Lichenwood Rambles

Reflections

Blogging has been on the back burner for most this year.  I have been immersed in the experience of life and nature at Lichenwood, learning about my new environment and connecting myself more firmly to this ecosystem.  It is a continual issue in my life that I crave immediate gratification and cannot achieve it.  I’m slowly learning that I cannot force changes into being any more quickly than the Universe intends them and also that the journey toward manifestation is an experience not to be missed.

 
How sweet the season of growing and exploration has been!  We have put many new plants into the landscape here, and my invitations to the various local nature spirits have resulted in the appearance of several allies onto the property.  Elder is seeding itself into area in between the planted shrubs and the wild shrubs, just as I had hoped.  Skullcap has shown up in several areas and even Oats appeared by the front door! 

A highlight of the year was gathering tangles of Cleavers along the brook with my student, Adrieanne.  This is one of my favorite medicines and I have had a long relationship with it since it showed up at the house in Durham, growing in bright sun and sandy dry soil (where it just should not be happy) and crawling its way up my front step, as if it would enter the house in an attempt to attach to me with its sticky tendrils.  When the plants reach out, you must listen!

I have walked into new and exciting areas of the surrounding landscape.  Whenever I visit a new piece of land nearby it is a thrilling experience.  Predictably discoveries of treasured plant friends underscore the joy of wild explorations.  Finding the little colonies of Arbutus just up the hill, or the White Turtlehead by the flowing waters of one of the many brooks out near the marsh, seem like confirmations to me that I am in the right place, at the right time.  Was there ever any doubt?

It is nearly two years since we moved here.  There is a certain sadness when I look back at pictures of my old wild trails of adventure and learning.  I can never forget the lessons of Grandmother Maple, or the Usnea hung Jack Pine, the pale yellow haze of Spicebush blooms in the leafless forest at Beltaine, or the carpets of Goldthread, Bunchberry, and Wild Anemone that took me in and guided my journey.  They will always be with me.

Now my initiation into new lessons and new seasons of growth is truly underway here at my new home.  There is an excitement in each new day that grants me the opportunity to connect with plants, wild animals, stones, earth, and water ways that surround me now.  As I look back at the time of harvest and reflection, I know that I am blessed.

At the Rainbow's End

Yes, it has been a summer filled with rain, but it has also brought several glorious rainbows to Lichenwood, including this magnificent double rainbow!  There is always an upside to be found at the end of every rainy day.  Our treasured end of the rainbow here at LIchenwood includes, not only the colorful arches of light that form over the treetops, but also our gardens and our workshop offerings!

The herb gardens are taking on a more mature look.  We truly had no gardens whatsoever when we moved in at the end of 2007.  Now we are eating food from the vegetable garden and harvesting medicinals from the herb gardens as well as the wild fields and forests.  Our roots are finally deep in the soil. 

We've had almost two complete turns of the Wheel of the Year here in Barrington.  I'm about to complete the second incarnation of the Herbal Mentorship and I've completely re-vamped the Flower Essence Practitioner Training into a group of three weekend Flower Essence Instensives, designed to be stand alone classes, or in combination, with additional documentation, a certification class.  I'll be announcing dates and particulars soon.  Contact me for more information directly: christine@lichenwood.com .

As we move toward September, I'm eagerly anticipating another workshop with Kate Leigh.  The only workshops and teachers that I bring to LIchenwood are the ones that I find most inspirational!  I'm passionate about the topics that these teachers present!  This time Kate will combine her expertise in both aromatherapy and astrology in the following class:

AROMAS CLASS
With Kate Leigh of Midheaven, Market Square, Portsmouth,New Hampshire

