'fusion brews are on the way....

a spell to call a lost weed/plant

last year, having already encountered many of my familiar friends, including red clover, plantain, and of course, dandelion, i found myself lamenting to a good friend about my unsuccessful attempts to locate stinging nettle in the wilds of my hometown woods. her seemingly simple suggestion to 'call her' made me smile. soon after, i took her advice, and along with another friend, called her. we used her common and botanical names, (urtica dioica) not being sure which she prefers....towards the end of last summer, i noticed a few odd sprouts in a container of soil. they looked familiar....they WERE familiar.....nettle!

and now, after an especially wintery winter (for those of us living below the mason-dixon line anyway) ...look who's back in abundant glory!



#1 in our SPELL A DAY series
(more on our inspiration for this project in another post! in the meantime, see noah scalin's skull-a-day blog)

to call a lost weed/plant:

supplies:
your voice
common & botanical names of the weed/plant
paper (optional)
a writing instrument(optional)
a green candle, white is also fine (optional)
something sharp and pointy (a straightened paperclip?)(optional)

steps 1-3 & 6 are optional:
1. inscribe the names of the weed/plant into the candle
2. light the candle and set in a safe place
3. write down the names of the weed/plant
4. be sure to see the plant as clearly as you can in your mind's eye
5. call the names of the weed/plant out loud. yes, for real. make up a song!
6. bury the name paper in soil (your yard or a park)
7. give thanks!

congo to cackalacky

day 2 of an impromptu trip to granpa's house.

not far from where she grew up, mom and i made a quick u-turn to photograph these bottle trees. "oh! when i was down here at christmas there was only one!"

when i told her about the meaning i'd usually heard attributed to this african tradition, both of us "hmmm"-ed, and giggled about the neighborhood associations' reaction should we fill her yard back in suburbia with them. :-)

as soon as we returned to the Land of Internet (g is not online :-) a quick googling turned up some inner-resting info, enjoy! but don't throw 'em in the rivuh! / recycle trees & bottles / BTs vs snuggies, you decide! / i heart good design / jupiter preserve you! can we please agree that egypt is africa!?! / more to the story / a bedtime story !

* bonus! now i know how to get back at all of those holly trees this summer, yay for bare feet!