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October 2022 HerbWalks & OjaiHerbal Newsletter |
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If you've already purchased my book, thank you! Remember, local authors and independent outlets appreciate when you buy direct from them in person or at their websites. I always have books with me at my events. Or you can order the book on my website by visiting this link or clicking on the photo above. (Use the “Order notes (optional)” field at checkout to request a simple autograph or a book signed to your name.)
You also can find them on the shelf in Ojai at Bart's Books, Crystal Corner, Farmer & the Cook, Ojai Valley Brewery, Ojai Valley Museum, Poppie's Art & Gifts, Rainbow Bridge, Sespe Creek Collective, Shangri-La Care Cooperative, and Wheeler Gorge Visitor Center; in Ventura at Ema's Herbs, Green Thumb Nursery, Timbre Books, and Ventura Spirits; in Calabasas at Santa Monica Mountains Visitor Center Store; in Santa Barbara at Chaucer's Books and The Book Den; in Solvang at The Book Loft; and at Barnes & Noble in Ventura, Thousand Oaks, Calabasas and Valencia.
Or if you'd like to "check it out" before you add it to your backpack and bookshelf, you can find it in the Ventura County Library at the Ojai, Oak View, and E.P. Foster branches.
If you have the book, be sure to check out the article below about the hyperlinked bibliography I created as a free online supplement to make the sources of information cited in the book easily accessible. |
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Here's Christopher entertaining the crowd at a previous workshop at Euterpe Farms in Ojai. Saturday's workshop (October 15) is full but there's no one on the waiting list at the time of this writing. A space or two almost always opens up in the last few days. Click here or on the photo above to register. |
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Please join me for this free outdoor educational event at the family owned and operated Green Thumb Nursery in Ventura. No registration required. I'll have
Medicinal Herbs of California with me for sale and signing. |
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And here's another outdoor educational event. This Herb Walk & Book Signing at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden (SBBG) on Sunday, October 23, is free once you've paid the regular admission to the garden. Registration IS required and the morning herb walk is already full but there's still room for the afternoon walk at the time of this writing. So don't delay. Again, I'll have
Medicinal Herbs of California with me for sale and signing. Click here or on the photo above to go to the SBBG website. |
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We're capping off October with an extra special event on Saturday, October 29, featuring the amazing Jess Starwood for a Fall Foraging Workshop. Read all about it in the article below or just click here or on the photo above to sign up without delay. Jess's workshops always fill up. |
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Meet renowned author-forager-survivalist Christopher Nyerges on Saturday, October 15. |
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Fall Harvesting and Survival Workshop with Christopher Nyerges
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PLEASE NOTE: This event is full as of 10/11/22 but cancellations usually open up spaces in the last few days.
Join me and survival instructor Christopher Nyerges on Saturday, October 15, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Ojai for an outdoor Fall Harvesting and Survival Workshop.
Participants will:
- process acorns and black walnuts for eating over a fire made with primitive skills
- learn to identify edible and medicinal plants
- learn basics of navigation and orienteering (finding your direction)
- practice making cordage from yucca leaves
The workshop will begin with a morning herb walk among the native plants on the fringes of Euterpe Farms, bordering the Ventura River Preserve. The afternoon workshop will take place under oak trees. Everyone will have a chance to participate in all activities.
After the workshop, Christopher and I will have our books on hand for sale and signing. Learn more and sign up at this link.
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Click on the USFS logo above or the hyperlink below to visit the newly redesigned Ojai Ranger District (ORD) webpage for the latest info on trails, fire conditions, campgrounds, closures and more. The ORD office at 1190 E. Ojai Ave. is now open and staffed with a volunteer Tue-Friday from 8:00am - 4:30pm.
Are you interested in collecting small amounts of plants in the National Forest for personal use? Contact Forest Botanist Heidi Guenther at heidi.guenther@usda.gov to apply for a free collection permit. |
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Jess Starwood and Lanny at an Ojai workshop earlier this year. Click on photo to sign up for October 29.