Kate says: This aromas class is gathering near the time of the autumnal equinox. This is especially significant, given the role of balancing that essential oils, or plant distillates, play in our well-being. It is my idea that we will work together that day, combining the basics of our own specific personalities, as shown in our birth charts, with the basics of aromatherapy, as seen by familiarizing ourselves with the properties of the distillates. My facilitation will take the form of making available a copy of your birth chart to you in class, as compiled by information you will supply at the time you register for the class. I will also provide sets of handouts, specifying the distillates and their associated properties, but also their traditional associations with the elements, and planets. In the morning, we will familiarize ourselves with the oils/distillates on hand, approximately 3 dozen or so. Then we will move on to our birth charts, and talk over the basics of fire, earth, air, and water, and help each participant find these in their charts. Key words for the symbols used in the charts will be provided. Our goal will be to create a product, to be used, and recorded, so it can be duplicated by you, that is aroma-characteristic of you, according to your birth chart. The actual containers and oils/distillates used to make the products will be provided by the instructor. Please consider attending this class, even if you are a beginner in both aromas and astrology. We will keep things fun and simple, while learning, through contact and engagement, a great deal, about the essential oils/distillates, and about ourselves. Just in time to enter the close of the year! These products will help sustain our spirits.

Kate Leigh has been involved in aromatherapy for over 30 years, has taught dozens of workshops to nurses, massage therapists, and other interested people. She has also studied astrology for decades and has experience both with chart interpretation, and combining astrology with other therapies, such as aromatics. Kate enjoys a long term private practice in massage therapy, where she hand crafts her own products and regularly uses heated seashells as an imaginative inclusion in her bodywork.

Check Kate out on facebook, at Midheaven Massage. $90 for a full day, includes materials.

Call 603-664-3393 or email christine@lichenwood.com to register for this class.  You can also find Christine hanging out on Facebook.  There is also a page for Lichenwood Herbals.  Look us up! 

Additional workshops for the fall are listed at www.lichenwood.com .

 

Blue Skies Return!

 

Finally, after the rainiest June in memory, blue skies have returned to New Hampshire.  Borage blooming in the herb gardens at the side of the house capture the quintessential hue of Summer skies.  The weather is still cooler than normal, but the plants are making up for lost time.  The sunshine has brought us back from the edge of a dark, rainy chasm.  Now is our chance to enjoy being outside in the wild places and in the garden.

Outdoor rambles could not wait for a dry spell.  A stalwart group of plant enthusiasts took a wonderful hike into the wilds of Waterboro, Maine a few weeks ago.  There is wonderful energy up at Johnson Ridge Farm and it was so nice to take a walk that didn't involve the treadmill.  Yes, I got soaked, but all in a good cause.  We found a whole colony of Sundew (Drosera intermedia) at the gravelly edge of a woods road.  Meeting a plant in person for the first time is definitely a peak experience.  I've been on the look out for this wetland dweller for a few years now and am thrilled to have communed with Sundew finally.

 

In fact, I seem to be on a roll as far as meeting new plants goes.  I made the acquaintance of Red Elder a few weeks before Sundew.   The beautiful red berries caught my eye on the side of the dirt road.  I was able to rescue a plant from next year's snow plowing and bring it back to Lichenwood where it seems to have made the transition with grace.   I have a little grove of Elderberries started, partly through rescue, garden center purchase, and natural seeding.  Most are the Sambucus nigra, or Black Elderberry, that we commonly use for medicine.  That's the beautiful plant that is now just past the peak of bloom in our wet areas and all along our country roads.  The beautiful lacy flowers are finally available to me where I can easily reach them.  This encouraged me to co-create a flower essence.

 My most recent new green friend is Malva neglecta, or "Cheeses" which I discovered amongst the Basil plants as I weeded out the main garden bed.  This plant can be used just as you would use Marshmallow.  They are close relatives.  Of course, this meant that I could not remove this new ally from the rows of spicy Basil.  They will have to make room for one another!

So, despite the fear that the gardens would wash away and no plants would flower or make fruit, root, or vine, Nature continues her miracles.  The garden grows and the wild things flourish.  I'm trying to stay alert and focused, so as not to miss any medicine making opportunities.  Extracts are lined up on the kitchen counter where they can be shaken and energized daily and oils are infusing, lined up at sunny midday on the back deck railing in all their jewel toned loveliness.  Blue Skies are back and Summer is proceding as it should.

