Note: You will notice that some of the thumbnail pictures are sideways. However, if you click on the photos, they will enlarge and pop up on the right axis.

Western Fence Lizard

Well, the most recent class, we learned how to make a lizard snare from a stalk of wild oat. Yes, a lizard snare. Do they work? They do. One of the kids managed to snare a lizard with their snare. Alas, I did not take a picture of this snare, but I did take a picture of Chris with the lizard.

This little guy is the western fence lizard, and he cures lime’s disease. Yes. Yes, he does. You see, if an infected tick drinks the blood of this lizard, by the time it’s done drinking, the tick no longer has the disease. It’s one reason why lime disease is not as prevalent on the West Coast. (I don’t know why this picture on the right is sideways. I didn’t take the picture sideways.)

Western Fence Lizard sleeping

You can’t really see it, but the lizard has two blue vertical stripes down his belly. He’s a real beauty. These lizards are pretty tame as lizards go and unlikely to bite. That doesn’t mean you can’t get them to bite, but they don’t usually bite.

On the left, you can see that Chris put him to sleep by flipping him on his back and petting his belly. The kids were hovering over him, so he didn’t stay asleep too long. When he “woke,” he leapt up, landed in one child’s hair and then scampered off into the brush. The kids were hot on his heels. It took all of the parents reining them in to stop the kids from tormenting that poor lizard. LOL

Oak Gall

Oak gall. Either a wasp or fly has laid an egg/eggs in the oak. This is the oak’s reaction to it. I guess you could say it’s the oak’s way of protecting itself, like an immune reaction. This particular oak is a live oak. Where I grew up in the Central Valley of California, we have Valley oaks. I remember seeing these all over them (usually a burnt umber/rust color) and never knowing what caused them. At certain times of the year, we have millions of miniscule balls that bounce on the ground. I’m not sure what causes those. Perhaps I’ll have an opportunity to ask Chris next time around… if I remember.

Periwinkle

Periwinkle is an exotic. What that means is it’s not native to the area. Periwinkle, like nasturtiums, honeysuckle, and a variety of other exotics, are invasive. They can, and often do, crowd out native plants. One thing about periwinkles is that they have runners that are good for basket weaving. Because they are an exotic, you don’t have to feel bad about pulling them out. You are actually doing the local flora a favor by doing it.

Wild Radish

Wild radish is one of the many edible plants in Temescal Canyon. A member of the mustard family, if you rub it’s leaaves, you can smell the spicy scent of mustard. If you read my earlier blog, you’d know I’m not a fan of the mustard plant. I love the condiment mustard. Not so much the leaf. However, its little pink flowers are very pretty. I I like the crunchiness of radishes, but rarely eat them. One of the many downfalls of living a house with one real vegetable love. (grin)

Arroyo Willow

This one is an arroyo willow. Native American Indians have used willow to soothe headaches for years. They would pull a leaf off of the tree and chew on it. Willow was precursor to aspirin. Why does it work? The bark contains salicylic acid. Apparently, salicylic acid is good for topical application for acne. If you look closely, you will see that the willows are “blooming.” Any time you brushed by one or the wind blew, seeds in the form of small white puff ball took to the air. Sometimes, they were so thick it could’ve been snowing. Okay, that’s Los Angeles’ version of snow.

Mugwort Leaf

Mugwort is a sacred plant to the Chumash Indians. If you set some by your pillow and eat a few leaves, it will make your dreams more lucid. You can also just set it by your pillow, and it is supposed to do the some thing, but the effect is not as potent. So, it’s a hallucinogenic. As my dreams are pretty lucid now, I think I’ll pass. However, this next fact I found to be very useful, considering that poison oak was everywhere. It lurked next to paths, in paths, hung from trees and just seemed to be everywhere. So take heed: if you rub against poison oak, find some mugwort (it’s just as prevalent) and rub it where the poison oak touched you. Not only does it take the itch away, but it neutralizes the acid. I’m not sure if you have to do this immediately to be effective, or if it doesn’t matter. Somewhere, I have a picture of a bigger amount, but I can’t seem to find it right now.

Prickly Sow Thistle

Another sideways photo. (sigh) Regardless, this little plant is known as the prickly sow thistle. It is an edible lettuce and has a milky sap. Although I didn’t try this particular lettuce, I imagine it’s pretty bitter as a lot of the wild lettuces are. However, don’t take my word for it. Find some and try it yourself. Just be sure you do it far enough off the path. We have a lot of dogs who walk the path. Eating something from right next to the path, might also mean eating dog urine. Yeah, I know, gross, but I don’t I’d warm you.

