herbal plant walk

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This year's National Endowment for the Arts' Big Read sponsored locally by the YWCA and the Knox County Public Library is now underway.

Everyone is encouraged to read Bless Me, Ultima by Chicano author Rudolfo Anaya.

The novel takes place in New Mexico just after World War II and follows the coming-of-age of Antonio, the youngest son in the Márez family.

Along the way, young Tony meets Ultima, a "curandera" or herbal healer, who teaches him how to gather herbs and roots she uses for folk medicines.

As part of the month-long exploration of the book, I will be leading an herbal plant walk at Ijams Nature Center tomorrow at 2 PM. We will look for some of the plants used locally by Native Americans and our ancestors for medicinal purposes.

The program is free. To register, call Sheila at 577-4717, ext. 10.


Rabbit tobacco, a.k.a. sweet everlasting: leaves and flowers were once used in tea for sore throats and as a mild sedative.

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