Diario de samsavage

During the week, I went on a quick walk and stumbled upon a stunning common lilac in Homer, Alaska. It was fairly easy to find, as it lives on my little property here in Homer. It was a sunny day with a gentle wind, around 54 degrees.

Scientifically known as “Syringa Vulgaris," this lilac was originally native to the Balkan Peninsula (1), but now it flourishes throughout Alaska due to our cold temperatures and coastal areas. If you’re lucky enough to be near a lilac, you will enjoy its magnificent blooms in late spring, where assuming there are not too many frosts, it will continue to flower through early summer (2). This particular lilac is massive, standing at 11 feet tall and at least 22 feet in diameter. Although it has no buds left now that summer is coming to an end, I can still imagine how grand it looked with them, and the scent was simply heavenly!

This gigantic lilac is a great resource for bees and adds to the beauty of the landscape. In the past, people have used lilac leaves as an astringent or face wash, and even taken them internally as a de-wormer(3)! Presently, man continues to use lilac in some natural beauty products, and also to flavor honey, sugars, food, and other sweets (1).

Since the lilac was such a familiar sight from my childhood in Belgium and England, it reminds me of my fondest childhood memories. Back then, the buds signaled the excitement of the upcoming summer. This enormous lilac provides a sense of belonging for me in this wonderful little town of Homer, Alaska.

(1) "Syringa Vulgaris." Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 16 Aug. 2023, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syringa_vulgaris. Accessed 8 Sept. 2023.
(2) "Lilacs in the Alaskan Landscape." Alaska Master Gardeners, unknown revision date, www.alaskamastergardeners.org/lilacs.html#:~:text=Lilacs%20can%20be%20a%20wonderful,available%20in%20local%20Alaskan%20nurseries. Accessed 8 Sept. 2023.
(3) "History, Culture and Uses of the Lilac: Syringa Vulgaris." Dave's Garden, unknown revision date, davesgarden.com/guides/articles/history-culture-and-uses-of-the-lilac-syringa-vulgaris. Accessed 8 Sept. 2023.

Sitka Spruce are common in Southcentral Alaska (within Alaska, Sitka Spruce can be found in a narrow strip along the Pacific coast), but not so common in the lower 48 (“Sitka Spruce”), in coming across this magnificent tree, I was struck by how something that is common where I live, and uncommon in places many other Americans live bolstered my sense of place and pride in where I am. It lends, surprisingly, to a sense of belonging.

The Sitka Spruce is the Alaska state tree, apart from its modern-day uses for lumber and pulpwood, it was used by Natives historically as a source of vitamin C, with the inner bark being used as a laxative. The roots were used for ropes, fishing lines, and twine to sew boxes and baskets (“Tree Book”).

On this blustery, wet day, I’m struck by how well Native Alaskans used every portion of flora and fauna they harvested from the land, including this beautiful spruce. While it seems obvious they would determine they could use the wood to make fires and build structures, determining the tree had a medicinal purpose, AND deciding they could also use the roots for basket weaving is, in my opinion, one of the many remarkable things that separate Native Alaskans from the colonizers. As I develop my sense of place, I hope to aspire to carry this ethos through my own days, to consider how I am using the resources that are so plentiful here in the interest of conservation and waste avoidance.

Citations

Sitka Spruce: Harris, A. (n.d.). Sitka Spruce. US Dept of Agriculture Forest Service. Retrieved September 15, 2023, from https://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/misc/ag_654/volume_1/picea/sitchensis.htm#:~:text=Native%20Range,in%20northern%20California.

Tree Book: Parish, R. (1994). Tree book: Learning to recognize trees of British Columbia. Canadian Forest Service.

Title: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/183702677
As I walked along the Homer Spit, enjoying the unusually still and warm. I saw many clusters of American Dune Grass, and it reminded me of the perseverance we need to survive our own life difficulties. The grass grows from seemingly inhospitable places, much like we must grow from difficult situations in our lives.
This grass is found in sandy coastal regions of North America and Asia, particularly in sand dunes along the Pacific Coast from Alaska to California (“Leymus mollis”).
Native Alaskans used the tough leaves to weave mats, baskets, ropes, and other items, while the thick roots were used as a sponge for washing (“Leymus mollis”). Having experienced how steadfast these little shrubs hold on to their sandy homes, I’m struck by how difficult it would have been to harvest these grasses for weaving. Those “tough leaves” we read about in scientific journals lead to tough roots!

I learned while reading through Alaska Ethnobotony, that in the early 1900s, the baskets made by Native Alaskans became popular in trade. The Yup'ik people of of western, southwestern, and southcentral Alaska began trading baskets as a commodity in the late 19th century, coinciding with what Lee refers to as "the North American Indian basket craze of 1900-1910." The sales of baskets also increased during the gold rush of the 1890s when outsiders started coming in. Despite being isolated, records show that baskets made by the Yup'ik were shipped to Nome and other seaports during the late 1800s and early 1900s (“Alaska Ethnobotony”). We were far from using FedEx during that time, but it demonstrates the usefulness of baskets made from this sturdy grass!

