The Solitary Man’s Refuge (5 page)

Don had told him he had an operator’s license for
the wheelbarrow, but after a couple hours of moving dirt he
started thinking his had expired. It had been a long time
since Don had done that much physical labor and it took
its toll on him. It took Donald about two and half days to
move the 5 tons or more of manure and dirt and he used
every bit of it up without totally filling all his boxes. He
looked over his raised garden beds with satisfaction and
sore arms, but they were filled enough for a start and now
ready to plant. Next on the agenda he had Jack bring him
a truckload of mulch. Jack had warned him that the pine
bark mulch he had was starting to breakdown and
compost, but Don said it didn’t matter to him it would work
for what he had in mind. He tried moving it by square point
shovel at first and soon gave that up and went to the co-op
to buy a pitchfork and things went much smoother after
that. After moving all that enriched dirt, moving a load of
mulch was a dream and easy work in comparison. He put
about two or three inches of mulch down between the box
rows so he didn’t have to worry about mowing or weeds
and was quite surprised when he got to the center of the
pile of mulch that it was literally steaming in the cool air
from starting to heat up and compost.

He had met an old Nam Vet neighbor named
Michael and had asked him about a roll of fencing that was
left over after he made a yard for his dogs and purchased
it from him. Michael and he had a merry time of getting
introduced to one another over a bottle of whiskey and had
shared many confidences and gossip about the neighbors
on this road. Don asked him if he wanted to make a few
extra bucks helping to put up his fence, but both could see
scheduling it might be a problem because Michael
attended many different veterans’ functions nationwide.
Don left the invitation loose and took stock of what fruit
and nut trees he had on hand and what was still coming in
the mail.

He had planted several bushes about a week ago, 5
beaked hazelnuts around the perimeter of an old Deer
stand back in his woods. Often found in the forest under
story and along the edges of forests, hazelnut tolerates
fairly heavy shade, especially from tall, old trees. It grows
best and produces more fruit in full sun. Hazelnut prefers
well-drained soil, but can grow on the edges of wet sites.
Beaked hazelnut is commercially grown for the edible nuts
and used in wildlife habitat plantings to provide cover and
nuts, which are eaten by squirrels, deer, grouse and
pheasant. American Indians used the nuts picked in early
autumn and then stored them until fully ripe; the nuts were
then roasted or eaten raw, also the nuts were used in
various recipes. They were pounded into cakes with
berries, meat, or animal fat and also boiled to extract the
oil, which was used as flavoring. The nut's milk was used
to cure coughs and colds, to heal cuts, and as an
astringent. The wood was fashioned into arrows, fishing
traps, hooks, and spoons and the long, flexible shoots
were twisted into rope.

This recipe for Witch Hazel Tonic is from
The Herb
Quarterly (Winter 1994).

 

First, here are a few paragraphs from the
accompanying article on Witch Hazel:

Witch Hazel has a long history of medicinal use,
primarily as an antiseptic and an astringent. The herb was
listed in the United States Pharmacopoeia of 1882, and it
was still listed in the National Formulary as late as 1955.
Native Americans applied the leaves and bark as a
poultice on painful swellings and tumors and to reduce
inflammation. According to James Duke (Handbook of
Medicinal Herbs, 1989), the fresh leaves are highly
astringent, and were used in tea form by the Cherokee "for
colds, fevers, periodic pain, sore throat, and tuberculosis,
and to wash sores and wounds." Other tribes used the
herb to treat bruises, scratches, bad backs, and sprains,
and in a steam bath to relieve rheumatism.

Many of these treatments passed on to the
American colonists. In the 19th century, witch hazel
extracts of various kinds were used internally and
externally to treat myriad conditions, among them burns,
diarrhea, dysentery, inflammation, phlebitis, wounds, and
ulcers. Witch hazel is still used externally to treat
hemorrhoids and varicose veins, and very dilute distilled
witch hazel can be used in eye lotions.

Pure witch hazel extract, available in many
drugstores and supermarkets, is the most frequently used
form of the herb--more than a million gallons are sold each
year. Useful as an antiseptic, astringent, or make-up
remover, and even providing relief from hemorrhoid pain
and bleeding, it is an all-purpose first-aid lotion and
cosmetic aid.

