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carpe-aurore · 2 years

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A bit of Raven lore, for anyone who's interested!

She's a jack of all trades, but focuses mostly on working as a scribe or traveling healer. Can either be found wandering the land offering healing services to villages or holed up her cottage scribbling away on some parchment.

•She's not sure what she is or how old she is. She only knows she doesn't age nor does she seem susceptible to the many plagues she's witnessed. Her earliest memory is of waking up in the middle of the remains of a bonfire, somehow knowing that was her first day of living.

•Will sometimes do experiments with her own blood/saliva ect, just to figure out exactly what makes her what she is, and if others can benefit from her longevity and immunity. Heals unusually fast.Has ingested random poisons out of curiosity, but all she gets is a stomach ache. Got the hiccups from eating a poisonous mushroom once.

•She's been around for a while, but mostly keeps to herself. She's got a small handful of friends and acquaintances all over the land that she turns to for company, when she manages to drag herself out of her nest to travel around. One of her most memorable encounters was when she was traveling in between villages one autumn and witnessed a very tall and tired looking man emerge from a pit that opened up from the ground. She stopped to ask if he needed help, and he responded that he had missed his wife for a very long time and today was the day of her return, but he wouldn't mind the company while he waited for her to arrive. They spoke about their jobs for a bit (his was a very tiresome, year round job that dealt with managing many people) and his wife, the sweetest young woman, showed up. They chatted for a bit before parting ways, and the wife gave Raven a flower crown as a gift. The flowers have never wilted, and Raven wears it to this day.

•Raven speaks a number of languages, but prefers to communicate through writing. She'll communicate through charades if she's in an especially happy mood. She moves her hands a lot when she speaks, describes things with elaborate gestures. It's her way of supplementing the story she's telling.

•Raven loves to garden. She grows edible plants and medicinal herbs, which she distributes to the villages she travels through. Has an obsession with growing tomatoes, always ends up with a surplus.

•She bakes, cooks and sews. Most of what she makes she'll gift to whomever she meets on her journeys.

•Keeps some animals on her land. Chickens, goats, a few sheep. She tends to gather whatever excess eggs, milk, wool she gets and bring it to the nearest town. She'll look around for someone she thinks is in need (she knows in her gut when someone isn't doing well, she's always able to tell, she's not sure how), and drop these things off at their doorstep.

•The local governments(there have been many, always changing, kingdoms rise and fall) know to leave her in peace. She doesn't bother anyone, and is helpful to the citizens, so they'd rather not mess with something they don't really understand. A group of religious zealots ignored this once, caught Raven in a net and accused her of being an evil thing. They tossed her in a river, and Raven simply sat under the water for a better part of the day. She crawled out after a few hours, bedraggled but otherwise unharmed. This resulted in a lot of fearful screaming, and one poor person fainting. Raven then berated the leader for getting her dress wet, and walked away. They haven't bothered her since.

•On a lighter note, the villages closest to her forest love her. The children will give her birdseed as a joke, but little do they know she loves the sunflower seeds in it. Not uncommon to find her wandering around the town center with a gaggle of little ones following her.

• She can shapeshift into an actual raven, but prefers not to. It's rather disorienting to go from human shaped to a bird. Also, it's much harder to resist shiny things in that form. She's already got 3 jars of trinkets she's collected as a bird.

•Is usually strong, but rather clumsy. Has tripped, bonked her head, and stubbed her toe in a span of 5 minutes one time. Doesn't mean she cannot defend herself, though. A fencing saber is her weapon of choice. Owns an old shotgun she bought from a farmer on her travels.

•Raven refers to herself as a she, but does not mind being called they/them.

•She uses her own feathers as writing quills sometimes.

•She tends to try to run a quick diagnosis for health on every new person she meets. Carries a bag full of potions, salves and herbs just in case she senses illness.

#original character #Oc #oc character #oc artwork #oc lore #oc cosplay

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phoenix-manga · 3 years

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Ottilie Character Headcanons:

Ottilie lives in the Rose Kingdom, her parents are both professors of a school that teaches philosophy and mathematics. The entire family is an odd bunch, always living by philosophy and would all quote odd poetry that doesn’t make much sense to others other than themselves.

Her family may be a bit odd but they are well respected for having so many students to sign up for their classes and getting good grades. They are also of nobility so they are always invited to gatherings and parties.

Her unique magic is called, “Shroomy Sprout”, by touching a patch of dirt, she can grow mysterious mushrooms with a variety of effects, every mushroom always changes from every little thing she does such as what food she ate, how she felt and even if she feels a bit ill. The mushrooms don’t stay there for long and will disappear in a puff of smoke after 10 minutes if not used.

She is influenced by their poetry that she has gained an interest in all things whimsical and strange. She even has collected books with a variety of genres but all have something whimsical about them.

Her pet is a Hickory Horned Devil Caterpillar that she named Squeaks due to the squeaking noises it makes. She has a terrarium purse which is a strong, transparent container that holds a mini garden in it for her caterpillar to be in, she dislikes leaving it alone so she always has it on her person. If she can’t carry the container around then she keeps Squeaks hidden in one of her pigtails, which sometimes freak people out to see a big bug wriggling about a girl’s locks.

She likes all manner of bugs but her favorites are the ones that have eyespots on them, she always gets into staring contests despite knowing those are fake.

Though raised in a house by two genius professors as parents, she can have her airhead moments by saying a quote that leaves everyone confused as to what she meant. She can agree to shenanigans that seem interesting although most of the time she declines.

She may have the typical ojou-sama personality, has proper manners and etiquette though her whimsical mannerisms are often mixed in, but she can’t read the atmosphere sometimes and ends up making things confusing or awkward. But she is helpful when it comes to studying, all her mind-blowing way of phrasing often get stuck in someone’s head, her parent’s tutoring her also contributed to that. She definitely would be one of those who would say mind blowing things like “Why call them apartments when they’re built together?”.

She will probably end up eating weird things in the forest if left by herself, she can’t help but want to eat something very colorful, so someone always has to stop her before anything happens. Always says that she is doing it for discovery, no honey, the medical books states that is NOT edible, you don’t need to discover if it can kill you or not!

