Tag Archives: healing

January 28, 2024 · 4:16 pm

Mixing and Matching for Happier Gardens – and Gardeners!

Sometimes we have to share. When you plan to share, that’s okay. It’s a little tougher to handle sharing when you aren’t expecting to, though. For instance, when I buy an ice cream cone I’m not thinking I’ll have to share it. It’s pretty great to have a whole ice cream cone all for yourself, it’s less great if you have to share it. The same thing is true for some garden goodies. I know the birds will share my raspberries. I expect it so I let the raspberries get a little bushier in order to have enough for the humans and the birds.

A different case is cabbage. One year I planted cabbage (my first and only attempt to date), which grew into beautiful gorgeous light green cabbage heads. When I picked them and cut into them they had already been claimed by some sort of cabbage worm. Such a drag, I was so excited to harvest my very own cabbage and NOT excited to share.

cabbage with some worm holes visible
cabbage that the worms got to before I did

Writing about it reminds me of a lady I know that planted a beautiful set of raised beds in her backyard one year. She had 6 tall beds and many beautiful ornamental gardens all around her home. They were so impressive and beautifully tended that she opened them for a garden tour one year. On the night before the tour a family of groundhogs found her vegetable garden and absolutely razed every single plant in her boxes down to their nubbins. Completely down to the dirt.

When we garden tourists arrived to her home the next day we were all confused – why did she have all of those empty boxes in her backyard? Oh, well, we said. The rest of the gardens were glorious! …

Well, yeah. Groundhogs like tomatoes, too, it turns out.

I am not sure whether we have groundhogs here… I’ll find out this year I’m sure. In the meantime, though, I’ll be planning my tomato patch with basil to repel flies and hornworms. Rosemary with carrots and green beans to repel root flies and bean beetles, and thyme near my peppers to repel spider mites and white flies… in years past I’ve put some herbs into the vegetable garden but mostly I had an herb garden near the kitchen and veggies out back on a bigger site. I’m changing that now. The kitchen garden will have herbs, flowers and vegetables mixed in together. 

yellow pear tomatoes, green beans, peppers in a bowl
yellow pear tomatoes, green beans and peppers from the garden

Tomatoes with basil and marigolds, broccoli with beets and chamomile, radishes with spinach, lettuce, calendula, and beans, cauliflower with garlic, onions and chives … I’m getting hungry just thinking about it!

radishes and lettuc etogether
radishes and lettuce grow well together

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January 23, 2024 · 11:49 am

Flow and Adapt

Ashwagandha, Rhodiola root, and Schisandra Berry powders

My son decided to drop out of his college program with approximately one year remaining. He has practical reasons for this, but also, he was stressed out and his health wasn’t benefiting from the lifestyle and pressure he had. One way he chose to address the stress was to buy a bottle of “adaptogens” – capsules filled with Ashwagandha, Rhodiola root, and Schisandra berry. Most of us have heard of adaptogens – plants that help us manage and recover from stress – and Tristan found them to be very useful to him as he tried to balance his full-time course load with a new business that he was trying to get off the ground.  

In my studies, I’ve learned that some producers are sourcing their plant material unethically – many are, in fact – and so I suggested he allow me to make capsules with the same adaptogens in them. This way I was able to ensure the herbs are sourced ethically, which is important to me.

As so often happens, the universe was presenting me with a prompt; I would really benefit from taking adaptogens in, as well! One of my key aims is finding flow during my day. Being “in flow” comes with focus, intention, even meditation, and having a bit of support from one’s parasympathetic nervous system is a like riding a beneficial tide in the right direction! When we are in flow we are channeling creative energy, intuition, and doing our best work.

Along with the bumps, periodic grief and loss, and stresses of life, most of us (myself included) are at least a little overloaded (even strung out) on information overload and the pace of modern living. So engaging a parasympathetic nervous state is seriously helpful to most of us. A few adaptogenic herbal friends that can help with that:

Ashwagandha (withania somnifera) is traditionally an ayurvedic herb, and is a thyroid adaptogen. Not great if you have a hyperthyroid, It stimulates the thyroid, affecting and regulating the adrenals, and increases thyroid hormones that circulate through the body. It’s also anti-inflammatory. It’s beneficial for fatigue and insomnia, encouraging deeper, restorative sleep.

