A Grieving Warrior figurine that my mother gave me sits amongst forget-me-not flowers in my garden. We find ourselves, as humans on this beautiful planet, in a state of uncertainty, fear, anxiety and much that is unknown. Certainly, those of us alive today have never experienced anything like the impact of COVID-19. But the truth is, a great deal in life is out of our control. People are scared. People are questioning. For those of us with post-traumatic stress disorder, these times have brought up many challenges. I want to tell you about my PTSD, and how I strive for resilience.&nb ..read more

It’s a surreal time in the world right now and we must all do the best we can to support each other. It’s on that note that I have taken the better part of last 3 days to write this article for… you! Due to the current pandemic, there is a shortage of many herbs on the market. It’s also spring, when herb stocks are at their lowest as we get ready for the next growing season. There is some great information out there (and some suspect info too) but specific recipes may not be valuable if you don’t have access to the herbs in the formula.  Let me assure you that there are herbs in your are ..read more

I work with a lot of couples that are having trouble getting pregnant. It’s a tender, painful and often heartbreaking circumstance to be in. But it can also be a soul-felt, empowering and potentially beautiful journey, no matter the outcome. Infertility is defined as the inability to conceive a pregnancy, usually after trying for one year. What causes infertility is different for each woman, or man. Sometimes the cause is, frustratingly, unknown. But infertility can be due to damaged or blocked fallopian tubes, ovaries or uterus. It can also be caused by hormonal imbalances, endometriosis, be ..read more

There is no more creative force in the world than the menopausal woman with zest. –Margaret Mead Menopause is defined as the gradual change of hormone production leading to the cessation of ovulation and menstruation.  Women officially reach menopause when they have not menstruated for 12 months. A naturally occurring phase in a woman’s life, most women enter menopause between the ages of 45 and 55. In western medicine, menopause is often thought of as a disease state and hormone replacement therapies are often used. But as we learn more about the dangers of hormone replacement th ..read more

The skin is the largest eliminatory and digestive organ. It’s an organ we can see, and it is very obvious (and sometimes quite distressing) when it isn’t working well. It’s hard to have troubles with an organ and literally wear it on your face, right? Actually, skin problems almost always start deeper in the body. If one of the other eliminatory organs isn’t functioning well, the skin can get an overload of wastes and this can cause problems such as dermatitis, rashes, acne, or eczema. Because the skin reflects the health of other eliminatory organs such as the liver, kidneys, lungs and diges ..read more

Elderberry syrup is a staple for many households during the cold and flu season. It’s easy to understand why when we look at the medicinal properties of this beautiful shrub. Elderberries contain large amounts of potassium and beta-carotene, as well as sugar and fruit acids, calcium, phosphorous, vitamin C, tannins and flavonoids, including rutin and quercetin. They also contain a high concentration of anthocyanins. Anthocyanins, derived from the purple pigments, have many medicinal properties. Ongoing research in Europe on the anthocyanins found in the elderberry has shown them to exhibit an ..read more

Summer is around the corner and it’s time to get outside! Along with barbeques, hiking and enjoying the outdoors comes life’s little accidents like bug bites, sunburn and minor injuries. Now is the time to prepare for summer by creating your own little aromatic first aid kit. One of the things I love about using essential oils for first aid is that they are very potent so you only need a small amount on hand. This makes them easily portable for hiking, backpacking and travel. When using essential oils, it is important to think about safety and application. More isn’t necessarily better – for ..read more

I have loved trees since I was a small girl, sitting high among their branches, making “soup” out of their spring catkins, and weaving small, supple crowns from their young branches. As a grown herbalist, for many years I focused on herbaceous plant identification. But one winter several years ago, I was missing the green, as I always do. Walking through the winter forests that year, I slowly became obsessed with winter tree identification. There is so much to see about trees and shrubs, I found, and in such a different way, when looking at them in the late fall, winter and early spring. Due ..read more

What is an Oxymel? The word oxymel is an ancient Greek word based on the Latin word oxymeli. An oxymel is a medicinal mixture of vinegar, honey and herbs. Oxymels were used by the ancient Greeks, Romans, and Persians (who referred to it as serkangabin)and are still enjoyed in Iran today. Over the last few years, oxymels have been gaining popularity in the west, both as herbal remedies and as cocktail ingredients. They are commonly used to administer herbs that may have an unpalatable taste. Over the last three years, I have been making lots of oxymels, mostly ..read more

Healing the Gut A 2013 survey suggested that 72 percent of Americans live with digestive symptoms such as reoccurring diarrhea, gas, bloating, frequent bowel movements and abdominal pain.1 Disturbingly, many of these symptoms are indicative of a decreased ability to digest, absorb and assimilate nutrients from the food we eat. In the long run, this causes a reduction in overall health and wellbeing. Healing the gut is essential for any digestive issues that are chronic, including food allergies or intolerance, reflux, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, leaky gut and Celiac, to name just a few. This is ..read more