Though a lot of her friends and relatives thought she’d be a professor like her parents, she actually wants to make fragrances in the future. She has a home-made pipette that she brought from home to make a variety of scents and fragrances. Her side of the room always has a lot of scented things kept in boxes, candles, perfume, paper, incense sticks and many more.

Whenever she makes a fragrance, she always has colorful smoke swirling around her, sometimes she can make fragrances that can make shapes from the smoke when used. That’s because she incorporates her magic and magical herbs into them.

Ottilie once experienced the cruelty of nature when she released a wild rabbit she fostered when it was injured, just a few meters away a Hawk flew down and snatched it. She cried for a week and even made a crude drawing of the rabbit and placed it on a fake grave her parents made just to make her feel better. Her parents won’t let her live it down and would always tell guests and friends about it, Ottilie is embarrassed from being reminded.

#dca #diamond crown academy #dca headcanons #headcanon #ottilie phosia #twst oc #twst #twisted wonderland oc #twisted wonderland

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fasterthanmydemons · 4 years

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🍍🍎🍇🍐 (murder-popsicle)

@murder-popsicle

🍍 : how comfortable is my muse in their body? how do they feel about their height, weight, strength, and body type? how important is being attractive to them?

As far as height, weight, muscle mass, and general appearance, Pietro likes his body. He knows he looks good and likes that fact, heh. At least... on a superficial and immediately noticeable level. If one looks deeper, they’ll see literal scars that bother him a great deal. He has a number of scars on his back from punishments he received while at the Hydra lab, and his right hand is scarred from having a pocket knife forced through it when he was around fourteen while trying to steal food, and from the I.V. port Hydra put into the back of it. He’s ashamed of these scars because he thinks they make him look damaged, and if he looks damaged, then he must be damaged. In an AU after he survives the events of Ultron, add ten or eleven bullet wounds into the mix, one of which went right through that same, already damaged hand. Now he’s got scars on his legs, arms, chest... everywhere. It’s... a blow to his ego, certainly. Pietro doesn’t want to look weak, damaged, compromised, etc. Nor does he want to be ugly. He’s an extrovert who loves attention, but the kind of stares and attention he gets from people looking at his scars makes him want to hide. Pietro thrives on attention, so anything that makes him want to hide himself is something that’s going to really bother him.

🍎 : how stable is my muse’s mental health? have they been diagnosed with any mental illnesses and / or conditions? do they have any undiagnosed mental illnesses and / or conditions? do they or should they attend therapy?

Hmm... define “stable,” heh. He isn’t prone to nervous breakdowns, losing his mind, becoming delusional, or anything like that... like Wanda is. Wanda is prone to a lot of instability and volatility in her mental state. Pietro... is very stable with the proper support. As long as he has his sister, who is his world, and a support system of people who care about him, his parents or other Avengers or whoever, he’ll be okay. But in an AU where he loses Wanda, or in any AU in which he’s left alone to deal with his own emotional trauma, he falls into depression and suicidal thoughts very easily. So I would say he’s overall not totally stable, but it’s a different kind of instability than his sister’s. Wanda’s I would call volatile, while Pietro’s I would call fragile.

He’s never been formally diagnosed with any mental illnesses, but that’s because Pietro had never really seen any licensed doctors. Early on in his life, his parents took care of him and Wanda with a lot of holistic remedies for things, and mental health was dealt with as a whole rather than trying to tease apart things that might be wrong individually. He does have ADHD, PTSD (from his parents’ deaths, being trapped in rubble, the experiments, and being shot by Ultron), insomnia (partially due to his PTSD but also just because his metabolism is so high powered that it’s hard for him to keep a consistent sleep schedule), fear of abandonment (after his parents’ deaths and being rejected by several foster homes), and emotional co-dependency (on Wanda), but none of these things have ever been diagnosed by a psychologist, so he’s never had any therapy or counseling for them other than what Wanda provides.

🍇 : how would my muse describe their childhood? how much has it impacted the person they are now, or will become as an adult? around what age did they or will they start to mature, and why? do they wish to go back to their days as a child, or have they embraced adulthood?

Pietro liked his childhood, so he’d say it was really great, but Wanda being assaulted was the one event that marred it significantly. It made him feel like a terrible brother who had let her down, and so that was the root of him being overprotective of her. Also, seeing the way she was treated after and how people with her abilities were treated, it made him want to shield her from anything like that in the future. And that whole mindset really shaped his life right up until his death in Ultron. He lived his life for Wanda 90% of the time, because he loved her more than anyone in the world and that’s what good brothers do. I think Pietro was still very immature right up until Ultron, but I feel like there’s immense potential for him to mature a lot in AUs where he survives. I think forgiving the Avengers (and at least learning to work alongside Tony) would be a major growth point and would help him let go of some of the anger from his past. Seeing Wanda train and go on mission by herself would also teach him that she can protect herself and that it’s okay if he’s not with her all the time. I think he would mature more and start living more of his life for himself if he saw that, but really... there would always be that part of him that would live for Wanda, no matter what.

🍐 : how intelligent is my muse overall? are they smarter than the average person, or less than? are they primarily self-taught, or did they acquire most of their knowledge in school? are they more street smart or book smart?

Pietro is actually very intelligent. He’s not quite as intelligent as Wanda, but he is above average. What holds him back is his ADHD which makes certain topics and skills difficult for him to learn, and his own pride, which tells him that if he can’t earn something as fast as Wanda or he can’t read something fast enough or he can’t focus long enough to learn something, then he must be dumb as a post. So it’s as much a mental block as it is an actual roadblock for him to overcome. Because of this, sitting down with books or listening to people lecture is never going to be the way that Pietro learns the best.