Here's the recipe:
Although the Pilgrims' tonic is not as potent as the
commercial extract, you can follow this easy recipe and
have fun brewing up your own witch hazel remedy:

•
Prune one pound of fresh twigs from shrubs
as soon as they have flowered. This practice produces the
strongest tonic.
•
Strip off the leaves and flowers (save these
for sachets) and chop the twigs into coarse mulch using
either a mechanical mulcher or pruning clippers.

Place the chopped twigs into a two-gallon stainless
steel pot.

 

Cover the twigs with distilled water (available at the
supermarket) and bring the contents to a boil.

 

Reduce heat to simmer, then cover and cook for at
least eight hours; add water as needed to cover the mulch.

 

Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature.

Pour the witch hazel tonic through a funnel
containing a cheesecloth filter and into clean plastic
squeeze bottles or other suitable, tightly capped
containers.

•
Use the tonic within a week unless it is kept
refrigerated. You can preserve your tonic for long-term
room temperature storage by adding nine ounces of vodka
or grain alcohol to 23 ounces of tonic. Yield: one gallon.

Warning: Do NOT use internally! Keep out of the
reach of children.

I don't know about you, but witch hazel is one of
those common household things I've always kept around.
According to Reader’s Digest, harvesting the witch hazel
yourself beats buying it at the store because commercial
processing tends to reduce the effectiveness of the witch
hazel.

Witch-hazel Extract
1 lb witch hazel branch tips
Distilled or bottled spring water (not city water)
Cheese cloth or cotton cloth and a strainer
Container like Mason jars

Get out your largest stockpot. Cut branch tips from
the shrub. Remove any flowers and leaves. You just want
the wood. Cut the pieces into mulch with shears and place
in the pot. Add just enough water to cover the mulch. Bring
the pot to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer. Let the
mixture simmer for about 8 hours.

Add water occasionally during simmering to barely
keep the mulch covered. Remove the pot from the heat
and let the contents cool to room temperature.

Strain the solids out of the liquid. Pour extract into
bottles or jars of choice. Seal tightly.

 

To extend the shelf life add 1/2 cup rubbing alcohol
to every 3 cups of extract.

Pine Toner
2 cups fresh pine needles
1 cup distilled water
½ cup witch hazel

For pine toner, place pine needles in small
saucepan with distilled water. Bring water to boil. Allow
water to cool completely then remove pine needles. Pine
needles can be thrown away. Add witch hazel and stir well.
Pour into a clean bottle or other container. Apply to skin
with a cotton ball. Store in a cool dark place

Don had chosen two hazelnut cultivars to plant in
his so called “forest garden” in front of his house. He had a
circular driveway and the center section was thinly wooded
and ideal for adding extra trees and bushes in. The
cultivars he chose were more productive, smaller and
earlier to bear nuts to harvest than the wild ones he had
placed in the woods. To this little island of food producing
woods he added some Allegheny Chinquapin nuts which
appear much like a chestnut seed but are much smaller.
The Paw Paw is a true native American fruit tree
indigenous to the entire eastern half of America, from
Texas to the Great Lakes and down the east coast to
Florida. The Paw Paw is rarely seen and hardly known by
recent generations, but was a household name for the prebaby boomer generations.

Many old and now forgotten folk songs were sung
praising the Paw Paw. Being the largest edible fruit native
to America, the Paw Paw is worth singing about and has
found some resurgent interest in the past 20 years or so.

The fruit starts out green and in the oblong shape
of a mango. It grows 3-6 inches long and ripens into a
golden-brown with black splotches. It ripens from midAugust to October and should be soft enough to come off
the tree with a gentle squeeze. The ripe Paw Paw will
have a pronounced perfumed fragrance. The highly
nutritious flesh will have a consistency of custard and a
unique flavor, resembling a vanilla banana blend. The Paw
Paw tree requires two for good pollination and heavy fruit
set. The Paw Paw tree is a small and handsome addition
to an edible landscape. The Paw Paw tree is an
understory tree in the forest and prefers to be planted in
partial sun. Don laughed at himself singing songs about
"pickin' up paw paws puttin 'em in a basket." as he planted
his patch.

