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
Filed under sustainability …
A Survivor’s Guide to the Essential Oil Craze
“People who know me, know I love America and Americans, but on the question of essential oils, I am knocked to the ground by the method of selling and exploiting these precious plant medicines and by the conflict that seems to exist within the aromatherapy world itself. It makes me very sad.” ~ French Herbalist, … Continue reading
The Great Forgetting
Last weekend I gave a talk on Plant Spirit Medicine at a local UU church in Oxford, MS. I was invited by the congregation and was so honored to be asked! In the process of preparing for my presentation, I made a realization about Jesus that I hadn’t before. Of course, they are a very … Continue reading
Restoryation of our Egosystem
Political cartoon, Russia, late 1800s I’ve always been disturbed by cultures steeped too deeply in their hum-drum, human-made histories. It’s almost as if they are in a trance. Certain cultures cling to these histories more than they do the need for clean water or clean air. I find this to be very toxic. I … Continue reading
Recent Interview with Project Illum
Recently, I was interviewed by Project Illum, a team working to create an eco-healing retreat center in a the village of Jafre in Spain. They inquired about the nature of my work and what I wish to see in a project of that scale. I posted this interview here, on my blog, as I thought … Continue reading
Long-lost, Long-leaf: The Return of a Forgotten Forest?
An old-growth stand of Long-leaf pine (Florida?) She was 92 million acres total before the early European colonizers began to cut her trees down or to tap into her resin for turpentine and rosen. She stretched from coastal Virginia to Florida and from Florida to Texas. What is left of her, you may ask — … Continue reading
Summer Peach Chutney (lacto-fermented)
Fresh and fuzzy peaches Unfortunately, these beauties are one of the most sprayed fruits in the US. So, always wash and peel (sigh, as if that really does anything) and buy organic (ask the farmer if they are chemical-free!) whenever possible! Below, I have a lacto-fermented peach chutney recipe for you. But, first — a … Continue reading
Apple-atcha: A Cider Pressin’ Story
Last year, my friend and I made apple cider from the treasure-trove of forgotten apple orchards in Western North Carolina. On some lonely trails behind a small, humble retreat center there are literally dozens of heirloom apple trees, mingled in with the wild, that drop bushels of apples on the forest floor and no one … Continue reading
Food Sovereignty
Hello dear readers… I’m about to share with you a topic that is the nearest and dearest to my heart — food sovereignty. And, ultimately what I mean by this is community-based NOURISHMENT. After being raised in a “food desert” of sorts in small Mississippi town, it took me years to recover my health and … Continue reading
Forgotten Forests
“But perhaps we may make our stand along the *edge* of that civilization, like a magician, or like a person who, having lived among another tribe, can no longer wholly return to his own. He lingers half within and half outside of his community, open as well, then, to the shifting voices and flapping forms … Continue reading
