Lousewort

(Pedicularis species, common family name: Figwort family, Latin family name: Scrophulariaceae)

Description...Lousewort, a unique and attractive perenial, is known for it's distinct look and way of growing. The flowers, as they work their way up the stalk, resemble little elephant heads. They can be yellow, pink, or white, but are usually pink. The leaves are toothed and look similar to fern fronds, growing alternate up the long stalk. The roots connect to other plants around it, robbing them of nutrients.

Blooms...May to August, depending greatly on altitude and climate conditions.

Habitat and Range: Habitat varies between species, but look for it in moist fields and meadows of the montane and subalpine zones. Pedicularis Groenlandica thrives across the northern third of North America and south in the West to the mountains of California and New Mexico. Pedicularis Contorta, a dryland variety, ranges throughout the Rocky Mountains and Sierra foothills. More than two dozen other species inhabit the western U.S..

Edibility...Although not poisonous, Lousewort can be if taking nutrients from a toxic plant. If all plants around it are edible, it can be eaten in numerous ways: the fleshy roots can be prepared and eaten in moderation and taste somewhat like parsnips, the flowers are sweet treats, and the leaves and stems may be steamed or boiled as a potherb. But again, you must be positive there are no poisonous plants around it.

Medicinal Uses...Lousewort's use as a medicine dates back to at least the seventeenth century, when it was used in Europe to treat stomach ulcers and rheumatism. It is very good for urinary irratations. Herbalists recognize betony as a mild sedative and muscle relaxant, useful in treating cases of physical overexertion.

How to Write a Haiku Poem

Below is the way my teacher taught me to write Haiku Poems.
I'm passing the knowledge on to you, so that you may write
them also.

A Haiku is a short Japanese poem. Haikus are surprisingly easy
to write, and take little time at all. Although, I find it difficult
to write anything without inspiration, so I would suggest maybe
going for a walk outside, looking at pictures, or watching
the world from your window for a few minutes. That way you
might see something that you want to write about.

Materials needed: Paper, pencil, & inspiration.

Directions...
After you figured out what you want to write about, start with
a three sentenced rough draft. Each line should tell a little about
the subject. For instance, if you were describing a stormy day it
would look a little like this:

It's very windy and stormy outside.
I'm in here where it's warm, because out there it's chilly!!
Rain is dumping from the dark sky.

But, this type of writing is too casual to be considered a Haiku.
In other words, it's too conversation-like, and you must convert
it into something more meaningful. Each line must be simple and
short. So the creators of Haiku Poems decided that there must
be a rule to Haiku: five syllables for line one, seven syllables for
line two, and five again for line three.

That's five, seven, five.

So, this might be what your final draft looks like:

The sky is pitch black (5)
The cold winds are blowing fierce (7)
Rain dumps from above (5)

See how much more power is in that piece of writing,
compaired to the rough draft? That is the point of the
five, seven, five rule: you can't write much in each sentence,
so you put more effort into writing it. Haikus are
challenging but not hard to write.

Now go write one!

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry By Mildred D. Taylor

210 pages, printed first in the late 1970s by Bantam Books, inc. Genre: fiction.

Introduction

Not long ago, I finished a book entitled: 'Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry' by Mildred D. Taylor. The story took place in 1933, during the Great Depression. It was about a strong-willed black family that lived near Strawberry, Mississippi, in a time of racism.

Summary

The main character is Cassie Logan, a nine year old black girl. The story is being told from her point of veiw.

Cassie lives on a cotton farm in Mississippi with her three brothers, her mother, father, and Grandma. (A man named Mr. Morrison later moves in with them, and sometimes their uncle Hammer comes to visit.)

In those days, most white people in the South were very racist.

Cassie grew up oblivious to the fact that any white person might think of her as lower class. But as she hears of more and more black people getting abused, going into debt, losing their land, being burnt alive, and generally getting treated badly, she begins to understand.

The Logan family's problems begin when Little Man notices that the schoolbooks the black children have to use are dirty, ripped, and beat-up, but the white children got to use them when they were brand new. He throws a fit and refuses to use the books, and gets whipped for not listening.

But more serious problems begin occuring, like Mama losing her job teaching at the school, Harlan Granger, (the white man who sold the cotton farm to the Logans) wanting the land back, black people going into debt from purchasing things at a certain store, and people getting shot. The Logans try very hard to pay all their taxes, keep their jobs, and not get into debt.

Later in the story, a new problem arises. T.J., a 14-year-old mischievious boy, who used to be friends with the Logan kids, starts running around with R.W. and Melvin Simms, two 18 or 19 year old white boys. Soon, T.J. gets hurt, and it may mean his life is in danger.

