herbalism, foraging, Community Health, & mutual aid.
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Sweet Blood
Through Love all that is bitter will be sweet, through Love all that is copper will be gold, through Love all dregs will become wine, through Love all pain will turn to medicine. Rumi I’ve spent many hours breathing the steam of boiling maple sap in the last month. Making syrup isn’t just about boiling…
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Herb of the Saints
My first lesson in ethnobotany was in 6th grade. Mr. Robbins took the entire class on a field trip into the hills across the street from the school. We scurried across the highway chaperoned by Mr. Robbins and his assistant. I’m sure he talked about the ecology of the region. It’s frequently visited by geologists…
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The Longest Night Moon
That shining object in the night sky has been the subject of poetry. Some good, some bad. Some inspirational, some laughable. I once played a fortune-telling tightrope walker in an experimental play. Experimental in that none of the actors were actually actors. We were a hodge-podge of artistic folks. Painters, writers, sculptors. With a few…
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Liquid Courage
“There are many ancient superstitions regarding this herb. Its name Hypericum is derived from the Greek and means ‘over an apparition,’ a reference to the belief that the herb was so obnoxious to evil spirits that a whiff of it would cause them to fly.” ~ Maude Grieve, A Modern Herbal, 1931 Tracy’s not the only person…
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St. Joan’s Wort According to Tracy Maier
The hills spread out in all directions, undulating into mountains in the distance. It is dry and cold. The weeds crisped by overnight frosts. The breeze is chilly, but not as frigid as expected for late November. I’ve never been to this part of Idaho. Two of us walk through the valley on a old…
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Making Room for Grief
I started writing a song or prayer many years ago. It’s very short, only 4 lines, and sometimes one of those lines changes. But it carries the depth of poetry because the meaning of it depends on what is going on at any given moment. In this version of it, I honor the life and…
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Listening with Heart
I took a deep breath and listened to the old brag of my heart: I am. I am. I am. ~Sylvia Path, The Bell Jar The senses are vital to foragers of wild foods and medicines. Sight, smell, touch, or taste reveal a plant’s identity; giving way to a deep knowing of the land. Many…
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Off With Their Heads
Back in December, Tracy Maier, a good friend of mine crossed over into whatever follows this life. It was unexpected. Tracy was a humble easygoing person who laughed long and hard. I learned a lot from him, but if I ever said so, he’d wave his hand at me like he was waving off an…
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Radical Herbalism
What is radical herbalism? For me, radical herbalism is about getting to the root of health issues. The word radical means “going to the root.” I believe that every person has a right to good health. This goes beyond providing health care. Do you see the difference? What I see is that health care in…
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Meet the Barberry Baby
This is the 2016 Community Herbal Intensive class. They have just created something I have never seen – a barberry baby. They look very pleased with themselves, don’t they. I found more evidence here… They learned that the barberry plant, Berberis vulgaris, is both an invasive plant and an important medicine. Its most well known…
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Let’s make syrup… and sugar!
I first learned how to cook maple syrup at a community farm in northern Wisconsin in 2009. They had a makeshift set up and worked around the clock each person taking shifts. As I grew more attached to the land I now live on in NE Ohio, I learned how to tap trees myself and…
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The Art of Making Tinctures
Some of the frequent questions I hear from students and friends is “why doesn’t my tincture look/taste like yours?” I have spent many years making wonderfully potent tinctures and making horribly disappointing mistakes. So here are my lessons learned. But first… A note on menstruum, marc, and other words used to describe tincture making. The…
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