A Walk Along Leonard Creek

Leonard Creek

I went for a hike along Leonard Creek (the ranch’s namesake), which runs from north to south through the ranch. It has quite a bit of water running through right now. I walked north of the ranch for a couple of miles. I wanted to see if I could find any good herbal resources. Around the ranch we have Lombardi poplars – Populus nigra, white poplars – Populus alba, and black locust – Robinia psuedocacia which were planted as windbreaks around the main living area of the ranch. Also at the ranch are many willows – Salix spp.


As I walked upstream I found a few patches of wild rose – Rosa woodsii. They had no foliage or flowers, but they did have some withered rose hips clinging to them. They were located along the bank of the creek and in the small floodplains. Since there are so many of these plants around and they have such great properties for healing and nutrients I am looking forward to working with them.

Winter Wild Rose – Rosa woodsii - with Leonard Creek in the back ground.

Also as I walked along the creek I found many patches of mullein – Verbascum thapsus. I’m excited for spring and summer when this plant is blooming. I want to learn more about the properties of the plant and how to work with it. We have a lot of mullein, both in Reno and here at the ranch, it will be a plant that will get quite a bit of attention from me.

One of the many mullein - Verbascum thapsus - patches. They are kind of hard to see in this picture, but there are quite a few down there.

I can’t wait until spring to see what pops up from the earth. I’m sure there will be plants such as yarrow popping up, but I’m excited to see what others will bless me with their presence… I can’t wait!