The Prather/Intermountain Nursery soap class was good. Very good. It began early and ended a bit earlier than normal because the heat was already beginning to make me and a few of the attendees uncomfortable. By the time the class was over at just before noon, it was already 95 degrees, pretty hot for Prather, CA. Even though the class time was cut short, nothing was missed. The students were attentive and asked a lot of questions -- just the kind of class I like. Questions beget answers which beget more explanation, like a chain of information that goes on and on. The soap we made set perfectly due to the insane heat. I just popped the un-set stuff into the trunk of the car and that was as good as putting it in a warm oven, only hotter. Much hotter. After the class, my 'assistant', Shannon, and I drove up into the higher elevations since we were already halfway there. It was gorgeous. Both lakes Shaver and Huntington were full to brimming and blue as the mid-day sky. And it was cool up there -- a balmy 83 with a soft breeze compared to the 110 in the valley. We drove around up there a bit, then came back down, and literally 15 to 20 minutes after we drove out of Prather, the place caught fire! No kidding. They're calling it the Goose fire and as yet no one knows how it started, but it's burned several homes displacing a lot of people and has sent livestock and pets wandering through the hills. Sunday evening as the sun was setting, I could still see the heavy smoke burning through the hills. Between the fires down south near LA, the Big Sur fire, this new Prather fire, and the dozens of other fires burning the length and breadth of the state, it seems that California is burning to ash.
I stayed in Sanger for a few days to harvest white sage and sweetgrass. These are some of the goodies we made:
 |
| Three white sage; four sweetgrass |
 |
| This white sage was bound with rose geranium |
 |
| White sage bundles |
Other things we harvested were:
 |
| Loose leaf white sage |
|
|
|
 |
| St. John's Wort |
|
|
|
 |
| Evening Primrose |
 |
| Mullein seed head |
|
|
 |
| Seeded yarrow |
Had a great time. I love reading your blogs. It's like sitting back with a good book.
ReplyDelete