I walk by the river as often as I can, because it's a beautiful path that I never get tired of. There is always something to see, a new bird to spot (even though I'm not a birder and have no clue what I'm looking at,) or a wildflower or plant to try to identify. But sometimes...I feel the need to get up higher than the Valley floor, so I took off for an hour on the weekend, and headed up into the hills.
We've been fortunate this year, so far. We had a brief snow in early November, but it has mostly melted except at the higher elevations. I didn't get too far up the hill before I was seeing pockets of snow, but there was none on the road to hinder my drive. I can't tell you how lucky I feel to live in a place where I can drive 5 minutes up the road and be on my way into the woods!
While wandering I spotted this very Fey tree. I'm not sure why this Fir decided to throw a curve in it's trunk, but it looks neat! It was also offering up some lovely resin (just a few tears) which I collected and then left my own offering. I think there will be a very small batch of woodsy incense in my future!
Speaking of incense, I wanted to share my Yule incense recipe. I like it so much that I'm going to make a huge batch this weekend so that I have plenty to burn over the Winter.
Yule Incense:
2 parts Fir needles (you could use pine, but I like fir for my Yule tree.)
1 part clove
1 part frankincense
1 part myrrh
5 star anise seeds
½ part amber resin
I find that the frankincense, myrrh and amber help the incense to stick, but you could add a bit of honey as a binding ingredient if you wanted it more chunky - just make sure you give it time to dry completely.
Burn on a charcoal disk on a heat-safe bowl or plate and enjoy!
I hope you find time during this busy season to take a walk in your area, and enjoy what the Winter has to offer!
8 comments:
i bet this smells great! here is the recipe for the hard sauce:
Ingredients
* 1 1/8 cups unsalted butter, softened
* 2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
* 2 tablespoons orange zest
* 2 tablespoons orange juice
* 4 tablespoons brandy
Directions
1. Place butter, confectioners sugar, orange rind, orange juice, and brandy or cognac into food processor and mix until smooth. Pile sauce into serving bowl and refrigerate. Remove from fridge about one hour before serving.
hope you enjoy it!
I love to take walks too, but we do not have that many pretty places to walk here closeby. The incense sounds wonderful. I love burning them and candles all year long.
That tree is wonderful!! Thanks for the recipe, will have to try it out! I love the forest smells!
I love all the things I learn from you! I can't wait to make this new recipe! Thanks for sharing it and the picture of that cool tree!
I can just imagine the fragrance of the woods... and of the incense! : )
What a lovely recipe! I think I 'm going to try it too!I LOVE that tree!!
I will definitely try it!! I do love my walks in my canyon, nature is so good for us!!
I wish I could travel through space -- and then I would love to join you on one of your great walks. Second best is reading about them though -- and a BIG thanks for taking your camera with you. :)
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