The twins never formally went to public school. They were taught by their parents, and really had an off-the-grid, heavily weighted towards survival and living with nature sort of life rather than being schoolchildren. So they learned much more by experience, getting out into the forest and learning about herbs, how to hunt, which mushrooms are edible, that sort of thing. It was a lot more experience-based, instinctual, and situational learning than just memorization and recall. Pietro learned incredibly well when he’s interested or when it involves a skill he’ll actually use, because then he forgets that he’s learning something and instead feels just like he’s living life. So hands-on, experience-based learning and being self-taught at many things through trial and error is how he learns best, so he is infinitely more street smart than book smart. Wanda is the exact opposite, heh. She learns well either way, but if Pietro is there to try something first, then she’ll hang back and watch him fail five times and learn the right way to do it, haha. Pietro rather, just gets out there and tries it until something clicks, heh.

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maximuswolf · 3 years

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How I Got Started With Herbs, The Hicks Family of Beech Creek, NC via /r/herbalism

How I Got Started With Herbs, The Hicks Family of Beech Creek, NC

Growing up, I was exposed to folk medicine, or home remedies. There were various cures for childhood illnesses that my mother, grandmother and great grandmother would recommend... local honey for allergies, sassafras tea for a cold... even a "root woman" spoken of in whispers. But, I was a fairly healthy kid, except for seasonal asthma. The asthma was a hereditary condition - most everyone in my family had it. My interest in wild plants began with edibles. As an early teen, I began collecting the Foxfire Books, field guides and books by Bradford Angier and Euell Gibbons. I'd find any excuse and take every opportunity to go hiking, fishing and foraging in the Blue Ridge Mountains of NC. I had spent most of my childhood in the coastal swamps region of NC and SC, the "low country", so my teens exploring the mountains became an almost daily adventure.

I suppose my real interest in medicinal plants began around the age of 15, when I made a terrible mistake.... I became a vegetarian. The books I was reading said this diet would lead to immaculate health and enlightenment. Unfortunately, it was not the right diet for a 6'4", lean at 190 lbs teenager. It ruined my health. The asthma grew worse, often leading to bronchial infections. I became weak, lethargic and often depressed. Now, I am in absolutely robust health, eating a diet that is based mainly on natural meats and fresh vegetables - more on that in a future post. But, suffice, to say, the vegetarian diet made me weak and sickly, culminating in a severe back injury. This began a search for herbs that might restore my health. I studied yoga and tai chi... that led to Chi Kung and Traditional Chinese Medicine... acupuncture and herbs. That didn't seem tot be the right path for me. I ended up with teachers and friends who were as diverse as Tom Lightwater, who taught me a great deal about adaptogens, herbs to prevent infections and herbs to support immunity as he was dying of AIDS.... to a scruffy little character who called himself Joshua and claimed to be "the last Watauga Indian".... this was Boone, NC in the late 1990s. As far as I understand, Josh was not Native American at all. He was a homeless guy who sold "poems" on King Street. But, he was a friend and he did know a bit about herbs. One winter, when I was coughing blood due to bronchitis, Josh scurried up to me and said, "You need to smoke the furry thing!", then hurried away. A bit later, he brought me dried mullein and told me how to use it. Josh may have saved my life that winter. Both men are gone now, and missed.

What really set me on the path of learning herbal medicine though, was the Hicks Family of Beech Mountain/Beech Creek. My mother's friendship with storyteller, Arville Hicks eventually led us up the long dirt road to Ray and Rosie's. There, we would spend many wonderful times. Ray and Rosie (Rosa) were up in years then; they became like grandparent's to me and often said, "you 'uns is just like family." We certainly felt the same, as we often spent holidays with them, especially Christmas Eve.. telling stories and singing songs by the wood stove. Ray was a famous storyteller of "Jack Tales" and "Grandfather Tales" by then. But, most of his life, he had supported his family in large part through "wildcrafting" - gathering herbs from the mountains and taking them to town to sell. Ginseng, goldenseal, angelica, blood root and galax were among the many wild plants they harvested.

Rosie was quite an herbalist. She was very pleased to teach us about herbs. Her herbal tradition came from her Scots-Irish and Cherokee heritage, and she was proud of it. She used to write the names and uses for herbs on the backs of paper plates and then put the fresh or dried herbs on each matching plate to instruct us. Often times, she would give my mother hours of instruction while I was out with Ted, their son, learning to identify the plants. Ted became one of the best friends I ever had... the kind you'd see at the grocery store and end up just chatting with for an hour about anything and everything. Ray was a character! He would weave tales and jokes, songs and riddles into most anything. They too, are all gone now and very missed.

Well, life takes one places and things never quite work out the way we expect. My health returned when I began to eat good, natural meat and fats again. I was much healthier at the age of 30 than I was at 20. I continued to learn about medicinal herbs, reading voraciously... spending time in the woods.. learning about plants. Now, I am back in the mountains of NC, with the Pisgah National Forest serving as my back yard.. paradise... surrounded by more herbs and mushrooms and beauty than I could ever quantify or record. Just out my door, I see bergamot/bee balm, dandelions, burdock, solomon's seal, false solomon's seal, jack in the pulpit, touch me nots, trilliums, blood root, angelica, seasonal mayapple and ramps, wintergreen, yarrow, ghost pipe, rishi, turkey tail and oyster mushrooms etc, etc,

Only after completing a Permaculture Design Course, an online Botany course and several Horticulture courses offered online through a state Agricultural Extension Service did I even think about taking any herbal instruction online. Since then, I have done several short courses from various teachers. That led me to decide that I would like to devote the rest of my professional life to using my knowledge of wildcrafting and herbs, horticulture and permaculture... I want to spend the rest of my working years growing, harvesting and processing herbs the right way - responsibly, ethically, ensuring potency and healthfulness - and sharing my knowledge with others. I also want to save rare plants from destruction and propagate them for the future.

A few months ago, I began the late Michael Moore's Southwest School of Botanical Medicine course. It is huge and comprehensive - well over 100 hours total. So, along with sharing my personal journey on this blog, my knowledge of plants and my formulas, I thought I might share my notes for the SWBM course. My hope is that it will encourage others and help them learn. That seems like a good starting place for a blog.