Rhodiola (Rhodiola rosea) has also been used for centuries – since at least 1100 AD – in Scandinavia and Russia, where it thrives in cold climates. It’s root is an adaptogen, containing more than 140 active ingredients, and is used to treat anxiety, fatigue, and depression. It is known to support the immune system, and protect against infection and flu.

Schisandra (schisandra chinensis) is native to asia, an antioxidant known to support endurance and resilience, and protective to the liver. It aids the body in returning to a parasympathetic state, helping to manage stress reactions.

image of capsule machine, mixed ashwagandha, shisandra berry and rhodiola root

There are many adaptogens out there – these are just three that have become popular and have long histories of use.

While you can buy adaptogens in capsules and gummies at pharmacies, it’s not hard to make capsules. This capsule machine and gelatin capsules are readily available to buy online and you can buy powdered herbs from ethical suppliers like Mountain Rose Herbs online.

Wishing you flow, peace, and fun during these lengthening winter days.

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October 30, 2023 · 1:12 pm

Awesome Herbal Burn (or all-purpose) Salve

dated burn salve tin label

One night this week I decided to roast some honeynut squash for dinner. We store our cast iron pans in the stove sometimes, and that night that was where they were. Jon started the oven and sometime later we realized the pans were in the oven heating up, so we removed them with hot mitts and went back to slicing squash, listening to Ike Quebec (jazz) and enjoying a glass of red wine.

Predictably, moments later I reached to move the pans aside and, touching the pan handle, burned myself. Sizzle – ouch!

I remembered immediately that this summer during my course in herbalism I made all-purpose (aka burn) salve, and reached into the cabinet for it. After a few minutes of rubbing the salve into my burned skin my hand felt miraculously better.

To be honest I was surprised.

I knew the salve would have healing properties, I knew the the scarring I usually have on my hands after burning myself in the kitchen would likely be far less angry and noticeable. But I didn’t expect that the salve would stop the pain. I was astonished that it did. By the time we sat down to dinner I didn’t have any pain.

the salve consistency shown in jar and on fingers

Rosemary Gladstar, who shared this recipe in an herbalism class I took this year, says that this salve is an all-purpose salve and can be used for rashes, cuts, wounds, even diaper rashes. I made it for myself as a burn salve – I knew it would come in handy.

In the past I have tried other burn remedies from the pharmacy — cooling sprays, antibiotic pain relieving creams … and of course running burnt skin under cold water. Always I’m left with a day or two of burning pain and a blister or mark that lasts days or weeks. Not this time.

I did run some cold water over the burn immediately, and only for a moment, before applying the salve, but the salve made all the difference. So I want to share how to make it for other cooks who, like me, sometimes burn themselves in the kitchen, or for anyone that’s looking for an honest and effective skin salve. Enjoy!

Rosemary Gladstar’s All-Purpose (aka Burn) Salve recipe

1 part st. john’s wort leaf and flower

1 part comfrey leaf

1 part calendula flowers

olive oil (or sunflower oil)

beeswax

Step 1: Place each of the herbs in a glass jar and cover with 1-2 inches of oil. Place in a sunny window and let infuse for 2-3 weeks (I left mine a little longer). Strain and rebottle. label and date.

To make the salve strain the oil. For each cup of herbal oil add 1/4 cup beeswax. heat the oil and beeswax together over very low heat to melt the beeswax. The beeswax will thicken as it cools.

To check for firmness do a quick consistency test: place 1 tablesppon of the mixture in the freeze for a minute or two. check to be sure its the firmness you want. For harder salve, add more beeswax, for softer salve, add more oil.

When you are happy with the consistency of the salve remove from heat and pour into glass jars or tins. Store in a cool dry place.

freshly jarred st johns wort oil and cbd salve

Please feel free to send me any questions you have about the salve or the process of making it!

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June 26, 2023 · 5:24 pm

The Remembering

Harvested Chamomile flowers

Medicine as an art and science holds us all in a little bit of awe. The ability to heal — whether it’s a broken bone, chronic pain, or heart condition — commands a kind of respect and reverence from most of us that few professions outside of medicine enjoy.

