Green Things From The Trees, Bushes, And The Ground

Spring has come to South Central Alaska.  Enjoying the wonders in our front and back yards.







Bleeding Heart.

Cottonwood leaf.  The sticky outside - leaf bud scales - fall off and stick to everything.  A good reason to take your shoes off before going inside.  The saving grace for me has always been their wonderful sweet scent.  But it appears they are much more useful than that.  From the Statesman Journal:

"Honeybees collect the resin from the spring leaf bud scales and take it back to their hives as an antimicrobial and sealant, called propolis. It is powerfully anti-microbial, inhibiting fungal and bacterial growth.
Pacific Northwest tribes and early Euroamerican settlers collected and used the bud scale resin as well. Infused into oil, the resin is known to help soothe swollen arthritic joints and sore muscles. Resin was used to waterproof boxes and baskets. The bark was made into buckets for storing and carrying food. The leaves, buds and bark of cottonwood were used to lower fevers and reduce inflammation and pain. Plant chemists isolated this analgesic compound and call it salacin; it is found in all cottonwoods and willows."

The daffodils are popping up.  The last couple of years only a few of the bulbs I planted came up.  This year I planted some with my granddaughter on Bainbridge Island over Thanksgiving and they were blooming by the beginning of March.  All them.  And it looks like the vast majority made it through the winter here and are coming up.








I thought this was kind of funny when I saw it on Carr's online order app.  I've been benefiting from our abundant back (and front) yard supply the last few summers.  Ours too have no artificial fertilizer or pesticides.  And they are starting to come up already.




When you see them in your yard, instead of cursing them, think:  $3.49 a bunch.  And remember they are full of vitamins and other health promoting properties.

Governor, oil has tanked, but we've got an endless renewable resource in dandelions.  And at $3.49 a bunch, they're probably more valuable than oil was when it was $60 a barrel.  And health food stores have all sorts of pricy dandelion products.  Here's a dandelion extract at $14 an ounce!

There's economic value all around us if we just have the right eyes.  But lets not value our flora and fauna only for their economic value.  They play an important role in keeping the earth vibrant and healthy.  If you haven't seen my post on The Overstory, I do recommend it.

High bush cranberry leaves are budding.

 Lillies.

Tulip buds are growing.

Wild geraniums.  From Common Sense Home:

"Early Native Americans [Is that as opposed to late Native Americans?] recognized the value of Wild Geranium and used it as an ingredient in many medicinal treatments. Chippewa Indians used dried, powdered rhizomes mixed with grape juice as a mouthwash for children with thrush. A poultice from the base or pounded roots of the plant was used to treat burns and hemorrhoids. The leaves and roots were used to treat sore throats, hemorrhages, gonorrhea, and cholera. Like many other tannin-containing substances, Native Americans also used Wild Geranium as an anti-diarrhea treatment. A plant- infused tea was made to achieve this purpose, though some sources say the tea could have had the opposite effect, causing constipation."

And we have visitors out for the summer too.

This fly was cleaning my breakfast plate out on the deck.

And I'm guessing this dead tree was sculpted by a woodpecker.  Dead trees often have more life than living trees.