meeting the elders

my good friend laura told me via facebook that there had been an elderberry sighting in the area. she said her friend said to turn down toward the old place from the highway and there would be elderberry in a ditch on the right. it took me a bit to decipher the directions, not being familiar at first with the "old place" (it reminded me of an old southern expression about pig paths, but apparently i can't remember that either), but it turned out to be a landmark country buffet and less than a mile from my house!

so yesterday we went to find her... and there she was...

she and others, at least three huge bushes! also, we had a delicious meal at the old place... candied yams, turnip greens, blackberry cobbler and other faves. i always love places where we are the youngest folks there. and how silly that it took facebook to connect us with our own neighborhood... (we really are hermits!)

i asked mother elder's permission and she seemed okay with being part of my cloth. i was careful not to take too much. she had a few berries but most of them had been eaten. and now my muslin elderbundles are stewing in the sun in copper, iron and enamel pots (i couldn't find an aluminum). and today i will toss some yarn in there too. it will be hard to wait a whole week, but magic takes time.