Thank You Weather Beings!

I am sitting here at my computer listening to the rain. The sound of thunder from a storm that just passed is fading off towards the east. I can also hear a new storm approaching from the west. In my heart I feel incredibly grateful. This past winter was the warmest and driest winter that I can remember. The temperature was above freezing during the day most of the winter and we had virtually no snow or precipitation of any kind. March and the first half of April were very warm for this region. Consequently, when I was walking in the woods in late April, the level of dryness was more like early to mid July.

Fortunately, it did cool down for a few weeks and we got some rain from mid April to mid May. But it wasn't enough. The level of moisture in the soil and in wetlands and rivers was already at a deficit because of the lack of snow melt. I was up at Lake Superior in May. I have never seen the water level so low. Not even in mid summer! In June the water level of Georgian Bay (Lake Huron) was also as low as I can remember except once a number of years ago in July after we had experienced a few dry years in a row.

The region where I live has been experiencing a fairly bad drought. Thankfully, it hasn't been nearly as bad as what they are experiencing in the central States and my heart goes out to all of the plant, animal and human people who live there. It seems to be part of human nature that we tend to take the many blessings of life for granted. We love to complain about the rain when it happens at an inconvenient time. But when we really need it, at least some people take notice. Farmers notice. On the other hand, some city folk are too self-absorbed in their artificial world. Maybe they get a bit annoyed at having to water their lawn more often.

Last week we finally got some relief. For about a day and a half we had pretty steady soaking rain. Later in the week we had a decent amount for another evening. Needless to say I was very happy, and so were all of the plants and animals that live around here. Today, since early afternoon, we have been getting a fair amount of rain again. The meteorologists are predicting it will continue well into the evening. I haven't had much faith in them for many years. Our weather patterns have become too changeable and unpredictable in the last few decades. I don't trust their weather predictions more than a few hours in advance. Since mid June they have predicted about 20 days of rain (40-60% chance) for this immediate area. We got a little bit of rain on one of them. That is, until last week and today. All I can say is I am very thankful to hear the voices of the Weather Beings echoing through the sky right now. Any amount of rain that they leave us will be greatly appreciated.

The view of a storm from my bedroom window very early in the morning on July 27th.

As an herbalist, I have always been very in tune with the cycles of nature and how they affect the plants and ecosystem where I live. The weather we have been having has a profound affect on the world around us. There are many things that are different this year. There are a lot more butterflies, but less flies, bees and wasps. It was so warm in March and early April that many trees bloomed much earlier than normal. Insects also emerged early. Then in April there were a couple of weeks where the temperature was below normal and there were some bad frosts that killed a lot of the flowers and pollinating insects. The trees and shrubs that managed to get through it and produce a decent amount of fruit then had to deal with the drought. We got some rain in April and May, but there was almost none in June and July and it was consistently hotter than normal. Many plants that produce fleshy fruits allowed them to dry up before they matured. They couldn't spare the water necessary for their fruits to develop. Where I live, the hawthorns (Crataegus spp.) actually produced a lot of fruit initially, but they dried up in early July and the few that continued to mature were affected by some kind of fungus.

During hot dry years, many plants accelerate their life cycle. They try to flower and produce seed before it gets so dry that they die or are forced to die back to preserve moisture. This year most of the plants in the areas that I have visited have been two to three weeks ahead of schedule, sometimes more. For example, I harvest wild peppermint (Mentha x piperita) a week or two after it goes into flower. This year it was ready for harvesting last week. In the areas where I harvest peppermint it is usually ready around the second or third week of August.

Wild peppermint (Mentha x piperita) on August 5, 2009.

It is still a few weeks away from flowering.

Drought doesn't just speed up the life cycle of plants and reduce production of fleshy fruits. When the soil is too dry, plants lose more moisture through respiration than they can replenish. At that point it is better to allow their aerial parts to die in hope of being able to preserve enough moisture in their roots and rhizomes until the soil is moist again. Unfortunately, if they die back too soon they may not have produced enough of a store of carbohydrates to keep them alive until the following spring. Plants with shallow roots are particularly susceptible. You can see that by looking at people's lawns. Grasses tend to have very shallow roots. Consequently, during a drought they tend to die back first. People accelerate this process by cutting their lawn. It isn't good to cut the lawn during a drought. The soil becomes more exposed to the drying effect of the sun. Taller grasses and other plants also tend to trap moisture and create a cooler micro climate close to the soil. If we do cut the grass, it shouldn't be cut shorter than 10-12 cm (4-5 inches). It is best not to cut it much shorter than that even when it isn't so dry. Nevertheless, most people cut their lawn way too short. During drought conditions, the grass will turn brown pretty quick, but plants with deeper roots like white clover (Trifolium repens), birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) and dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) will stay green much longer. Driving around in the rural areas near where I live last week it was obvious how much of any given lawn was made up of these plants because the grass was brown but they were still green.

