As an herbalist, the plant world constantly intrigues me. Beyond medicine-making, plants continue to lure me into plant-dye experiments, cord-making, and other curiosities. Naturally, fibers and textiles are of interest and I’m always intrigued by traditional techniques and the revivification of lost ways… And so, today’s topic is the natural fiber, ramie. Ramie or China … Continue reading
Filed under musings …
Cell Phone-Free Living
Message for Lindsay Who Has No Cell Phone This was the subject of the email I just received from someone in SF who read an interview I did with a blogger asking me about living without a cell phone. I never saw the blog post, so I asked this woman to send me a link… … Continue reading
Halloween: From Sugar to Real Sweetness
* harvesting * letting go * first frost * preparation * lungs * mushrooms * roots * fall fruit * mustard family * nuts * seeds * balance * fall colors * hunting * rendering lard * “Like a fisherman drawing in its nets he has dipped in the ocean, September’s equinox quietly pulls in … Continue reading
Fall, Letting Go, and Parting with my Apothecary Business
Fall is on the horizon. This is always a good time to tease out what we need and what we don’t need to move forward in life. In the past, at this time of year, I have left a job that was not fulfilling anymore…left a relationship that no amount of watering could revive…left a … Continue reading
Bear and Depression’s Mother
“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 I’m still collecting my thoughts around the coincidence of two bear dreams. They were not dreams I had. They were dreams that two friends had of me and a … Continue reading
Forest Bathing, Mississippi-style
Between cutting down the old-growth cypress forests of the Mississippi Delta, the clear-cutting of the coastal long-leaf pine forest, and the cutting and then conversion of the beech-magnolia climax forest to the monocropping of pine trees for the paper and wood industry… there is not much left to speak of when it comes to … Continue reading
All Creatures Return Home
“Every creature on earth returns to home. It is ironic that we have made wildlife refuges for ibis, pelican, egret, wolf, crane, deer, mouse, moose, and bear, but not for ourselves in the places where we live day after day. We understand that the loss of habitat is the most disastrous event that can occur … Continue reading
Imbolc, Liver Health, Glutathione, and the River
With the many rites of the coming spring in full force (Imbolc, Lunar New Year, Groundhog Day, Candlemas, etc), the warmer weather has me feeling…not only revivified…but also thinking, carefully, about where my energy goes as we enter this new cycle. Just like a archer aiming her arrow, I think about what I want this … Continue reading
Women: Reclaiming Our Natural Rhythms
“The major challenge for women is that we have knotted ourselves so firmly into the awkward, rhythmless, dissonant, societal system that we can barely breathe — much less think of breaking free from it.” ~ Maya Tiwari in “Women’s Power to Heal” Women. We feel something is missing. Some of us are shut-down around what … Continue reading
Just. Keep. Going.
Some of the most important use of time and energy is to restore our relationships with the living world…and to do this with as much heart as we can. Over the years, I have met some amazing people from all over the world doing just this… They are honing their life ways…refining ~ reskilling ~ … Continue reading
Lindsay Kolasa 