Spring at Lichenwood: Don't Blink!

 

Spring is here.  This season is so full of anticipation each day.  What will emerge from the ground?  What will bloom?  Did last year's garden additions make it through the long cold Winter?  Don't miss a day outside.  The wildflowers of late April and early May are not called "Spring ephemerals" for nothing.  They are here one day and gone the next.  This gorgeous Bloodroot bloom was gone by afternoon, all the petals fallen, and a seed capsule forming.  Carpe diem!

The healing theme addressed by Blooroot flower essence is one of balance, concentration and focus. Bloodroot flower essence helps those who need to focus, especially when difficulty with this in an inherited family trait. It is useful in meditation, aiding one in entering the alpha state more easily. It helps with self-understanding, easing one through times of self-transformation, especially if there is a feeling of social isolation. Someone who takes this essence will seek help from the community around them by communicating their problems and issues in an appropriate way, dealing with them, and enhancing their feelings of self-acceptance and worthiness. Old emotional wounds heal and there is an understanding of the divine purpose for which we entered the Earth plane. We reach the understanding that we are the sum of our experiences and we can now embrace our “roots” as part of the path that has led us to enlightenment.

 

Above is Lungwort which came to Lichenwood through the love and generosity of friends Lynn and William Kuegel, along with a whole tribe of friends who seem to have made the transition to life in Barrington.  Friendship gardens are the best.  I've been wanting to make a Lungwort flower essence for a long time.  While it's hard to wait, it seems best to let the plant spirit settle in here before I ask it to co-create a flower essence.

 

Along with fleeting flower blossoms come the animal babies of Spring.  This little turtle, about the size of a half dollar, was resting near the brook when I came upon him/her.  Eastern painted turtle was the first (and so far the only) animal essence I've ever made.  I am looking forward to lots of turtle watching on the pond this year.

The Eastern Painted Turtle essence is all about helping us feel protected and grounded.  In any situation where we feel uncertain, or need to stand our ground, this essence will be very helpful.  Since this is the only animal essence that I have made, it is not listed on my website.  If you'd like a bottle, the cost is the same as the stock flower essences- just $8 for a half ounce bottle. 

  

In other matters, potential students interested in the Aromatherapy workshop expressed conflicts with the scheduled date of May 2nd, so Kate and I have decided to reschedule the this class.  It will now meet on Saturday, June 6th.  In additon other topics, Kate will be discussing aromatherapy's role in treating/avoiding Swine Flu.  Below is the information on the class:

My favorite aromatherapy teacher, mentor, and healer, Kate Leigh of Midheaven, Market Square, Portsmouth, will be presenting an all day workshop at Lichenwood on the first Saturday in June. Come sit around the table and sample a wide assortment of essential oils. Kate has just returned from Pacific Institute of Aromatherapy's annual conference where she participated as a facilitator. The topic of the conference was cancer, autoimmune, and degenerative diseases. She has much to share on these topics.

So please join Kate Leigh, aromatherapist and educator, for a day long adventure with essential oils, their lore and allure, their medicinal values, and their practical applications. Kate will share information recently gathered at an international conference, at which researchers and practitioners from around the globe, sharing a passion for plant medicine, presented their ideas and findings. During the workshop, essential oils will be passed around and experienced directly. Demonstrations of their effectiveness will be offered to the group, as needs arise within the class. Kate's style is direct, humorous, informal, and informative. Come prepared to learn, ask burning questions, and have fun!

Kate Leigh has pioneered in the field of aromatherapy in this part of the country. Originally beginning her studies in California, while residing there in the early 1970s, Kate has shared her knowledge of essential oils for the last 27 years here in New Hampshire and Maine, with massage therapists and other complementary modality healers. Kate is also a living example of someone who has used essential oils daily for decades, and every day in her massage therapy practice. Energized by her work and interests, she looks forward to blending frequencies with the participants of this workshop!