Plants in woodland areas are particularly sensitive to drought conditions. Woodland plants generally need rich, moist soils. The shade of the tree canopy tends to keep the soil more moist than in other ecosystems (except wetlands), but prolonged heat and lack of rain will eventually result in dry woodland soils. Once more, plants with shallow roots and rhizomes will tend to die back early. In the woods where I live, many of the shallow rooted species have begun to or have already died back, such as mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum), blue cohosh (Caulophyllum thalictroides) and Virginia waterleaf (Hydrophyllum virginianum). Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) also has a shallow rhizome, but because it is fleshy and tuberous, it holds more moisture and can resist the dry conditions for a bit longer. However, even the bloodroot is now showing signs of stress. One interesting anomaly is wild ginger (Asarum canadense). It has very shallow rhizomes that mostly sit on the surface of the soil, but it is even more drought resistant than bloodrood. This is because its rhizomes are a bit on the fleshy side; its leaves are very hairy, which helps prevent evaporation during the day and trap moisture at night; and its rhizomes, which mostly rest on the surface, can also take advantage of the dew at night.

Blue cohosh (Caulophyllum thalictroides) looking more like what it should look like in September or October.

Note the wild ginger (Asarum canadense) in the bottom left corner is still green.

When a plant species shows signs of drought stress we don't want to harvest it. We only harvest from plant populations that are strong and healthy. Many plants can live in a range of conditions, particularly with regard to the amount of sunlight that they receive. For instance, dandelion is particularly versatile. It can live in open woodlands where it gets diffuse light all the way to open fields where it receives direct sunlight 80-100% of the day. What is more common are plants that can live in a slightly narrower range of conditions such as transition areas where they receive as little as 20-30% direct sunlight, as well as in open fields. For these plants, during drier years it is better to harvest them in areas where they receive more shade. During cool, wet summers it is best to harvest them in full sun. It is usually easy to tell which ones are the healthiest during any given set of conditions because they will look it. Similarly, this year it will be better to harvest blue cohosh in low lying moister woodland areas where it isn't showing signs of drought stress and dies back no earlier than mid September.

The rain has now stopped and the sun is streaming through. I hope we get some more rain tonight as predicted. In the mean time, I am very grateful for what we have received.

Wild Harvesting Herbs

Wild harvesting herbs comes with a lot of responsibility. It is essential that we harvest in an ethical way. There are many levels to what constitutes "ethical" in this context. There are ecological issues, like not over-harvesting or doing anything that harms the ecosystem where the herbs are growing. This includes other plants and animals as we move through the landscape. There are social issues, such as our responsibility to ensure that the plants we are harvesting continue to be plentiful for use by future generations. There are also spiritual issues, such as cultivating right relationship with the medicines and our Earth Mother. All of these come into play and are interrelated.

As more people develop an interest in herbs and making their own medicines, growing herbs becomes increasingly more important. Many herbs have become rare or extinct in much of their former range because of wild harvesting on a commercial scale. The average person or even herbalist does not need to harvest herbs on that kind of scale, but as more people do it the results are potentially the same.

This reminds me of the growing popularity of the local food movement. The idea of eating locally has many important social and ecological benefits, and I strongly support it in principle. Unfortunately, one of the negative consequences of this orientation is a growing popularity of wild harvested foods. I cringe every time I see wild leeks (Allium tricoccum), fiddleheads (Matteuccia struthiopteris), various wild mushrooms and other wild harvested foods at farmers markets or in supermarkets. They are becoming more popular each year. It is a lot easier to wipe out a wild plant or fungus species by harvesting it for food than for medicinal use because wild foods appeal to a greater proportion of the population and are consumed in much larger quantities. As a result, some local food enthusiasts are promoting practices that are ecologically and ethically destructive. They look upon wild species as free for the taking. Some of them are probably following some ethical guidelines, but they are still contributing to the growing popularity of these foods which leads to more harvesting and more people getting involved who are of questionable ethics.

Ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris) fiddleheads.

