the way of the blackberry
I was on my way home the other day and noticed a big red truck (with an american flag) parked on the side of the fairly busy through road. Curious, I slowed a bit, and as I passed I saw a tough looking young man, fully garbed in cowboy boots and tight jeans, picking blackberries into a bucket.
blackberry stalk
I was on my way home the other day and noticed a big red truck (with an american flag) parked on the side of the fairly busy through road. Curious, I slowed a bit, and as I passed I saw a tough looking young man, fully garbed in cowboy boots and tight jeans, picking blackberries into a bucket. The next day, I drove by the same patch and saw an older latino woman picking from the same patch. The images have stuck with me, and I've been musing over what might occur if these two people found each other picking berries at the same time.
This plant calls us to her - regardless of ethnicity, class, race, or political stance. Blackberry - or Rubus armeniacus - speaks to us all in a way that goes deeper than all those identities. Everybody. loves. blackberries. And the store bought really can't compare to the hand picked, like some other berries. Everyone knows this, so much so that we'll pull off the side of a busy road to pick from a good stand, regardless of our skin color, legal status, or religious beliefs.
I see blackberry as a weaver of worlds. Animals come from all over to harvest her little jewels - birds, bears, coyotes, goats, humans. And though you may think of those thorns as a signal to stay away, when I'm picking I get all tangled up in the thorns that seem to reach around me for clothes to snag. It's almost as if she's pulling me closer, asking me to be a part of the whole (even if it is a little painful at times). Perhaps blackberry is an integral part of the web that connects each of us; the web that most of us only barely sense. And she loves to grow in the most disturbed places made ugly by humans.
The metaphors abound, just go pick some blackberries for yourself. maybe I'll see you in the patch, tangled together, working our way to the ripest fruit.
tiny teachings
I've been gifted with a new little teacher, who now resides right outside my bedroom window. He is quiet, and fragile, and patient.
papa-to-be kinglet
I've been gifted with a new little teacher, who now resides right outside my bedroom window. He is quiet, and fragile, and patient. I've been witnessing his fierce commitment to persevere, as he sits all day on his 3 little eggs, only leaving them in the setting sun to go catch crickets. I watch him watching, paying attention as the sun moves across the sky and brings ever-changing patterns of light to his tiny eyes. The word 'brood' is meant to describe what I witness - a male bird sitting on eggs that his partner laid - but I don't find him brooding. I find this little bird to be wonderfully alive, and anything but unhappy. He looks as if he knows that this is the most important moment of his little life, and he's rising to meet it with all his heart…as if he knows how fleeting peace can be, and relishing what he's got: the promise of an egg.
elder you bring me to my knees
lemon balm you welcome me completely
geranium you surprise me with your brightness
pomegranate~i am reverent.
fig, you inspire me to soften...
all of you ignite my heart so.
yours is the work that offers beauty and
exquisite experience of the earth ,
so that we cannot help but love the world
~f.k.b.
may you know your connection to the earth~
frieda kipar bay
the effects of fragrant dirt
Recent research has shown that the smell of humus exerts a physiological effect on humans.
"Recent research has shown that the smell of humus exerts a physiological effect on humans. Breathing in the scent of mother earth stimulates the release of the hormone oxytocin, the same chemical that promotes bonding between mother and child, between lovers. Held in loving arms, no wonder we sing in response." -Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass
how brilliant is that? As kids, sitting idly under a tree pulling out little clumps of grass--our mothers elsewhere--we were unknowingly being mothered. Not just energetically, but physiologically through our hormonal response. The smell of the earth can change our hormones…wow. It makes me wonder how different we might be if, as infants, we were always in contact with our birth mother or our earth mother. would the kinds of endocrine disorders that abound today be so prevalent? how many other connections can be made through this little piece of scientific data? how easily could things change by returning to a daily dose of palming the forest floor?
letters from the allergy capital...
what do allergies have to teach us, and can I stop sneezing long enough to listen? I will not pretend that I have all the answers here, but I have been finding a personal connection between allergy attacks and putting myself in situations where I am compromising my own needs. The body finds a way to get what it needs, even by overreacting sometimes. It's a child-like response, but very effective. So what if I stand up for myself, be brave, and simply state what I need? "sorry, I need to go home and rest." Well, so far, no allergy attack.
