Plant People Heal

09/27/2026

You know, I just want to point out here, that when you have a husband with an eccentric sense of humor, you can count on him to support you in stange and unique ways...
I love William Elijah so much!

And in case anyone is genuinely worried for his safety, rest assured, he is a martial artist...
And I am a peaceful, wee little land steward.

Only the children get oatmeal doses 😆 unless he is a stubborn mule of course, then, we must resort to more "creative" methods.
Husbands. 🤦‍♀️
If you have one, you know...
And you are blessed!!

Love you my hearts! ❤️

09/26/2026

Beyond the Dropper: Why Tinctures Belong in Your Food, Not Just Your Cupboard 🌿🍯✨

Most people think taking an herbal tincture means dropping straight alcohol on your tongue, wincing, and choking it down.

Ick! That is so boring—and completely misses the point of traditional herbalism. 😆

Tinctures don't have to be a chore to swallow. I use them as building blocks to create cordials, oxymels, and rich syrups. When you blend herbal preparations together, the sky really isn't the limit—the magic is in how they work synergistically.

Here’s the science and tradition behind why this works:

🧪 The Extraction: Alcohol does the heavy lifting of extracting and isolating deep, active plant constituents.

🍯 The Delivery System: Raw honey, apple c***r vinegar, fresh fruit syrups, a pinch of mineral salt, or even pairings like cheese serve as functional carriers. They soften the harshness, stimulate digestive juices, and assist the body in absorbing those active compounds much faster.

🥣 A Gentle Tip for Little Ones: A big reminder when administering herbs to kids—always adjust dosages carefully for little bodies and make sure your formulas are safe for children. When you do have the right remedy, one of the absolute best ways to administer tinctures to children without the fuss is stirring them right into warm oatmeal! The warmth softens the sharp edge, and the oats carry the medicine effortlessly.

👅 The Full Flavor Spectrum: We've been conditioned to believe that if medicine doesn't taste awful, it isn't working. Sure, bitter and sour flavors have specific digestive and liver-stimulating jobs—there’s a time and place for that "kick." But ancient wisdom (as Hippocrates famously taught, "Let food be thy medicine") never separated healing from eating.

When we recombine extracted herbs back into real, whole-food carriers, we capitalize on the natural power of consumption. Healing should nourish the senses as much as the cells.

How do you take your tinctures? Are you a straight-from-the-dropper trooper, or do you mix them into oatmeal, oxymels, and kitchen remedies? Let's hear your kitchen concoctions below! 👇🌿

09/25/2026

The Medicine in the Pot: Why Soup Was Never Just Comfort Food 🍲🌿✨

It’s that time of year again. As the chill sets in, soup pots come out—but the history behind why we crave it in cold weather isn't just about warmth.

Historically, especially in medieval times, households kept a continuous pot simmering over the hearth all season long. You layered it day by day with grains, root vegetables, and small amounts of meat. Soup wasn’t just lunch or dinner; it was daily medicine designed to sustain vitality and ward off winter sickness.

You can easily upgrade your soup game this season by turning your kitchen broth into real plant medicine:

🥬 Nutritive & Tonic Greens: Toss in dried or fresh nettle, dandelion leaf, clover flower and leaf, chamomile, or a pinch of yarrow to infuse trace minerals straight into the liquid.

🪵 Immune & Digestive Roots: Simmer deep-acting roots right in the broth—astragalus, burdock, turmeric, ginger, galangal, a hint of gentian for digestion, and plenty of onion.

🔥 Warming & Circulating Spices: Awaken your circulatory system with kitchen staples that do heavy lifting—cardamom, cumin, anise, cayenne, fennel, cinnamon, oregano, thyme, black pepper, and of course, heaps of fresh garlic.

Soup is meant to work for your body, not just fill your belly. When you simmer these herbs and roots low and slow, the nutrients extract directly into the food you eat.

What’s your go-to ingredient or herb to throw in the pot once the weather turns cold? Let’s trade kitchen secrets below! 👇🍲

09/22/2026

I was blessed to get to spend the morning at Berties (about a month ago now) on their last day at this location.
Reconnection Mountain's, Paula Carson and Stephen Pope were playing that day.
My daughter and I got to sit right next to them by the window overlooking the Deus.
Great memories, wonderful people, and I must say, the breakfast sausage was the best I'd ever had anywhere!
Thank you both for making that morning magical and memorable for my Alanna Mathewson and I.

In gratitude and love ❤️

What made your heart smile recently? Share a video, picture or comment below 👇

09/15/2026

Happy Autumn Everyone: 🍂🍁

The changing of the seasons come with changes within us. Sometimes that expresses itself as a cold. We all know how people say "its cold and flu season". Its not really that.

✅️ When the weather changes, our bodies have to adapt to the environment. As temperatures decrease, the dats are shorter, and the sun doesn't feel as warm as it did in the summer. Bugs die off, clouding days bring slower activity, and we hardly notice how we have to move differently. This isnt just about our physical bodies. It can affect our mood and energy levels too.

✅️ Traditionally warming herbs were used in winter (like pumpkin spice) with ginger, turmeric, and fennel for their ability to bring heat and activity to the circulation system. Other herbs like cinnamon, Rosemary, and cardamom can also boost mental function, clarity and focus.

I was sent a video from my dad for a FLU BOMB recipe that looks really good.

⚠️ This is not my recipe, and I do not generally promote taking essential oils internally, so if that is a big no-no for you, simply leave that ingredient out. It will still be highly effective.

I have made variations of this before and it was quite effective!

📝 This is the recipe:
Garlic, crushed (amount per what you can handle)
Ginger grated, about 1 tsp
Cayenne powder, sprinkle... dont overuse
⚠️ Tea tree or eucalyptus oil -1 drop only
Lemon juice, about half a fresh lemon or 1/4 cup
Honey, 1-4 tsp

You mix all that up and pour water over it like a tea, and drink it.

