Learning Forest and Prairie
Druids not only feel nature they seek to understand it. Often overlooked in this dualist society is the need for balance (a Nature-based virtue).
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Importance of Ecological Balance and Genetic Diversity
Importance of Ecological Balance and Genetic Diversity
People can visit and hike Isle Royal National Park. I can still remember hiking up out of a chilly foggy morning onto a sunny ridge trail and spending the next several hours hiking above the clouds. I also remember lots of moose berries!
Wolves of Yellowstone
Wolves of Yellowstone
Balance Also Required Between People and Wolves
Balance Also Required Between People and Wolves
Wolves do not mix with human society. The fairy tales of the big bad wolf are based upon valid fears. Yet wolves escape from human defined wilderness areas and this is the sad story of how governments were not prepared for this part.
The New England Forests channel on YouTube is a wonderful resource. The video on the right is a great introduction to one of the most spiritual trees in America, the tall White Pine (others are Beech and Oak). Its first half gives its history while the second half around 43 minutes goes into its spirituality and biology.
New England Forests: The White Pine
New England Forests: The White Pine
(July 7, 2022) Pine smell is caused by a terpene chemical. If we can smell a plant odor the plant is using it for communication. What pine terpenes do is presently being researched but many other terpenes have health benefits. (Joshee, and all 2019). This spiritual and possible physical benefit of trees is why the Japanese developed a concept during the 1980s called forest bathing or shinrin-yoku.
Having grown up in Michigan I often visited Hartwick Pines State Park which is one of the few accessible old growth White Pine forests left in the United States. Some of my ancestors were also involved in logging White Pine during the late 1800's being northern Michigan farmers. Consequently, White Pine is a big part of my own spirituality.
References
Joshee, Dhekney, and Parajuli (2019) Therapeutic and Medicinal Uses of Terpenes. Medicinal Plants. Nov 12 : 333–359. Online at: https://doi.org/10.1007%2F978-3-030-31269-5_15References
New England Forests: Reading the Forested Landscape 1
New England Forests: Reading the Forested Landscape 1
New England Forests: Reading the Forested Landscape 2
New England Forests: Reading the Forested Landscape 2
New England Forests: Reading the Forested Landscape 3
New England Forests: Reading the Forested Landscape 3
Missouri Prairie: Addressing Alarming Habitat Trends
Missouri Prairie: Addressing Alarming Habitat Trends
Illinois Extension Forestry: Ticks of the Illinois
Illinois Extension Forestry: Ticks of the Illinois
Anyone who goes out hiking in the wilds during summer in the Midwest United States needs to be prepared to some degree. Having said that tick borne infections in humans are still rare.
Health and Homestead: Beware of Water Hemlock
Health and Homestead: Beware of Water Hemlock
Water Hemlock looks just like wild carrot (Queen Anne's Lace) which is common in vacant fields in the Midwest United States. Examples like this is why spiritual herbologists really need to know their plants.
The Nature Pagan Flower In the United States - The Trillium
The Nature Pagan Flower In the United States - The Trillium
(April 24, 2024) Trillium, also known as toadshade, birthroot, birthwort, and sometimes wood lily, is a genus of about fifty flowering plant species in the family Melanthiaceae. Trillium species are native to temperate regions of North America and Asia with the greatest diversity of species found in the southern Appalachian Mountains in the southeastern United States.
Having 3 flower petals of various colors makes it a special flower for nature Pagans because the number 3 is sacred being both ancient and connective. It is ancient because it is the number of layers in the Ancient Pagan Paradigm. It is connective because it has a middle point unlike the dualist number 2 which has none.
Trilliums tend to be popular and over collected from the wild. Please adhere to the Forest service statement about Trilliums quoted below:
In addition to medicinal uses, like many of our native, showy wildflowers, trilliums are also subject to pressure from overzealous collectors and habitat loss due to land-use changes. If you desire to have trilliums in your garden, please visit a reputable nursery that propagates these species using ecologically sustainable methods.
Remember, collecting seed or any other plant material on the national forests and grasslands requires a permit. Please contact your nearest Forest Service office to request a permit before attempting to collect any native plant products. Native trilliums and their many derived hybrids and cultivars are readily available from the nursery trade and should not be collected in the wild.
References
References
https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/beauty/trilliums/about.shtml
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