Yesterday was our first full day at Djerassi. Danny Goldberg took us on a hike in the mid-afternoon. We departed from the Artist's Barn and walked a loop trail.

Along the way, we stopped at the many different artworks made by previous residents and Danny explained the botanicals along the pathway. The poison oak was especially evocative, with its many forms, shape-changing along the trail—from light green matte semi-translucent leaves in wispy singular growths to thick dark green oily leaves in tall dense bushes to bright red leafy lines.

We saw horsetail (which I am calling the lego of the forest), old man's beard, and lemon balm, among many other botanicals on our journey. I was particularly taken with his description of the mugwort leaves and their usefulness for inducing dreams. It occurred to me that this is a good place for inducing some dreams of the mugwort kind.

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