Friday, July 16, 2010

The Standing People
















Usually by this time of year the R.M. or a local farmer has hayed the ditches (farmspeak for "cut down whatever's growing there and made it into bales for cattle). This year it's far too wet. There are cattails growing, for heaven's sake. But also, there are wildflowers I haven't seen close by here before.

Normally there are brown-eyed susans, prairie lilies, yarrow, bergamot, anemone, camas, harebells and so on and so forth. But this year I found wild licorice and wild mint out there too. The root of the licorice is supposed to relieve symptoms of menopause. The mint I won't bother with because I've got some in my garden, trying to choke out one of the lily patches. Mint is easily identified by its square stem. It's time to start making tea out of it, and put a dint in its vigour.

**The Standing People is a book by Kahlee Keane, a folk healer who lives in Saskatoon, and her partner Dave. The book identifies medicinal wild plants found in western Canada. I keep it tucked in my purse so it's with me when I see some strange "weed."

7 comments:

  1. One gardener's weed is another gardener's treasure. Just think of the dandelion.

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  2. Wow, your ditch sounds very prolific! I am amazed at the wildflowers which grow here, in the Cariboo. Right now our place is covered in blue asters...wild...which I would have paid a fortune for on the Island, when I lived there. And blue flax and red grow wild here as well. Wonderful!!

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  3. I wish I knew more about the world around me, but I have trouble with the room around me....

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  4. What if someone over here came up with that idea, haying the ditches?! I don't think anyone have even thought about it.
    What a cute little bouquet you got! Think the only flower I recognize is that blue/purple one. Is that harebell?

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  5. The stories by Burgess that are mentioned on this page were some of my favorites as a child. They came in blue hardcovers and we had quite a few in the library in the '50's. Don't know what happened to them. Interesting that he had the farm as a summer retreat.

    PS 'The Standing People' is currently out of print but can be obtained in PDF format through Kahlee's website gaian.ca
    Dave Howarth

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  6. I see a little Northern Bedstraw or is it?

    Thanks for your care of the Standing People...
    and care of the Earth.

    Kahlee Keane 'Root Woman'.

    www.rootwoman.com
    www.kahleekeane.com

    ReplyDelete

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