Yarrow was traditionally used for casting oracles with the help of the I Ching, otherwise known as the Book of Changes. 50 stalks are used, one is put aside and the rest are counted and sorted six times, building up the hexagram. Yarrow has been connected with spirituality and receptivity for thousands of years in many traditions.

The yarrow stalks contained in these handmade oracle pouches grew wild in the Catskills of New York. They were harvested with respect and care not to deplete the environment, as a result I have a limited supply each year.

The pouches containing the stalks are handmade from material from thrift shops.

The pouches are about 7″ long and 2″ wide.

Instructions on how to count the yarrow stalks can be found here.

Note: The I Ching (Book of Changes) is not included.

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I recently read a book I have been waiting a while to get my hands on. Endgame, Vol. 1: The Problem of Civilization by Derrick Jensen. I first read Derrick Jensen’s work in 2006 when we moved to Neversink in the Catskills, among the reservoirs that supply New York City with its world renowned water. His book A Language Older Than Words, rings strong and true, the examples he uses clearly express what we all know.

As it turns out, the USA is so desperate for energy now that it is considering drilling the Marcellus Shale that runs from West Virginia to New York for natural gas. They say the process “should cause minimal environmental harm.” How many times have we heard that before? The number of things that could easily go wrong would result in contamination of the entire NY water supply-how many people is that? Should we call this a terrorist threat? Read the New York Times Editorial: Shale and Our Water.

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This hardworking beaver didn’t notice us quietly fishing as he worked furiously on his dam. According to wikipedia:

The North American beaver population was once more than 60 million, but as of 1988 was 6–12 million. This population decline is due to extensive hunting for fur, for glands used as medicine and perfume, and because their harvesting of trees and flooding of waterways may interfere with other land uses.

A pretty sad situation indeed. Beavers are really clever in the methods they use to build their homes which are the dams. I have heard that they are the animal after humankind that is said to alter their environment the most drastically.

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This slideshow takes us through the whole cycle of life including the birth in spring of twin bambis. We even get a look at deer droppings as well as deer eating. These cycles of life are unavoidable, death is as inevitable as birth, it is ultimately counter-productive to try to sterilize this reality.

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Yarrow, Vetch, Ox-eye Daisy, Plantain, Milkweed, Thistle, Joe Pie Weed, Indian Pipe, Bluet, Rose and many more potent and helpful herbs abound in the alpine meadows of the famous pristine Catskills of New York.

Having the opportunity to get to know these friendly herbs in this wild environment has been really helpful in understanding how the healing properties — like the volatile oils and vitamin and mineral content — can be more or less potent depending on the earth they are grown in. Growing up in the harsh contrary conditions of long freezing winters and wild warm storms of the summer have made these herbs strong.

Salves and tinctures I make from them leave a lasting impression on everyone who uses them.

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It was our friend’s birthday, he was just getting into fly-fishing and arranged for us to do a day float down the East Branch of the Delaware river, which is a great place to fly fish for brown trout.

We rented canoes from Al’s Sport Store, made sure we got some sandwiches and beers from a local deli, piled the dogs into the canoes and we were off. Or so we thought. Fortunately just before we reached the first covered bridge we remembered we had forgotten the cooler of beverages and one team quickly turned back to rescue it.

It was peaceful and quiet on the river, except when the frolicsome dog, Roxy could no longer resist the cool water and jumped in and began her favorite game of barking and tossing water into the air, while snapping at the falling droplets. The fish all fled and she was quickly dragged back into the canoe and forced to sit still.

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Potato salad is extra tasty when the potatoes are homegrown. In fact, commercially grown potatoes are full of chemicals and best to avoid. It also feels wonderful to dig your fingers into the earth and pull out a potato. This is a malleable, open-source recipe, do as you will.

Music: Monsanto Took My Seed Blues by Old Bull

Recipe: Wild Herbs Potato Salad

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Continued from here.

We went on a trip to Cleveland in September, just when the first cold and misty weather-change hit the Catskills. The deer, worried winter was coming early, and glad to find my garden unattended with the open invitation of a fence that only went half way ’round, quickly gorged themselves on my veggies and herbs.

It was terribly depressing to see all that hard work trampled and eaten. This area of the Catskills is over-run by deer because wolves and mountain lions are now quite rare in the area. There are packs of coyotes that roam the hillsides that take out a few deer, but not enough to make much of a dent on their population.

This year and a half we spent in the Catskills, surviving with minimum funds and supported only by family and friends really helped to reconnect us with the natural world. In some ways it was very stressful. I have always been very self-sufficient, but with poor health and no insurance we had to rely completely on friends, family and nature.

Once I let go of embodying the expectation that I be tough as nails and drag myself up by my boot-straps, the good ole-fashioned systems of inter-connection and symbiosis, re-wove themselves through my system, providing an invisible but resilient support net, which in the long term has encouraged my roots to grow deep and far.

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I have lived in dorms, small rooms or apartments ever since boarding school and in the past ten years or so always have at least a few plants in pots. Living in the Catskills of New York was my first opportunity to have a real garden in my own plot of land, where I could do exactly what I wanted, however I wanted. It was a most satisfying dream-come-true experience.

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Step back in time and experience the sweet goodness of maple syrup. In this old-fashioned sugar house, sap collected from surrounding maple trees is reduced to rich syrup in an wood-fired evaporator.

Location: Muthig Farm, Parksville, New York.

Maple syrup is an excellent alternative to cane sugar and provides trace minerals which are brought up from the earth by the tree’s roots.

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