Hello Folks!
We’ve had a great past two weeks. The first week we spent with awesome guest instructor John Gallagher learning about the healing qualities of some of the local plants. One day we made a tincture of Oregon Grape bark (a small, woody, evergreen plant). The inner bark is vividly yellow and has many medicinal properties. As an exercise, before John told us what people have traditionally used the plant for, we all went out and found our own individual Oregon Grape plant and spent some time with it to see if we could determine what it might be good for. It was cool to see how many people interpreted their experience with the plant to indicate the same quality. Of course, there are no wrong answers because all of the parts of the plant have not been processed in all of the ways it is possible to process a plant, so not all of its properties are known. Our intuition could be just as right as it could be off!
Our tincture consisted simply of the bark (outer and inner) in little pieces submerged in vodka! Now we are waiting for it to season (six weeks) before we can strain it out and use it!
Another day we went to a sandbar and spent the morning exploring on our own. It was sunny and warm and the river was wide and deep and you could see the mountains far across the river jutting into the sky with white peaks. It was gorgeous and wonderful to have some time to ourselves to wander around the sandy landscape. We made black cottonwood salve during the second half of the day and all went home with a small tin of burn and sore remedy.
Last week we spent some time with Alexia learning about birds. Thursday and Friday morning we got up very early and all went to sit around the edge of the pond to listen to the birds at dawn. Like we’ve done before, we came back afterwards and mapped the bird noises we collectively heard and discussed what was going on out of sight, as relayed to us by the birds. It’s amazing how we each come back and contribute a piece of the picture and discover what was taking place around us.
During the second part of the days last week we worked on animal forms and learned different techniques for moving efficiently and quietly in the woods. We put some of these skills to practice during a “drum stalk” where everyone was spread out, blindfolded, barefoot (optional), and then challenged to make their way towards a beating drum. I had done this exercise before but this time I really connected with something that I haven’t before. I felt like I was dancing with the landscape, letting my feet explore the ground in front of me before putting my weight on them, running my hands along branches and the ground to find out where the open spaces were. I felt like I belonged in the forest, and that it was the forest that was leading me, showing me how to move. Interestingly, on the way back to where we had begun after the stalk was over, I was less graceful and the ground hurt my feet a lot more than when I had been blind! The challenge now is to keep those senses used while blind, as present and engaged even when sight is not compromised.
–Dana
NatureSkills.com's Wilderness Survival Skills Blog
