Saturday 6 July 2013

Day 396- Wildcrafting


One of the things I really enjoyed doing around the abandoned house is wildcrafting. It is the harvesting of plants in their natural or wild habitat. Armed with a couple of Old Man's botany note books and a basket, I  could spend hours examining an unusual flower or plucking leaves or digging through for roots. 


I have found flowers that will bloom in a cup of hot water, making the most fragrant tea.



 Giant dandelion tops and roots that make good food and medicine.




And of course, my favourite kind, plants that give great colour for dyes and paints.




After harvesting, I'd bring them back into the abandoned house for drying. They are then stored in glass jars which I placed in a row right next to the sacks of seedlings. 


Old and new, side by side. 
I thought they make perfect companions for each other. 

30 comments:

The Old Maid said...

Such a beautiful place.... Wish I could be that small and spend sometime there now... :)
Do you know dear Sam, that all the herbs you gave me for Snape's office survived the disaster? :):) I will use them again when I find a right place for new Office someday.:):)
Hugs and kisses!

BiWuBär said...

Are you sure that you want to keep those jars next to the seedling bags? You are? Okay, otherwise my witches would have taken them... *grin* But if you want to keep them under that shelf I must say they're looking perfect there and could find no better place... ;O)

Hugs
Birgit

Maria Ireland said...

There is so much harmony in this house. Everything fits it perfectly. The jars look very interesting.
Hugs Maria

Kikka N said...

Hi!
The Jars look so wonderful: do they have different scents..? Together with the Seedling Sacks they fit perfectly to The abandoned House!
Hugs
Kikka

Lucille said...

I love the music that plays as I read and look at your pictures. The music is bewitching, it's the only word that comes to mind. It somehow goes with the little house. Every added object has a charm of its own and together they bring harmony and magic to the little house.

Unknown said...

Hello from Spain: I really like those jars. They are very original. Keep in touch

Ilona said...

Hi Susan! It is so fascinating to read about an abandoned house with its magical contents. It is mesmerizing and addictive every time you write about this house. It constantly gives a new look at your amazing abandoned house.......
Warm hugs, Ilona

Unknown said...

Mi piace molto l'immagine della conservazione di piantine in barattoli di vetro che oltre al bell'aspetto estetico sono anche preziose perchè ricche di proprietà benefiche per il nostro corpo.

Sans! said...

Ewalina, I was thinking of Chinese herbs too when I was writing this post! :). I just threw all mine away. The same ones I bought for you , haha. The climate here is really lousy for storing these herbs. Too humid. Although I must say the herbs were not at all spoilt when I threw them out. Can you imagine, it's been what 2-3 years ?

My tribal house needs some spring cleaning and re-gluing badly. Just can't find the time nor the motivation to do it :)

Sans! said...

Birgit, the old man has left behind many many of these jars! I was just thinking of junking them. Will you like some? Seriously, let me know if you do. Cos there are aplenty here! :)

I have many of these big glass jars. I love them in RL as well and I store candles and incense and for your witches, I am sure these jars will be great for bones, body parts, not to mention brains! :):)

Sans! said...

Thank you Maria :). Hmmm, Harmony, I really like how you use that word for my humble house. "Harmony herbs" sounds good?

Sans! said...

Kikka, they all smell like .... heaven (if I lie) or musky (a good guess) . I didn't really sniff, which I think all miniaturists know not to do, right? It is easy to have little things (maybe hammer, cup or even a piece of fried chicken) i your body if you breathe in too much!

Sans! said...

Thank you, dear Lucille :). Bewitching is another great word :). I need to keep the project bewitching and interesting for myself too as I take really long just to work on a small thing :). After a while, the project can seem stale. :).

Often wondered if I will go much faster if I don't have to work...probably not.

Sans! said...

Marta , thank you :):)

Sans! said...

Ilona,thank you for your beautiful words. If I could put music to your words, it would make a beautiful song :). I have been so slow at posting that work done is months ahead of my posts. I am glad friends like you are not bored with it yet :).

Sans! said...

Manu, sì, molte piante sono infatti di grande come cibo e grande anche con proprietà medicinali. Credo davvero che mangiare verdura è un bene per voi, non ho mai sentito parlare di nulla di male se si mangia troppo le verdure tranne forse carota. Mangiare troppo carote può fare apparire come uno .. teeheehee.

E Manu, ho visto tutti i piccoli regali che hai fatto. Voglio solo dirti che sei una donna davvero speciale :).

elizabeth s said...