Sage Brush Chopsticks

Another sacred plant: Sage brush. Used in a lot of ceremonies, the wood is also very hard. The Chumash used this for the tip of an arrow. In this case, Chris is using them as chopsticks. (And, yes, once again, the picture is sideways. No rhyme or reason here, folks. It just is.) He taught us how to make them this class. Again, the parents were more intent on making the chopsticks than the children, but it’s all good. When we have the time, we will teach our children how to make chopsticks.

Horsetail

Horsetail. This is good for hand drill–starting fires. I can remember this being all over the place where I grew up. It’s amazing how many plants are useful, but we are completely unaware of what we can do with them. I guess this comes from living away from the land.

An I leave you with these last two photos are of the wild currant. If you look closely, you will see there are still a few small yellow on the bush; others are going to fruit. As one might expect, the berries are edible. They grow to about the size of a small pea. The berry pic is a bit blurry. The wind was blowing and the phone wasn’t focusing properly, but you can just see the small green fruit.

Wild Currant Flowers

Wild Currant Berries

I wish you were all here.

Seth MacFarlane

While I didn’t watch the Oscars, I have heard all about it. Primarily about Seth MacFarlane’s song “We Saw Your Boobs.” I’m not a Seth MacFarlane fan. Not because I don’t like him, but because I just don’t watch his shows. So, I’m not a fan as I’m not familiar with his humor. However, this whole hullabaloo over his song seems like a perfect opportunity to change things.

Women are sexualized by Hollywood. They always have been. Women are beautiful. We are, ladies, so let’s admit it. It’s just the way Hollywood uses women that is not okay. Personally, I’d rather see less emphasis on violence and a more wholesome approach to our bodies. How can boobs, asses, penises, and vaginas be wholesome? It all depends on the point of view. And it’s important for us to do that. Not exploit them at all. Respect them and make them less of a mystery and taboo than what we’ve got going on now. It’s all illusion.

But, then, Hollywood is all about illusion. It’s best to remember that. For instance, I had dropped Lily off somewhere the other day and the crew was out prepping for an NCIS shoot. Um, that’s supposedly in Washington, D.C. So, yeah, Hollywood’s all about illusion. Photos are touched up to hide wrinkles, cellulite, blemishes, etc.

So, it’s time, ladies, to take our rightful place in Hollywood. To be the directors, screenwriters, actresses, agents, managers, grips, producers, etc. that we already are and let our voices be heard. Let’s use this as an opportunity to change that which we find offensive, to bring more women up the ranks, to celebrate us for the beautiful creatures that we are.

Hollywood has shaken the tail of a sleeping tiger one too many times. Hopefully, this one will see the needed change in equity and let’s thank Seth MacFarlane for being the catalyst for change.

Bitten by Books review
Surrounded by Books review
Miz Love’s Reviews

Although these are all older reviews, two of them I haven’t seen, so they are new to me.

Chris making an arrow

Thursday, Lily and I went out to Temescal Canyon again. Although it started out cold, we had a wonderful time. Again, our guide Chris Morasky was full of information. And this time we not only learned (and ate) some edible plants, we also went for a hike.

Here, Chris is making an arrow shaft from a toyon bush. The small knife he carries in his belt is incredibly sharp. Although it’s hard to see, he’s holding the arrow shaft in his hands. This only took him a few minutes to make. Amazing.

Toyon berries

This is the toyon bush. The berries are edible if lightly fried/cooked. Poisonous if raw, particularly if you eat a lot of them. We tried them just to get a taste, but spit the berry out without swallowing it. Sweet and sour tasting, but really dries mouth out when raw. Very astringent. The natives cooked it lightly, and it was a very important food plant for them. Also very strong wood and used for bow and arrows. They grow very straight. Leaves are sharp/prickly edges, almost like holly. Matter of fact, these bushes populate the surrounding mountains and some believe that the first people (not the natives) who came here mistook them for holly, thus the name Hollywood.

Wild cucumber

You will see this vine all over the place in Temescal Canyon. The flowers are very delicate, the fruit looks like a cucumber (hence the name), but it is poisonous. The leaves look like regular ivy leaves but are somewhat furry. So, should you see this plant in the local Santa Monica mountains and you see a cucumber on it, do not eat it. I believe it’s a hallucinogen. Not good. I will take pictures of the fruit if we are up there when they bear them.

Indian lettuce

Chris pointed this one out to us too. It’s called Indian lettuce. I tried it. Um, very bitter. It was a staple for the natives as well. I can honestly say I might just starve if I had to eat this. Apparently, though, there are people who harvest this for local restaurants to include in their salads. Yuck!

