"The ghostly winter silence had given way to the great spring murmur of awakening life. This murmur arose from all the land, fraught with the joy of living." - Jack London, The Call of the Wild - How exciting, yet bittersweet, the transition from adolescence to adulthood is. A time of new beginnings in a world rich with possibilities at your fingertips, but yet so much stress and worry fills the atmosphere around you as the pressure builds on you to figure out where, who, and what you want to accomplish and become in your life. During what is intended to be this grand transition into adulthood, we often find ourselves in places of stress, fatigue, and frustration as...
“Looking deeply into your tea, you see that you are drinking fragrant plants that are a gift from Mother Earth.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh I quietly sip my tea, my hand wrapped around my favorite mug, savoring the warmth on a chilly late Winter. My thoughts entertaining the coming Spring, I look out the bay window, towards a scrappy leafless thorny vine nestled between two Elder trees. I smile and look down to my tea and take a sip. My tea of red raspberry leaves was harvested from that same vine nestled between the Elder trees. Three years ago, Lisa gave a small cutting from her garden of red raspberry to me. I planted her next to my beloved...
When you think of Winter, what picture comes to mind? Snowy mountain tops surrounded by a forest of pine trees Sunny beaches of the Caribbean where there isn’t a snowflake for miles A log cabin in the woods with a background of woodland critters Dull dark grey and dismal snowy mush Mountains of snow piled up to your ears Calm quiet peace of mind House projects and family time Movies, lots and lots of video games and movies Good food and good people Pure despair because nothing is green anymore Excitement and intrigue because Spring is just around the corner No matter what your vision of Winter may be, we all have good and bad experiences with the season. For...
Seasonal Transitions (Click image for video link!!!) At Prairie Star Botanicals, we like to look at life in seasons. As the seasonal transitions come and go, we will also see various transitions occur in our personal lives. Children growing up, young adults finding their way, beginning the adventure of parenthood, finally fulfilling your life-long dream, becoming a grandparent, and finally, seeing our loved ones say goodbye. Winter, our season of looking inward and reflection, rebuilding our energy reserves that have been exhausted over the year. Flowing into Spring, our season of rebirth and reanimation, letting our motivation and energy flow freely so we may implement change to create new foundations. Growing tall as a tree, our branches reach upward with...
We hope that you enjoyed our recent blog about the production of tinctures and glycerites. The Basics The standard protocol for using liquid herbal extracts is to "shake it before you take it" as we like to say around here. Tinctures (and Glycerites) will naturally settle and separate, which this is different from falling out of solution. When a Tincture settles, there may be a sludge or some goo at the bottom of the bottle that will reincorporate upon shaking the bottle. When a product falls out of solution, solid particulate will fall to the bottom of the bottle and stay solid, even after shaking vigorously. Demulcent herbs, such as Marshmallow, may take extra or prolonged shaking to...
