Spring in the Village: Common Weeds & Garden Escapees of Rural New Mexico

A Golden Torch: Mullein’s Healing Light
Common Names: Mullein, Punchón, Gordolobo, Wild Ice Leaf, Our Lady’s Flannel, Hag’s (or Hedge) Taper, Torches, Candelaria, Quaker’s Rouge, Botanical Name: Verbascum spp. Parts used: root, leaf, flower, flower stalk resin Energetics – Root: neutral, sl. drying. Leaf: cool, sl. moistening. Flower: cool, neutral Taste: salty, bland, vanilla This velvet leafed plant w

Rich, Sweet & Wild: Acorn and Pine Nut Infused Butter
Most of my readers well know my fondness for the sweet, rich taste of New Mexico’s wild acorn. This smooth dark nut from the evergreen woodlands of the Southwest’s middle mountain ecology is often prolific and a great favorite of local wildlife. And with good reason, as this little nutrient powerhouse is both delicious and deeply nourishing, providing us with fat, protein and a plethora minerals…. The problem with acorns and with the SW’s other great nut, the

New Animá Supporterships
The following is the some of the new text for the Supporter page of the Animá website, describing the new forms for contributing financially to this place, practice and purpose.  We eliminated the Memberships, as that made it sound like this was an organization rather than a school and sanctuary, and lowered the minimum Supporter contribution so that nearly everyone can afford to participate who really wants to.  There are now 4 clear levels of Support for you to choose from, according to the degree of involvement and gratitude, and your ability to help.  Due to the difficult economic times we have lost the aid of several Supporters, so we have to thank you in advance for even co

November Blogparty: Wild Woodlands Morning Brew
This is for the November Blogparty on Morning Ritual Beverages hosted by Kristine of Dancing in a Field of Tansy. There’s nothing like breathing in the richness of the forest while waking up to the beauty all around us. Witnessing dawn erupting in shades of magenta and gold over the horizon while immersed in the taste of the pine trees and oak forest is an incomparable experience that even the most hardcore coffee junkies shou

Elder Mother Immune Elixir
I don’t find the idea of magic bullets to be very effective in healing, and find that the most successful therapy always originates in tailoring the treatment to the individual person and situation. For this reason, you’ll rarely see/hear me recommending a set formula or list of herbs for any given diagnosis. In fact, my answer is almost always, “it depends” to any question asking about herbs to treat a disease or disorder. This is because I work with people, and with the unique ways