hope in hickory
shipping resumed and notes from the road...
i’m peering out on a brisk sunday in november, observing the peeling bark of the trees that sit directly outside my window. they’re a pair i’m unfamiliar with at first glance, but i quickly notice the three pronged elongated leaves signaling my memory of yesterday’s backyard identification adventure. pignut hickory. carya cordiformis. i flip through my tree book to learn more - “this tree, like all its genus, has wood with resolutely shock-resistant qualities, they used it for striking tools and agricultural implements, for hoops and wagon parts. it burns, too, with an intense flame making but little ash. wood - hard, heavy, strong, tough, close-grained, the sapwood thick.”
i think of the wagon found by the quarry. i think of shock, resistance, tools, and fire. over the past couple of weeks, hickory’s energy has felt ever-present. as i made my way across states, as i unboxed and read the news, as i now begin to feel the come-down of a hardened shell, my body settles into the exhaustion, but my mind pushes on - built by the bark of hickory.
i think of the last few miles on the long journey home. as tears finally escaped while the news blared on november 6th, i watched an elderly person gather a bouquet of tall grasses on the side of the highway. ever so gentle, ever so genuine, ever so childlike and innocent. that we still gather and wonder and delight in nature’s perfectly imperfect beauty. i am holding onto this whisper of hope. i am holding onto the hickory branch.
~
i wanted to come on here to let you know that *shipping is now resumed*. while i’m settling into my new spot, listening to the landscape, studying the plants that surround me - seeing them with new eyes, opening my heart to new stories - your purchases are greatly appreciated and help me to continue creating this medicine.
~
right now, i’m leaning on milky oats and fire cider to take me through these nerve stimulating times and the turning of the season. fire cider helps jumpstart my circulation (greatly needed in these freezing temp nights) and keeps my immunity in check, while milky oats helps calm and focus my mind, building my nervous system’s resilience. i don’t know how i’d get through this period without them and am ever grateful for their medicine.
that’s it for now ~ thank you for being here and talk soon.
xx,
britt