Now, for the little sniffly annoying allergies that worsen at night or when the wind picks up, here's some things to try: in general, improve digestion, calm and cool the liver, and support the deep immune system.
astragalus
immunomodulator (don't use with a high fever, otherwise good)
5 grams daily via decoction
ganoderma--reishi
deep immune stimulant. 1/2t. two-double decoction extract tincture
2x/day
silymarin--milk thistle seed
cooling to the liver, protective of liver function
2T daily ground up (buy/harvest whole, grind as needed), sprinkle on food
gentian
great for food sensitivities, intolerances, digestive issues. reduces gastrointestinal and respiratory inflammation. look for bitter formulas with gentian as the chief herb. 10 drops tincture before meals.
* *nettles are often said to be great for allergies, but studies are showing that to be true ONLY in it's fresh plant form. So go for the freeze-dried capsules, or make pesto.
if you use a neti pot, you can add a drop of golden rod tincture or a teaspoon of marshmallow root infusion in there too. always follow with some good quality oil up your nostrils when your done. oh joy;)
good luck!
sb277--vaccination without choice
I imagine we all know about this bill, but i want to make a personal request that each of you, whether you have kids or not, vaccinate or not, work with kids or not, take a stand on this issue. our freedom to choose our own medicine is being threatened by an industry that is not held accountable by anyone and has a long history of corruption. at the very least, we should be asking the question of who is behind this bill, and what they personally gain in it going through. unfortunately, the big pharm industry is fueled by money and power, which breeds greed. i think we should also be asking the question, "how does fear fuel our choices around health?" fear is what happens when we feel threatened, so what would it look like to act out of deep understanding and wisdom around this issue of disease, illness, and sickness in our society? we gotta bring this thing back to the ground.
alder. elderflower. sedge. willow. wild lettuce. teasel. cattail. shooting star.
May the earth's smell make you feel loved~
frieda kipar bay
**and for upcoming classes, garden days, and clinics, head over to the calendar page….
tobacco offerings
weeding. so much weeding right now. i was deep in the dirt the other day, digging out the velvet grass and tossing back the worms, when i noticed my hands.
weeding. so much weeding right now. i was deep in the dirt the other day, digging out the velvet grass and tossing back the worms, when i noticed my hands. they were caked in black dirt. they were nimbly working the grass out of the ground, making room for tobacco and mugwort. they were being useful. and in that noticing, i suddenly got hit with the realization that i belong on this earth, with a place and purpose, just like the plants. as a human being, i sometimes wonder if the earth might be better off without us, but in that moment, i realized my usefulness and place among things. it was a potent moment, finding a place for myself among the benevolent plants, the worthy worms, and the dirt that i come from and will someday go back to.
5 easy to grow first aid medicinals
I've been asked often, "what should I have growing for the first aid moments with my kids?" Here's a list I've compiled, and the simplified reason you'd grow it. Hope it comes in handy!
1. yarrow (Achillea millifolium)--the best styptic there is, use for gashes and slices, directly in cut to staunch bleeding and disinfect. easy to grow from seed.
2. plantain (Plantago spp.)--for stings and splinters, pulls out pain and the cause. easy to transplant or grow from seed.
3. black haw (Viburnum prunifolium)--for smooth muscle pain, including cramps, back spasms, pulled muscles. bark used. shrub, easy to find at nurseries as an ornamental. beautiful!
4. st. john's wort (Hypericum perforatum)--for trauma. for blows, bruises, major accident (car, power tool, knife, etc.) easy to grow from seed.
5. boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum)--for broken bones, to mend them together--especially helpful when the ER can't do much (fractures, toes, nose, etc.) use as a poultice and tincture. easy to grow from seed.
for medicinal seeds, look to horizonherbs.com
for medicinal plant starts, crimson-sage.com
some other items in my first aid kit: aloe, epi pen, activated charcoal, arnica tincture, lavender essential oil, lobelia tincture, steri strips, Bach flower rescue remedy.
stay tuned for my class this summer on the first aid garden...
dandelion. elderflower. cleavers. chocolate mint. lilac. nettle. rosemary. shooting star.
