Chamomile

I love the scent of chamomile and find myself drawn to whiff deeply from it even before it blooms, just knees and nose to the ground buried in feathery leaves, and in the blink of an eye I feel uplifted and settled.

Bare Necessities: Tincturing

It's the heat of what's been a scorching day, the kind where one steps outside and within a few steps sweat begins to bead up around the hairline and next thing you know it's in your eyebrows, and you're glad to be wearing a skirt to wipe your face with. I'm headed to a slope...

Dandelion

Dandelion and violets were two of the first wildflowers that I worked with as allies; I love that their flowers are complementary colors too.  When we lived in town, my neighbor Josephine, a lovely elderly woman with violet tinted hair, gave me permission to pick both from her (unsprayed) lawn before Teddy, the mower boy...

Burdock

Burdock grows easily where I live.  Under stands of tulip poplar where woods meet grass, burdock’s right there at the edges of the hedge row.  There are clumps in corners outside our house, by doorways, near the chicken coop, under apple trees, we get caught up in burs and our dog gets clumps in her furs.  My children used to toss the burs at one another then come inside for detangling, ouch!

Violets

These were one of the first wildflowers I became familiar with and am still getting to know; the slight peppery bite of leaf, more pronounced in the blossoms, doesn't fail to startle my taste buds.  They’re a sight for sore eyes coming out of winter into spring, and always cheer me up; I do so adore Violets!

Hops

The plant, in my experience, holds on tenaciously both at the root level and the climbing bine level . . . one can go on pulling and digging at the roots and shoots and they keep going, regrowing even from the smallest bit left behind and out of the compost heap as well.  Once planted it is tenacious and near impossible to push back, contain, or get rid of. Reflective of the personality who just won’t let go . . .