Demulcent Summer: Mallow

In the hazy, heavy heat of the summer, the Rose of Sharon bursts into ecstatic bloom. Her timing speaks of slippery pleasure and arrival ... the climax of summer's landscape. She retains nothing out of shame or modesty. She pushes into visibility the eye-opening beauty of the feminine divine. Her profuse and large flowers pour over the greenery in tidal waves of pink-cranberry-white-green-pink. Each petal boasts a crisp, cool, slippery texture, resembling the soft supple skin of sacred human kissing spots. Her fleshy presence a dichotomy of uncomfortable summer arousal and cooling satisfaction. The bees are quite literally dizzy with pollen and nectar; the entire tree humming with hundreds of honey bees. In order to reach the sweet nectar they must labor themselves deep into the flower by pushing their hind legs against the sides while burying their heads deep into the middle. Her flowers come in stages, each day opening a new cluster and each evening closing at dusk and dropping finished blooms with a soft thud on the rock path. Her littering of spent petals an offering to her own soil for next years cycle.
It's no mystery why Mother Nature blossoms this beauty right now. The Rose of Sharon is perhaps the largest of the Mallow (Malvaceae) family, providing ample mucilage to us hot humans. The cooling flowers are truly delicious, and a beautiful addition to a wild salad. Crushed, the flowers can quickly soothe an over heated face while gardening, or ease an itching rash or insect bite. A strong infusion (cool water, please!) will coat all of your insides with slippery healing, a perfect remedy for hot digestion, IBS, UTI, ulcers, and hot tempered summer folk. (think: Pitta)
Mallow in tandem with Red Clover would be a most wonderful fertility combination, fortifying the lining of the uterus in preparation for implantation of sperm. Mallow also gives sheen to our skin by increasing suppleness and hydration, and because of it's lovely mild flavor, an easy one to share with children. And exceptional sore throat remedy, combine with some prebrewed Echinacea root infusion and your sore throat will vanish in no time flat.

Rose of Sharon's flowers are the plant part I use, and of other Mallows I believe you can use the leaves as well and of course there is Marsh Mallow root - of which I have not grown or wildcrafted (yet!). I use them (the Rose of Sharon flowers) generously ... as a nutritive plant you really can't use too much unless your natural constitution is already too cold and wet. (think: Kapha) But even those types can stand some Mallow in the heat of the summer.

Hibiscus is a particularly delicious (a fruity-sour taste) and very cooling (some consider it a refrigerant, energetically) Mallow species. The flowers are used in the classic "Red Zinger" tea by Celestial Seasonings, and in many other citrus flavor teas on the market. If you grow your own, you have to bring it inside during the winter months, but she's a patio pleaser in the summer time - that is, if you don't eat all the flowers.

Rose of Sharon's equal directions of upwards and downwards growing patters remind me that her moving energy is mostly neutral, perhaps adaptive; not too stimulating or sedative, but rather "even keel". This is how I feel when I eat and drink of her medicine. And similar to the Rose genus, she feels like a heart soother; emotionally healing and uplifting but without illusion. A gift of Nature indeed.

Speaking of gifts, the Wineberries are ripe and very plump this year, keeping the kids happily picking bowl fulls each day.

And the Wormwood got so tall it began to fall over on itself .... so I harvested plenty and made a long smudge wand for my friend's Lodge.

mmmmm, the smell.
Some wild teas for my women's circle....
Yum.

My hobby on the side, inspired by my daughter who crochets far better, but less often, than I. These special medicine pouches will probably go to the Red Tent Temple Artisan Fundraiser, coming soon.
Oh yes. And my beloved Catnip, the Don Juan of Cats. I go to him for vibrational healing .... he has the most incredible purr.

I Want One!

An herbal medicine cooker?! Does anyone have one of these?

Medicine Woman's Gathering Announcement

Blessings to you, my friend Kiva, and your beautiful family for offering these healing, transformational gatherings!

All nature, herbal and healing oriented women are invited to journey to the amazing Animá Learning Center and Botanical Sanctuary for the 1st Annual

Medicine Woman Gathering

Aug. 1st - 6th, 2008

A full week of reconnection, celebration and Medicine Woman Tradition lessons and practices – with Tradition cofounder and SageWoman columnist Kiva Rose. Explore the essence as well as practicalities of healing, learn how to use the Animá Medicine Wheel as an aid in diagnosis and treatment, identify and help gather Southwestern mountain and desert plants, join in the processes of medicine making, and feast on native foods lovingly prepared. This event and all Animá opportunities by sliding-scale donation.

For more information and to download the registration form, go here.

Memory Keeper

I keep the memories in my blood.
I keep the scents of the plants in my skin, never to wash away.
I keep the records in my bones.
The Grandmothers beckon us to speak
The ancient language of Mother Earth
Who lives inside our bodies
And expresses
Beauty
Love
Pain
And change
The landscape teaches us if only we listen and receive
The gifts
The path
The medicine
The Grandmother is shaking her feathers wildly
To us, now, in command. To become and to step up
It is time
To kiss the tears of our men,
To worship the stretch marks of our bellies,
To sing like Frog Woman from the waters deep inside our needs unmet
To announce our right to remain whole
To scream like Hawk Woman in protection of our territory: Earth!
Our water, our air, our soil, our own Earthly bodies, searching
I heed the call of the woman lost
And found
I let in the medicine through my hands on her flora, her stone, her pitch
I let in the medicine through my cheeks on morning dew, my knees in the sentient river, my heart paying vibrant attention
I keep the memories in my blood,
I tell them
To the girls and to the women and to myself
I tell them to the paper and the garden and the unsuspecting neighbor
I ink them into others when I cast my gaze,
A spell of needed change
Bring it on I say. We are ready. We are strong. We are remembering.

