Oak-corns & Apple-thorns

When we were in school we spent hours memorizing the periodic table, and for those of us who didn’t go on to become research scientists, learning about valances for our windows might have been more more productive than learning about valences for our elements.

Why not learn about something important, like who your neighbors are?  And why not do so in a way that doesn’t involve laborious memorization?  Here’s an exercise that will acquaint you with the plants living in your neighborhood.

Go outside for a walk and see how many trees can you identify.  Closely examine one that you’re unsure of, playing your hands over the bark, observing its shape, smelling its foliage, and so on.  Take a photo or make a sketch.  Ask her if you can have a leaf, and if the answer is ‘yes’ take one home with you.

Using some all-purpose glue, mount the leaf on a scrap of wood to make a stamp.  When the glue is dry, use the stamp to make impressions in your Grimoire, Book of Shadows, or Black Book; or, better yet, make a special book for just this purpose.  Hint: to get a good impression you may need a spray bottle to lightly mist the leaf with water before pressing to the ink-pad.  The inked image will reveal details that may not have been obvious at first glance; look for previously unnoticed structures and patterns.  By now you should be familiar with a number of the characteristics of the tree and its leaves.

Now consult the internet or a field guide and try to identify your mystery tree.  Peterson Guides are excellent, and The Arbor Day Foundation has a free website and a phone app available.    Even with the best tools, more visits to the tree may be necessary.  When you’re sure, record your identification next to the stamped image. Go back and visit from time to time, as you would visit any friend or neighbor.  Check in and see how she’s doing.  Have a chat.

Trees are a great place to start learning about plants, if no other reason that because there are very few dangerous ones.  But if trees are your strong suit, go with other plants or flowers instead.  Some may need to be pressed and dried before, or instead of, being mounted as stamps.  Just make sure that you know the most dangerous plants in your area before you start out — Spotted Hemlock, Poison Ivy, and Devil’s Trumpet are great to learn about, but clearly unacceptable choices for stamping (or even touching or picking)!

Pursue this regularly and soon you’ll have a book full of beautiful pictures, a head full of knowledge, and a neighborhood full of friends.