Living in Wildness...

 
It's that magical time of year! Time when all of the Spring Wildflowers start waking up from their Winter naps. Yesterday we found this gorgeous "Yellowroot", sprouting up along the banks of the Davidson River in Pisgah National Forest. Besides being beautiful, it's medicinal properties are amazing! "Yellowroot is an anti-inflammatory and a natural antibiotic. This plant can help in the treatment of sinus infections, bladder issues, cold/flu symptoms, sore throat, laryngitis, mouth sores, colitis, gastritis, congestion of the chest, and even earaches. Yellowroot is also uterine tonic and a digestive aid. It is an excellent liver stimulant and is useful in soothing the mucus membranes. Its’ cooling astringent qualities allow it to reduce any phlegm. Its versatility allows it to be used in a variety of different ways. Some of which include, as a mouthwash, tea, tinctures, eyewashes, salves, douches, and even ear drops. Can also be used to treat female health conditions including PMS and yeast infections. It has also been found that it can be helpful in lowering blood pressure."
And even though the water is still freezing cold, it warmed my soul, just standing in it and seeing all of the beautiful rocks and clean, clear water. Made me feel so grateful. As I was walking around, my eye caught something and, upon looking a little closer, it was a beautiful little Eastern Garter Snake! My first Snake medicine encounter of the year!! I was so happy!

You can be in the worst funk ever and spend just an hour in nature and your whole outlook will change! Try it! It's so healing and good for your heart and soul! 

Happy Spring!!!!

love and peace always ~ Kathy

“In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.” ~ Margaret Atwood

Tranquility....

Yesterday was the "Maiden Voyage" with our canoe. We took a 7 hour trip down the "French Broad River" with our friends Jerry & Suzanne. It was Jerry's birthday and it was a perfect day! We started off the trip around noon, then stopped after about 2 hours and had a picnic on the rocks. Then we headed off again and floated until we reached the "Duck Pond" pottery studio and there we shared a watermelon with Nick....Jerry enjoyed a smoke from his pipe:and then Nick jumped in his Kayak and joined us for the rest of the trip:It was just sooooo awesome ~ on the last part of the trip there were 3 Egrets that were "leading the way". They would fly just ahead of us and wait for us to almost catch up and then fly a little ahead of us again. They were just beautiful to watch, and so graceful in flight:

We saw lots of other animals, too. Like this cute little turtle that seemed to be waving to us as we floated by:we saw several Otter, that avoided my camera @ all costs! Then we saw these somewhat ugly & frightening Turkey Vultures, that we were almost certain would poop on us if we floated under them to closely:and then when we rounded the curve, there were these cows standing right in the middle of the river! We we a little skeptical to go by them, but they just "moozied" on out of the way {thank goodness} ~ all I could think was "oh gosh, they are going to tump us over and then we will be swimming in cow poop":But the trip was just amazing and so tranquil! I feel much better now and my creative juices are flowing in abundance *yay* ~ so I'm off to package up a few things and then make some new things for the shop {keep your eyes out}. But before I go, I just have to share this awesome picture of Jack @ Jerry's birthday party last night. He is just a little ham!I hope you are having a wonderful day!! Happy Thursday!!!

xxoo & peace always ~ Kathy

"I am sure there is Magic in everything" ~ Frances Hodgson Burnett