Ahh yes, what does the name of the blog mean? In surprisingly the same alliterative ilk as Shanghai Shines, I was moved to name the blog after the cute little plant with a pink fluffy flower that is found in just about any disturbed area of forest, in open fields, and around the lakeshore. Mimosa pudica, also known as the sensitive plant, interestingly curls up its leaves in response to touch or nearby movement. Dormilona is most known as a sedative to treat insomnia. I'm planning on making a sleeping potion with it and hopefully some passionflower when the plant sprouts more leaves.
Much like the daze produced by drinking dormilona tea, I still feel like the life I live is very much a fuzzy dream. My most recent task has been to paint new identification placards for medicinal herbs and doing acupuncture treatments in between dryings. Most of the people I treat are acupuncture virgins so it's great fun to introduce them to the medicine. My favorite post-acupuncture reaction so far was from a Tico volunteer, Melissa when she sleepily said, Que rica!, a phrase often reserved for a delicious meal. My best advertising around here are the cupping marks I leave on people's shoulders and backs. They're always a conversation starter. I've also got the reputation now for helping people stop smoking, four in one week! I could have my own smoke out. I've also discovered the beauty of live music during an acupuncture treatment. During a session for a volunteer, another volunteer, Ian, played and sang during the treatment which was very soothing for me and the patient during the needling process. I think waiting rooms everywhere would be infinitely better with someone playing a bit of soft bluegrass or folk rock while you anxiously wait to see your doctor.
It's still pretty busy here at the Ranch, which is a good thing. We have a ton of volunteers at the moment and each comes with different goals for their time here. One woman, Leeann is here with her daughter Comaria and is getting more farming experience before she returns to the U.S. to start her own farm. Another recently married couple, PJ and Amy, are doing a bit of Central American travel before they return to the States to begin graduate school. A Canadian, Danielle, is on a yoga sabbatical in Costa Rica for an undetermined amount of time, going where the wind takes her. Jesse, after being laid off in Boston and not finding work, decided to travel, clear his mind, and reevaluate his priorities. There's really great energy at the Ranch which attracts guests and volunteers with equally great energy. It's hard not to get a little attached to the people we meet here. We being the "lifers" will see many people come and go. Such is life, but it's good practice for living in the present and enjoying the here, now. Pura Vida!
PS: Pictures are difficult to load so they will be coming the next time we get into Fortuna. Kisses!
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
What I do, in a nutshell
Three weeks in and things are still looking pretty good out here. We finally managed to get off the Ranch yesterday to go to Fortuna, the closest, largish town to do some errands. It's actually very easy to stay here on the Ranch and the bumpy 45 minute ride is enough to deter me from going into town often.
Recently I've begun the very physical job of cleaning out and replanting herbs in the medicinal gardens that have a major overgrowth of weeds due to neglect. Vegetable production and caring for the animals of course takes priority here. Although I have very little horticultural experience, I'm learning some very interesting techniques for propagating plants. For instance, did you know you can just plant sticks in the ground? Really, you can. I always thought you had to put cuttings in water so they could develop roots first. Apparently here, because it's so wet, we can just plop them in and wait for them to sprout. Well it's not actually that simple but it's pretty close. At the ranch, we have several agricultural engineers from Earth University. They recommend first cutting the young branches so that there are at least 3 nodes that will be planted in the ground. Cuts are made diagonally so that water cannot collect on the top of the cutting and promote fungal growth. Lastly, the sticks are soaked in a mixture of sabila aka aloe vera and water for 10 minutes. Aloe vera apparently contains "hormones" that promote root growth. I'll let you know in a few weeks if this method actually works!
In addition to the garden work, I'm also making one of my infamous herb charts of the medicinal plants here on the Ranch complete with medicinal actions, how to prepare them for certain conditions, and hopefully color sketches for easy identification. There are soo many plants and trees around the property that are part of the reforestation project and while some are labeled, most are not. I'm in the process of developing a guided medicinal plant tour on the property that maybe ends in making your own tea or salve. There's so much potential for connecting the tourists to nature here and it's pretty exciting to be a part of it all.
The third hat I wear here is of course as the local acupuncturist and massage therapist. I've had some really interesting experiences already with guests, volunteers, and staff doing both. I've begun to learn techniques in indirect manipulation of tendons and muscles that have yielded amazing results. One day I was giving a volunteer acupuncture and moxa (burning mugwort) outside on the porch of a bungalow and while she was laying there, about 8 stingless bees flew directly towards the moxa box and tried to land on it. Stingless or not, it is still disconcerting to have bees landing on you during a treatment so I moved the box to see if I could lead them away from her. It only kinda worked. Because I felt the moxa was the most important part of her treatment, I just stood over her and swatted at the bees when they came close. I'm curious now if this has ever been documented before. I always thought insects disliked smoke but then again, we are in the jungle and anything could happen.
Another interesting phenomenon here is that the owner and several of the staff have come to me to help them stop smoking. I'm thrilled! I know they all smoke together and keep each other from really quitting. As a place that is trying to support wellness, I'm excited to start from the inside out. We'll see how long it lasts!