One of the people out there asked me if I got cold easily. I do. Apparently, bitter foods decrease your body temperature. Whether that’s true or not, I don’t know. I’ll have to look it up.

Mexican elderberry

Another very important plant for the natives (and one  you might be familiar with), this is a type of elderberry–Mexican elderberry to be precise. It is medicinal, edible, and usable. All of the green is poisonous. The flowers are really powerful to stimulate the immune system. You can take the flowers and make a good, immune system boosting tea. The deep purplish red berries are good for boiling down and using it as a cough suppressant or again boost your immune system. If you take berries and boil them down with sweetener, it’s really good in a pie.

The natives used the wood to make containers as you can push the pith out of the center. They also made flutes out of it. In the plains Indians, it was acceptable for a young man to sit outside a young woman’s teepee and play his flute. If she liked it, she could come out and go under the blanket with him. The inner bark is also good for making skirts with it.

California Black Walnut

The California black walnut was used to dye fabrics. I missed some of the “lecture” on this plant as I came up late, but these are the notes someone else shared with me:

Mountain men used to dye leather/clothes dark brown with this plant. (I’m not sure if they used the bark or the leaves. Probably the bark, but don’t quote me.) To get it jet black, you needed to do a second wash with iron, which is what the mountain men liked.

Chris dyed the buckskin he’s wearing with walnut some 15+ years ago.

Going up an animal trail

After about a half hour into the class, Chris took us up an animal track. If you’ve ever hiked in Temescal, you know the trails can be rather challenging. We went “off roading” so to speak. Although you can’t really tell from this pick, we pretty much ended walking straight up the mountain. What I liked the most about this part of the trek was how all of the parents (and many of the kids) helped everyone get up the hill. As we had some very young kids (2-3 year olds and parents carrying infants), there were moments when we were pushing the kids up the hill with a hand to the bottom (because that was the only place to put your hand) or having them hold our hands to get up. When we finally reached the top, the kids beamed with accomplishment while the parents panted a bit. LOL

Chris with some nopale

Chris waited for us there with some fresh nopale (aka prickly pear). If you are thirsty, this is an excellent plant to quench it. As you’ll see in the next photo, it’s very prickly. In order to eat it, you need to get all of the spines off of it. You can see the slime dripping off the piece in his hand, but it does work well for thirst. With a texture like cucumber, it’s much better tasting, though. (Obviously, I’m not a fan of cucumber.) Personally, I’d be more inclined to replace cucumber in my salad with nopale. Maybe I’d even make nopale sandwiches with cream cheese. Hm… maybe not. (g)

Nopales/Prickly Pear Cactus

Amazingly enough, Lily tried it (albeit under duress–she’s a very picky eater). It wasn’t as bad as she thought it was going to be. We’ve had nopale before, although she doesn’t realize it. There is a local “farmer” who sells tortillas and tortilla chips that are a blend of nopale and corn. Nopale is very good for you, corn not so much, but the tortillas and chips are quite yummy. They are more dense than the regular tortillas, but that doesn’t stop them from disappearing quickly from our house.

Chris Morasky, teacher of Ancient Pathways

We stopped a little further up the hill from where we found the nopale, and Chris settled in to tell some stories. Although I have never heard Native Americans tell their stories, I would imagine he tells them much in the way they do. Most of his stories impart a lesson. He doesn’t try to hide the lesson. Matter of fact, he openly tells them the lesson, and the kids don’t seem to mind. Of course, when the lessons come from their parents, they seemed less inclined to listen. LOL Ah, well, at least they will listen to him before racing down the mountain.

After this constant barrage of questions, I get grumpy.  The next question: “Are you tired?”

No, I’m not tired. I just want a moment’s peace. Can I get a moment’s peace? Do you need me 24/7? Can I eat my meal without you expecting me to entertain you by reading to you? Or talking to you? And if you I get to eat my meal without doing all of that, can I have a few moments to just be before the barrage of questions and demands starts again?

If I am alone, it’s the cats. Now that it’s cold, my lap, or my torso really as the laptop occupies the lap, my cats will climb up on my chest and across my arms. This isn’t as bad, until they start getting pissy because my arms moves a little when I type. Or they follow me around the house meowing at me. “I’m hungry,” they cry, except there’s food in their dish. I tell them that, but they say, “We don’t like that kind.” Um, too bad. It’s what you’ve go. Eat it.

All I’m asking for is five minutes. Okay. Maybe I want more than five minutes. Maybe I want an entire day, or a weekend, of just me. If I get it, I may not like it. But I’d sure be willing to try.