Read More https://southernappalachianherbs.blogspot.com/2020/09/how-i-got-started-with-herbs-hicks.html

Submitted November 09, 2020 at 03:22PM by SAHerbs- via reddit https://ift.tt/2JKxini

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armazeilor · 4 years

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SENSES & OTHER SPECIFIC HEADCANONS.

what does your muse smell like? if you drew a little closer you would be near enough to notice it, a scent just like the woodlands. like outdoor air, an earthy smell of firs and forests steaming after the heavy rain.

what do your muse’s hands feel like? supple, careful. particularly tentative, depending on the context. dextrous, calloused only slightly from handling the falx and daggers. a bizarre tingle if he’s been using magic—like static or a kind of warmth contained, startling, prickly yet not exactly painful.

what does your muse usually eat in a day? the menu changes with the seasons. berries, nuts, cheeses and honey, mushrooms and herbs or roots of all edible kinds. cured meats and slănină, though fish is generally easier to find. eggs, pickled vegetables and stews are a favourite, along with creamy garlic soups.

does your muse have a good singing voice? he’s fairly in-tune, but nothing extraordinary. find him when he thinks he’s alone, you’ll notice he hums to himself very often.

does your muse have any bad habits or nervous tics? generally he’s quite composed. does not have many specific physical tics (other than blowing strands of hair out of his eye); Horia’s bad habits stem mostly from his character. he will maintain steady, uncomfortable eye contact perhaps out of a need to assert some type of dominance. it might just be something that wizards do. frequently he will look as if he’s out of it, listening in, paying close attention to nothing in particular—a gust of wind combing through grasslands, the flap of starling’s wing flying in passing. also, his obnoxious eyebrow quirk. it’s basically second nature.

what does your muse usually look like/wear? imagine Gandalf the White, but Romanian (jk). he’s well dressed, by peasant standards—a plain traditional blouse (much like a tunic), bound at the waist with the leather chimir. white pants (ițari), opinci with strings tied up his calves in crisscross fashion to reach almost below the knee. hooded cloak upon his back and falx at wizard’s waist, perhaps the only two things giving him away, at a glance, so recognised the white cape has become as symbol of solomonari, of pagans.

is your muse affectionate? how much? how so? he is, despite how he may come across. it’s quite a strange thing to behold, the taming of a feral thing. it’s very unintentional when he does actually slip, the spellbound look upon his face or maybe the softness, the kind gestures he does unthinkingly. he goes out ‘undercover’ as he calls it, dressed like a commoner he visits markets; finds that he’s bought perhaps an extra trinket, picked up a woodland flower to tuck behind your ear. he’s a little bashful, a little goofy, a waver there almost unnoticed in confidence ‘till then unscathed. he acts like he’s not interested in whatever regular people are up to, but he’ll be interested in you; in what you think, in what you do, however he’s very much restricted still so his love language is pretty lackluster. give the boy a break. :(

what position does your muse sleep in? sprawled out usually, he always fell down to the floor when he was younger. most often he’s on his stomach.

could you hear your muse in the hallway from another room? probably, yeah. his laughter’s awfully contagious, and also he can whistle, loud as a freakin’ shepherd.

TAGGED BY: @naireach ( thank you!! this was so much fun! ) TAGGING: @eternalwhite, @empireofdacia

#;;dash games

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peace-coast-island · 4 years

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Diary of a Junebug

Mushroom picking, foraging, and getting in touch with nature

Today’s the kind of day that’s perfect for mushroom picking. The forest is full of them! It’s been kinda overgrown with mushrooms for a while so I figured, why not make an event out of it?

Joining me and Daisy Jane on this little outing are Shara and Francesca. Shara’s teaching her new apprentice the basics of making potions so along with hunting for mushrooms, we’re foraging for herbs and berries. Nothing like digging our hands into the earth to get in touch with nature.

It’s amazing what a couple days away from a monotonous setting can do to your mindset. With each passing day, Daisy Jane’s starting to look more like herself, scribbling in her sketchbook like there’s no tomorrow. I really hopes she considers my offer to move into the cabin. Not only it’ll be nice to have her around, but she’ll feel a lot more at home here than in Neptunia or stuck out in the middle of the road.

Shara and Francesca arrived at the camp late last night so we could get an early start today. Francesca’s a magician who specializes in illusions and psychological manipulation. She had a falling out with her mentor, who put her through a lot of shit she didn’t sign up for when she became his apprentice.

Despite that bad experience, she still has an interest in magic and pretty much got everything she wanted out of her current area of expertise. So Francesca turned to witchcraft - an area of magic that her people tend to look down on. Along with genuinely having an interest in witchcraft, she chose to study it out of spite - a surprisingly good motivator that brings results.

Given how her mentor had shady motives and ethics, I think Francesca made the right call. Throwing yourself in the line of fire’s not something to be taken lightly, especially if it means throwing away everything you worked so hard for.

Since foraging and mushroom hunting isn’t really my forte, Goldie is taking the lead for this event. Goldie’s well versed in all things nature so she’s the one I turn to when I need an extra paw. Now that I think about it, Goldie’s basically my assistant. I mean, we’ve known each other for years back in Wizpire and she was the first villager who showed up to the campsite, so it makes sense that she’d be my right hand girl.

There’s something so whimsical about mushrooms that makes me feel like I’m living in a cottage deep in the woods. Digging my hands into the rich soil brings me back to my childhood, playing in the backyard without a care in the world. I’ll admit that it doesn’t really feel the same - to be honest I’m not too crazy about having dirt underneath my nails these days - but it’s nice to do something that once brought you joy as a kid.

While harvesting mushrooms near a patch of wildflowers, Daisy Jane started making flower crowns for everyone. She’s been into making flower hair accessories lately, a refreshing change from the art block she’d been experiencing these past few months.

Like I said, being here at the camp has done wonders for her mind. At this rate, she’s gonna fill her sketchbook by the end of the week - which is a very good sign! Yup, she should definitely pack her bags and leave Neptunia for good. Be like Francesca and get the hell outta there.

I hope Daisy Jane takes to heart what Francesca said about not wasting time with people who won’t respect you. I’ve had my share of people who pushed me around and overstepped their boundaries. I hate conflict and confrontation so I try to avoid them but there are times when I should’ve fought back instead of acting like a doormat. It’s still something I struggle with, but for the most part I know when to leave if I’m not respected.

