Nettle Nonsense

05/03/2017

It is the simple pleasures in life, the tiny wild flower yearning towards the sun, the first bursts of color as the trees stretch forward. I encourage you to take 5-10 minutes or more outside. As my 2nd grade teacher told me "take a moment to be still, hear everything, breath" So true, outside I can hear the grass rise, the trees beginning to whisper in the breeze, the hum of bees so busy. Truely amazing. ❤ lovin life!

12/31/2016

Hello all! happy new year to everyone! The Solstice was mere days ago, but would you believe I have already seen a response in many of our local plants! kick some dead leaves up and you are likely to find small herbs staring and buds from plants unfurling! Even with this impending cold snap the plants are eager to get spring under way. Stay warm and consider taking protective measures for plants that are exposed to overnight cold.

10/30/2016

Psst.. Remember these? It's almost time to harvest them! Don't think its time to sit by the fire just yet. There is still a lot going on out there! Oregon grape root is prime, willow bark is available, cotton wood buds are all over after every wind storm. Trust me, there's lots happening out there this time of year. The plants energy is on the move into the roots for the winter. So its time for barks and roots. As always your welcome to come out and take a walk with us, and in fact we hope you do!

Rosehips! They are everywhere, have you seen them? Even driving around town its easy to spot the attention grabbing red berry looking things. I only harvest after the first frost so there is a while to wait, but fun to see. These little beauties are fabulous sources of Vit. C.

09/12/2016

A sun flower for a beautiful sunny day here in the PNW. If you have ever took a walk with us this will sound familiar, this is a member of the Asteraceae family. And you thought your family tree was big! Sunflowers are great examples of disk and ray flowers. Yep flowers, every petal as well as every tuft springing out from the disk is a complete flower, and each will be pollinated separately and will each form a seed. Another incredible plant I hope everyone will have a chance to meet!

09/04/2016

Grindelia also known as gum w**d is one of our summer plants. We put flower buds in honey and enjoy it through the winter. Its pure summer in a bottle for us and its great for that winter cough too!

08/30/2016

Rosehips! They are everywhere, have you seen them? Even driving around town its easy to spot the attention grabbing red berry looking things. I only harvest after the first frost so there is a while to wait, but fun to see. These little beauties are fabulous sources of Vit. C.

08/29/2016

Camping adventures. We did not do a whole lot but we did a lot of watching the wildlife, listened to the birds, talked to the squirels and dodged pinecones they threw down. We prefer to hammock camping rather than tent for a number of reasons: really fast set up, take down, minimal footprint, and no need to worry about a flat space. :)

08/28/2016

Tea with breakfast while camping is an amazing thing for all. We harvested some blue elderberry and ponderosa pine tips. We forgot to bring cups so we made our own from aluminium cans. Yum!

08/20/2016

Oh my.... The past week has been a blast!! On Wednesday we found ourselves waking to a gorgeous sunrise over the craggy foothills in Ellensburg. We had the privilege of teaching three groups of children from KEEN (Kittitas Environmental Education Network), Pond to Pine summer camp! I felt so filled with gratitude to see these eager children, thrilled to learn about what was growing in their own environment.
On the way back we stopped for some gorgeous Blue Elderberries, we were out of our tincture so it was a perfect opportunity! Thank you 'tree of the blue Elders'!

08/16/2016

Life is happening so quickly are you enjoying it? We are.

Sunday we hosted a fabulous plant walk in Sultan at the Coppermoon Advanced Retreat Center. We had the joy of meeting some spectacular people, and learned as much as we taught.

Then on Monday we spent some time with children in Seattle telling stories about the mouse and the Douglas Fir, and having sword fights with sword fern. The pinnacle of the day was when the children would run up holding a Doug Fir pinecone excited to see the mouse tails!

Tomorrow morning will find us in Ellensburg teaching 3 different groups of children, it promises to be fun, interactive, and warm. A good recipe for a fun day!

This coming Sunday we will be back home teaching locally through Moddejonge Herbals in Everett. See our shared event to sign up!

We will definitely be posting pictures soon.
See you outside!

08/13/2016

It was too gorgeous to stay inside! I took the time to stay around the house outside today and meet a new friend. I'm still waiting to see its flowers and growth height but I think we've got Black Medick on our doorstep. We are looking forward to learning more about our mystery friend.

07/25/2016

What a wonderful day out! On such glorious days, I suggest you look down occasionally. These little guys are plantain, and we aren't talking bananas. 😉 I keep my eyes open for these every time I'm outside! The mosquitoes love me, my own personal paparazzi. After the inevitable bite occurs I seek out plantain, breaking open the leaf by mashing with my thumb nail, and rubbing vigorously on the bite. The itch disappears for a few hours, allowing me to finish my time outside.

See you outside!