May the earth's aliveness draw your hands in deep~
frieda kipar bay
when a tree falls, what comes
I often grapple with what's important to write to all of you here, editing and erasing, trying to find the distillation of what is human and beautiful and inspiring to offer. Today, I'm thinking about the eucalyptus tree that fell down near my home.
hiding spot, fennel stalk
I often grapple with what's important to write to all of you here, editing and erasing, trying to find the distillation of what is human and beautiful and inspiring to offer. Today, I'm thinking about the eucalyptus tree that fell down near my home. I walked along the trunk that had never known a footstep, touched the leaves that used to tower 100 feet up, and found the roots that held fast until they just didn't anymore. Such shallow roots. Barely a hole in the ground, and yet they held a double trunked tree that was as long and spindly as a teenage boy, for decades. Amazing what can come to grow and thrive with such shallow roots, and exciting what new life comes from surrendering to the wind. That one surrender changed the whole garden--pruned fig and huckleberry trees, propped up limbs, opened sky to the south, and offered a new perspective to us ground dwellers. Maybe it's the aquarian in me, but I relish in deep change, and am so humbled--somehow comforted--by the constancy of change that the earth is always undergoing. It reflects the changeability of the body, and how possible healing and transformation is at any given moment.
garden love day is back! march 13TH, 10-1pm the chickens have had their way with it for awhile and it's time to weed, mulch, and rebuild. Come whisper to the lady's mantle, skullcap, arnica and raspberries, and enjoy gardening with other plant geeks! Children are encouraged, rain will cancel. Email info@taprootmedicine.org for more details. This has been a very sweet time to meet other mamas and plant women and tend to the earth together.
You can now buy taproot medicine at Farmacopia, an amazing apothecary and integrative clinic, and Thrive Birth Center. You can also read a little interview I did with Kelly Gray at Thrive. I'm super excited to be supporting these amazing, women-run offerings. Give them a visit, and tell your Santa Rosa friends.
The Homestead Apothecary Low-Cost Clinic will be the 3rd Friday of the month, beginning March 20th, 11-2pm. Priority goes to current clients, but if you are a new client (or tried to see me in the fall and weren't able to) please be in touch with me soon. Spots fill fast, and I will be scheduling 3 months in advance to accommodate all who are looking for care. Check out the website to read more about what I can offer. It is such a privilege to be able to offer deep herbal support to my community!
eucalyptus. poplar. cleavers. fiddlehead. dandelion. nettle. rosehip. bleeding heart.
May the earth's aliveness draw you to your knees~
waking up with the wet roots
i've been allowing myself to act like a plant, just rest and drink water these past months. sometimes i so want my heartbeat to slow to the speed of the winter bear's, to just take in the season the way most of the world around us does.
turkey tails (Trametes versicolor), harvested jan. 20th, 2015
i've been allowing myself to act like a plant, just rest and drink water these past months. sometimes i so want my heartbeat to slow to the speed of the winter bear's, to just take in the season the way most of the world around us does. thus, less emails. less contact. stop growing for a minute and just be still….i keep telling myself: it's okay, we too are aloud to do this. Our ambition as humans is vast, but that doesn't mean it can't wax and wane with the seasons.
Then, yesterday, putzing in the garden, I caught a whiff of someone waking up. It could have been the lady's mantle, maybe motherwort, or angelica; I actually walked the paths trying to sniff out who was waking up so fully in that moment. It was strong. Like coming back to life, literally. And in turn i feel inspired again, looking toward spring, toward growth. Just like that, turning back toward the desire to connect, to rekindle this little thing we do of reaching with our hearts towards another, after months of doing the work of letting it all go.
may the earth's aliveness wake you~
stay well honey balls
combine 1/4 cup each of: calendula blossoms, slippery elm powder, turmeric powder, reishi powder, cinnamon (optional).
mix powders, add 4T wellness syrup and enough local honey to make a paste (could use tahini or sunflower seed butter instead). roll into teaspoon sized balls and take 1-2 daily. kid friendly.
this recipe includes herbs that support immune function, aid in assimilation of nutrients and digestion, moisten and repair gut lining (so important to immune health yo!), and aid in circulation. feel free to experiment with your own recipes, this is just a template--enjoy:)
findings from the tingle of a foot
what if the earth was as emotionally sensitive as we are?
