Forage Friday #37 Witch Hazel

Color Photography, Forage Friday, Uncategorized

Hello friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled “Witch Hazel 121319A”. All of the photos are my original work and are available for purchase by the instructions at the bottom of the article.

The young boy was fighting back his tears as he sat on the edge of the tub while his mother washed the dirt and blood from his knees. The cool water from the tap helped to numb his wounds a little. The abrasions were not that bad once they were cleaned up but when you’re that young everything seems like an emergency. His mother spoke in a soothing voice and braced her child for the next step. She retrieved an amber bottle from the medicine cabinet and poured out a clear liquid into a cotton ball. The medicine stung his broken skin at first but soon the astringent qualities of the witch hazel kicked in and made the pain stop.

It’s rare that I do a Forage Friday post on a plant that to the best of my knowledge has absolutely no uses as food. But witch hazel is one of those plants that is probably already in your own medicine cabinet. The parts used are the leaves, twigs and inner bark. However, it’s because of it’s late Fall/Early Winter bloom that I’ve waited until now to include it in a Forage Friday post.

Witch Hazel flowers are a beautiful sight during the dark rainy days of December.

The delicate flowers of witch hazel always seem to open at just the right time to add some beauty to the otherwise disheartening landscape. They’re also pollinated by winter moths that are able to survive freezing temperatures by living in the leaf litter to hide from the cold. Wild witch hazel is what we see in tonight’s pictures but a quick Google search shows that there are cultivars that can be planted and have a bloom that is more showy and displays various shades of red and orange.

I also learned while researching the article that there is only one industrial provider of witch hazel in the United States. The trees are farmed on a river bank. Once they’re ready for harvest the entire tree is coppiced (cut so that it will regenerate and friends back) and chipped. The chips are then dumped into vats of alcohol where the tannins are leeched out and then the alcohol is cooked off. The description of the process implies that the steam is collected and condensed into the liquid we find under various labels. It all comes from one supplier and there seems to be a lot of regulatory requirements that guide the production.

A witch hazel twig showing the bud and leaf scar. Leaf scars are like fingerprints that help identify the tree. Witch hazel buds resemble a deer’s hoof.

I also found a process for home production. It was rather simple. Collect the leaves, twigs and inner bark (one tablespoon per cup of distilled water) and soak them in water for about 30 minutes and then bring it to a boil. Simmer for ten minutes. Allow the decoction to steep for another ten minutes before straining and bottling.

The beautiful witch hazel growing with the alder from last night’s article.

I’m constantly scanning the environment for native species to incorporate into my landscape. While I’m probably never going to produce enough witch hazel to unseat the one supplier it is not only a beautiful flowering bush to help add color in the winter but a handy resource to have around a homestead.

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The Alder

Color Photography, Uncategorized

Hello friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled “Alder Catkin 120819m”. All of the photos are my original work and are available for purchase by the instructions at the bottom of the article.

My breath condenses into long curls as I walk the road towards the salmon colored traces that I noticed as I drove by. In the past I would refer to the winter as “The Gray World” but this year I’ve decided to make it priority to search for the Color of winter. In doing so I have discovered that our world is always in bloom. You just need to look a little closer.

I found subtle tones of red and pink as well as pale blues and greens were everywhere.

The feature image is the male catkin of an alder tree and it seems to still have some pollen. Unlike the flowers of the warmer weather the alder depends on the winter winds to carry it’s pollen instead of insects.

The female catkin of Alder tree looks like a little pinecone but has the same beautiful red tones.

The scales will develop into seeds and they are also carried away by the winds.

The Alder grows near water and has a tight grain that is used for fine woodworking although it is a little on the soft side when compared to something like maple. Still, the wood is honey colored and makes a great veneer. And if you’re a fan of Fender guitars you can thank the alder for the balanced tones.

The Alder does play a roll in soil conservation. It forms a symbiotic relationship with nitrogen fixing bacteria and forms nodules similar to legumes. It’s sometimes called a pioneer species and while that’s debatable for various reasons it was the first tree to spring up on my property after the 2012 derachio. My forest was pretty battered by the straight line wind and so the alder became a personal symbol of renewal in my life. The one tree in particular sprouted next to my driveway and I simply allowed it grow. Unfortunately, the root system is threatening to destroy my pavement and so the tree has to go. ( don’t worry, I now have plenty of trees to enjoy)

On a final note, I am aware that the inner bark of the alder has traditionally been used by herbalist to treat various conditions. However, it’s not one of the medicinal plants that I have studied to a point where I’m comfortable going into details.