It’s nice to see Shara again, this time under happier circumstances. She’s been keeping tabs on Theda, Lala, and Delwyn and they’re all coping in their own ways. I still can’t believe Edvin’s gone. It just doesn’t feel right without him. He should be out here with us picking mushrooms, strumming a cheerful tune on his guitar, picking wildflowers with Daisy Jane, and fishing in the river.

Theda would’ve joined us but she and Lala are in Newmoorvalley visiting family. They’ve been spending a lot of time together, it seems. Shara also invited Delwyn but he rarely leaves his house these days so it was a long shot. On one hand, life must go on, but on the other, who can blame him? After all, he and Edvin were more than just friends - hell, they were more than soulmates.

It’s a good thing the forest’s full of mushrooms so Shara can take a couple baskets to Camellia for Theda, Lala, and Delwyn. Maybe I’ll try drying mushrooms so we can have mushroom powder and tea. Not exactly sure how the process of making powder and tea work so it’ll be a fun learning experience!

So the edible mushrooms are for cooking and potion making while the non-edible ones will be used to make furniture and clothing. Dom and Raymond have set up a station at the camp so we can look up to see which mushrooms are which and sort them accordingly. That chart they spent the past two days putting together is a life-saver!

Now that I think about it, we should really start making a database on fungi, bugs, plants, gyroids, and fish found in the camp. Probably should’ve done it sooner but better late than never, especially now that we’re more familiar with the campground. I should make a note of this in my to-do list to bring up at our monthly campfire meeting next week.

Plucking herbs, picking berries, and digging up mushrooms - sometimes all you have to do is get down on your knees and become one with the earth. Well, not literally lie in the dirt unless that’s what you wanna do, but at least take off your socks and shoes and stand on the bare earth. I don’t know why, but I feel at peace - something about grounding yourself, I guess. Sounds weird, but it works.

We’ve got a pretty good haul with far more than enough mushrooms to last us for a while. There’s still a lot more we have yet to pick but we’re gonna call it a day. Besides, we were running out of baskets as well as space to put all the mushrooms. Plus we gotta set up the camp for tomorrow as Shara and Francesca are gonna teach us how to make potions with mushrooms, berries, and herbs.

#animal crossing #animal crossing pocket camp #Diary of a Junebug #headcanon ramble

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herenortherenearnorfar · 5 years

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The Development of Farming in Middle-Earth

An agricultural revolution is driven by multiple factors. Time is one of them, as is location, as is necessity. Therefore I would argue that Valinor lacked a farming culture and that large swathes of farming technology were innovated later, in the First Age and beyond.

First let’s establish that the Calaquendi were not farmers. Tolkien’s own anti-tech sensibilities, the emphasis within the text on farming and forests, and the presence of powerful nature spirits who would make the need for fields and crops redundant all suggest a more garden/foraging based society. Since Yavanna, Ulmo, Oromë can create food (plants, animals) they could eliminate the pressures (overhunting, hunger) that led to the advent of grain agriculture in the real world. They would also have motive to stick with a more hunter-gather society, since mono-crop farming and animal rearing would contradict Yavanna’s pro-tree agenda and Oromë’s interest in preserving the wild. And although elves have a bread-culture this doesn’t necessarily mean that they cultivated wheat-- wild grains like millet and barley were used by hunter-gathers to create flatbreads. Lothlorien, which is mostly forested, and wild Doriath also created bread, meaning that the presence of bread isn’t a sure indicator of big farming.

This doesn’t mean Valinorean elves wouldn’t understand animal domestication and plant cultivation; just that they wouldn’t need to engage in these activities on a wide scale. We know from the text that elves keep dogs and horses, but we don’t get a lot of insight into their cattle raising, for example (there are extant elvish words for bull, but most other cow related words are from Gnomish or other early language iterations). The presence of weaving suggests that they may have bred woolly sheep (there is a Quenya word for sheep) but shepherding and sheep flocks aren’t mentioned until descriptions of the early Hadorians. For people with the ability to learn animal-speech keeping free range sheep would be much more feasible than for humans, allowing for a more flexible “hands off until shearing time” sheep relationship. Out of respect for Oromë, hunting seems to have taken over animal husbandry as a major source of protein.

(This also ties into a theory of mine that elves are largely lactose intolerant past childhood. Without herding it’s hard to develop those enzymes.)

The same is true of plants. Valinorean elves probably experimented with plant hybridization and modification, kept private gardens or orchards, and prided themselves on growing new varietals, but may not have kept large scale fields. What would be the need, when you can just throw some seed down on the grassland (at all times of the year no less- thanks lembas essay) and trust Yavanna to make it all work? When the woods are full of infinite food and you have the gods of sea creatures and land dwelling beasts on your side there isn’t the same food pressure that faced early humans in real life. Food is everywhere, all you need to do is nurture and collect it.

Of course not all elves were in Valinor. Middle-Earth elves would have developed certain technologies much faster than their more sheltered peers. At the same time, the Green-Elves of Ossiriand are noted to resent “hewers of trees and hunters of beasts” so they definitely weren’t clearing fields left and right. In fact, let’s split the Moriquendi up into groups based on location, to get a better sense of their respective farming styles.

In Doriath was Melian, who has the potential to fulfill a Yavanna-like role as a forest nurturer. Again, you have to put less effort in when there’s a goddess on your side. The elves of Doriath were noted woodmen and hunters, and their descendants in the Greenwood and Lothlorien seem to have favored similarly naturalist approaches. Forest gardening isn’t out of the question. However two facts stand out. One: Menegroth was underground. This means that they had the potential to develop fungiculture (possibly developed with the help of dwarves). Two: prior to Morgoth’s awakening the elves of Doriath were less isolationist and wandered far. This means that they may have done some light plant propagation, moving seeds around and planting trees in more advantageous places. Your basic early Neolithic revolution behavior.

