We often wax poetic about the change of seasons here at Prairie Star. While winter didn’t always rate as my most favorite, I’ve started to really appreciate it. In the seven years that we’ve been processing herbs, I’ve become even more aware of the beautiful rhythm of seasons – and the changes that accompany the calendar. Spring has us focused on plant starts, conversations with our amazing group of local growers, and planning for our own gardens; summer is full of early season wild-crafted herbs and the bounty of summer aerials; fall is a time for digging roots, harvesting the last of cold weather aerials, and tidying up the garden beds; leaving winter as a time for putting things in...
One of the first things I always tell customers, clients, friends, family...is that food is the first medicine you take. No matter who you are, where you live, what foods you eat, food is always your first method for taking care of your body. Food or drink of any kind will have an affect on your body, all foods have different energies, different nutritional components, and different actions on the body. If you do not give your body the proper fuel and nutrition that it needs, your bodily processes start to go awry.
When you think of taking care of yourself, what comes to your mind? Perhaps it's getting regular exercise, drinking plenty of water, eating well, and getting quality sleep. Indeed, those habits are very important components to our physical wellness. However, self-care is so much more than that! We are multi-dimensional beings who thrive on nurturing our entire self...physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. And when you really think about it, nurturing ourselves in one form affects all the other aspects, as well! Today, I'm sharing one perspective of self-care...nature therapy.
(Aaron, me, the younger one on top of my brother, on Grandma's lap) Growing up, my family would always take a Summer vacation together. Many of our trips were camping...and I mean real camping - living off the land, packing only what we could bring in backpacks, and eating only what we could source or catch ourselves. Over time, as us kids grew up and became more picky about things (like most kids do), we moved our camping into cabins and added a little more convenience to our vacations...but there is still nostalgia that surrounds living out of a tent for a week and being one with the land. One of our favorite camping trips that I always remember is...
At Prairie Star Botanicals, we believe in the strength of building a community. To share thoughts and ideas from our own personal experiences, encouraging others to find their own paths. We have come together, employees and herbalists alike, to create introductory recipes for anyone to make - ranging from simple teas to salve making and (my all-time favorite) herbal baths!