Mostly, alder serves as a a source of enjoyment and beauty in my life. It’s a little pop if color to break up the gray of winter.

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December Surprise

Color Photography

A warm front always proceeds a cold snap in these mountains. The old timers would tell me that the warmer the day is then the harsher the storm will be. And just prior to the snow that we’re enjoying as I write tonight’s post it was warm enough to wake up the blue Asters that have claimed the old flower pots next to my parking spot. The Asters are a cool weather plant and the raised bed effect of the pots combined with the thermal mass of the driveway must have given them just enough energy to wake up. The dark days of December are a little disheartening here between two mountains where night falls at 4:00 PM. So when I found the simple little cluster of wildflowers it was a special treat. On top of that there’s a second cluster of bloom beneath the exhaust of my hearing system. I count them as Godwinks. Those little encouraging signs from God to let us know that he’s close by and that the darkness won’t last much longer. In fact, it’s less than two weeks until the new light.

A dear friend recently pointed out that the coldest weather is still ahead of us in North America and that’s true. Typically, January and February are the coldest moths of the year. But they’re not s dark. We won’t really notice it at first but on December 22nd the days start to get longer again. By the middle of February we start to see the sunsets linger and become more colorful. And that when the Asters normally return here. Sometime between the middle of February and the middle of March they dot the landscape.

The December Surprise flowers probably won’t survive tonight’s freezing temperatures and they don’t have have to in order for me to be encouraged. They simply had to be seen one day to give me the inner warmth that will get me through the winter.

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Morning Whispers

Color Photography

The smell of the coffee in my tumbler fills the cab of my big blue truck as I drift along the tiny one lane road on Peter’s Creek. Most of the colorful leaves have fallen to the ground leaving behind the pale branches and boles of the sleeping forest. The vibrant songs of the mockingbirds and warblers have given way to the cries of jays and crows. The seasonal progression brings with it an icy chill making the hot coffee all the more appreciable. As I scan the edges of the road hoping for a jay or a Cardnial to pause long enough for a portrait the gently swaying keys of a box elder catches my eye. The winged seeds persist well past the dropping of the final leaf and some of them stay on the tree well into the winter. I know that the calendar says that winter doesn’t really start until the solstice but that’s mankind’s artificial time. For me winter starts with dropping of the last leaf or when those that remain have turned to dull rusty brown. The forest slumbers until the songbirds sing and wake the first blossom of spring.

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What Did She Say?

Color Photography

Hello Friends! Tonight’s feature image is of Fayette County as seen from Nicholas County West Virginia. The image is titled “First Winter1” because it was the winter photo that ever took with a serious camera. If you would like to purchase a copy please see the instructions at the bottom of the page.

I woke up this morning with a cold chill running down my spine and stared blankly at the ceiling. Yesterday’s story played out over and over again in my head. It has finally happened… I was wrong. How could I ever face the day? Well. Actually it’s pretty easy. All humour aside I do need to straighten out an inaccurate statement from my last post. The ” 4 days until Spring statement. The funny thing is that I knew better. Yes Spring is close but it’s still about a month or so away. The first “official day of Spring is March 20th. Not March 1st. So how did it happen? I was able to locate a term for what happened but there should be one. I committed a basic internet rookie error. I trusted the answer provided by the Google Assistant without using a common sense filter. In my defense let me provide exhibit 1. A screen shot of Google’s misleading answer.

Now honestly I knew better and I got caught up in confirmation bias. You see, I wanted the answer that I got and turned a blind eye to the accuracy of the search results. Which brings me to the main point of tonight’s post. How much should we trust technology? In the age of instant knowledge can we be so quick to abandon objectivity? Well, last night’s post is an example of why we need to be vigilant about checking the source of information. For me the result was some minor embarrassment and looking silly. Y’know what? That happens to everyone for one reason or another and it happens more often than most people care to admit. There’s no real harm done. But what if I had been researching something more serious like first aid or how to make an emergency vehicle repair? The list can go on but the point is that the answer you want to be hear may not be the right answer. As for last night’s post I did update the word “calendar” in the second sentence to the word “Google” and added an update to bottom of the article for the purpose of honesty. And, while the countdown to Spring is a little longer than 3 to 4 days it’s not as long as it was when the days were shorter and the nights were colder.

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