WHAT IF THE EARTH WAS AS EMOTIONALLY SENSITIVE AS WE ARE?
"It is not considered wise to point a finger at any island, especially this one. The Ojibwe use mouth or head to indicate direction, and are often humorously mocked for "pointing with the lips". But it is impolite to point a finger at people, and the islands as well. Pointing at the islands is like challenging them. And you don't want to challenge anything this powerful."
I recently read this passage in Louise Erdrich's Books and Islands in Ojibwe Country, and it got me thinking, what if our current culture really and truly believed that the land we live on has an opinion about how we interact with it? What would change if we could pretend that was true, even for a moment? For me, as I write this outside, with my left leg draped over my right, my bare right foot pressing into the earth, I become aware. And not just about how I'm in contact with the earth, but how she just might be aware of me.
Suddenly I feel very small, and the cottonwood tree 20 ft. away feels much closer, and the golden leaves on the tree seem to tremble with recognition. My foot tingles. It passes quickly, and I am again standing on top of the earth, rather than woven into it. My brain can't seem to hold on to the idea for too long, but how different would life look like if it could? I wonder, and long for the days and people who were born into such consciousness, not having to work at all to recognize their place among all things. But then, there is a gratefulness too, being given the task to unwind the mind enough to listen to the heart, and remember living in the body, both individual and collective.
nettle. pine pitch. poplar bud. aralia root. willow. cattail. rosehip. horsetail. chanterelle. oak bark.
May the earth's aliveness weave you in--
frieda kipar bay
how to see a rainbow
I often walk out after a big rain to feel the wetness in the air, and in hopes of seeing a rainbow. This last rainstorm reminded me of the brilliance of an East Coast afternoon shower, complete with thunder and lightening. The kind of rain that really washes you clean, with big, juicy drops that don't hold back.
I often walk out after a big rain to feel the wetness in the air, and in hopes of seeing a rainbow. This last rainstorm reminded me of the brilliance of an East Coast afternoon shower, complete with thunder and lightening. The kind of rain that really washes you clean, with big, juicy drops that don't hold back. An equinox rain, one that resets and rebalances. That makes you take big breaths, and leaves you feeling slightly new. And after, standing very still in the fading light, I look to the east and watch the slow appearance of a full rainbow, arching over the herb garden. as I stood there gazing over the garden, I couldn't help but imagine the plants felt the gift too--the healing blessing of the colorful rain. may it continue.
Outside, the bay nuts, acorns, and poplar buds have dropped early, and some plants like chicory are having a second bloom. I was even harvesting nori at the coast a few weeks ago as the warmer water this year seems to be prolonging the life of the seaweeds. I feels so important to pay attention, when things are really beginning to shift…one way of staying grounded in our evolving earth. maybe i'll see you out there, squatting over some plant or another:)
May the plants serve you well and draw you ever closer~
frieda kipar bay
the tiny grief of a sunflower
I step out to find this garden spent, exhausted, full. At first glance she seems so satisfied with herself…
I step out to find this garden spent, exhausted, full. At first glance she seems so satisfied with herself, all round bellied in the kabochas, all tall and fertile in the valerian motherwort fennel, all proud and stoic in the tobacco. But I'm drawn to the giant sunflower, noticing her head tilting fiercely toward the ground. I peer up into her face. It's easy to register the enormous energy used in building her chunky stalk. Easy to notice her leaves the size of my torso, her head towering higher than a horse, and her beautiful moon face. So much effort in one short season, just to let it all go…and this one was a 'volunteer'. I wonder about the wisdom this volunteer sunflower contains, knowing that in letting go of her whole self, she's making room for a thousand other seeds to take root. How does one let go of the whole self? I imagine a moment of grief in the letting go, but also a quiet exhale as her seeds begin to drop like tears. I stand there on her roots and feel her tears become mine, dropping with as much promise as a seed can hold. thank you helianthus.
