Following the Willow Trail in Search of Burdock

After yet another 45 minute session removing burrs from a pony’s forelock, I decided it was such a nice day that I would begin my burdock eradication program.  It is a program I will be working on for the rest of my life, but even if I save myself a few hours a year, it will be worth it!  And it wasn’t just the ponies that motivated me.  My puppy is much less tolerant of having burrs removed from his coat than they are, so in the interest of our relationship, I decided it was a program needing to be begun.  Plus the dogs loved running around and we of course saw the ponies while we were out!

What an amazing amount of havoc a small amount of burrs can create! This is Willowtrail Spring Maiden.

I was asked recently what the meaning of my farm name, Willowtrail, is.  I wanted a name that reflected where I live, yet I knew my life might cause me to relocate occasionally, so it had to be a name that was applicable to the type of terrain that I prefer to live in.  In the dry climate of this region of the world, members of the willow (Salicaceae) family are usually found along water courses or in low spots, and flowing water can be considered a trail, hence Willowtrail.  At the first farm where I had Fell Ponies, Turkey Trot Springs, the dominant willow family member was cottonwood.  In the high mountains of Colorado, it was aspen and various willow species, and here in South Dakota I am amongst cottonwood again. 

It was at Turkey Trot Springs that I first learned the consequences of Fell Ponies meeting burdock.  There burdock was found in heavy shade underneath the cottonwood trees, so I was pretty certain that the ponies were finding the burdock here in South Dakota down in the ravine where the cottonwoods are.  This time of year, of course, the burdock plants are dead, so I was in search of bushes that still had burrs on them.  It wasn’t long before I learned that here burdock also seems to have an affinity for the shade of juniper trees.

My plan for eradication at the moment is to harvest as many burrs as I can find before the ponies find them and at the same time learn where the plants are growing.  My tools were garden clippers, purchased decades ago to cut flowers from my garden (when I had a garden!), and a feed sack to put the seed heads in, later to be burned.  I got a good laugh at the number of burdock stalks that I encountered that no longer had seed heads.  I knew who had collected them!  But in less than an hour, I had made a good harvest and progressed a hundred yards or so down the ravine.  Humorously, my harvest represented about the quantity that I currently need to remove from my ponies’ hair!  On my return from seeing the ponies, I walked the rest of the ravine, and there is lots of work left to do!  In the process I found my prize for the day, a beautiful feather.

Burdock is considered a medicinal plant.  Nearly all parts of the plant – fruit, seeds, roots, and leaves – are used to address conditions as diverse as colds, gout, cancer, and stomach ailments.  I found several stalks that had been eaten down (presumably after the burrs had been ‘removed’), so I wonder what ailment and what animal was responsible for that harvest.

I am looking forward to my next foray onto the willow trail to harvest burdock.  It is a job whose benefits I well appreciate!

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2020