Last week at the sanctuary and now back home!

June 22, 2016

Last week at the sanctuary and now back home!

Rattlesnake Master at Dusk <3

Well, I had most of my blog typed up, just needed to upload pics and publish, but as with technology, something went wrong, and what I had written cannot be recovered. So I apologize for the delay in getting this post up- Let’s see how well I can do off memory!

I decided to stay at the sanctuary for an additional week after our internship ended. I really wanted to soak up as much as I could of the sanctuary, and couldn’t bear to part ways with that place so soon. I spent a lot of time alone in the woods, doing some off trail hiking, and getting a little ‘lost’ which is always fun ;). Tuesday Meredith and I were quite productive, we took a hike that morning, and again, went off trail to an area not many people go.. we spit out right at one of the neighbor’s back yards! We happened to also walk through some sort of tick nest, because we were covered in the nearly microscopic critters!!! Eww. After a thorough tick check and lunch, we washed a bunch of mason jars (that we rescued from the side of the road a few weeks ago), and went for a long afternoon swim at the pond, of course!

Filling up at the spring. And rinsed off with it too ;)

Wednesday was great!!! We went back to the Hocking Hills. That area has the most amazing natural structures; the trip we took there during our internship barely scratched the surface on all that the Hocking Hills has to offer! We hit up several well-known caves and also stopped at the natural spring to fill up water bottles! First we went to Ash Cave, which is completely accessible- a sidewalk takes you right onto the sandy bank under a huge cliff overhang. That day it was pretty muggy, and had just stopped raining, but that created the dreamiest atmosphere- there was fog surrounding us! Next we went to Cedar Falls. This was the most pronounced waterfall (right now anyway), and had the most people there as well. We waded in the water and relaxed, then went exploring around that area some more. These places are gorgeous! If I lived this close, I would be out here as often as I can! Although, it was still somewhat busy, even for a weekday, I can imagine it’s a mad house on the weekends. Last spot to explore for the day was Conkles Hollow!

Ash Cave in the mist

We spent a good amount of time here. The lower trail takes you right to the mouth of the cave, after a little creek jumping, that is. It literally felt like a fairy tale, Fern Gully and Once Upon a Forest style, (you know, the 90’s cartoon movies with cute characters, that actually deliver a deeper message about conservation!?) After we hung out in the cave area for a while, we went back and hit the upper trail. This was a 2.5-mile hike that is several stories above the hollow and is a spot for some amazing views! There are Hemlock’s everywhere, and multiple cave systems, groves of trees, and waterfalls all on several levels, on top and underneath others! It was a great day, and we got several miles in! After we finished hiking, we were all ready for food and a beer, so we went into Athens to satisfy our needs.

Thursday, we were lucky enough to acquire tickets to see Dead and Company in Cincinnati! (The remaining members of The Grateful Dead). Not something that I’ve ever planned on and so glad that we got that opportunity!!! Before we left though, it was time to harvest Mullein at Paul Strauss’ house for Equinox Botanical’s Mullein Garlic Ear Oil! I make my own version of this, for personal use, so it was great to be a part of the harvest for a larger scale retail operation! Several of us picked Mullein flowers all morning long, after the dew dried. It was great to be a part of that process, invaluable experience that I’m so happy to have! After that, we went back to the sanctuary to clean up, have lunch, and pack food for our afternoon! Cincinnati is a few hours from Rutland, and there are a few points of interest on the way, so we headed that way for an adventure! Our first stop was the Serpent Mound! This is an ancient effigy mound. No one really knows who built it, or what its purpose was, and there is even debate on how old the original structure is. Many say it is up to 2900 years BP (before present). The most accepted theory is that it was created by the Adena culture around 300BC, but will we ever know?

Meredith overlooking Serpent Mound

The mystery makes it even more magical. The Serpent Mound is at the edge of a crater created by a meteor, and there are several places where the mounds line up with important celestial events, such as Solstice, and seasonal sun and moon rises, etc. They also hold events there during these seasonal changes. It was great to see, since I have heard about it since before our first week at the Sanctuary! After showing the serpent mound some love, we headed out to Cincinnati!! We arrived just as the show was starting. It was great! We were weary as to how on earth John Mayer could ever replace Jerry Garcia, but the show was actually really good! John Mayer is a damn good guitar player, and wasn’t trying too hard to be Jerry, it was a good fusion of the two. I have never seen so much tie-dye in my life! Hahaha. So much love at that show, I only wonder what it was like to see them back in the 60-70’s. Good Times.