I have often witnessed the results of unethical wild harvesting. For instance, although I wild harvest, walk, canoe and camp in hundreds of different locations in southern and central Ontario, I have only come across wild ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) in very few of them. In every instance they were in provincial parks and conservation areas where harvesting is illegal. Wild ginseng is protected in Ontario anyway because it is rare. I do not harvest it myself. Nevertheless every plant that I have ever come across in my travels has been harvested by some unscrupulous people. I currently don't know any places where it grows.

Although I strongly recommend that people who want to make their own medicines grow their herbs whenever possible, there is still a place for wild harvesting on a small scale if it is done in an ethical manner. Getting to know the medicines in the places where they grow wild is also an excellent way to develop a deeper relationship with them and Nature. This is important even for people who are using commercial herbal products. In fact, it is especially important for them since it provides them with an opportunity to interact with living plants. Observing herbs in their natural environment can also provide us with important information about the kinds of conditions in which they prefer to grow, which is essential if we want to grow them ourselves.

As an herbalist, I am extremely anal about three aspects of my work:

1. The quality of the medicines that I use.

There are no ends to which I won't go to ensure that the medicines I use are the highest quality that I can possibly prepare, both pharmacologically and energetically. I am constantly reassessing what I am doing and remaining open to ways that it can be improved. This means harvesting them from the healthiest plants growing in the habitat that is ideal for them; harvesting them when the conditions (temperature, sun, rainfall) are best; harvesting them at the preferred stage in their life cycle and time of day; using only the most potent parts of the plants; and preparing them in a way that maximizes their potency and minimizes any degradation of their chemical constituents.

As I mentioned in a previous post, for me all aspects of harvesting, preparing, storing and using the medicines are a sacred act. I treat this work like a ceremony, meditation and prayer. At all times I am in a place of gratitude and respect, with a clear intent to prepare medicines that are as pure and potent as possible that are intended to provide those who seek the medicines with whatever healing they require physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. I don't want to fill the medicines with the scattered energies of mental chatter or with negative emotions. It is essential that my mind is quiet and my heart open when I am doing this work.

2. The quality of my relationship with the medicines.

For me the medicines are not things, they are living, healing beings. In my interactions with them I come from a place of humility, respect and reverence. That may sound pretty airy fairy, but anyone who knows me can attest to the fact that I am one of the least airy fairy people you will meet. I've always found that the mental attitude that works best for me in life is to be an open-minded sceptic. I don't easily buy into things that I am unfamiliar with or don't make sense to me, but I also know that anything is possible. What we know and experience is such an infinitesimally small fraction of what is out there. One of the biggest blunders of our modern society is the belief that through our rationalizations and our sciences we have things all figured out. This is pure arrogance! When I come across something that challenges my paradigm, I have found that the best way to approach it is to give it the benefit of the doubt; to put it into practice and see if it works in my life. If it works, I'll continue to use it; if it doesn't, I won't.

Getting back to the medicines, when we approach the plant people with humility and an open heart and mind, things start to happen. They communicate with us and teach us. When that first started happening to me I was sceptical but open to the possibility. What I found out pretty quick was that when I listened, things worked out; when I didn't, things screwed up. It didn't take long for me to learn to stop fighting it and just accept it. The only issue for me is not the existence of or accuracy of these communications, it is whether or not I have the clarity to receive them. I have learned that when things aren't clear it's because I'm not clear. I will do whatever is necessary to become clear or leave it and come back to it when I am.

 

Blue cohosh (Caulophyllum thalictroides) is one of the first medicines that "called" me.

I don't work with herbs because they are readily available or because of curiosity. I only work with the medicines that call me. In working with them, it is important that I approach them with the right attitude. It is also a universal understanding within indigenous healing traditions that energy always moves in a circle. That means that when we take something it is important that we always give something back. On one level that includes the humility, respect and love that I approach the medicines with. I also pick up any garbage that I find when I'm out on the landscape, whether I'm harvesting or not. However, there is also an understanding that it is best to give something back that is more tangible; something for which we've made some sacrifices to grow it or working to earn money to purchase it. In North America the most common gift that we offer is tobacco. Cornmeal is also used, especially in the southwest. In many traditions it is said that the main reason tobacco is used is because the spirit of tobacco offered itself to be used for this purpose. It is part of it's medicine. Tobacco is used to carry the prayers of those who smoke it in a ceremonial way using a sacred pipe. Many of the peoples of Mexico, Central and South America traditionally use it in the form of cigars. Tobacco is also used for healing, connecting with the world around us, and as a form of energy exchange, as an offering or gift whenever we receive something. Tobacco is a very powerful medicine. There are healers for whom it is the only medicine that they use. One of the consequences of using powerful medicines is that they make great demands on those who use them and there are often significant repercussions when these medicines are used in an inappropriate way. In our society we don't need to look very far to see the negative consequences of the misuse of tobacco.

