Last Saturday night some folks came out to our place and we played some stealth games by the moonlight. It was a perfect night for it, clear, not too cold. We had been considering playing capture the flag with glow in the dark tennis balls but ended up playing a blindfolded drum stalk. Pretty much you have one person keeping a steady drum in the woods while everyone else has to stalk up to the drum blindfolded using all your senses but the eyes.
We all realized how heavily we rely on our eyes for balance. As soon as you put on a blindfold and try to walk, it is immediately obvious how awkward we are. Your feet, hands, ears, and skin become extra sensitive and highly alert. Once we were blindfolded we immediately became aware of wind direction and certain sounds that we had been unaware of before. The more time you spend blindfolded it also stimulates your intuition and you know when to duck under a branch or go around a tree. It is an experience not to be missed!
Sunday we finally had our Nettle Workshop a week late. We had become delayed (demorado in spanish as we had unfortunately learned) in Chicago on our way back from Mexico. However, the weather was even more perfect for the day.
We would like to give a special thanks to Larena for helping us out with teaching the class, she had excellent plant journaling supplies and gave us good insight into learning to ID plants.
The day started with meeting and learning about Stinging Nettle (Urtica spp.). We looked at their growth patterns and how they relate to the environment that they grow in. Folks learned how to handle the plant safely and respectfully and even a few brave people ate the leaves raw. We discussed sustainable and healthy harvesting techniques - then harvested a few of our own.
The great thing about a plant like Nettle is that you can harvest a lot of it without having a negative impact on the plant or it's environment.
With a cooking stove, kitchen utensils, and a few hungry souls, we cooked up some steaming Nettles. They were cooked with butter, lemon, salt, and pepper. Mmmmmmm. Some folks tried the warm juice from the steaming which is extremely nutritious and medicinal. We did a small recipe swap and moved on to the medicinals.
Stinging Nettle can be beneficial for everything from sore muscles to upset stomach. We covered the different ways you can prepare Nettle medicines including preparing a tincture for the group.
At the end of the day we also gave everyone a chance to try their hand at making rope from last years Nettle stalk. Ah fun with reverse wrap. Nettles provide us with some of the finest and strongest natural fibers.
Hopefully everybody went away with a better understanding of this plant ally and good memories. Thanks to everyone who showed up!
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