Forest Gypsy

The Russian Sage oil came out beautiful. Lightly clouded with resin and deeply warm and fragrant. In she went to the warm pot with sweet beeswax and large semi soft clumps of Red Pine Pitch. It all softened and blended perfuming my kitchen with the smell of honey, sage and forest. When it was all melted, I strained it through cheesecloth to remove bark bits.
It was thick and syrupy. I stirred it every so often, keeping the pitch melted and suspended in the oil and wax. It cooled over a few hours and became opaque and creamy. I poured it into little pots to finish cooling.
The salve remains a softer consistency, more soft than my usual salves, I think I overestimated how much hardness the pitch would contribute, because I eased by about half an ounce on the beeswax. It's more of a firm ointment than a balm or salve. I like it though. I have a feeling this one will get a whole lot of loving use.
And a special thank you to Darcey who enlightened me on melting pitch into salve or oil.

Unstudied Ally: Russian Sage

On the edge of my stone path there is this fragrant beauty. She doesn't grow as huge as the ones planted for borders at local office parks because I have weird soil. But she grows and I love her immensely. Her scent sends me into raptures of ancient memories of tribal spirit, interdependence, healing and medicine secrets. She is one of the few plants that I grow or work with that I realized yesterday I have never read about. I don't think she makes an appearance in any of my herbals and it never occurred to me to look her up on the internet. I never needed to.
Come to think of it, I don't even know her botanical name. "Russian Sage" say the nursery labels. Bah - no matter. She shines with green-silver glory as perfect as a summer full moon. When I pet her she coats my hands with her sticky sage resin, delighting my senses. Her feathered leaves remind me a little of Yarrow, and the ability to heal wounds. Her resin along with a woody lower stem is signature of the woody mints; Rosemary, Sage, Lavender. I am guessing she is a true Salvia; mint (those common names can be deceiving so I never make assumptions - but her traits claim that of the mints which are quite unmistakable). There is something, too, perhaps in the almost bitter nature, that reminds me of Wormwood even though that is an Artemisia. And I think of Juliette Levy's passion for Southernwood and feel akin. But similarities aside, her unique energy is that of a strong female, of long lineage, and of retaining tribal pride.....the blood of the Medicine Woman.
In a quest for some light on my rumored Russian lineage, I sent a quick email to my Dad, who promptly responded. Here is the account: (for your reading clarity I will tell you that "Jim" is my paternal Grandfather):

"Hi Dad, I know this is a strange question, but I am curious if you know any information about our lineage, specifically, that you once told me included a small amount of Russian blood?
love,a"

"never really confirmed past rumours and I wish I HAD....but I heard that on Jim's (side), a couple or so generations back Jim's grandfather changed name from COHEN to CLARK and married a non-jewish girl. and I am fuzzy, but somebody was the chief gardener for the last Czar, a russian jew. that's all I know. -dad"

"Thanks - very interesting! Always wondered about that. I feel a strong connection to Russian Gypsies :). I'm feeling a need to uncover my lineage with more clarity, in hopes of gaining a stronger sense of self, roots, and belonging. I might go use the genealogy contraption at Borders. LoveA"

"your roots are in the Cosmic Mother and Divine Father"

(Aw! Love you Dad!)

And so it goes with my own self as an unidentified being......

The Russian Sage grows here (CT) better than the Rosemary, Sage, or Lavender; more hearty and larger, flowering more abundantly and both heat and drought tolerant, although she likes good rich soil even if it's rocky. I've taken my first small harvest, and in return will fortify her soil with good organic soil food. My instincts tell me to take care if using her internally, she is strong and somewhat bitter. But for external use she is a powerful effective healer, mending skin and healing rapidly. And so I decide to make a salve.

Into the little pot of warm olive oil she went, yesterday, and has been bathing in it all night. It's turning a gorgeous cloudy light green, just like my Salvia apiana does, indicating the good resins coming forth. The fragrance is sharp and full. Later, I will strain out the plant matter, and melt in some good wads of Pine pitch, making a dense and fragrant healing salve for all sorts of forest annoyances like mosquito bites, slivers, rashes, etc.

If she grows big enough next year, I will bind some stalks together with Lavender to make a special smudge wand. Or maybe I will buy a couple more plants. For now, I will just worship the ground she grows in.

My birthday hike

We hiked up the river to the beautiful Cedar Grove. Here we are at the entrance, exiting the forest. My two kids, the neighbor kids, and me :) behind the camera. I love this spot where the air shifts from a loamy cool to a sweet warm syrup.
We stopped to gaze at a spider.
We stopped at the wishing tree.
I stayed behind to watch a grasshopper sing with it's wings.

The Grandmother Cedars were stunning as always, whispering stories of the ancients.
The water was refreshing and clear, renewing my spirit.
Little spikes of blue flowers cooled the hot meadow. Lobelia of some kind?

The Blue Cohosh has set out berries.
I watched the butterflies dip deep into the Bee Balm.
I harvested some, as well as some Yarrow flowers.
I watched my girl lead the pack into the water. She's a river girl too.
I love the butterfly weed.

the turkey tails on this old log were florescent green!
I got my (blurry) photo taken on a rock.
I discovered a mini-monarda Mountain Mint I hadn't known before. Adorable!

And.... I took over 150 photos. :)

..... it's not over yet, I'm headed up feather path to horsetail mountain now ... where the black raspberries grow. yum! so far it's a good summer b-day.