Catnip hunting.
It's not quite as awesome as nettle and it's not really hunting, because catnip grows like a weed. You could really just sit still somewhere in the forest and at some point catnip would spring up next to you. But given E and I don't live in the forest (barely), and we did have to get up off our lazy butts and go on a little hike to "find" the stuff, I'm calling it hunting.
As we entered Pogonip state park through a secret entrance (you'd never find it unless you knew where it was), we passed the remnants of an old lime mine from the mid 1800's. Apparently Northern California (centered around San Francisco) was a center for lime manufacturing around the same time as the gold rush.
It didn't take long to find catnip; it was growing just off the path. Like I said, it grows like a weed, not only here, but throughout North America. It's native to a large part of Eurasia (specifically Eastern Mediterranean), but *apparently* settled in well when brought over from the old world. It has properties similar to valerian root and has been used for millenia in food and medicine.
Almost every plant you see there is catnip, and this is a sparsely covered area compared to others we found. It looks remarkably similar to stinging nettle: the leaves are heart-shaped and pointed, with about 5-7 veins on the young plants, 1.5-3 inches in length, and fuzz that looks spiky but is actually soft. The stems are rigid, softly spiked, square-shaped and hollow. We brought gloves with us to make sure we didn't make a mistake and get stung, scissors to trim off the leaves, and a large trash bag to put everything in. That's E getting down and dirty. :)
We were there mid-afternoon; most of the forest was in the shade, and off in the distance the sun shone brightly still in the valley by the sea.
We collected about a trash bag full and headed back home early, as we didn't want to be stuck there when night fell (there's been a slew of crimes here lately). When we got home, we trimmed the leaves from the stems, rinsed them, and made catnip tea.
I poured 4 cups of water over about 2 cups of catnip leaves and brought it to a boil, then simmered for about 10 minutes. It doesn't need to be done for that long--five should be more than enough--but I like my tea strong. I strained it and proceeded to have a nice drink. Catnip is a member of the mint family, so of course the tea is quite minty (not one you'd put sugar in), but it's a little sharper, for lack of a better word. Almost like it has a bit of a kick.
Catnip has the opposite effect on humans than it does on cats (I'm bringing it home to my kitties this weekend); while it excites and energizes our furry friends(who only sniff the stuff), ingesting catnip has a relaxing effect on us, both mentally and physically. It's often used as a sleep aid and to calm tummy aches: the organic compound nepetalactone is responsible. I happen to be feeling its calming effects right now, which is nice, because I have had a bit of a stressful day. Don't get me wrong; I love my major. But sitting at a computer for 5 hours desperately trying to get your program to run right? *Draining*, to say the least. I've been living and breathing this one goddamn program for two weeks now(it has to find the roots of a polynomial, if you'd like to know). So finally getting out of the lab, going for a hike, and drinking some tea is helping a great deal in keeping me sane.
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Update: totally forgot to mention the treasure we found sitting on an eroding cement block by a babbling brook. Behold:
We wondered who left it there, and whether it was on purpose; we figure it must have been, as it was in plain sight (for those who were wandering off the path). We decided we were meant to find it and brought it along with us. I've leafed through it and it talks about things like brain waves, clairvoyance, light and darkness, dreams, healing energy, something called "reading the aura"...basically everything I take with a grain of salt but still love to read about. I'm starting to read it and keeping an open mind. Who knows, I might learn something very important from this little book we happened upon while searching for
(Yes, you might have had an inkling that we weren't in fact looking for catnip at first...it's true. We were looking for nettles, but found none, so settled for catnip. But we're not altogether disappointed, because I can guarantee you that after drinking a couple mugs of catnip tea, you have no worries left. I'll let y'all make of that what you will).
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Hope all your weeks have been nice and relaxing. If not, perhaps it's time to drink some catnip tea.
xoxo
Maralah
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