🗓 You can make this in advance and use a little bit with about 6 oz hot water. Maybe make a larger batch in advance and keep it in the fridge.
Good to have these kinds of remedies on hand during seasonal changes.

Blessings everyone
*image made with meta ai*

09/08/2026

Forging Ahead: Lobster Mushrooms, Family, and Finding the Sweet Spots

Oh my hearts, ❤️ what a weekend in Vernon! We went out foraging for wild mushrooms, and let me tell you, it was a full-spectrum human experience.

I am not a natural-born 🍄 mushroom expert yet, so I relied on our incredible Facebook community in a local ID group to confirm what we found before taking a single bite. Safety first when you’re learning the wild ways! Once we got the 🚦 green light on our haul of Lobster Mushrooms, the kitchen magic began.

✅ 🌙 Night 1: A small sample portion sautéed in simple garlic and butter just to taste. It was all of our first time eating wild-foraged mushrooms, and they were delicious!
✅ 🌞 Morning 2: Sautéed with eggs over avocado toast.
✅ 🌒 Dinner 3: Paired with buttery egg noodles my niece made for us.

Now, was the trip seamless? ❌️ Not at all. We each had our own personal challenges and individual disappointments along the trail. Tensions happen when things don't always go according to plan, but we chose to rise above the emotional noise, be considerate of where everyone was at, and just share in the moment of being simply human; even when it got uncomfortable. 😷

🚗 They depart in the morning to head back home, and our lives will move parallel again until the next time we can converge. What a blessing to share this time and space together. 🫂

How do you handle it when a family trip doesn't go entirely according to plan?

How do you find the sweet spot in the middle of the mess?

Have you ever gone foraging for mushrooms or herbs?
Let’s talk in the comments 👇 Share pictures please!!!

09/01/2026

The Bitter Redemption: From Floor-Spill to Family Healing 🌿✨🩹

My hearts, life has a way of circling back, even when it involves a gallon of liquid heartbreak on the kitchen floor. 🐾🌪️

My sister and niece are still here, and while the "sister-tornado" was awesome, the niece-tornado hit a bit of a health wall. She’s been miserable this week, but we aren't letting that stop the ingenuity. Since heavy lifting was off the table, she became my designated seed-sifter.
We spent the day sifting a month’s worth of Blue Mountain Flax—honestly, it was nice to have the help! 🥣🌾

But the real news? The Cinnamon Bun Bitters are back from the dead. ⚰️✨

Years ago, our sweet puppy (bless their heart) bumped into a gallon jar of this freshly made tincture and shattered it. A whole gallon, all over the floor. I was so heartbroken that I just... stopped. I never made it again. But this week, seeing those bitters provide real, actual relief for my niece’s digestive struggles was the "Not Today, Satan" moment I needed. 🙅‍♀️🔥

✅ We’re starting a massive batch today so she can take some home and benefit from the healing digestive effects.

✅ We’re bringing that same energy to Helpnetic House. My husband and I helped Steve and Paula fix up a new hutch and a haphazard lighting system this weekend. It’s alive and running, and once the tincture matures, these bitters will be there too. 💡🏘️

We're sitting quietly together on this lovely rainy day, and honoring the process of not doing anything. Nothing is wasted—not even a spilled gallon from years ago if it leads us back to the healing.

I’m curious... what have you brought back from the "dead" lately? A project? A plant? A recipe you thought was a lost cause? Let’s talk about your redemption wins below! 👇👇

08/30/2026

Excellent information on Black Locust trees!

Alot of people dislike the Black Locust tree, even considering it a w**d, but I love them!! Not only are they beautiful but extremely useful too!! Here is some information about the Black Locust tree!!
🤩😍🌳🌿💚

Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) is a fast-growing, nitrogen-fixing hardwood prized for its incredible durability, utility, and environmental benefits.

​Key Benefits & Uses

​Rot-Resistant Timber: The wood resists decay naturally without chemical treatments, making it ideal for fence posts, decking, outdoor furniture, and mine timbers.

​Soil Improvement: As a legume, it fixes atmospheric nitrogen into the soil, helping restore degraded land and enhance nearby plant growth.

​High-Value Fuelwood: It burns hot and clean, offering one of the highest heat outputs (BTU ratings) of any North American tree species.

​Pollinator Support: Produces abundant nectar in late spring, yielding high-quality, clear honey loved by beekeepers.

​Erosion Control & Fodder: Dense, spreading root systems stabilize slopes and control soil erosion, while the nutrient-rich leaves serve as high-protein livestock feed when managed properly.

08/22/2026

💑 The Sister Magic: Celebrating a New Union✨️
Today is the day!

In 3 hours my daughter walks down the aisle 🤵‍♂️👰‍♀with her (soon to be) husband and they begin a brand new chapter of their lives together!

💒 The rehearsal yesterday graced us with a soft rain as the wedding party took their positions, practiced their lines, and set up the pews.
A stunning double rainbow shine brightly after soaking us all with cleaning rain. We laughed as the couple practiced their kiss repeatedly 💋... becuase hey... gotta get that part right!

And tonight, after all the practice and preparation, we get to do it all for real, eat and be merry, and dance our little hearts out as the newly weds savor this moment together. 👰‍♀🤵‍♂️❤️

Theres nothing quite like having family gathered around for such blessings. Jessica Nelson you've helped make this moment run smoothly.

Victoria Scibilia will be joining these two together today at this incredible venue.

With a grateful heart, we move towards with this afternoon with grace, patience, guidance, and serenity 🌹

Blessings my hearts!

What are you doing this weekend???
Share your pics and commenrs below 👇👇