Thanks everyone for reading. Time for yoga!
Love, Adrienne
Recently I've begun the very physical job of cleaning out and replanting herbs in the medicinal gardens that have a major overgrowth of weeds due to neglect. Vegetable production and caring for the animals of course takes priority here. Although I have very little horticultural experience, I'm learning some very interesting techniques for propagating plants. For instance, did you know you can just plant sticks in the ground? Really, you can. I always thought you had to put cuttings in water so they could develop roots first. Apparently here, because it's so wet, we can just plop them in and wait for them to sprout. Well it's not actually that simple but it's pretty close. At the ranch, we have several agricultural engineers from Earth University. They recommend first cutting the young branches so that there are at least 3 nodes that will be planted in the ground. Cuts are made diagonally so that water cannot collect on the top of the cutting and promote fungal growth. Lastly, the sticks are soaked in a mixture of sabila aka aloe vera and water for 10 minutes. Aloe vera apparently contains "hormones" that promote root growth. I'll let you know in a few weeks if this method actually works!
In addition to the garden work, I'm also making one of my infamous herb charts of the medicinal plants here on the Ranch complete with medicinal actions, how to prepare them for certain conditions, and hopefully color sketches for easy identification. There are soo many plants and trees around the property that are part of the reforestation project and while some are labeled, most are not. I'm in the process of developing a guided medicinal plant tour on the property that maybe ends in making your own tea or salve. There's so much potential for connecting the tourists to nature here and it's pretty exciting to be a part of it all.
The third hat I wear here is of course as the local acupuncturist and massage therapist. I've had some really interesting experiences already with guests, volunteers, and staff doing both. I've begun to learn techniques in indirect manipulation of tendons and muscles that have yielded amazing results. One day I was giving a volunteer acupuncture and moxa (burning mugwort) outside on the porch of a bungalow and while she was laying there, about 8 stingless bees flew directly towards the moxa box and tried to land on it. Stingless or not, it is still disconcerting to have bees landing on you during a treatment so I moved the box to see if I could lead them away from her. It only kinda worked. Because I felt the moxa was the most important part of her treatment, I just stood over her and swatted at the bees when they came close. I'm curious now if this has ever been documented before. I always thought insects disliked smoke but then again, we are in the jungle and anything could happen.
Another interesting phenomenon here is that the owner and several of the staff have come to me to help them stop smoking. I'm thrilled! I know they all smoke together and keep each other from really quitting. As a place that is trying to support wellness, I'm excited to start from the inside out. We'll see how long it lasts!
Thanks everyone for reading. Time for yoga!
Love, Adrienne
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Bienvenidos a Costa Rica!!
I know, I know. I promised I'd have this blog up and running as soon as I arrived. Time surprisingly has flown by these last two weeks. Really?, 2 weeks gone already? What the hell have we been doing with ourselves?
Well I'm happy to report that we've been having a great time here at the Rancho. We were thankfully picked up at the airport with our collective 200 lbs of stuff that would hopefully get us by for the next several months at least. We were given a beautiful bungalow complete with hand crafted furniture, warmish shower water, a hammock view overlooking the valley, and the fluffiest sweetest golden retriever named Acha.
Life has already settled into a pleasant routine. Matt and I wake up between 6 and 7 each morning and walk out to the soccer pitch for tai chi practice. Three delicious and healthy meals are served up either buffet style or a la carte everyday. At 4pm, we go to the free yoga class for a nice restorative stretch. In the hours between, we meet with Juan (the owner) or with Frederic (his son) to determine our plan of action for our stay here. Before we know it, it's 10 pm and pitch black outside except for an sky full of stars.
The number of guests have fluctuated dramatically since our arrival. There have been as few as 2 and as many as 120. The 120 group stayed only one night and consisted of super marathoners who were running a six day course called the Coastal Challenge. They ran to the ranch from Fortuna which was about 15 miles over mountains and dormant volcanoes. The next day they ran 36 miles to Monteverde crossing the river 5 times. Talk about feeling lazy!
The Rancho also has a pretty consistent population of volunteers, most of which are from the States. They are utilized all over the ranch, but mostly at the bar, in the kitchen, and in the fields. Additionally, there are around 45 employees that tend the fields and gardens, run the dairy farm, manage the pigs, horses, chickens, run the kitchen, clean the facilities, and work in hospitality (reception, tours, etc). Currently we have a couple from Ashville who work the bar, a girl from Murfreesboro, TN and a guy from Boston that work in the kitchen, and a girl from Chicago teaches yoga twice a day. I've given almost all of them acupuncture already!
Matt has been working on architecture drawings for 12 houses, one of which will be completed in 6 months. They break ground with the backhoe tomorrow! I provide wellness services like acupuncture and massage to guests, volunteers, and staff. Additionally, I am studying up on how we can use the herbs already growing here at the ranch to make teas or extracts for juices and smoothies. What more could a girl ask for?
If you want to learn more about the ranch, check out a web documentary on livewellhd.com. The program is called "Save My Planet." I haven't watched it yet because our internet service is not fast enough to watch streaming videos. Hope you enjoy it!
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