I was supposed to lead an herb walk this Sunday. My last two scouting sessions indicated that the participants would need to be able to hike more than a couple miles just to reach some goods, and that's not really conducive to a easy herb walk. I ran down into Pajarito Canyon last Wednesday and the yarrow was a mere 2 to 3 inches in leaf length. No flowers, except from a few rogue plants, and the nettles were all tucked down inside the very low creek bed, about 1.5 miles in. Mullein are definitely flourishing, in fact, my garden is a hotbed nursery for baby mullein. But other than general yard weeds, which is not the topic of this particular class (although it does sound like a good one for a future class...), the native medicinal plants are small, sparse, and leaving me feeling like we should wait a few weeks.
This has certainly been an unusual June. May was odd as well. We've had cold temps, extreme winds, normal hot days, and then more cold temps and more extreme winds. I want to say that I am looking forward to things being more normal and summer-like, but I'm not sure that will happen this year.
On this Summer Solstice day, I can hope for a decrease in the winds, a typical monsoon season, and some beautiful summer days...summer seems to arrive later each year, and ends too quickly. Here's to trying to make the best of it, no matter what.
This has certainly been an unusual June. May was odd as well. We've had cold temps, extreme winds, normal hot days, and then more cold temps and more extreme winds. I want to say that I am looking forward to things being more normal and summer-like, but I'm not sure that will happen this year.
On this Summer Solstice day, I can hope for a decrease in the winds, a typical monsoon season, and some beautiful summer days...summer seems to arrive later each year, and ends too quickly. Here's to trying to make the best of it, no matter what.