In Ossiriand were the Nandor, who again, valued their trees a lot. This means that they’re going to be less willing to clear land or practice field farming. They may have still engaged in forest gardening, like the people of Doriath, encouraging food plants to grow and cultivating oak trees, fruit orchards, edible vines and shrubs, mushrooms, wild herbs, and other forest friendly food.

Near lake Mithrim were Sindar elves who first met the Noldor. These are the most likely candidates for early field farming tech, since they had both deforested flatland and access to water sources. They’re also the most likely to have begun growing wild grains like wheat, barley, and millet.

The Falathrim is where things get interesting. We know that they kept “pools” in addition to their beaches and that they were dear to Ossë, an ocean Maia. This suggest a seafood based diet and the potential for pesciculture. Ancient forms of fish farming often worked in tandem with the sea and spawning habits of fish. Trenches would would be dug meeting the ocean, roe would be captured, and juvenile fish raised in fresh water. The Falathrim may have kept artifical tidal pools as well as raised fry. They may have also engaged in seaweed farming. The same goes for the Teleri across the sea, though again living in Valinor means that there’s much less need to stress over food. On Tol Eressea, seaweed farming and sea fishing will have proliferated, giving way to city gardens as the island population grew.

The Avari are the most open for interpretation. We don’t know what these mystery suitors were doing on the other side of the continent. The Avari are said to have been more primitive than the Noldor but let’s look at the source here-- we can’t trust a Noldor account to be honest. Context clues can help us make guesses, however. For example, humans showed up in the middle of the First Age with domestic sheep, horses, donkeys, and goats (thanks random detail about the Hadorians from HoME). That isn’t something you figure out in a few hundred years. Given that we know early humans interacted with the Avari it’s entirely possible that they learned animal husbandry from them as well. So the Avari may have kept these animals! At the same time it’s mentioned that the Beorians “had no beasts of burden” so whatever animal technology later humans picked up from the Avari it took them a while to master it.

Other technologies the Avari may have possessed include fungiculture (for they were long without the sun and preferred dark places), forest farming, and maybe some floodplain farming since many stayed near the lake where they originated.

Now once the Noldor Exiles hit Beleriand they would have had to shift their food production methods drastically. No longer surrounded by greater and lesser spirits they faced much a much more serious potential for famine. Furthermore, encounters with the Mithrim and Falathrim, and later the elves of Doriath and Ossiriand, will have introduced new principles of agriculture. The combination of Noldor GMO technology (nurtured in an open sandbox of innovation) plus more necessity based Beleriand techniques, likely paved the way for a new flourishing of agriculture. The regions many of Fingolfin and Feanor’s kin moved into-- flat lands and mountainous regions with less forest to worry about-- will have also helped develop a more robust farming culture.

They’re still elves so they’re going to be more hesitant to mess with nature but with the rise of the Noldor we’re more likely to see irrigation, fertilizer, and professional farming. Wild grains will have slowly become more domesticated. It’s mentioned in HoME that corn (grains) originated in Aman, were brought to Middle-Earth, but didn’t do well and was mostly kept by adherents of Yavanna (including some in Doriath, who grew grains in limited amounts in sunlit glades). There’s a sense that the elves have a lot of plants but are still figuring out what to do with them. Things they can grow: wild grasses, grapes (they have wine!), sturdy fruits and veggies willing to resist Morgoth.

Dwarves are hard to judge because we don’t get a ton of insight into their material culture. Sure they love mountains but where does their food come from? They like it but how? Where? Nevertheless, we can attribute to dwarves mountain terraces, fungiculture, and indoor agriculture using reflected sunlight. In fact, dwarves might have invented greenhouses, which would give them a foot over their peers in early post-Sunrise Middle Earth. The petty-dwarves cultivated some sort of root-vegetable so other dwarves likely did as well. They also probably made big strides in pony-breeding, goat rearing, and some other types of animal husbandry.

Finally, the humans arrive. Now the agricultural innovations of non-Beleriand humans are really hard to judge. We know that they were big farmers within a few thousand years though, which again suggests some Avari help. In the east irrigation and complex water retention would have developed most quickly. They probably also further developed grain farming (important for a fast reproducing population) and your basic river valley techniques (flood control, fertilizer, plant breeding) within a fairly short time frame. Again, the Avar and non-Atani humans really don’t get the credit they deserve for speed running civilization without divine interference.

Onto the Beleriand humans who we do know about. The Haladin had independent homesteads by Haleth’s time, a practice that’s pretty hard to maintain (early agricultural was communal for a reason). The Hadorians had animal husbandry. The Beorians were quick to take to farming and willing to learn from elves. All of this suggests an adaptable, innovative farming culture which might be a little more garden focused than medieval Europe but was still plenty productive.

After the fall of Beleriand we meet even more humans. In Numenor sheep were kept, for example, in addition to various crops. Corn of Aman origin were favored and the Numenoreans spread these more developed grains across the world, leading to better farming for all men. Widespread field agriculture developed in Arnor and Gondor. Milk was drunk among herding cultures and farming cultures (both Rohan and Gondor were probably full of milk drinkers), making animal farming more profitable. Cows are widespread by the period of LoTR, as are chickens, goats, cheese, and plants like tomatoes and potatoes. Beekeeping is also present in the Shire, suggesting that beekeeping has developed over the past few millenia.

The Woses, a more woodland based group, favored forest farming and cave living. Other human groups followed their lead, remaining more forest based until Numenor came and ripped their forests up. Numenorean imperialism in general can be seen as a force for field based farming, destroying earlier forest models. And exception would be in the far East, where again, humans seem to have figured things out on their own.

Later elven groups include Silvan and Sindar communities (more likely to favour forest living) and Noldor communities (more likely to have cities, gardens, and some fields though not on a human scale.) Very late elf enclaves like Rivendell may have combined rooftop gardening with forest cultivation.

All this probably sounds like a load of nonsense so I’ve summed up the development of Middle Earth farming in a few easy notes.

Who Invented What?