Photo: Elena Rios |
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Fall Foraging Workshop with Jess Starwood
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In this full day workshop on Saturday, October 29, we will enjoy a mindful walk in the morning in Matilija Canyon among the oak, white alder, black walnut and bay trees, noticing how the plants and environment change during this season. We will identify edible and medicinal plants and mushrooms that can help to nourish and heal us in the months to come.
After our morning walk, we will gather in Fisher Hall at St. Andrews Episcopal Church in downtown Ojai for a wild food lunch, beverages, and a cooking demonstration featuring some of the ingredients we encountered in the morning. We will then have a hands-on workshop where participants will be making California bay nut chocolate and other tasty fall treats as time allows.
Jess and I will have our books on hand for sale and signing. Learn more and sign up at this link.
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Book signing at Bart's Books in June.
Photo by Eliane White |
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Hyperlinked bibliography for
Medicinal Herbs of California |
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Do you own a copy of my book,
Medicinal Herbs of California? Have you noticed that it has over 350 citations referencing the sources of information I present? Those citations required 176 bibliography entries for books and online journal articles to back them up.
As you know, URLs are long and there's no convenient way to transfer them from the printed page to a web browser. So I created an online, hyperlinked bibliography for you, my loyal readers. You can find it on my website at this link. Please share with others you know who have the book. |
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Full Moon over Topa Topa Bluffs.
Photo: Ken Black, October 2021 |
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Full Moon Sunset Nature Hike on Monday, November 7
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On Monday evening, November 7, from 3:30 to 6:00 p.m., I’ll lead a Full Moon Sunset Nature Hike to a vista point above the Ojai Valley where we can watch the simultaneous sunset and moonrise. Both will happen at about 5:00 p.m. This will be the second night of Pacific Standard Time so, yes, it will be getting dark early. Technically, the moon will reach complete fullness at 3:02 a.m. on Tuesday morning, making Monday night an ideal time to view the full moon, even though your calendar will say the full moon is on Tuesday.
We’ll meet at the trailhead at 3:15 p.m. for a 3:30 p.m. start, then gradually hike about 1.5 miles to the viewing site, experiencing some elevation gain on a well-worn, dirt fire road with uneven footing in places. Along the way we’ll stop to meet some valuable edible and medicinal plants.
Please visit this link to read more and sign up.
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Leopard Shark seen from the bridge at Carpinteria Salt Marsh. Click for larger view.
Photo: Bart Choy |
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Carpinteria Salt Marsh did not disappoint
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On Sunday, October 2, we visited the Carpinteria Salt Marsh Nature Park and succeeded in catching some up-close views of marine wildlife. We saw leopard sharks (
Triakis semifasciata) and round stingrays (
Urobatis halleri) from the bridge that separates the Nature Park from the the larger salt marsh just west of it.
We also saw several birds, including a great blue heron (
Ardea herodias) and a male northern mockingbird (
Mimus polyglottos) who serenaded us as we stood audience-like below him.
On the plant side, we met and sampled 14 native plants found in this ecosystem, including Pacific pickleweed (
Salicornia
pacifica), alkali bulrush (
Bolboschoenus maritimus subsp.
paludosus), and Brewer's saltbush (
Atriplex lentiformis subsp.
breweri).
Keep watching these newsletters for our next excursion to this unique and special place rich in biodiversity.
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Glenn Geffcken, author of "The DEEPER Side of Things" blog, at home in a remote part of New Mexico after years in the corporate world.
Photo: Maria Geffcken |
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"The DEEPER Side of Things"
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My dear friend Glenn Geffcken and I shared some illuminating moments in Native American ceremonies that created a kind of bond between us. At the time, he lived in L.A. and worked a stressful corporate job. Fast forward to today. He's way off the main drag in New Mexico, doing creative work (thanks to the internet) and authoring his insightful blog. I'm impressed by his worldly wisdom at the ripe young age of 58, enough so that I'm sharing the blog with you. Here's a link to his first post. You can take it from there if you choose.
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