Blueberry bushes run down one side of his
driveway and he had mixed in a few thornless blackberries
on the other side. Hawthorne trees were strategically
placed here and there along his front fence row for hard
times food as well as enhancing his security. Europeans
used to call these “traveler’s trees” or “bread and cheese
trees”. Hawthorne (
Crataegus
) is deciduous and a member
of the rose family. The common name for hawthorne
comes from
haw
, which is an old English word for "hedge."
The tree's name simply means
"thorny hedge."
After the
British General Enclosures Act of 1845, hawthorn was
used extensively as hedgerow because of its thorny nature
and quick growth, angering peasants who no longer could
enter the lands they previously roamed at will. Its Latin
name,
Crataegus,
means "hardness", referring to the
quality of the wood. Use the leaves, flowers and berries for
medicinal and culinary purposes. The berries are collected
when ripe and used raw or cooked, or dried whole for use
in decoctions, liquid extracts, and tinctures. Harvest the
leaf-buds in the early spring for cooking or as a substitute
for smoking tobacco. Harvest the flowers in the spring and
the berries after they ripen in the fall.

Both ancient and modern herbalists have
successfully used hawthorn for its food and health
benefits. Modern science shows that hawthorne contains
chemical components which are sedative, anti-spasmodic
and diuretic. If you intend to use it for medicinal purposes,
look for
C. laevigata, C. monogyna,
or
C. pinnatifida,
as
these hybrids are known best for their medicinal uses.
Read how to make a tincture or an infusion using
hawthorne flowers or berries.

The hawthorne berry is one of the best cardiac
tonics available, and is often used to treat high blood
pressure.

Hawthorne berries are used to treat childhood
diabetes. See Cautions.

 

Hawthorne flower tea is a safe diuretic.

Hawthorne berries, dried and crushed and made
into a decoction, eases diarrhea and dysentery, kidney
inflammations and disorders. See Cautions.

The young hawthorn leaves can be used as a safe,
and non-nicotine tobacco substitute for those who desire
to quit smoking tobacco. Enhance the flavor and help heal
the throat by adding yarrow, mint, coltsfoot or mullein.

Chewing the Hawthorn leaf has been known for
centuries as a safe way to give nourishment, revive
energy, and a feeling of well-being. That is why it can be
used to treat those who have problems with apprehension,
insomnia and despondency. Chewing Hawthorn leaves
takes away that "tummy grumble" when you’re hungry.
That is why the Hawthorne became known as the
"bread
and cheese"
tree, giving as much sustenance as a plate of
bread and cheese.

The Hawthorne leaf-buds are good cooked (10 to
20 minutes) and have a similar taste to lima beans. They
make a great addition to chilies and soups.

You can make jellies and fruit sauces from the
berries, just make sure you strain the sauce. Hawthorne
berries contain their own pectin so the sauce or jelly will
thicken nicely.

Hawthorne flowers are edible and make an
attractive addition to salads and other dishes.
Hawthorne seeds can be roasted and used in a
manner similar to coffee.

Cautions
Hawthorne is a very powerful herb and in most cases
should be taken along with other herbs rather than by itself
for medicinal purposes. When dealing with medical
conditions, I recommend consultation with a medical
professional rather than attempting self-medication.

Hawthorne wood is more prized than oak wood for
wood fires, as it burns very hot. A hawthorne wood fire can
produce fire that can melt pig iron.

Hawthorne hedgerow is still very evident in Britain
and parts of Germany, used as a fence to keep cattle in
and people out of private properties. Hedgerow makes a
great security fence.

Don had even planted a couple tea trees (
Camellia
sinensis
var) The
Camellia
plant genus, from which all
forms of tea are harvested, is amazingly resilient and
adaptable. When he bought the land, one of the first things
he did was use this opportunity to set himself up with a
lifetime supply of tea that's as fresh and pure as you can
make it. If you want to grow camellias for tea, stick with a
Chinese variety, In Latin terms, that's
Camellia sinensis
var, not to be confused with
Camellia assamica
, which is
an Indian tea; Indian tea plants are less tolerant of the
cold. These are really easy plants to grow if winters are
warm.