We entrust our medicine, mostly, to our doctors, who in turn practice a kind of allopathic medicine that focuses on drugs, radiation, surgery, and other interventions for acute problems, often to life-saving effect.

Short of needing treatment for acute problems, though, we have what some call “the people’s medicine.” Things like fatigue, pain, constipation, depression, and other conditions may require allopathic intervention, and/but we also have the means to provide ourselves with support and encourage healing and well-being using foods and plants that come from the land, are gentler, and are more based in simple plant medicine.

I bought chamomile seeds last year, spread them in the garden, and watered them. German chamomile is easy to grow and I soon had a pretty patch of chamomile flowers. I admired them but I didn’t cut them. I was too busy working my corporate job, taking care of the family. But also, I was acquainting myself, learning about the chamomile.

They self seeded and again – miraculously, I felt – I have a beautiful patch of chamomile in about the same place as they grew last year. This year is different, though. I felt like we’ve been introduced, like we are friends, like they’d come back because they like me. And I felt comfortable asking for some flowers.

chamomile growing in my herb garden

The photo at top was taken just after cutting some of the flower heads the week before last. It’s not easy! Leaning over a patch of chamomile and carefully cutting the flowers into a bowl takes some back strength! But I had a bowl of beautiful, delicate flowers to show for my efforts when I was done. Here they are drying on a board:

Dried, they make a lovely tea that encourages relaxation and sleep. I’m often pretty tense and find sleeping hard. But on the nights I made myself a cup of this tea I slept a lot better. I was more relaxed and felt better in general. And chamomile helps reduce inflammation, which I’ve had in my knee, lately, and which seems to be improving.

I realized, cutting the flowers and drinking them as tea, that somehow the whole thing was very familiar, like I remembered the experience rather than discovered it new. The taste and affect of the tea was the same – as if I’ve felt and tasted this before. It was a more intense relaxation and rest than the chamomile tea I’ve purchased, and that felt familiar, too. Like medicine.

I have begun to learn about herbalism. The teachers I’ve met so far say that if you’re called to this discipline it’s more of a remembering than a learning.

I think they are right.

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July 18, 2022 · 10:49 am

Versatile and Beautiful Lavender

Summer Lavender Grosso

Above, a hedge of lavender next to my driveway popped into glorious fragrant bloom in June. I don’t know who was more excited – me or the bumble bees.

I can never bring myself to cut the flowers while they are in full bloom – the sun on the flowers is too glorious. But when they’ve passed their prime they still cut beautifully and are wonderfully fragrant.

Cut lavender fills the kitchen with fragrance

When my son’s girlfriend saw my giant pile of cut lavender she immediately thought of lavender lemonade, and took a handful to make lavender syrup. It was delicious.

Easy to grow and easily available, lavender will grace your garden, attract pollinators, and is truly a sensory joy. Lavender is drought tolerant, does well in zones 6-10.

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January 20, 2019 · 3:17 pm

Mary has left us – we will miss you

The Uses of Sorrow

(In my sleep I dreamed this poem)

Someone I loved once gave me a box full of darkness.

It took me years to understand that this, too, was a gift.

Mary Oliver

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February 14, 2016 · 5:12 pm

Hawaiian Sunrise

IMG_20160214_113623958

6:30 AM in Hawaii.
Birds in a giant tree to the left of the villa sing to greet the rising light …. another one – larger, louder- pipes up just to the east; I think he’s on the jetti below my lanai

but he is invisible to me except for his clear, determined voice.  I wonder if he will do this tomorrow.  If he did this yesterday.

Watching the cool morning light stretching up toward the last star shimmering in a periwinkle sky,

now sinking into a dusty pink, then to a sunrise-to-the-east yellow, like cream on clouds that rest on the horizon …

is healing, full of grace.

In the dark below, a small fishing boat pulls away from its dock, gliding silently along a jetti.

Sipping coffee, I watch as it moves toward the sea.

Jetti locataires- palm trees and flowering bushes – are watching, too.

We watch together.  The little boat reaches the ocean and shrinks away.

