My mum’s in the mountains with Granddad just now and, though it’s incredibly hard not to be with them, a small ziplock bag makes me feel closer to them. Sometime back – no doubt Momma’s last visit to see her Dad – she sent me a care package, including this surprise ziplock
from Granddad. He was purposely sending me a bit of Camp Nelson, the
closest thing I had to home growing up and a tangible connection to him – the closest thing I had to a dad. Nostalgic at a glance with its wee pinecone and selection of acorns, unzipping this seemingly simple bag transports me as he included Bear Clover
* in it.. This fragrant plant is also known as “Mountain Misery” yet one whiff leaves me anything but miserable. Nothing quite smells like Bear Clover; it smells like the mountains!
A peek into my drawer of necessary things:
A closer look with too much reflection
*Bear Clover is a plant that grows in abundance in the Sierra Nevada mountains, known as a sort of ‘catnip’ for bears.