Hi Sans! You are a true Natures' Child. My daughter purchased some of those kinds of blooming teas that when you added hot water grew inside the cup into a full rounded blossom, that you left in the cup to admire as you sipped and it was more a novelty than a regular practice when she brewed them. But hearing your words and just knowing how aware you are about the environment and the care that you give to each and everything that matters to you in your Real Life and in your mini one, well, it is only fitting that you should have these drying herbs in the Abandoned House as part of the regular proceedings. This house has got a 'soul' that is not the old man's as much as it is Yours!

elizabeth

malu2 said...

Cuanto tiempo sin pasar por tu blog! No tengo tanto tiempo como antes,he estado repasando tus anteriores pos, y me gusta mucho todo lo que has hecho, eres tan creativa! me ha gustado mucho el set de pintor.
Desde España un abrazo con mucho cariño de las Malu´s.

Fabiola said...

I like your jars. They're perfect in this house.
Greetings, Faby

Daydreamer said...

Ah, The Cycle of Life.... it is Eternal, I hope... and the HOPE that springs from she seedlings each year, I hope never fails me! Your Harvested Wildings are lovely... all lined up in their jars... such a perfect counterpoint to the Bright Rainbow of the seedlings! I know herbs are useful and teas and other dried leaves are some of my favorite things in the world... but I must confess I am a Terrible harvester... I always Don't pick things in time... they wither on the vine instead... which has it's own Timeless beauty... or rather Beauty of Time Witnessed... I am glad you enjoy the gathering and containing part... they are so beautiful!
One of the students at our school did a project of growing dye plants which she harvested then dyed wool, spun it and wove the cloth.... Such a process we take for granted with our ready made fabrics!
Your comment to Kikka cracked me up... it is like sneezing or laughing too hard when working on something tiny... we know NOT to do it... or learn the hard way...LOL!

Margriet said...

Those glass jars remind me of a cabinet of curiosities, but that might be my own strange way of seeing things LOL
But maybe the whole abandoned house is in a beautiful way a collection of curiosities! Love it!!!

Ascension said...

Esa estanteria, ya mismo estare llena de pequeños tesoros.
Como esas plantas en los botes de cristal, un gran descubrimiento.
besitos ascension

Tessa Liduina said...

Abandoned houses always fascinates me...the glass jars are perfect! Hugs, Liduina

Sans! said...

Dear Elizabeth, those flower teas are commonly found here and in countries with a big Chinese community :). You drink these teas with glass teapots and cups so that you can watch the flower bloom :). Bet you guys had a lot of fun doing it. I have been wanting to go and get some. Just need to find the time :).

And I think you can totally sense my devotion to this house :). Hardly a day goes by that I don't think about what I have still to do. :) And when too many days go by without me "visiting" the house, I think of how supportive you guys have been and my motivation to work on it finds its way back :).

Sans! said...

Gracias, querida Malu dulce. Estoy pensando en pequeño Pol. Está manteniendo usted o Maria Luisa ocupado? Pero eso no le impidió trabajar en su casa. Yo soy mucho más lento en comparación con usted. :) Besos y abrazos para ti, María y Pol.

Sans! said...

Thank you, dear Faby :)

Sans! said...

He he , yes, Betsy, I wonder how many of us actually stop breathing when we work. I quite regularly find myself holding my breath without even realising it. We have learnt the technique of slow breathing and I think that's why we love working on our minis because slow breathing actually enhance our well-being. This is a list of benefits if we exercise slow breathing at least a few minutes a day:

reduction in heart rate
decreased oxygen consumption
reduced blood pressure
changes in brain waves as measured by an EEG
increased parasympathetic nervous system activity
increased concentration
experience of alertness and reinvigoration
feeling of calmness in body and mind

And yes, that walk in the park looking for interesting pods or leaves or dead branches is always good for the mind, body and soul.

Sans! said...

Margriet, all witches and wizards and practitioners of magic see what you see when it comes to glass jars. We just want to store weird and wacky things in there . It is not unusual ;p!

Sans! said...

Ascensión, que son divertidos de hacer :) y tomó muy poco tiempo .. Uno de mis proyectos más rápido jajaja

Sans! said...

Oh Liduina, I must show you this abandoned house ,maybe better term is neglected house, that I saw when I was running last weekend. It really is fascinating. So glad we both find houses like this fascinating :)

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