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...
The Beauty of the Bioregional Approach to Your Herbal Practice: There are many ways to practice herbalism including a multitude of traditions all over the world, each with their own plants that form the core of that herbal path. No matter what traditions we are...
Going Deeper with Pedicularis: There is undoubtedly a deeply alluring quality to Pedicularis plants that has drawn the attention of many herbalists and plant lovers of all kinds. For some, it is simply recovery for overworked muscles or the relaxation of tension in...
Connecting with Our Heritage Through Herbs: As a young girl, I heard my great-grandmother tell stories about growing up during the early 1900s and being an adult in the depression era. One of these stories included a tale of how her mother drank backyard herbs in warm...