Garden Love Day this month will be on Friday, Sept. 26th, 10-1pm. This month we'll be gathering seeds, working the pathways, and clearing out the old with love and reverence, making way for new plants to surface. Children are welcome, pear trees will be waiting. Learn some new permaculture tricks and meet some new plants while gardening alongside other herbie mamas and plant geeks. Please bring any favorite tools, gloves, sunhat, snacks. We'll make sure everyone gets introduced to a new plant and gets a little dirty. Held in Sebastopol, 1 hr. drive from Oakland. email info@taprootmedicine.org to sign up.
the season of late summer
late summer:
walking through
fields of oat husks…
late summer:
walking through
fields of oat husks,
watching the last rays of sun cast a deep pink
upon the coming fog...the fog that fingers her way through the valley, gently touching every. living. thing.
How to make an herbal honey with a 3 year old:
1. mention the word "honey"
2. send child to the garden with the directions to pick handfuls of chamomile, vervain, lavender. spy from your hiding spot.
3. collect herbs, double-check i.d., show child how to pick off little buds and drop into clean glass jars. go slow.
4. cover plants with about 1 cup of honey, finally handing over the spoon to be licked clean. stir with a chopstick.
5. give stalks to little hands to go back out to the garden, reminding them to give thanks as they scatter.
6. label jars and place in the sun, gazing in awe at the golden glow and the way the plants every so slowly float to the top.
7. strain when its done, usually a couple of weeks.
chamomile vervain honey (and darkish pink nails)
magic lands lie all around,
inside, outside, underground.
looking-glass worlds still abound.
all their tales this truth reveal:
naught but love makes magic real.
- salman rushdie
the stories in our blood
there is a way that the blood, as it pounds or leaps or scurries or meanders through your veins…
there is a way that the blood, as it pounds or leaps or scurries or meanders through your veins, tells the story of your body, your history, and your future.
the timeless practice of pulse reading has been found in every culture, on every continent.
manzanita. ganaderma. madrone. nettle. hazel. trillium. iris. fern. bay. oak.
I am honored to be offering low-cost (n.o.t.a.) herbal consultations in Oakland through the Homestead Apothecary, every second Wednesday from 2-6pm. The first day will be July 9th. By reading the body through pulse, tongue, face, and story, we will find an herbal protocol that is affordable, easy to implement, and has a lasting effect on your wellness. For more about me and what I can offer, look here.
I believe herbal medicine really is of and for the people and we all have the capacity to heal ourselves; but sometimes we all need someone else to be our healer. If you find yourself in this place, I humbly offer my knowledge and insight to you.
To sign up and for more details, please contact the Homestead Apothecary.
from the apothecary...
The medicine has been potent lately. Lots of fresh nettles, raspberry leaves, milky oats, and even a few goji berries have been going into the brews, straight from the garden outside. It's amazing to see the difference that lots of compost and sheet mulching can do to an area once covered in horsetail. I hope you can taste the solstice sun in every sip.
* * *
And if the sun and the high summer action has gotten your nerves a bit tangled, I'd suggest reaching for that bottle of stabilizing syrup in your fridge door. It works wonders on stress, even if it's "good" stress. I've been having mine in my midday banana coconut smoothie...and I don't even have to mention how divine that is.
* * *
I'm excited to say that the Homestead Apothecary is now supplying Oakland with all the Taproot Medicine Syrups. Please pay them a visit and enjoy the artfulness that has gone into making a beautiful little herb shop. All the workers there are herbalists, and all the medicine on the shelves is local. There's also a great bulk section of dried herbs and plant starts.
* * *
And, keep your eyes out for my new website, coming as soon as I stay up late enough to finish it. I'm still staying away from the social media side of the internet, but have been enjoying making something beautiful to look at with all the info you need, including a "blog" (man I wish we could change that name to something a little kinder on the ears.) I'll let you know when it's live.
Until then, may the plants call you closer to the ground~
frieda kipar bay