and honey as a drink. It helped me sweat out a cold.

I guess I can call this experiment a COPD herbal tea that I am documenting. Let’s see how it goes…………..