The Normalcy of Nature in Otherwise Odd Times Some people say they fell in love as their eyes met with their partner’s across a crowded room. They describe it as love at first sight. I know what that is like. Stopping at a roadside pullout in the eastern plains of New...
Artemisia/Sage: The Ecology of Herbal Medicine The following is an excerpt from Dara Saville's new book The Ecology of Herbal Medicine: A Guide to Plants and Living Landscapes of the American Southwest from the University of New Mexico Press (2021). Artemisia...
Rocky Mountain Medicinal Mushrooms - Puffballs 101 Did you know that mushrooms are more closely related to animals than to plants? Or, that what we generally refer to as a “mushroom” is actually the reproductive apparatus of the fungus? We don’t usually see the...
Cultivating Mental Health During the Pandemic Winter ...in the midst of horrorwe fed on beauty—and that,my love, is what sustained us. — Rita Dove, “Transit" To cultivate mental health during the pandemic winter, the first thing is to avoid categorizing feelings as...
Let’s have some fun and get our hands dirty outside and in the kitchen. With viral concerns lurking everywhere and most of us spending more of our lives at home, it’s a great time to make some incense that will improve the quality of our living space and purify our...
Pandemic Garden: Throughout history the role of gardens has been shaped by cultural viewpoints and conditions specific to the time. Extensive wild-spirited gardens helped ancient people to begin building sedentary societies, develop new lifestyles, improve nutrition,...
Perspective on COVID-19 Home Health Preparations: March 22, 2020 Strange times indeed…. Unless we remember that humans have been through similar situations before. In fact, we are the descendants of people who have survived terrifying outbreaks of the past...
Fall Foraging with Prickly Pear and Mesquite: Working with plants provides numerous opportunities to live our lives in harmony with the natural cycles unfolding around us and within us. Just as the end of winter is marked by walking the river and harvesting resinous...
Old World Herbs in the American West: Around the globe plants and people have been making relationships since the early days of humanity. Five thousand year old clay tablets from Sumeria, ancient Chinese texts, and an Egyptian papyrus from the second millennium BCE...
Desert Mesa Medicine: The desert mesa is a landscape where we are confronted with the history of the land and the culture of people; a place where we cannot hide from ourselves. The endless vistas, open expanses, and clear blue skies put everything on display...
Desert Aromatics of the American Southwest: Aromatic plants have been an integral part of landscapes and human cultures, playing important ecological and ceremonial roles since the beginning of history and beyond. The deserts of the American Southwest are home to a...
The Teachings of Saxifrage and Orchid: Saxifrages and Orchids are some of the most otherworldy plants you might encounter in your herbal path. They are known primarily for their inherent beauty and not widely used in Southwestern herbal traditions. Nevertheless, they...