elderberry's role
Elderberry prompted me write on Substack. Elderberry is our music tree and it grows here on the Central Coast of California and into Mexico. She is very important to me and so many relatives. She is our heartbeat.
For me, its been hard to have a consistent relationship but we always reconnect – elderberry and me. Elderberry offering her branches and flowers for bees, hummingbirds, all the birds and keeping us connected. So when any of us sing or clap with our clappers we can all heal a little bit. The soothing humming from the birds and the bees encouraging our life.
I think Cecilia Garcia was the first one to talk to me about it. Of course, it was everywhere growing up, I just didn’t know how to identify it. I learned this, when I returned home to live, 15 years after I left in 1999. While I was away, relatives taught me about elderberry and clapper sticks. When I returned, suddenly she showed herself to me everywhere - and I mean everywhere.
I walked in this new area that the county opened up, on the North side of Orcutt, after you go down the Bradley dip (you know the dried up creek bed where Bradley road dips). When I returned in 2014, I walked out there and out there the coastal sage, mugwort, soap plant, scrub oaks, black sage and elderberry greeted me.
I saw it growing on the side of the road. The healthiest fattest one grew out of San Luis Creek, downtown, when you go over that one road bridge that goes over the creek, before the Japanese tea garden. Tilhini offering us all of the blessings from Gram-mama Moon.
Later, I learned - and who told me this… hmmm maybe from the notes. My goodness I am so sad I do not remember who told me.
Later, I learned that a baby’s first bath would be from elderberry flower. Pretty important practice, our baby’s first bath. Our elderflower right there to greet us in our first bath on this side of life.
I have more to write and I have more to say about elderberry and other relatives. You will find me exploring my creative writing here, while I write my dissertation, too. The plants nourish us and take care of us when we nourish and take care of them. I hope to write a little bit about our caretaking relationships right here on Writeress.
Special Thanks to Native American Studies at UC Davis and Elderberry work in the Sustainable Ag and Education Program at UC Ag and Natural Resources.
