Making Medicine

Just a quick post (for now!) on our family's power, or one of them, we make our own medicine! A neighbor allowed us to harvest elderberries (Sambucas nigra) from their huge plants. Then Little D. helped me strip the berries and cook them down to be added to honey. Later we use this to help boost our immune system during colds.
Sometimes we hike in the area to find Usnea (species) to make another wonderful immune boosting tincture along with Echinacea purperea root from the garden. During early spring we seek out bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) to help with skin problems. Later in the year we may collect calendula, chamomile and other flowers in the garden to dry or make more tinctures.

MT. Mitchel Camping Trip

Family camping trip: finally a chance to have LOTS of time for homeschooling.

YAY! This is the post to kick off The Living School's blog. I have been waiting for the perfect words to form in the perfect order in my head but I can't wait any longer; we'll just let 'em roll! Our family took a camping trip to Mt. Mitchell State Park. Mt. Mitchell is the tallest mountain is the highest peak in the Eastern U.S.
Papa and I took a trip there years ago and were a little crestfallen with the acid rain damage to the flora. I was a little hesitant about the trip but adult attitudes can dramatically improve with the spice of two awesome kids!
We were destined for one of the two typical campgrounds but they were too exposed and too chocked full of folks for me. The van wandered up a dirt road and we found the perfect campsite for free in the national forest.


It was great: a few dishes to wash in the creek, no housework or phone calls, and lots of playing and exploring. Day two we went on an awesome hike (probably 3 or 4 miles) and was most impressed by (1) the kids' interest in the plant life allowing Papa and I to be plant nerds and (2) Big D's hiking skills. We tasted, smelled, id'ed, and photographed many plants and fungi. Although the smell of mammals was strong we didn't come across any but Little D did stumble across this snail.




















Big D up close and personal with RATTLESNAKE PLANTAIN, Goodyera pubescens.

Little D in a patch of ground cedar, Diphasiastrum digitatum.

Papa giving a diatribe on the extinct and majestic American Chestnut (he is standing beside an old stump with a new sapling growing).




















Later that evening Big D helps Papa collect wood for a fire and weenie roast. The kids tucked in early and not even the loudest thunderstorm I have ever 'felt' made them stir.
Day 2 we had a leisurely breakie and then it was off to Ostara Farms in nearby Burnsville to visit our old friends Tara and Sean. We left with cooled heels from the sprinkler, eggs from their chickens, and last season's gourds destined to become birdhouses.















A few other notable events: we stumbled across a slew of reishi mushrooms growing on a fallen log. Delta probably hiked 4 miles roundtrip carrying her backpack w/o complaints! Mama couragously led her daughter to climb a big, wet, waterfall (gulp).














A few of my other favorite pictures were Delta stopping on the trail to pull out her notebook and sketching the local flora.
And finally we drove up to the lookout at the top of Mt. Mitchell. Short hike, chatted with some travelers and oohhed over some more magical plant places. On the way down the mountain we stopped the van for two young bear cubs to lumber straight up the steep roadside slope. Giving thanks for a great family homeschool adventure.