history changed

This podcast has been such a positive guide in my life over the past couple of months. I'm feeling lucky to have found others who use cartomancy to reflect on & enhance daily life.

Thistles... a prickly plant with such a undeservedly bad reputation. & its true, this isnt a plant you would want to sit on or hug, but let us move beyond that aspect to see all the benefits it has for ecology.

Thistles are abundant resources of pollen and nectar all types of bees & butterflies few flowers are so attractive to so many types of pollinators.

And, once you get past their protective spines (protective for the plant, a bit painful for the people) the thistle has many medicinal qualities. I myself have only tried using the seeds in tincture but check out this episode of the plant report for more ideas on how to use this medicinal plant and why it should be a part of your permaculture field.

Essences of the field; a reminder to enjoy the natural beauty all around us.

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Harvesting mint

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One way to harvest herbs responsibly is to focus on invasive herbs (non-native plants). In this case harvesting mint where it is growing like a "weed" can leave space for less aggressive vegetation.

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Today I'm harvesting some of this abundant herb for a relaxing & refreshing tea mix (to go with lemon verbena and maybe lavender and rose).

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How do you use mint? .

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Happy Harvesting

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Today I would love to share a few podcast episodes that have helped inform me on the most positive and productive ways to help our earth. The first two are by a new-ish search engine that invests in supporting and replanting the world'd forests.

On the topic of reforestation to combat climate change the intervewee notes: "I would like to add that [reforestation] is also a very cost efficient solution in the sense that it doesn’t cost a lot to plant a tree. It doesn't require advanced technologies in order to do it. So it’s a very easy way to fight climate change."

And here is another episode worth checking out in order to get a fuller understanding with some examples of real reforestation projects and methods.

And lastly, a podcast by the BBC called "Costing the Earth". The title of the show may sound depressing, but most episodes are full of positive ideas and people taking action. Here is an episode focused on urban and semi-urban folks, and one woman' journey to find out more on how to rewild 1/2 an acre of land in order to invite native plant and animals back to the landscape.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00088kx