Citations

Leymus mollis: (n.d.). Leymus mollis american dune grass. Seven Oaks Native Nursery. Retrieved September 14, 2023, from https://www.sevenoaksnativenursery.com/native-plants/grasses-rushes-and-sedges/leymus-mollis

Alaska Ethnobotony: "Beachgrass Basket." Alaska Ethnobotony, 14 Sept. 2023, alaskaethnobotany.community.uaf.edu/beachgrass-basket-rachel-liester/. Accessed 14 Sept. 2023.

The Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) is a site to behold! On a clear and quiet evening in Homer, this massive bird came up from a thicket of raspberry bushes with the a silence that marveled me. A modern analogy might be when one steps out in a parking lot, only to nearly be hit by a silent electric vehicle! There was nothing, then there was this magnificent creature.

While the Northern Goshawk can be found throughout much of Alaska, a sighting such as this was a lucky break as their habitat is normal densely forested areas. (“Northern Goshawk”) The goshawk feeds primarily on birds and small mammals like grouse, snowshoe hares, rabbits, and even snakes. It is believed they mate for life, and the male provides most or all of its mate’s food while the female is preparing to lay eggs. When chicks are born, the male continues to bring food, and the female feeds the young. ("Northern Goshawk Accipiter Gentilis.")

I can’t help but grow excited, learning that in Native shamanic traditions, the Goshawk is seen as a messenger from the spirit world (“Goshawk Spiritual Meaning”). I had been considering where to place my late father’s ashes, and here comes this majestic being that in Native tradition, according to Kristin Hawkins (“Goshawk Spiritual Meaning”) is “believed to be a guide for souls on their journey to the afterlife”. Reading through the “Goshawk Spiritual Meaning”, I also learned that in Native culture, the goshawk symbolizes wisdom, strength, and power. After witnessing this magnificent creature, I am not surprised that these qualities are represented by such a bird.

Works Cited

Northern Goshawk: "Northern Goshawk." Alaska Department of FIsh & Tame, 22 Sept. 2023, www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=northerngoshawk.main.

Goshawk Spiritual Meaning: Hawkins, Kristen . "Goshawk Spiritual Meaning, Symbolism and Totem." Spirit Animals & Symbolism, 25 Sept. 2022, spiritanimalsandsymbolism.com/goshawk-spiritual-meaning-symbolism-and-totem/.

Northern Goshawk Accipiter Gentilis.: "Northern Goshawk Accipiter Gentilis." Audubon, 22 Sept. 2023, www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/northern-goshawk.

The Common American Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica). “Common”, a word with a tremendously negative connotation throughout my life, as in Britain, calling someone “common” is a horrible insult. As I learn more about this plant, those negative feelings don’t wane. While the word isn’t a slight to its poshness or lack thereof like it would be if used as an insult in Britain, this common hemp nettle deserves a negative connotation.

Known widely as “stinging nettle” owing to it’s ability to puncture flesh, this plant was in the throes of a slow death when I came across it on a sunny early fall day, but reading up on this plant considered a noxious weed in Alaska, I learned it will come back year after year as it spreads both by seed, and by rhizome fragments being moved from place to place through soil disturbances like plowing or ditch cleaning (Splitlip hempnettle). With each plant creating hundreds of seeds, it’s no wonder this plant is considered a noxious weed in Alaska.

A federal noxious weed is one considered by the United States Secretary of Agriculture as requiring regulatory action to prevent their introduction in spread in the United States (Federal Noxious Weeds of Significance to Alaska). Learning this, I can’t help but call to mind the reading I’ve been doing recently on the topic of Native Alaskan culture and tradition being criminalized by the United States government.

Unsurprisingly, this plant that is commonly regarded as a blight to an otherwise beautiful garden, Native Alaskans used to its fullest potential. Known partly for its medicinal qualities, treating tuberculosis, pleurisy, infections, hemorrhaging, and cancer, Native Alaskans made tea from the leaves and roots and successfully treated these serious medical conditions (Nettle; Stinging Nettle).

Works Cited

Federal Noxious Weeds of Significance to Alaska.: "Federal Noxious Weeds of Significance to Alaska." Noxious Weeds of Alaska, 28 Sept. 2023, noxiousweeds.open.uaf.edu/module-1-introduction/. Accessed 28 Sept. 2023.

Nettle; Stinging Nettle.: "Nettle; Stinging Nettle." Alutiiq Museum, 28 Sept. 2023, alutiiqmuseum.org/medicinal-plants/nettle-stinging-nettle. Accessed 28 Sept. 2023.

Splitlip hempnettle: "Splitlip Hempnettle." Alaska Center for Conservation Science, 28 Sept. 2023, accs.uaa.alaska.edu/wp-content/uploads/Galeopsis_bifida_BIO_GABI3.pdf. Accessed 28 Sept. 2023.