|
|
Posted by Denny Tyler, on October 19th, 2011  New River Gorge, Hawks Nest State Park  New River Gorge, Hawks Nest State Park
———
When one tugs at a single thing in nature; he finds it attached to the rest of the world.
Posted by Denny Tyler, on October 16th, 2011 When I go hiking plants that stand out from the rest in some way tend to pique my curiosity. Such is the case with mullein.
 Mullein
This plant first caught my attention in the spring. It is difficult to miss. The one in the photo is young and only 10-12 inches across.
The leaves are long and covered in fine hair. It grows in a rosette form close to the ground and I have seen them in the neighborhood of three feet across. Absolutely gorgeous plants in the spring that persist through autumn.
Verbascum thapsus is a dicotyledonous plant that produces a rosette of leaves in its first year of growth. The leaves are large, up to 50 cm long. The second year plants normally produce a single unbranched stem usually 1–2 m tall. In the East of its range in China, it is, however, only reported to grow up to 1.5 m tall. The tall pole-like stems end in a dense spike of flowers that can occupy up to half the stem length. All parts of the plants are covered with star-shaped trichomes. This cover is particularly thick on the leaves, giving them a silvery appearance.
I added a new book to my research library, American Indian Healing Arts, and was able to identify mullein by name for the first time.
The book refers to the plant only as far as burning it for rituals/fragrance. However, mullein has medicinal properties that can be traced back 2000 years.
Great Mullein has been used since ancient times as a remedy for skin, throat and breathing ailments. It has long had a medicinal reputation, especially as an astringent and emollient, as it contains mucilage, several saponins, coumarin and glycosides. Dioscorides recommended it for diseases of the lung and it is now widely available in health and herbal stores. Non-medical uses have included dyeing and making torches.
Like many ancient medicinal plants (Pliny the Elder describes it in his Naturalis Historia), Great Mullein was linked to witches, although the relationship remained generally ambiguous, and the plant was also widely held to ward off curses and evil spirits. The seeds contain several compounds (saponins, glycosides, coumarin, rotenone) that cause breathing problems in fish, and have been widely used as piscicide for fishing.
The flowers provide dyes of bright yellow or green, and have been used for hair dye. The dried leaves and hair were made into candle wicks, or put into shoes to help with insulating them. The dried stems were also dipped into suet or wax to make torches. Due to its weedy capacities, the plant, unlike other species of the genus (such as V. phoeniceum), is not often cultivated.
———
When one tugs at a single thing in nature; he finds it attached to the rest of the world.
Posted by Denny Tyler, on October 12th, 2011 
Although the terms “gristmill” or “corn mill” can refer to any mill that grinds grain, the terms were used historically for a local mill where farmers brought their own grain and received back ground meal or flour, minus a percentage called the “miller’s toll.” Early mills were almost always built and supported by farming communities and the miller received the “miller’s toll” in lieu of wages. Most towns and villages had their own mill so that local farmers could easily transport their grain there to be milled. These communities were dependent on their local mill as bread was a staple part of the diet. Wikipedia
The Glade Creek Grist Mill
The Glade Creek Grist Mill is a new mill that was completed in 1976 at Babcock. Fully operable, this mill was built as a re-creation of one which once ground grain on Glade Creek long before Babcock became a state park. Known as Cooper’s Mill, it stood on the present location of the park’s administration building parking lot.
Of special interest, the mill was created by combining parts and pieces from three mills which once dotted the state. The basic structure of the mill came from the Stoney Creek Grist Mill which dates back to 1890. It was dismantled and moved piece by piece to Babcock from a spot near Campbelltown in Pocahontas County. After an accidental fire destroyed the Spring Run Grist Mill near Petersburg, Grant County, only the overshot water wheel could be salvaged. Other parts for the mill came from the Onego Grist Mill near Seneca Rocks in Pendleton County.
———
———
When one tugs at a single thing in nature; he finds it attached to the rest of the world.
Posted by Denny Tyler, on October 12th, 2011 I posted this photo to Facebook and didn’t even get a nibble, pun intended.
Personally, I like it. But maybe for most folks… too much mystery?
The photo was taken on the bank of R.D. Bailey Lake.
 R.D. Bailey Lake When the road above the lake was initially built, in some places, they had to blast through solid rock during construction. That process involves boring holes about 2 inches in diameter down into the bedrock in order to place the charges.
A pretty good size chunk of rock ended up down by the waters edge with two parts of the bore hole intact, a section above the water and another below the surface. In the photo, the fish is about an inch long and using the bottom section of the bore hole as refuge/sanctuary. Any fish that can get to him in there is most likely not a threat.
I guess I look into that hole and see more than a little fish. I see an instinct as old as time… survival.
———
When one tugs at a single thing in nature; he finds it attached to the rest of the world.
Posted by Denny Tyler, on October 11th, 2011 Bolt Mountain is the highest point in the Guyandotte Mountain Range at just over 3600 feet.
From the Emerson Stover Overlook on the mountain one would be looking north-northeast into Raleigh County. More specifically, the Coal River watershed.
 Emerson Stover Overlook, Fall Colors  Emerson Stover Overlook, Fall Colors  Emerson Stover Overlook, Fall Colors  Emerson Stover Overlook, Fall Colors
When one tugs at a single thing in nature; he finds it attached to the rest of the world.
|
|
