Nurturing the Wild Heart

Misty's Fiery Cider This is one of my most favorite recipes for staying warm in the winter time. It can boost your immune system  too, as well as it tastes kinda like Heaven. I call my version fiery cider at least for now. It has been a recipe herbalist have been tweaking for a very long time. Everyone has their own spin on it. I have seen some of the most interesting fiery ciders recipes! This is definitely a recipe to make your own and have fun with.  I first learned about this delicious recipe from Rosemary Gladstar. I am currently attending her home study course, Art and Science of Herbalism . Her book, Herbal Recipes for Vibrant Health , was my very first medicinal herb book and it is a sight to see now. With all of its dog eared pages and worn edges you can tell it has been my favorite for a long time. There are recipes in the book called Fire Cider Zest and Hair Raising Cider. I made the Fire Cider Zest and fell in love! There are also tons of recipes online for dif

Winter Solstice Sun Yesterday was the Winter Solstice. The darkest day of the year. The day for me started out like any ordinary day. Coffee, breakfast, and a brief check of what is going on in the world.  I will say I do not watch a lot of news or keep up on things. Maybe this is naive of me, but when I personally watch too much I feel overwhelmed and fearful. After all, most of the things on the news these days is scary and negative. Not to mention most of it is opinion driven so you can't trust it to be completely true anymore anyway. So I was scrolling through Facebook and headlines and I saw so much negativity. Even from people who are normally pretty positive. So I closed my computer and the family and I went into the woods. My oldest and I with a beautiful Cedar This day is the darkest, but that doesn't mean the bleakest. That big, bright Sun was shining so brightly as we stopped for a rest that I couldn't help but think that even though the worl

Resting on some roots while hiking. We are a nature loving family. We love watching the skies for birds and learning about different creepy crawly bugs. Our field guides are always close at hand. We let spiders hang out in windows and watch them do their thing. We eat wild weeds and leaves from trees. The kids love it! They love to show their friends! That amazing spark you see in their friends' eyes when they discover something amazing about nature is priceless. I tend to beam with pride when someone gets a boo boo and my girls run to find some Plantain or when they find a Sassafras tree and nibble a leaf because they taste like a fruity cereal. For the most part they are always open to trying whatever I tell them is safe to eat like Chickweed, Lamb's Quarters, and Sheep's Sorrel. My kids can identify without any help at least 15-20 plants and more than that many animals. That is why when I saw this it surprised me "The average American child can recognize