Planting seeds and then harvesting them was recognized by all elf groups, roughly simultaneously

Gardens were invented by the Amanyar, Teleri (all groups), and Avari, later spread everywhere

Food forests were invented by the Nandor and Sindar, later practiced by the Woses and other human groups as well as Silvan/Sindar elves

Grain farming was invented by the Mithrim and Amanyar then later perfected by the Easterlings and Numenoreans

Organic Fertilizer was invented by the Nandor and later preferred in human settlements

Mass fertilization and nitrogen fertilizer was invented by the Noldor exiles and sometimes used in Numenor

Chemical fertilizers and pollution were invented by The Forces of Darkness

Greenhouses were invented by the dwarves and Exile Noldor, later used in parts of Arnor and Gondor

Irrigation was developed by the Mithrim then further developed by the Noldor and friends. It was also practiced by the Avari and Easterlings

Fungiculture was invented by the dwarves and Avari, then later shared with the Sindar

Pesciculture was invented by the Teleri (all groups)

Seaweed farming was invented by the Falathrim and elves of Tol Eressea

Terrace farming was invented by the dwarves and later practiced by elves and humans

Horse riding is just about universal

General animal husbandry was invented by the Amanyar and Avari, later embraced by all humans

Raising animals for meat was developed by the Avari and later passed on to humans

Raising animals for milk is entirely on humans

GMO plants were invented by the Amanyar, improved on by combined elves of Beleriand, and dabbled in by Numenoreans. Also the Avari and Easterlings probably had them to some extent but who knows because we don’t have enough info on them.

#long post #rambling #The Silmarillion #jrr tolkien #farming

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shepherds-of-haven · 5 years

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World building question here! Whats a typical meal for each of the races? Or does everyone eat more or less the same and its all a matter of geography? (Communities living by the coast eat more fish, for example) 💗💗💗

Hi there! So post-Castigation, food is much more regional than it is racial: in the center of the Continent (called the Central Territories), they tend to eat hearty foods and lots of meat and grains, as this is the heartland of farming and agriculture. In the Southern Crescent, which faces many tiny island-nations across the sea, they tend to incorporate lots of exotic fruits, spices, and imports into their food. In the west, particularly in the Damba Plains (the grassland that the MC traveled through to get from Brunen to Haven), it’s more of a savannah peppered by nomadic tribes and villages who subsist largely on hunting, so lots of hare, bison, etc., and non-perishable items (or hardtack) bought from the traveling caravans that frequently pass through.

To the east, towards the coast and the Banteen Sea (also known as the Sea of Plenty), seafood and fish, often served in delicate broths or with something sweet to offset the brine in the air are favored. Finally, to the northern region, which is heavily forested until it hits the frozen lands, spicy and bitter foods–particularly stews or things that can be heated constantly and slowly over a fire–are common.

However, each race does have traditional dishes and that still persist and are sold by vendors or restaurants specializing in that specific cuisine (there are restaurants that serve exclusively Ket food, say). Below are some examples of what this cuisine might be like:

Elves: Elven food is generally comprised of food that can either be foraged or hunted. Fruit, wild berries, edible leaves and fragrant herbs are extremely common, as are nuts and wild meat like elk, deer, and rabbit. The Elves did not have agricultural or domesticated animals (for food) for a long time, so wheats, grains, and processed or fermented food wasn’t common in their diet. Some common dishes include peya (an edible leaf stuffed with nuts, berries, herbs, and spiced cheese, now sometimes baked with a small hand bread) and vytas, a kind of honey-fruit drink. Their cuisine (because they had so much time to perfect it) has a lot of bright, colorful, vivid flavors that shy away from being overwhelming but appreciate the natural state of the food (think of like… farm-to-table kind of food?) Freshness and mindfulness is valued over all!

Hunters: Due to the cold climate they typically live in, Hunter dishes are often indiscriminately spicy or powerful (to warm the blood). They often eat tubers and roots that resist the constant frost underground (including fireroot, which, as you might guess, is EXTREMELY spicy) and lots of meat and invigorating herbs/peppers to sustain themselves, often hunting a blubbery mountainous animal called a hakka for its pelt and meat. (It’s partly because of the often-monotonous Hunter diet that Halek is interested in becoming a chef.)

Ket: Ket food is diverse but not rich enough to upset the stomach–it’s Ket philosophy to have enough food to feel full, but not so much that it makes you indolent and slow, so savory food is favored over things with cream/dairy or sugar. Ket food can vary from simple meals of fried eggs over roast meat and vegetables to more elaborate dishes of steamed mushrooms and uncured sausages served in bone broth, to in-between things like mutton stew (Blade absolutely hates it) to rice and grilled silverfin (fish) to coarse dark bread, dried meat, and nutty cheese. Their culture has a mix of hunting and agriculture and fishing, but one type of protein is expected at every meal (otherwise you’re either malnourished or poor).

Mages: Mage food is the antithesis of Ket food, often gunning for an experience and to titillate the senses and wow the palate. Confections that dissolve on your tongue, rich and creamy foods, and particularly textural foods meant to delight are prominent: fizzy drinks, frothed soup, meals that turn you hot and cold are quintessential Mage dishes. You may not leave full, but you will leave impressed. Common meals might include tomato butter and hollow bread, roast eel and flaming “dragon tongue” (a kind of rare root), delicate sea urchin cream cheese in a chilled cucumber soup, and cuts of blackened steak dressed in a sweet-savory sauce.

Norms: Depending on class, Norm food can go from plain and hearty--potatoes and chicken are extremely common, as are sandwiches with slices of cured meat and vegetables--to even more ridiculous and outlandish than Mage food (cream puffs filled with rose essence, candied nuts, braised beef stuffed into pasta shells and folded into shapes). The Norm upper class is now the only ones with the time to experiment with long-to-process food like that, but in general the Norm populace sticks to what it knows best: produce that comes from a society made rich through farming and agriculture. Cabbage, potatoes, beef, and chicken are all prominent, as they are the easiest resources to replenish, and it’s often said that a Norm will roast anything provided he has a stick and a heat source--including himself. Some Norms are vegetarian depending on the communities/regions they come from, and food often veers from simple to very salty (a necessity in making food last if you’re out on the frontier with a caravan not coming for months).