Friday we went back over to Paul’s to see if they needed any more help with the Mullein, they didn’t, but I got to hang out and help in the apothecary instead! It was fantastic! I have missed working in my own apothecary and crafting medicine, so to help them make a few products was extremely rewarding. It was also great to see all of that done on a larger scale, with more industrial equipment then a home-herbalist has access to! Big thanks to Lonnie for finding stuff for me to do, and the great time we spent together and especially the good conversation. I’ve had a little anxiety creeping in since our internship ended with the thought of going back home and what I will do next. It helps to discuss options and talk about it with someone, besides myself in my head and in my journal- haha. I got a passionflower tincture from them to help ease my anxiousness during this transition and soothe the ever-present worry about the future. So far so good! Que Sera, Sera!!! :D

YESSSSS!

Saturday, being my final full day at the sanctuary, I intended to make the very most of it! I actually packed a bag for a day in the woods including water, lunch, my journal, binoculars, and a few bags in case I saw anything I wanted to collect (usually don’t bring too many supplies, but I didn’t want any reason to have to cut my day of exploration short). I really, really, felt at ease during my walk. I felt more of a connection with that land, and the plants and animals there than I have maybe during this entire experience. When I made it to the end of Main Hollow trail, I spit out at the end of the Reclaim trail. That’s when I spotted them…. A handful of ripe black raspberries!!!! We found 2 or 3 on our walk on Tuesday, but nothing more than a bite. This time I thought the same thing, just a few ripe for me to snack on… well I kept walking, and by golly THERE THEY WERE! I found the motherload!! Still, only maybe 1/4 of the berries on the vine were ripe, but that didn’t stop me! I pulled out one of the bags I brought (thankfully!), and started collecting any I could easily reach! I must have gotten at least a pint by the end of my walk! A lot of people don’t know the difference between blackberries and black raspberries- I knew that black raspberries are the first to ripen in the summer, and are also somewhat hollow unlike blackberries. What a tasty treat!!! I ate more than enough, and brought a lot back with me to enjoy during the next few days. Wish I could stay forever and harvest them all for yummy jam, pie, cobbler, etc.!!! But no. The dogs and my momma are anxiously awaiting my return. Can’t extend this trip ANY longer- unfortunately! I made the full circle, and ended up back at the Heart Pond. I got a little emotional during the berry picking (father’s day was the next day, and berry picking with Dad was always a summertime must), so I decided to journal a little before having lunch and a swim! Meredith made it back just as I was getting ready to get in! We laid out all afternoon, reminiscing and still in disbelief that we would be leaving the very next morning. That night was a little rough, laundry, and packing ALL of our items. I ended up having an extra box as a checked bag, as well as an additional box to mail home! Got lots of good stuff though! We took one last walk through the prairies as the sun was setting. Wish I could stay to see these prairies really bloom!

Last prairie walk at the Sanctuary, for now...

Sunday morning, we went to Lonnie’s yoga class, and hurried back to the sanctuary to pack up the car and do some cleaning up. We said bye to Chip, and Bailey even came out from Athens to say bye too! I cried a little... of course. It was hard leaving. The drive back to Columbus was eerie too. Monday I had everything consolidated and re-packed, mailed my extra box home, and headed to the airport. The flight was delayed (typical), but other than that all was smooth. I sat next to a guy and ended up talking about farming, organics and GMO’s, modern America compared to other countries, and everything in between. He actually is from India but grew up on a Camilla (tea) farm in Kenya where they distributed Black Tea all over the world! So, we had a lot to talk about! That was a nice conversation to ease myself back into the ‘real world’. There are fellow plant people all around me, I just have to keep my feelers out for them!

Freshly landed back Home in Texas!
Solstice Sunshine!

My mom picked me up and it was great to see her!!! I was so happy to see my girls, maybe happier to see them than they were to see me! It didn’t take me long to get my things loaded in my truck to head home. I’m also proud that I did a deep, deep clean of my place before I left, so getting home was a relief after living out of a suite case for nearly 2 months! It was just getting dark when I got home, but I still got to see some stuff in my yard- all of which is doing Awesomely, especially considering nothing has been touched in over 7 weeks. I have been spending a lot of quite time here with my girls, being especially mindful of my thoughts and actions, more than I ever have. It took me a while to open up my computer and start this blog, but I know I need to keep it up, so as hard as it was, I’m pushing on!