The Wandering Herbalist

Well, it is with my pleasure to unveil the first few products that we will be introducing in the 'Sacred Waters Herbal Products' Line-up. I have been very excited to create and offer these amazing herbals once again. Today we just finished the first few medicinal salves and lip balms that will be on sale at the Guelph Farmers Market and Creemore Easter Market this Saturday. There is a general All-Purpose Salve as well as a Burn Salve. For lip balms we have a St. John's-Wort/Peppermint as well as a Calendula/Lemongrass. I'm hoping to bottle a couple tinctures as well for this weekend. Most likely an Echinacea/Goldenseal Immune System support and a Red Clover 'Blood Purifier' Tonic. Come by the market to check out and purchase these amazing Herbal Remedies. Our products will be available all year at these two farmers markets.
Once our new shipment of glass bottles and jars come in we will be slowly introducing more and more herbal products to our line up. I'm also excited to offer herbal teas come summer time. We have many new herbs that will be planted in the garden this coming season and we can't wait to begin this journey through the seasons as we work with our green friends.

Happy Gardening

The Trappers Convention -- North Bay

Earth Tracks teamed up with our good friends at Sticks and Stones Wilderness School and set up a booth at the annual Trappers Convention in Nort
h Bay last weekend. We had an amazing time, met some great new people and shared many conversations with the good folks.

There was an incredible amount of knowledge, skill and wisdom in the building and you couldn't help but feel connected to the many people who have spent their entire lives in the bush and on the land. This heritage stretches back many generations to when my ancestors first travelled to this new land and there have been many changes over the years. There were some great booths set up by the many different trappers councils from across Ontario and many people more than willing to share what they have learned over the years and help to pass this legacy on to future generations. Trapping is often misunderstood by the general public these days and this convention is good chance to meet the 'real' people who are acting as stewards of the land.

The weekend was full of demonstrations and workshops put on by various people from across Ontario. We taught two Brain-Tanned Buckskin Making workshops that were very well received and allowed us to meet and talk with many of the people who came to the show that we may have not had a chance to meet otherwise. I thank everyone who came out to the convention as well as all of the hard work that went into organizing this event. We look forward to being here again next year.

Happy Tanning

Maple Syrup Season

Well the syruping season is upon us and spring is on the way, even though we've had quite a cold snap lately. It's been betwen -10 and -18 C the last 4 nights and the sap has stopped running. Our first run lasted over a week and we have roughly 4 gallons of boiled syrup right now. Two weeks ago I tapped 65 trees in our bush and it ran steadily for the next 6-7 days. We built a wood-fired burner with a 10 gallon pan on top. I put a sap bucket over that with a small hole in the bottom of it for the sap to drip into the pan. This way we can maintain a boil with out cooling the pan too much. I have to check it roughly every half hour to 45 minutes and put more sap in the bucket. Works pretty sweet! Pardon the pun. It's a lot of work hauling all of the sap, but well worth it. Spending so much time outside and in the woods at this time of year is great, not to mention the many wildlife and nature sightings that present themselves. It has been nice to have a break the last few days, but I think I'm ready for another boil. I hope we have a good second run and send out a greeting to all those other folks scattered across eastern north America huddled in sugar shacks and carrying on the tradition.

Happy Sugarin'

Alexis

Traditional Hide Tanning Class April 7-10th 2011

Hey Everyone

We're still looking for a couple o more folks for our bi-annual Hide Tanning class happening in Honeywood in just under two weeks. If you are interested or know anyone who is please let us kno ASAP.

Here's some info below as well as a link to our website.
www.earthtracks.ca

Traditional Hide Tanning Workshop

Have you ever wanted to make your own brain-tanned buckskin? Or wanted to make beautiful soft leather from the hides of deer and other animals?
We are offering a beginner class in traditional hide tanning to take the participant through the entire process. From where to get materials to tanning hides and what you can do with your newly tanned, soft buckskin. You will learn each step in this process and have the ability to honour these animals by using them in a respectful manner. We will be focusing on tanning deer hides and will guide participants through every stage of this ‘transforming’ process. Working with hides will come naturally to those who wish to learn this ancient method of working and tanning leather. All materials will be provided.

When: April 7-10th & November 3-6th 2011

Where: Sticks and Stones Workshop - Honeywood, near Shelburne, Ontario.
Price: $350, includes all course materials, green hide, tools and materials (bring your own tools if you have them.)
Space to set up your tent for the 3 nights or bring a sleeping pad for the workshop floor style accommodation in the Round House Workshop.
Wholesome Dinners are provided for the Thursday through Sunday. Coffee/tea and good drinking water provided.
Bring your own Breakfast, Lunch and Snacks, Full Kitchen facilities available: fridge/stove wares – Bring your own dishes, fork, spoon, knife, bowl, plate, cup/mug.

