Equinox at the Studio~Naming Nature; A Light in the Darkness

Preserving Edible/Medicinal Weeds in The Studio Kitchen

"How the progress of science can alter the expression of our own human nature."  Carol Kaesuk Yoon's  Naming Nature, ~"taxonomy is critically important, because it turns out to be much more than mere science. It is also the latest incarnation of a long-unrecognized human practice that has gone on across the globe, in every culture, in every language since before time: the deeply human act of ordering and naming the living world." 





As I was recently explaining to someone near and dear to my heart; there is more to this process of naming names than I originally anticipated. Learning the names and properties of these wild inhabitants has turned into an activity which awakens all of my "coming-home" sensibilities.  As they come into focus, I feel this embracing sense of "oh! I remember YOU." It's like meeting up with long-lost relatives who forgive your absence and celebrate your timely return. 

A dormant part of my nature, which has occasionally tapped to get out, has suddenly burst the door right off of it's hinges. It sort of reminds me of the difference between being a substitute teacher  in a class full of strangers vs. being a substitute teacher who knows all of the names of the students in the room. I am letting go of whatever it was that kept me from knowing. The knowing allows us to be purposefully present and accounted for in times of darkness and light. 

Blue Vervain ©Sheila L. Kalkbrenner

Chamomile ©Sheila L. Kalkbrenner

Boneset Gone to Seed ©Sheila L. Kalkbrenner

Chicory ©Sheila L. Kalkbrenner

Fleabane ©Sheila L. Kalkbrenner

Dandelion Root, Ready to Roast ©Sheila L. Kalkbrenner

Dried Sweet Goldenrod ©Sheila L. Kalkbrenner

Creeping Harebells (Rampion) ready for salad 

©Sheila L. Kalkbrenner

Black Medic ©Sheila L. Kalkbrenner

Joe Pye Weed ©Sheila L. Kalkbrenner

Lambsquarters ©Sheila L. Kalkbrenner

Broadleaf Plantain ©Sheila L. Kalkbrenner

Plantain chips w/honey mustard ©Sheila L. Kalkbrenner

Purslane©Sheila L. Kalkbrenner

Prunella Vulgaris ©Sheila L. Kalkbrenner

Dock Seeds Drying ©Sheila L. Kalkbrenner

New England Asters ©Sheila L. Kalkbrenner

White Clover and Nasturtium on
 Lambsquarters ©Sheila L. Kalkbrenner

September Equinox in Buffalo, New York, U.S.A. is on
Monday, September 22, 2014 at 10:29 PM EDT the time to respect the impending dark while giving thanks to the sunlight.