$90 for a full day includes materials.
Call 664-3393  or email me at christine@lichenwood.com for details, questions, and to register for class.

Aromatherapy Workshop with Kate Leigh

  SATURDAY, MAY 2nd, 10am-4pm

Join Kate Leigh, aromatherapist and educator, for a day long adventure with essential oils, their lore and allure, their medicinal values, and their practical applications. Kate will share information recently gathered at an international conference, at which researchers and practitioners from around the globe, sharing a passion for plant medicine, presented their ideas and findings. During the workshop, essential oils will be passed around and experienced directly. Demonstrations of their effectiveness will be offered to the group, as needs arise within the class. Kate's style is direct, humorous, informal, and informative. Come prepared to learn, ask burning questions, and have fun! 

Kate Leigh: Has pioneered in the field of aromatherapy in this part of the country. Originally beginning her studies in California, while residing there in the early 1970s, Kate has shared her knowledge of essential oils for the last 27 years here in New Hampshire and Maine, with massage therapists and other complementary modality healers. Kate is also a living example of someone who has used essential oils daily for decades, and every day in her massage therapy practice. Energized by her work and interests, she looks forward to blending frequencies with the participants of this workshop!

$90 for a full day includes materials.  SATURDAY, MAY 2nd, 10am-4pm
Call 664-3393 for details, questions, and to register for class.

Call to Action: Stop legislation that will criminalize Organic Farming!

If the above picture looks like your typical delicious garden fresh lunch, it’s time to write, call, and email your elected officials in congress to STOP the passage of HR 875/S425.   It’s no surprise that this bill is sponsored by the evil that is Monsanto.

Ostensibly this bill is for the protection of the consumer, establishing high standards of food safety.  If this bill passes it will obliterate organic farming by mandating the use of pesticides and imposing huge fines on those who do not comply.  The way the bill is written means that this legislation will affect farmers’ markets and home gardeners as well as larger organic farming operations. 

The bill was introduced by Congresswoman Rosa De Lauro (D-CT) and the full text of the bill can be read here: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.R.875: As you can imagine, reading the whole document is onerous.  You have to wonder how many of the representatives have read it carefully enough to realize all the implications of passing HR 875/S425.  It is disguised as food safety legislation.  Big food producing corporations are all lobbying for this bill since it will benefit them greatly and put their organic competition out of business.

I’m ending the rant here.  Google HR 875/S425 to read more about this and most important of all, contact your representative in congress.  Find your representative here: https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml .

Exploring Flower Essences

   

I can well recall the morning that I set this Passionflower blossom into a bowl of water in the sun.  The intricate flower seemed to pulsate in rhythm with my heartbeat.  The Passionflower essence is a remedy that connects you to your own sacred divinity. It is ahealer for the heart chakra, bringing a calm serenity upon ingestion. Love for others begins with a healthy self-love and the ability to nurture and care for oneself. Then this love grows and magnifies as it moves outward into the world of others. Passionflower magnifies compassion and guides spiritual awakening. Passionflower helps to connect this loving heart chakra energy with the throat chakra and will facilitate speaking up for oneself and one’s needs. The essence calms, centers and steadies the heart rhythm creating a feeling of peace and safety.

In the ten years or more that I have been working with and co-creating flower essences I have witnessed some remarkable healings.  I have made it my mission to demystify the co-creation process, empowering my students to thoughtfully and joyfully connect with the plant spirits who are eager to bring healing to human beings.

In mid March I wll teaching a short introduction to working with flower essences at two venues: Misty Meadows Herbal Center in Lee, New Hampshire, and Greenwood Herbals in Limerick, Maine.  If you are curious about what these remedies can offer, I'd love to see you there.  If this class inspires you to enroll in the Lichenwood Herbals Flower Essence Practitioner Training which begins in May, I'll deduct the cost of this introductory class from your tuition.