Thanks for the great question!

#Shepherds of Haven #worldbuilding #food #foods #diets #cuisine #how fun!

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travellingczechia · 6 years

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Ekologický Záhradnictví (Gardening, cooking, and generally living green in the Czech Republic)

(above: some herbs and garlic on my host family’s kitchen counter.)

HERE’S something I’ve been meaning to write about for awhile: environmentalism in the Czech Republic, and in Europe in general.

Now, the Czech Republic doesn’t have the eco-friendly reputation that some European countries like France or Austria do. However, from the perspective of someone from the US, the lifestyle is still a LOT greener. Here are some differences I’ve noticed:

1. Transportation. Mainly, public transportation. For a city of 100,000 people, České Budějovice has a remarkably convenient and efficient bus network, one vastly superior to the one in my home city of over 800,000. The whole country is well connected by trains (yeah, there are delays sometimes, but it’s better than nothing) so I could travel to any city in the country or even abroad for a pretty low price. South Bohemia also has fantastic bicycling paths, which in many cases are as well marked and maintained (if not better) as the roads.

Speaking of roads, Czechs don’t like to drive. So when possible, they make use of all these public services, as well as private bus lines. (Also, shoutout to neighboring Slovakia, which provides free train service for students. Good idea Slovakia.)

(above: some vegetable leavings in the compost box.)

2. Waste

Czechs are so, so diligent about how they handle waste. With a few exceptions, almost every Czech household I have been in has sorted out plastic, paper, and biodegradeables. Even when a household doesn’t have its own compost, there is often a city-provided compost box to dump your stuff in. However, my second host family composted their own, and used the wonderfully rich soil in their garden.

Another way that Czechs (and Europeans in general) reduce waste is by simply not buying as much. Rather than always trying to be stocked up on everything and anything, they buy ingredients as needed. The only time this can result in a loss is with fresh bread. Almost no one eats packaged sandwich bread, bread is NEVER frozen, and so a fresh loaf often goes stale before it gets eaten. However, all my host families have then saved that bread, dried it out, and fed it to birds or given it to people they know with farm animals.

3. No electric dryer. I thought it would bother me, but honestly, I don’t mind at all hanging clothes outside (especially with my view now- spot the castle turret in the background.) In the winter, we hung our clothes on a rack next to the fireplace.

4. Gardening culture! This one is my favorite.

One of the very few pieces of information I picked up before coming to the Czech Republic was that Czechs like to garden. When I arrived in August this didn’t seem to hold true, but now that spring has come, it certainly does. Gardening just looks a little different here. Rather than rows of identical houses with a big green lawn and a large rectangular planter for colorful, decorative flowers, Czech gardens feel more practical. Many avid gardeners live in city apartments, and hold property elsewhere for gardening. For example, my host grandmother lives in a flat, but bicycles about half an hour to her garden near our house. This allows the garden to be much bigger than if it were tucked onto a city street.

And rather than filling planters with frilly, brightly colored seasonals, most Czech gardens I have seen have been mostly edible. (Don’t get me wrong, seasonal flowers are beautiful. But I personally like the Czech way better, because if I’m going to go to all the trouble of cultivating a plant, it’s much more rewarding to have something to eat in the end.) On their garden plots, Czechs grow cabbages, cucumbers, zucchini, sweet peppers, lettuce, potatoes, pumpkins, raspberries, blueberries, currant fruits, strawberries, and apples. They plant herbs and spices to use in the kitchen, and then they actually use them in the kitchen. (My family has a bay leaf plant in the living room. I had no idea what it was until my host mom told me to go get some of it for the soup.)

I recently read Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food, and it has given me a lot to think about. But I think many of his ideas would seem painfully obvious to a Czech grandmother. Pollan argues that gardening and preparing fresh food inevitably improves both the quality of what we eat and the impact we have on the environment. I am convinced, after reading his book and after helping in gardens here, that it would be a thousand times easier to make people care about soil and water quality and climate, if those people were paying attention to all those factors and how they affected the raspberries they wanted to put on their waffles.

This year in the Czech Republic, the winter was extremely mild and spring came early. Everything is blooming and becoming ripe a full month in advance. This is a big deal, because people expect to eat things when they are fresh. Last week, cherries became ripe, and I immediately noticed that every fifth person seemed to be carrying an enormous number of cherries down the street with them. Before that, it was strawberries. Soon, Czechs will go out to the forests to harvest blueberries, and in the fall, mushrooms.

(above: freshly picked mini-strawberries and some early forest blueberries on a poppyseed cake.)

I’ve found it difficult to express this observation of greater connection to nature to Czechs. Much of the younger generation, for one, doesn’t garden or forage, and isn’t nearly as interested in the seasons as their parents or grandparents. When I have gushed to older Czechs my admiration for the freshly cooked meals, the carefully tended gardens, the bakeries with cheap, whole grain bread, and the composts, their reactions are generally along the lines of, “um... thanks?” To most Czechs I’ve spoken to, local, unprocessed food isn’t some kind of hipster luxury- it’s just what makes the most sense. That isn’t to say that Czechs don’t import pineapples year round or eat processed things, they definitely do. But there is a recognition that what is better for the environment is also healthier and tastier. I firmly believe that, for the long-term health of the planet, that is a subtle culture difference which matters.

5. Forests. Disclaimer: Slovaks will laugh at me for being impressed by Czech forests. Also, I googled “Czech forests” to find statistics for this post, and this was one of the first results: http://www.radio.cz/en/section/panorama/environmentalists-ringing-alarm-bells-over-ailing-czech-forests

That said, the World Bank estimated that in 2015 34.5% of Czech land was forest, and that percentage is increasing. Numbers aside, Czech forests are great because they are accessible. Trails are numerous and well marked. Every castle I have visited- and there are many, many castles- have at least a small woods around them which someone living in the castle used as hunting grounds at some point. It is never difficult to get to the woods, living in South Bohemia. That is something I appreciate a lot, not just for the climate benefits.

#forests #czech forests #czech republic #june #travel

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