So what is the first thing that pops into your head when someone says they live in a Yurt? Some crazy hippie without shoes dancing in a field of flowers? Well I will have you know, that I have never been committed to a mental facility and that I always wear shoes/ sandals.
And do you know why I don’t dance in field of flowers without shoes? Because I don’t have fields of wildflowers, but have fields of thistles that have gone to seed and an exuberant amount of nettles.
Well good o’ facebook introduced me into a whole new application to the weed that has taken over our property. Do you know all the great things you can do with Nettles? For starters, you can make tea from it.
Second, you can make natural dyes from it.
Third, you can dry it, break it down and spin yarn from it’s fiber. I learned how to spin fiber a number of years ago and have the honor of spinning on Damons great, great grandmas spinning wheel that she brought with her from Germany. (As I write this, it makes me realize that I’m closer to that crazy hippie than I realize). I wonder what she would think about nettle fiber spinning. If she is anything like her great, great great grandson, she would love the ingenuity of it all.
So I’m not sure if I’m drinking the kool-aid or turning water into wine, but I do know that I have a whole new application for something I couldn’t stand just a month ago. My love/hate relationship with nettles is a complete presentation to my experience so far with the Yurt. I really do have a love/hate relationship with it. I love the peace and quite, (My family just came home as I’m writing this. I honestly heard them turn onto our road, one mile away. It’s that quiet.) .but hate being so far away from some modern conveniences. I love the beauty of the woods, flowers, wind..ect, but don’t really care for all the work. I love seeing the billions of stars at night because of the lack of light pollution, but the darkness can be deafening. And since we have no exterior lights on the yurt, I sure hope I don’t get lost one of these night.
Stay with me, I may need a hand to hold.