Edible Plants:

Sour Grass

Sour Grass

Chris, the instructor, started us with sour grass. It’s edible and it’s, well, sour. So sour it will make you pucker, but children love it, even Lily. She is phobic of almost anything green. One tast of sour grass, and she was hooked. Of course, introducing her to new foods food  when she’s starving helps… a lot. And tromping in the hills around in cold temps builds up an apetite.

Mustard

We tried this. I’m not sure why I didn’t take a picture of the mustard plant. Perhaps because I was less than enthused with the flavor. LOL Apparently, the only type of mustard I like is French’s.

Curly Dock

Curly Dock

I’d heard of this one before, but I’d never seen it. It looks like immature lettuce leaves, but didn’t taste like lettuce to me. While I enjoyed the fruity, somewhat tart flavor, Lily was full of sour grass by the time we got to this one and was less than impressed. (g) It would make an interesting addition to a salad… if I could convince others in my household to eat it, too.

Nasturtiums

Nasturtiums

Nasturtiums aren’t native to California. While they are pretty, they are consider an invasive species, but they are edible. And after watching the kids tromp through the sour grass and curly dock, and because my belly was full, I refrained from trying nasturtiums. As I’ve never had them before, I can’t tell you what they taste like. Perhaps another time. And the fact that I saw a few dogs wandering around the park with their owners off leashes was a deterrent. I’m just hoping I didn’t eat anything with dog pee on it. Yeah, I know. Ew!

Sacred Plants:

Purple Sage

Sage:

To the Chumash Indians, sage was sacred. The sages we are most familiar with are the white sage and the purple, but the sage that was the most sacred to them and used in sacred ceremonies was the coastal sage. Much like people do today, the Chumash believed that sage dispelled negative energy and thoughts. It looks quite a bit different than this purple sage. Perhaps the next time we are up there, I will take a picture of it and post it.

Poisonous Plants:

Hemlock

Hemlock:

Another plant I’d heard of but never seen was this one. According to Chris, any plant that has a top like a carrot, besides the carrot, is very poisonous, and it’s best not to eat it.

I think I can manage that. LOL

Castor Bean

Castor Bean:

This is the most poisonous plant in this area. Even a small amount would make you extremely ill. It’s most poisonous when producing its bean. Yes, this is the same plant that castor oil comes from. However, castor oil is highly processed. I wouldn’t recommend trying this. Or trying any plant you aren’t sure of what it is.

Medicinal Plants:

Coyote Bush and Chris

Coyote Bush:

This is the only known antidote for poison oak. If you use it properly, the poison oak will last only three days as opposed to a month. It requires taking a large amount (if it’s all over your body, boiling it, and pouring it into a bathtub of warm water leaves, stems, and all and soaking in it for 30 minutes every morning for three days. Three days vs. a month. I’m in.

We had a great time and will be back again and again. One thing I enjoy about homeschooling is that as my daughter learns, so do I.

But there is more to writing than words and reading. Sometimes, it means research. Well, often, it means research, even if you write fantasy. Despite what a lot of people think, you can’t believe everything on the internet. Learning which sites are accurate, which sites to ignore, and where to find the information you need can be challenging, but there is a lot of help out there. And, of course, there is your local library. You can often check out books on what you need to know.

It also means knowing at the very least: grammar, punctuation, spelling, a large vocabulary (because the thesaurus is not always your friend), the difference between similes and metaphors, structure, and character development arc. Many people believe grammar and punctuation are unnecessary  to know in order to write well, that fixing those issues are the job of an editor/proofreader. Untrue. It is the author’s job to know this… if they are serious about it. This allows the editor to focus on the plot, the characters, the arc of the story. It makes the process of editing and revising much easier and pretty painless. If the author is challenged by punctuation, capitalization, etc? Please tell your editor in advance. This way, they know. They will show more patience and not think you are ignoring their suggestions. Remember, editors are human, and most do not have ESP. They want to help; they want you to succeed. Most take pride in their work.

There are a lot of websites that advise on grammar and punctuation that are wrong. One of my favorite sites for grammar and punctuation is University of Purdue’s Online Writing Lab. It is easy to navigate, easy to understand, and has worksheets you can do to help you get the lesson. Oh, did I mention it’s free?

An author should also know the equipment they use for writing (computer, Word/or other word processing program), how to format a file, how to attach a file, how to rename of file, track changes, etc. These are tools of the trade now too.

Imagine a company like Lockheed hiring a person whose field of study was, say, drama instead of engineering. How successful do you think this person would be in creating a satellite? Or a company looking for a personal assistant. Are they likely to hire someone who doesn’t know computers?

Yeah, so, educate yourself. It really makes for better, easier writing, quicker edits, and easier revisions.