TOPIC: Anyone Else have odd habits when digging.

I say a prayer before hitting & leaving the woods each day for me & my family and the ginseng I'm preparing to harvest or hide. Every plant I dig I say Thank you Lord, Thank you, Thank You, Thank You. Then every seed I plant where I've dug a plant I wrap a portion of the leaf blade around and plant back I the original hole space I've dug. Being in the woods gives me a real calming peaceful feeling and the above just adds to it seems. I love going back in the future years and then seeing those 2' spots with 20-30 or 40-50 small plants growing in the circle knowing those were from me planting just gives such a good feeling.
so what's your odd habit's??

I'm not a deeply religious person, but I do pray for the success of that days hunt and most of all my safety. There is definitely something spiritual about being in the woods. Hunting ginseng feels a lot like arrowhead hunting to me. There's just something special about finding a nice point or ginseng plant. It feels like it was laid out before you and only you. To me that's a big responsibility to respect and conserve all that has been given forth. Oh, and as far as odd habits. Other than pulling out my phone and taking photo shoots of nearly every plant I find, can't really think of any,

I talk to ginseng that's not there and ask it where its hiding and to show itself.

wildspirit44 wrote:

I'm not a deeply religious person, but I do pray for the success of that days hunt and most of all my safety. There is definitely something spiritual about being in the woods. Hunting ginseng feels a lot like arrowhead hunting to me. There's just something special about finding a nice point or ginseng plant. It feels like it was laid out before you and only you. To me that's a big responsibility to respect and conserve all that has been given forth. Oh, and as far as odd habits. Other than pulling out my phone and taking photo shoots of nearly every plant I find, can't really think of any,

I'm not deeply religious either, that is it seems until I hit the woods then so many things just amaze me at times. Especially interaction between me and the wild life present. Like taking break 1 day to have a few peanut butter & cheese crackers with a drink to refresh while sitting next to a hollow 5' tree trunk and discovering that a small raccoons hiding in it that I then feed my crackers to, or be still as I hear something coming and having a doe & 2 fawns jump into within 4-5' of me coming head on then they Freeze, eyes appear to go just so big & startled and off they bolt. So many different things.

LJ125 wrote:

I talk to ginseng that's not there and ask it where its hiding and to show itself.

LOL, in the past I've been known to talk to the deer that's not there to lead me to where the ginsengs hiding as I follow a game trail. Always seemed to work to.

I like to call out Here rootie rootie rootie!!! And often say there's got to b more n usually there's none.

Hobler666shang wrote:

I like to call out Here rootie rootie rootie!!! And often say there's got to b more n usually there's none.

LOL, I say Here ginseng, ginseng, ginseng, here ginseng, ginseng, ginseng. Anything to lighten up things when its a slow go.
I figured there were more like me doing this odd stuff in the woods. Thank god no bodies videoing us huh. They'd be posting us up on you tube.

In all seriousness, I think we all feel the same about being in the woods searching for seng.



A well known fella in the world of ginseng wrote this somewhat recently and emailed it to me a couple of years ago. It really hits home on how I feel when I am in the ZONE when hunting ginseng. I hope he claims this someday as I think it is an excellent piece of writing. He thinks some may find it a bit odd, but I think it is right on the money.
Latt



Why I Hunt Ginseng


One of my greatest joys is being in some strange forest, miles from anywhere, on a mountainside surrounded by big trees in October.

I walk for miles, looking, sniffing, gazing without focusing. I stumble, sweat, swat a mosquito and curse my aching legs and big feet.

Finally, I become one with the forest and it becomes one with me. I see things that human beings cannot see and I realize all at once that I am no longer a human being. I watch a mouse scratch his ear 100 yards away, I see a bee visit a flower 200 yards away, I smell the dew on a distant leaf and the creek speaks to me from far below. The doe walks by unconcerned, she cannot see me anymore.

The pain goes away, the sweating stops, my feet become light and find the sure steps without effort because I am no longer walking. I am floating. The ginseng has spotted me, long before I presume to find it. If I am worthy, it will remove its camouflage and let me dig. If I dig carefully, and with respect, it will leap from the earth with no real effort. The neighboring plants will now show themselves.

I eat the white part of the stalk, it tastes so sweet!!!! I put the root in my bag after careful examination and move on. I have become a tiger, but it is getting dark and my paws soon become feet again. Big, clumsy, sore feet tell me it is time to leave. The woods will have no more of me today.

I always thank the root, deer, turkey, etc., for letting me harvest it.

Latt wrote:

Why I Hunt Ginseng


One of my greatest joys is being in some strange forest, miles from anywhere, on a mountainside surrounded by big trees in October.

I walk for miles, looking, sniffing, gazing without focusing. I stumble, sweat, swat a mosquito and curse my aching legs and big feet.

Finally, I become one with the forest and it becomes one with me. I see things that human beings cannot see and I realize all at once that I am no longer a human being. I watch a mouse scratch his ear 100 yards away, I see a bee visit a flower 200 yards away, I smell the dew on a distant leaf and the creek speaks to me from far below. The doe walks by unconcerned, she cannot see me anymore.

The pain goes away, the sweating stops, my feet become light and find the sure steps without effort because I am no longer walking. I am floating. The ginseng has spotted me, long before I presume to find it. If I am worthy, it will remove its camouflage and let me dig. If I dig carefully, and with respect, it will leap from the earth with no real effort. The neighboring plants will now show themselves.

I eat the white part of the stalk, it tastes so sweet!!!! I put the root in my bag after careful examination and move on. I have become a tiger, but it is getting dark and my paws soon become feet again. Big, clumsy, sore feet tell me it is time to leave. The woods will have no more of me today.

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This I LIKE!! Speaks volumes of the experience. Thanks for re-sharing with me.