los padres national forest

going backwards in time...this was the first camping trip in april for the Rooties of 2012. we went to los padres national forest, tucked away on the interior side of big sur. it came at a time when i really, really needed to get in some warm weather, be outside with some plants that were somewhat familiar, smell the wild flowers, meet new flowers, sleep under the stars, roll around in meadows, hike, make disgustingly sweet deserts on the campfire, cry, laugh, hug, sing, eat gourmet camp food, hold hands, make friends with familiar faces, refresh.

 the old mission

red root, ceanothus

my personal mission was to find the red owl's clover...a flower essence that saved me about a month earlier.

don't laugh, but this pretty little thing's name is blue dicks.

morning view from my tent

everyone learns how to start friction fires...two sticks and a dried leaf...some are better than others.

class time

it's been so long i can't remember all the names, and i don't have my notes in front of me, so i can only label a few photos

a type of shepher's purse

yerba santa, the saintly herb, the queen plant, the herb our trip was centered around. resinous, sticky, delicious in chile, a nice additions sprinkled in a smoke blend, an incense, great as a first aid salve, yerba santa you are heavenly.

mmm, indian paintbrush, one of my favorites.

fiddle head, appropriately named.

cudweed, although the name doesn't even come close to describing how delicious this plant smells, a relative to the everlastings, another favorite of mine.

poppy willow, or willow poppy, something of that nature.

lupines....we were surrounded by forests and forests of lupines...it was like the field of poppies in the wizard of oz...trudging through them all made us sleeping, kind of loopy, dazed...the smell, mmmmmm so luscious.

hummingbird sage...yet another favorite. i seem to be drawn to the resinous, sticky ones. i made an infused olive oil of this...rich, a little goes a long way, great on tomato/avocado salads with a pinch of sea salt and cayenne, great salad topper.

the sacred elder, in bloom none the less, the center piece of any sacred goddess garden...it is said that whenever a change should occur in the garden it must be pasted through the elder tree first, the grandmother over all the plants in the garden, and she will tell you what is right or wrong.

two different lupines, side by side, harlequin on the left, you sexy change of color you.

 yucca with bloom stalk, a rare sight to witness

flower essences in the making:

i experimented with flower and crystal combos.

red owl's clover infused with brown troumaline

sticky monkey flower, no crystal

california poppy with granulated garnet

daisy fleabane and spearment in emerald in fushite infused with the flow of a mountain spring

at the end of flower essence making day, we all set our labeled "mothers" on the table so anyone who wants can make a "stock bottle" from someone else's essence...a good time to share our experiences, the energetics effects of the medicine, and to gleam what might be helpful for one's self.

the end of a long days hike, what was supposed to be a mild 8 mile hike turned out to be several hours lost in overgrowth of a previous burn, the trail not easily found, water running low, tummies growling, teachers acting like it's not big deal because they've been there dozens of times before, and finally we hit the meadow...the long haul back to camp was over.