Wild tobacco (Nicotiana rustica).

Having said all of this, there is something that I've mentioned in previous posts and I need to reiterate here. I want to be clear that I'm not saying that the way I practice herbalism is the only way to practice herbalism. There are many different traditions of herbalism and many great herbalists working within each of them. This way of practicing and living herbalism is the essence of the tradition that I come from. It is what works for me. That being said, it is my experience that the deeper our relationship with the medicines that we use, the more profound the results that we will witness in our lives and in our healing work. Deepening our relationship with the medicines is something that will benefit any herbalist regardless of what herbs or system of herbalism that they use. The same applies to anyone who is working with herbs on a personal level. It also helps us on our own path of healing and the greater the depth of healing that we experience in our own life, the better we are able to be vehicles for the medicine on behalf of others. This way of relating to medicines is common to all of the ancient healing traditions. In my experience, it is something that has largely been lost in Western herbalism, but is making a resurgence. I'm putting this out there to demonstrate how it works for me. Hopefully it will help other people on their own path. This theme will definitely come up from time to time in my posts. However, for people who want some guidance on how to experience more of this in their lives, you might want to check out The Spirit of Herbs workshops on my website. There are other people offering these kinds of teachings as well.

3. Ethical wild harvesting.

The issues that I discussed in point #2 above are very personal. This is not something that I talk about much with my clients or even other herbalists unless they express an interest in it. Similarly, although I'm quite open about where I'm coming from with my students and this stuff comes up periodically in the courses that I teach, I present it as a way of looking at things (as opposed to the way of looking at things). I also introduce it in greater depth and help my students to experience doing herbalism in a this way in The Spirit of Herbs workshops, but ultimately it is up to each student to decide to what degree they want to integrate it into the way they practice herbalism (if at all) once they begin to practice on their own. However, the issue of ethical wild harvesting is something that I stress repeatedly. I have a handout that outlines guidelines for ethical wild harvesting that the Traditional Herbalist students probably receive a half dozen times in various classes over the course of their program. I am going to provide those guidelines here (see below). For those who are interested, I am also making this handout available as a PDF file on the Herbal Resources page of our website.

Link to PDF file.

Guidelines for Ethical Wild Harvesting

• Only wild harvest a species of herb that is common in the region that you are harvesting, and is common in general (i.e. don’t pick an herb that is common in a specific region if there are only a few regions where it is common).
• Only wild harvest a species of herb that is plentiful in the immediate area that you are harvesting it.
• Only wild harvest individual herbs that are healthy and from a strong, healthy, local population.
• Never wild harvest more than 10% of the plants of a particular species in any specific area if you are harvesting roots or rhizomes, or from 20% of the population of the species if harvesting the aerial parts, as long as in the latter case you are harvesting them early enough for them to produce more flowers and reproduce.
• Never wild harvest any species of herb from any specific area if there is evidence that someone else has been harvesting the same species in the same area.
• Whenever possible, always wild harvest individual herbs at a time and in a way that allows the particular plants that you are harvesting to reproduce (i.e. early enough in the season that they can produce more flowers and there is time for their seeds to mature if you are harvesting the aerial parts, and late enough in the season that they have finished producing their seeds if harvesting roots or rhizomes).
• Always locate at least three different areas from which you can obtain each species of herb that you need to wild harvest in accordance with the above guidelines so that you never wild harvest any particular species from any specific area more than once every three years.
• Never harvest any more than you need. 100-250 ml (4-8 ounces) is enough per year for personal use. You might possibly need 500 ml (16 ounces) of a very few herbs that you use a lot. Double these amounts if you are harvesting for a family rather than a single individual.
• Herbs should not be wild harvested in urban areas. They should be harvested in healthy wilderness areas of a significant size that are free of any obvious sources of pollution. Don’t harvest herbs near major roads or near areas of intense agricultural activity. The herbs should be growing at least 50 m from any minor roads (100 m if they are dirt or gravel roads) and 200 m from any small scale farming unless it is an organic farm. If a species of herb that you are harvesting is growing in or along the edge of water, there should not be any major sources of urban, industrial or agricultural pollution upstream or adjacent to any body of water where the herbs are being harvested.