Space is limited to 10 students, Don’t wait apply soon.
No Experience is Necessary!

“simply the passion learn”

For more information please contact us at earthtracks@gmail.com or call 519 217 4921

Earth Tracks 2011 Calendar

Earth Tracks Calendar 2011

Algonquin Winter Tracking Trip - February 20th-25th -- Algonquin Park

Earth Tracks Tracking Club - February 27th 10a.m. – 4p.m. – Grey County

Drum Making Workshop - March 26th-27th – Hockley Valley, near Orangeville

Traditional Hide Tanning - April 7-10th – Honeywood (near Shelburne)

Minnesing Swamp Overnight Canoe Trip – April 23rd-24th – Angus area

Headwaters Primitive Skills Gathering – May 6-8th – Kimbercote Farm, Beaver Valley

Magnetewan River Canoe Trip – May 21st-27th – Ahmic Lake to Georgian Bay

Edible and Medicinal Plants Class – June 9th – 12th – Wolf Den Hostel, Dwight

Urban Edible and Medicinal Plants – June 24th – 26th – PINE Project, Toronto

The Art of Survival – July 14th – 17th – Parry Sound Area

The Way of the Naturalist Canoe Trip – July 18th -23rd – Algonquin Park

PINE Project Youth Summer Camps – July 4th – August 12th – Toronto

PINE Project Youth Summer Camps – July 18-22nd & 25th – 29th – Huntsville Area

PINE Project Youth Over-Night Camps – August 1st – 5th & 8-12th – Huntsville Area

The Way of the Wild: Survival Quest – August 14th – 20th – Parry Sound area

The Art of Mentoring – August 22nd – 27th – Norval Outdoor School, near Georgetown

The Algonquin Experience Canoe Trip – August 31st – September 5th – Algonquin Park

The Spirit of Plants – September 8th – 11th – Location TBA

Autumn Glory Canoe Trip – September 15th – 18th – Algonquin Park

Headwaters Fall Gathering - September 30th – October 2nd – Location TBA

Traditional Hide Tanning Class – November 3rd – 6th – Honeywood (near Shelburne)

Herbal Medicine Making Class – November 18th – 20th – PINE Project, Toronto

Herbal Medicine Making Class – November 26th & 27th – Hockley Valley (near Orangeville)

That's it. A couple new additions will be added in the near future. If you have any questions or would like more information please contact us through email: earthtracks@gmail.com or phone 519 217 4921

http://www.earthtracks.ca/

Herbal Medicine Making Class

The Herbal Medicine Making class just finished on Sunday and it was a resounding success. This is one of my favorite classes to teach and is one of the highlights of the year. I love transforming all of the plant material that we harvest each summer into high quality herbal medicines. As a group we managed to make 3 lip balms, 4 healing salves and roughly 10 different tinctures! It is a very 'hands-on' experience and we go through each step of the process so that participants can go home with the knowledge and experience to do this on thier own. It feels good to share this information and plant wisdom with people and this years group of students was eager to learn and showed great passion and enthusiasm for learning about herbal medicine. I thank everyone who came to the class and look forward to next year when we will do it all over again.

In Light

Alexis

P.S. I will be uploading photos to our Earth Tracks Flickr account http://www.flickr.com/photos/earthtracks/ in the next couple of days. You can also find more information about this class and others on our website at http://www.earthtracks.ca/

Wildlife Tracking Workshop this Weekend

Title: Tracking – Another Tool for the Naturalist – Identifying & Interpreting Animal Tracks

Date: November 27, 2010 Time: 10 : 00 AM - 5 : 00 PM

Location: rare Administration Centre, 1679 Blair Road City: Cambridge ...

Contact Info Contact Name: Brenda Pearce Email: blpearce@raresites.org

Phone: 519-650-9336 ext.125

Web: http://www.raresites.org/

Join Alexis Burnett, a Naturalist, Tracker, Wilderness Skills Practitioner and Canoe Guide and Jason Bracey, a local teacher and rare volunteer for this combination event of a presentation and a hike. Alexis will share his knowledge and passion in teaching you how to identify and track animals as well as interpreting the story that the tracks tell you about the behaviour of the animal. After the talk, Jason will lead the group on a hike and Alexis will help participants put their new skills to use. It is recommended that you dress appropriately for the weather and bring the following items: proper footwear for hiking over uneven terrain, water bottle, lunch, notebook, pen, small measuring tape or ruler and a camera.

NOTE: This event is limited to a maximum of 20 participants.

COST: $25.00 (rare Event Discount Card invalid for this event)