Bright rays of bitter orange, Japanese grapefruit, black geranium, black pepper, and spicebush filtering through a forest of green cedar tips, alpine conifers, green patchouli, vetiver root, accompanied by gently flowing stream water, wet clay, and the waiting stillness of dark loam.
I am odorous of the pine forest, The scent of pine-cones is in my hair. I smell of wild mint, and the tamarack swamps. The juice of alder-berries is on my lips, and the brown stain of hazel on my fingers. I am flecked with the dust of moth-wings, and powdered with the pollen from the hearts of calla-lilies. I am wind-tawned and sun-browned. Wearing the marks of the open. I reek of freedom.
~Muriel Strode (1875–1964)
Shinrin-Yoku: The medicine of simply being in the forest. Shinrin-yoku means "taking in the forest atmosphere" or "forest bathing."
Art: Shore Pattern by A.J. Casson, c. mid-20th century