April in the Pacific Northwest always brings a wave of blooms with it. The cherry trees burst into pink and white snow-like drifts, dandelions explode into their cheerful yellow across the landscape, and tulips, daffodils, and anemones herald the change in season. It’s a wonderful time of year for walking in the forest (let’s be honest, any time is, though) and watching different plants awaken from their slumber. So many have sprung up lately that I’ve been experimenting wi

As a child I always struggled with the fact that my birthday was in the depths of Winter. It seemed incredibly cruel to me that I could never have a swimming party, with a slip'n'slide in the heat of summer. However, as an adult I coordinate an annual bathhouse spa day, so I get my swimming party after all! I’ve truly come to cherish the winter months and their quiet contemplative beauty. It’s a lovely time of year to walk in the forest completely alone with a chill breeze

I feel the Winter every day now as I wake up to a world made crystalline by glittering frost. The cold time of year is precious to me. It’s the time to insulate, draw inward around the hearth, and hibernate with ideas for the coming warm season. As we say goodbye to Autumn, I wanted to do a last natural dye post. One of my favorite techniques for using plant dyes is eco-printing or bundle dyeing. In this technique, the plant material is used whole to leave a ‘print’ on the

Fall is my favorite gathering season. The weather is mild and the plants are beginning to go dormant and offer up their bounty as crafting material. Leaves and grasses, flowers and vines all seem to don lovely rich bruised colors, and I can’t resist drying them for future projects. This is the perfect time of year to gather up materials for creating nests. Weaving nests is something I discovered how to create on my own, so I’ll share my process here. Although I’m unsure how

It’s become a tradition recently to take a vacation with Pinto to a quiet and remote place away from the fireworks of July 4th. This year I decided to try a location East of the Cascade Mountains within Washington instead of my normal escape route to Canada. Dear friend, Amy Billharz, came along to make it a true Girl’s Trip. Driving across Snoqualmie Pass I’m always struck by how different the landscape is East of the Mountains. It becomes desert-like, with huge expanses o

For many years now it has been a ritual of mine to create a wreath of flowers and plants on the Summer Solstice. The Summer Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere usually falls towards the end of June and marks the longest day of the year and the beginning of Summer. The Sun is at its pinnacle on this day and after this the daylight hours will begin to shorten again as we swing slowly back to the cold time of the year. Here in the Pacific Northwest we have almost 16 hours of da

As the first day of Summer approaches, the days are beginning to get warmer even here in the Pacific Northwest. Sunny hot days are perfect for cold brewed herbal tea in the afternoon. Cold brewed tea is typically made without adding heat to the plant material. This changes the flavors that are released into more light and savory notes. Bitter herbs tend to be less intense with this method which is nice since they have such a cooling action on the body. Nettle is no excepti

This is the time of year when I begin gathering herbs and flowers for the Smudging Wands I craft. Some plants are already blooming, whereas others I use won't begin to blossom until a month from now. So, I gather what I can now and dry it for use later when I finally have harvested all of materials to make Flower Smudging Wands. Most plants will dry quite easily with this upside down method. It keeps the flowers and stems straight and full of color. They also make lovely d

Within the last few weeks the Forest has truly woken up from it's long quiet Winter time. Each year I feel astonished when this happens. Suddenly I realize that all the leaves have returned by the thousands upon thousands to give their cool dappled shade like a gift to all the Forest in the newly bright sun. Fringecups, Salmonberry, Bleeding Hearts, and Stinging Nettles flood the under-story with their blossoms and foliage drooping over the path. Huge bumble bees hum by l

Alder species are widely distributed throughout North America and Europe. Here in the Pacific Northwest we have an abundance of Red Alder. Alder is a deciduous tree. It drops it's leaves while still green in the fall but it's small female cones and male catkins hang like lanterns on the tree throughout the winter and late into spring. They are easy to find scattered by the wind all over the ground and I've often still found the cones into summer. Alders are noted for adding n

One of the most important lectures I remember from my Herbal schooling was simply talking about HOW we should go into Nature to gather. Here is a good primer for all the steps to take into account when beginning to gather from the wild. Before ever leaving the house, I like to ask myself what I want to create with what I intend to gather and why. Have a plan in mind, otherwise you may end up wasting the plant material you bring back. First, determine the area or region you