As all these problems combine, Cassie and her family are faced with trying to save T.J. and their land, while doing their best to hold onto what they believe in.

Character Description

Family...

Cassie calls her family members different names. For instance, her Grandma is "Big Ma", her dad is "Papa", her mom is "Mama", and Clayton Chester is "Little Man".

Cassie has two younger brothers (Little Man and Christopher-John)and an older brother (Stacey).

Nothing will stop Little Man from trying to appear neat and clean. He's a typical six year old, but exceptionally intelligent for his age. Christopher-John is a chubby, round boy of seven. He generally prefers to keep to himself, and always wants to stay on people's good side. Stacey is almost 13. He tries to act like an adult, because he is considered a young man. Sometimes Stacey gets on Cassie's nerves, since he is not much older than her, yet he gets treated almost as if he's an adult. Cassie's mother (Mama) is stubborn, yet gentle and caring.
Her father is strong but kind. He works out on the railroad, and she doesn't get to see him often.

Other Important Characters...

Mr. Morrison, a friend that Papa met on the railroad, came to live and help out on the Logan's cotton farm (Papa invited him). He is tall, very muscular, and protective.

Stacey's friend, T.J. Avery (14 years old) , is very talkative and persuasive. He gets into trouble often. When he tells stories or news, he likes to tease his audience until they are desperate to know what happened. T.J. becomes much more important as the story progresses.

Most of the white people in this book are very racist, and don't give any respect to black people. The Simms family is racist, except for Jeremy Simms. Instead, Jeremy tries to be friends with the Logan kids and walk with them to school as often as he can, unlike other white kids. Jeremy stutters a lot and sleeps in a tree house. He is very kind.

Examples of White People Being Cruel

to Black People in the Story

There is a bus that drives past the Logan children (as they walk to school) every day, carrying white kids to their school. The bus driver is racist. He makes sure, every day when the ground is wet, to drive fast into mud puddles. And each day, the Logan children get soaked to the bone because of all the water spraying off the tires.

One day in December very early in the morning, Big Ma takes Cassie, for her first time, (because she is now old enough to go) out to Strawberry (a town 22 miles from where they live) with T.J. and Stacey. The Logans go to Strawberry every month for the Market. They go there to buy and sell food.

That day when they are done selling things, Big Ma goes into an office to do some business and tells the kids that when she comes out, it's time for shopping. But T.J. convinces Cassie and Stacey that they should go inside the store to do the shopping for Big Ma, as a surprise.

But when T.J., Stacey, and Cassie give their list of groceries to Mr. Barnett (the storekeeper), and he begins to help them with it, a white customer comes up with a list twice as long as their's and Mr. Barnett helps her instead--even though Stacey, Cassie, and T.J. were first. Then, when he is finally done with her long list, he starts helping the kids again, except a white little girl needs help nearby, and so he goes to her instead.

When Cassie is walking out of Barnett's Mercantile, she accidently bumps into Lillian Jean. Lillian Jean not only makes her apologize, she also forces Cassie get down in the road to walk.

Part 2.

My Opinions on the Book

I think that Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry was a very powerful and moving book.

Before I read this novel, I hadn't the slightest idea of what was going on in our country in the early 1900s, and this book really helped me understand the struggles that people went through back then. I learned the timeline of the Great Depresion when I did research on the book, and I discovered more about how black people and white people treated each other in that time.

The Logan family was very strong-willed, as I stated above, and I think that sets a good example for people: not to give up when you're facing problems in your life. Although, this proves hard when you're dealing with racism in the early 1900s in the southern U.S.A., like the Logan family. White people had so much power back then, it was very hard for a single family to do anything about racism, by themselves.

I think that the author was perfectly discriptive: she gave each character a flavor, a specific adittude and way of acting. For instance, T.J. Avery was very talkative, persausive, and troublsome. When he gave news or told stories, he loved teasing his audience untill they were desperate to know what happened. You can read more about this in the Character Discription above.

At first I didn't like the ending. But after reading it again, I began to realize that the author actually wrapped it up very nicely. In the end, something is taken from Cassie's life, and the author explains how Cassie will continue living her life, just without that particular thing. I liked this about the ending. To get a better understanding of what I mean, you must read the book.

Conclusion

This book was very powerful. The author made it very emotional and meaningful. I loved learning about how life used to be in the U.S.A.. The author was very good with words, she knew where to place them in a sentence. She was also very descriptive and gave each character a personality.

I'm really excited to read the next book in the series (Let the Circle be Unbroken), and I would give this book a five star rating.