I spent three hours furiously typing away three different blogs after coming back from the BotanicWise conference. The creative juices were flowing, albeit, some better than others. However, this particular, final blog has been creeping up on me for a year or so now. Unsure how, or why, or if I would ever say this words out loud (or on a screen), I choose to share my feelings on getting old. And I’d like to point out how seemingly ridiculous this sounds: excitement about gett

My new friend Jamie giving me moral support while I said hi to Kat In my last blog I ruminated on how my experience at BotanicWise left me with some pretty intense revelations, particularly that we need to help heal our home, the Earth, and we can do that by increasing the number of herbalists we have to reach their communities. I chose not to touch on the topic of Kat Maier in that post because I knew that once I started I wouldn’t be able to stop. Kat Maier has changed my

Getting ready for the drum circle in Kempton, PA Driving back from the Botanicwise herbal conference yesterday, windows down, radio off, allowed me to begin the process of digesting all that I had been exposed to over the past three days. I’m going to blog about this for the next few weeks, taking turns with different themes each week. Buckle up. This was my second time at this conference, and the second conference I had attended this year (I think). It feels like I have jus

There is something surreal as I slowly stroll the sandy banks of the York River in Barhamsville, Virginia. I’ve been standing in this particular spot for over thirty years, and yet now things seem to hit a bit different. Maybe because it’s almost the fourth of July on this, the two-hundred and fiftieth anniversary. Across the river from me, seen as a distant shoreline of hazy green trees, lies Werowocomoco- the (relatively) recently rediscovered stronghold of Chief Powhatan

The Sweat Lodge One of the very cool aspects of being involved with herbalism is that there are so many avenues to take. Just when you think you’ve ‘mastered’ the art of one understanding, you realize there are three more ways to understand them that you never knew existed. And sometimes we may have started on the plant path with one goal in mind, only to find a decade or more later that we need to circle back and revisit that goal. To work with herbs is a journey. You can c

Me and Peony Let me start out with- I love my home. LOVE. But there are times when home, no matter how amazing and magical it is, can be a bit too much. Working from home while maintaining a homestead can often feel very overwhelming. If my eyes are open I see dishes to be cleaned, floorboards to wipe down, jars of herbs to dust, or food going bad in the fridge. Even outside, I am bombarded by all the ‘shoulds.’ I should weed one of the gardens. I should divide and replant th

how plant medicine helped my panic attacks

Supplements and herbalism are two different things. Both have their purpose in supporting the body, but they are very different worlds.

Swapping out clinical herbal approaches for folk traditions. How animal guides can lead you to the right medicine.

A medieval herbalist, abbess, composer, artist, mystic, and scientist, St. Hildegard is a remarkable woman with a unifying presence today.

One of the interesting things about being an herbalist is that there are so many herbs to get to know. And when I say ‘get to know,’...

Anxiety. Remember when this word wasn’t part of our day-to-day vocabulary? When it wasn’t one of the common ways we described ourselves?...

Wild St. John's Wort OK. Here goes. I avoid talking about St. John's Wort. In my clinical practice I tend to dose pretty conservatively....

New Beginnings in Marblehead, MA I just came back from a weekend studying with renowned herbalist Margi Flint. I stayed at her house....

This is going to sound crazy. Allow me to get a bit woo woo for a moment. At the risk of sounding completely unprofessional and having...

This is a horrible time. I don't care who you are, what political lines you fall on, or how optimistic or 'enlightened' you are. You...

I’ve said this before- I’m a summer gal. Being a teacher for all of my professional life (aside from now) has left some indelible marks on me: being chronically on time, planning things in the Type A fashion which I am not, living for the summer, and having mixed feelings come fall. There is still this sense of both excitement and dread when summer winds down. I believe part of that is built into our DNA. In many parts of the world, for millions of years, winter was a time of

Sometimes, we are the loser. Not in everything. Not all the time. This does not indicate our entire life was spent being a loser. But...

Reflection on 10 years of herbalism and what truly led me to the plant path: the plants themselves. They find you when you need them.

