I am learning that procrastination when it comes to #wildcrafting does not pay. You have to be ready to do the work 100% when the plants are ready. They wait for no one.
I ended up missing #Monsterdon tonight so I could process this beautiful red clover, getting the bulk of it into the dehydrator with just enough left to start a pint of tincture.
It took hours to pick and process, but wow, I am so frikken happy right now!
Good red clover is almost impossible to find commercially. If it is handled correctly, meaning it's not brown and gross when you get it, you will pay premium prices for it.
So I've been intently staring at fields and verges lately when I get to go out into the wild, trying to find places I could forage red clover without someone pointing a shotgun at me. It's almost the end of the season; it will all be going to seed by next week.
Today I hit the jackpot. I went to work out at a clients farm, and it turns out they have a front pasture that is just full of the stuff. They say it's awful when the horses eat it, because they just drool and drool, so they invited me to take as much as I could.
I couldn't take as much as I wanted because it was quite late in the day by the time I was done seeing my clients, and I didn't have any of my usual foraging supplies with me (d'oh! Lesson learned!), but the amount I got was absolutely perfect for the two things I wanted to do this week -- dry some and tincture some fresh.
I need to go back out there within the next two days to see if I can gather another round. It's a precious herbal resource, even though it's just an ordinary field weed to most folks.
The more I have these synchronicities with finding the plants when I need them, the more I feel that this slow, years-long adjustment that I'm making in my career path is the right one. I still want to be able to help people when I'm 80-something, and I want to help others to get to know the plants around them and take better care of themselves.
Also, I had a frikken bald eagle soar over my car when I was driving down to work today, so yay, nature!
"I was born to a family that harnessed the winds and could read futures in fire and water. Yet my mother kept her secrets. Then the werewolf came, sharing his madness. Now it’s my turn to keep secrets...."
Yellow dock roots, scrubbed and ready to cut up and put in a bottle for tincture. The Offspring finds that yellow dock tincture works better for them than commercial iron pills, so I like to keep plenty on hand.
"The book focuses on state repression, police violence, prisons, the border regime, genocide, occupation and war while recognising there are millions more other forms of state violence shaping people’s lives and bodies. From herbal care for handcuff injuries to healing from incarceration, the book looks at herbal solidarity in practice, with examples from around the world. Tools are shared for herbal medic responses at demonstrations, protests and uprisings to practising herbalism in prison, to herbal support for nightmares, panic attacks and other expressions of distress and trauma."
Hi all. How's everyone doing today? I have a question for those with #chronicIllness who use natural remedies, particularly #herbalism, to help with your illness, instead of or along with western medicine. My mom got me some stuff to start a #garden since she thinks I'll love growing my own food and #herbs, and we also think it would be good to see if we can find any herbs that might help with my health issues. She seems to think it's enough to just look up herbs and what they do, but from what I'm reading, there's a lot more to it than that, since they might need to be prepared in a certain way, or there might be a certain tradition or way of use behind them, so I'm trying to find resources to teach me about herbs and how to use them, and maybe just natural and alternative medicine in general. There seems to be a lot of stuff on YouTube, but it's hard to know what's reliable or might be too visual since I'm #blind. I've looked at online courses, but I don't know about #accessibility and most cost a lot of money, which we don't have. Does anyone have any suggestions for where I can learn about herbalism, #alternativeMedicine, and things like that in an affordable, #accessible way? #chronicallyIll#NEISVoid@chronicillness
@RareBird_15@chronicillness I really like the Commonwealth Holistic Herbalism podcast and the book The Herbal Medicine Maker's Handbook. The Modern Herbal Dispensatory is a good option too. I have autoimmune and kidney issues, and herbalism has been one incredible facet in management.
Search engines and my books are failing me today. I’m trying to find out how horsetail is used to stop external bleeding. I know it can be used as a poultice, but I’m not sure how that’s made. At what point in the growing season can it be used this way? Is it ground up by itself, or is water added? In a pinch, can it be chewed up and then put on a wound? #Herbalism#Horsetail#poultice#medicine
I bumped that again because I see people constantly on the timeline with folks that are suffering from cognitive decline. Literally mint tea at the least puts it on hold where it is.
I used to care, I used to try and try and try and try to tell people things I'd learned. I've long since given up but if you care for your old people give them some mint.
I got a pound of dried bilberries, but they're not dried like hawthorn berries, they're dried like raisins. And that's kinda weird for making a tea.
So I think I have to extra dry them in the oven until they get crunchy. The raisiny ones are probably good for having on yogurt, but since I'm making a tea for my dad, I think 100% dried will be better. Definitely easier to deal with cause they stick together as is.