Inevitably the light pushes up, drowning the star and it’s periwinkle sky.  Boats appear in lit slips, now visible, and the sun appears, looking more majestic than I remember it.

IMG_20160214_120617787

I must be in paradise.

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October 14, 2013 · 3:49 am

The Appeal of Red

Proving that the apprehension of even the mundane is fluid – birds see color varieties that we don’t, seeking in each other the appeal of colors unknown to us.

And so the boy birds and the frogs – prey for birds – have adapted.  Boys become bright to attract feminine attention, frogs to warn that they are poisonous.  I once had a boyfriend like that.  So shiny and colorful I knew he must be dangerous.  And he was.

If the world is for each of us what we perceive, a subjective reality, then it must be an infinity of realities made sweet or sour by the tastes each of us give it, expect of it, believe to be real, and have the capacity to perceive.  And so a million realities exist around us but we see and create realities unique to ourselves.

We are dreamers diving into the swirl of our days, abandoning ourselves to the past, what we’re instructed to believe, what we can accept.   Endlessly dancing with these lovers, until something or someone trips us, jars us awake, rips us from the fabric of our diligently woven lives.  If we are lucky.

Waking from a dream of myself or perhaps nudged by some nascent desire, I have begun to weave red into a tapestry that has before been a kind of grotto of earth colors.  Here, indulged desire – oh, yes – where my careful heart would never have dared.  There the fiery red of a creative flame allowed to burn.  Consequences?  Perhaps, but you have to live.

This love-child could become a blaze, burning away old perceptions that have outlived their power to be potent; or a long, warm summer day of lovemaking in the forest, bent over a tree.   Or maybe it will become a garden, velvety flowers springing from alongside the path of my days, meandering through cool archways overgrown with trailing ivy.  No telling, yet.  But hopefully it will involve my share of red and an enhanced perception of color.

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October 8, 2013 · 1:45 am

Breathe

Letting go is best accomplished with breathing.

In.  Out.  In.  Out.  And continue.

Give space,  give time, to each breath.  Let each breath complete itself, become full, and rejoin the sky.  Smile, where possible.

It lubricates things.

 

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September 25, 2013 · 2:19 am

Family Dinner

The evening sky, in a kind of benediction, smiles down over the moving body of people on Massachusetts Avenue; folks leaving work, rushing past me as I lean on a sign post outside a restaurant, waiting for my brother to arrive, and reading the news.

People make their way under bands of clouds shaded in pink and lavender against  a cornflower sky, past the row of restaurants on the avenue, dodging others doing the same in the opposite direction, children in hand, dogs and partners in tow, bikes and books carefully maneuvered,  a woman leading her blind partner, a dog tied to a sign post.

My brother arrives, tall and handsome, smiling. The sky is smiling, too.

The restaurant he has chosen is crowded with families, meeting each other or arriving together, like we are.  We sit surrounded by children and couples, sharing pad thai, yellow curry, and a dotted conversation that is broken by topic changes un-introduced by the usual explanations, punctuated and broken by remarks, observations, and stories unrelated to the current of the discussion we are having.  Interjections surface, are acknowledged, and the conversation’s current resumes as if they had never occurred.

We talk the way two people who have known each other their whole lives can, without ever having to pause and ask the other to repeat or explain.   It’s the sort of conversation a stranger would probably think made little sense.

But it is like a news report, delivered in prioritized order, to us.  Some sadness to discuss, a few stories, two accomplishments, questions and information about work and family.  Candid thoughts we can share with each other, but perhaps not very many other people, serve as punctuation.

But especially we just sit together and eat like we used to as kids, and never do anymore.   The hour, the news, the stories, the sunset, are spent.

I worry about him, as I always do after we part, fretting on the train back to Alewife.  It’s a job of big sisters, I think as I am swept along in the crowd toward the turnstiles, to worry about little brothers, even if they are all grown up.

When I emerge alone from the station the sun has set and the dark stream of the night sky has settled over Massachusetts Avenue;  the smiling sunset now gone, leaving me with a memory of it.   Like the table my little brother and I shared as kids, like our evening in Porter Square, a memory, now.  One in a long river of many.

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