Using organic straw as natural weed suppression and increasing moisture retention was the best choice ever.

While I’m fascinated by growing all types of plants, and feel especially proud when I get a good harvest of an exotic species, I feel...

I quite literally cannot wait for spring each year. And while, yes, I’m learning to embrace the beauty and quiet of winter, I really...

The hypocrisy of this post is not lost on me. I am not anti-tech. I daresay I would no longer survive without my GPS; having a cell phone...

Working with herbs? Here's why you need to build a relationship with your plant medicine.

This is a tough one. This winter thing. As I type this, I have an exquisite view of six inches of pure, dry snow on the back patio,...

I can’t afford me. It’s true. As I’ve been spending the last 3-4 years building a couple of businesses from scratch it has been a newish...

My family has fizzled. When I was a kid, my grandparents had many celebrations at their house. It was warm, crowded, loud- full of food...

When you’re interested or passionate about something it’s easy to get swept up in the excitement of it, or to be led down some deep...

I’ve said this before- I’m a summer gal. Being a teacher for all of my professional life (aside from now) has left some indelible marks on me: being chronically on time, planning things in the Type A fashion which I am not, living for the summer, and having mixed feelings come fall. There is still this sense of both excitement and dread when summer winds down. I believe part of that is built into our DNA. In many parts of the world, for millions of years, winter was a time of

It's September. It's starting to get darker earlier. But even if I wasn't able to see the world around me, my body would let me know. I'm...

It started because I'm cheap. That was mostly my fault. I didn't choose a profession that made much money (teaching in a private school)....

I know I said I'm not doing many more of these 'casual' posts anymore, as part of my business plan was to blog once or twice a month...

I know you know what melatonin is. You may fall on the Melatonin Fan bandwagon, or you might be fed up with it for whatever reason. But...

One of my favorite and earliest memories was seeing the big glass cylinder, the one with the muted orange and yellow citrus slices...

I find there are often 2 types of herbalists that I tend to run across: the science-based and the woo-woo. Neither are wrong or right....

I’m not a boring person. For most of my life I chose (most of the time) not to be boring, and prefer to be around non-boring people (I've learned that few people are truly boring). For all you little voyeuristic folks out there, I’m going to give you a glimpse behind the curtain about me, how I got here, and what the heck this herbalism thing is about. If you don’t already know me, you’ll soon realize I’m a pretty candid person. That makes some people uncomfortable. If you ar

I'm supposed to be finishing up my Herb of the Month newsletter right now. But I just went outside. In my bare feet. In my bathrobe. At...

It's been a minute. So much for my 'blog every month' goal. The ironic thing is that the months I have been missing lately are months...

I'm sure I've overstated my love of spring and summer and my reluctance towards leaning into fall and winter. Over the past few years...

There's this thing that happens for some plant lovers. It happens when the plant that you want or need randomly pops up in your garden,...

Ever since gardening with Herbs entered my life, I have fallen in love with the Seasons of Autumn & Spring. Every time Spring comes...

May is probably the busiest month I've seen all year. I often find myself feeling busy, but in actuality I'm not sure if I'm really all...

Finally. Spring is here, and I'm literally itching to get my hands in the dirt. And then, without even needing to refer back to my 'farm...

I know I should be enjoying this time of year more, settling in with it, finding the joy in the crispness of the air. I'm sure that I...

I don't think we talk about failures enough. Most of the failures I've experienced in my life- true failures, where I've actually tried...

Everyone loves fall. I am not those people. I'm a spring/summer gal. Now, I don't necessarily dislike fall, but to me it had underlying...

I started too late. My path to holistic living was weak, at best, for most of my adult life. I mean, I preferred to eat organic food, and...

Whelp, I have already failed in maintaining a monthly blog. Sorry, June. For a person with 'not a real job' at the moment, I seem to find...

The struggle is real. I've been on Vyvanse for about 10 years. And. I. Love. It. It gave me this incredible energy, kept me motivated,...

I don't read blogs. I don't follow bloggers. I don't listen to podcasts (until last week). Up until recently I haven't strayed far from...