Exploring Flower Essences with Christine Tolf of Lichenwood Herbals, Barrington, NH, 664-3393.   Taking place at Misty Meadows (603-659-7211) on March 14, and at Greenwood Herbals (207-793-3553) on March 15 - 2-4 pm  $25.  Please call the preferred venue to register.

This class is for people of all levels of interest who want to know how to use flower essences in their daily life.  In this short class you will discover how flowers share their healing with the world and how you can effectively choose essences for yourself and combine them with other modalities of healing.  You will leave with a flower essence dosage blend for yourself, a blend that you will choose with the help of the instructor.  Handout and flower essence blend included.  If you have a pendulum, please bring it with you.  Pendulums will be available to borrow for those who do not have one.

First Stirrings of Spring...

 

Above is the icon of the goddess Brighid whose day we celebrate in early February.  She greets me first thing each morning and bids me sweet dreams each night.  Imbolc has passed.  The early stirrings of the green world can be felt by those who take the time to connect.  The moon is waxing.  Solar energy is building and the Spring Equinox will be upon us before we know it.  All energies are concentrated on growth and increase.  Time moves faster and faster on the one hand, and yet the snows of winter seem to linger far too long.  I’m ready for green plants, green leaves, warm sun and flowing waters.

Fog from snow melt surrounded Lichenwood this morning, so my day began in a kind of out of time and space mist.  The white haze covering the landscape is a sure sign that snowdrifts are shrinking despite gray skies.  Temperatures in the thirties seem warm.  Buds are beginning to swell on the bare tree branches.  Sap rising causes more flexibility to return to the limbs and trunks of the still bare trees. Certainly the bulbs I planted in the fall are beginning their journey upward through the soil toward the light of Spring.

In my dreams last night there were swathes of beautiful Snowdrops everywhere.  Spring had arrived.  In reality, the small clumps of Snowdrops that I planted last Autumn are still buried under heavy wet ice crystals.  Once they do emerge and bloom, perhaps they will call to me to make an essence. 

This is the year that I can finally begin to make flower essences at the New Lichenwood.  I have relationship with the land and the green beings who reside here.  More than a year and a day has passed since we transplanted ourselves into this new ecosystem.  So many adjustments were needed on my part- many more than I could have imagined.  Not only did I need to physically explore my environment and attune myself to the lunar and solar cycles here, there were spiritual patterns that needed release so that new rituals could grow in synch with life at the New Lichenwood.  It has taken all this time to feel vibrational harmony with my new physical environment. 

Yes, I loved this land from the time I first saw it, but that did not lessen my love for my old paths, fields, and forests.  Rituals of goodbye and release accomplished only part of the work necessary to fully ground myself in the new space and move the former environment into a time capsule of treasured memory.  This is ongoing, but I feel safe in saying that my roots now run deep in the soil at Old Canaan Road.  As Spring approaches for the second time, I recognize the patterns that exist here and I am becoming part of the pattern, in tune with the land and all the beings who exist here.

PS- If you enjoy reading Lichenwood Rambles, it is now possible to receive it directly in your email.  Simply use the subscribe option in the top right hand corner!  Thanks to Deb Mercier of Greenwood Herbals whose technical gifts made this happen!

 

Winter's End

We are still buried deep in snow, but the light is stronger.  This weekend is predicted to bring us some warmer weather.  It’s only our second winter season here on Old Canaan Road.  Last year’s relentless storms and record breaking snowfall did not repeat itself, but while I have a fondness for the season, I am ready for the emerging green of spring. 

Tomorrow I will celebrate the culmination of year 59 on the planet.  I love my life and I look forward to many more seasons of joy, walking in the woods, digging in the dirt, following the brook, and talking to the plants.  Life is so full of wonderful possibilities.

My birthday week is traditionally one of the snowiest of the year.  This is one week when I will be filled with excited anticipation when a big snowfall is predicted. A lazy snow day at the tender mercy of Mother Nature who will keep me home by the fire mesmerized by the falling snowflakes is a wonderful birthday gift. 

I plan to savor the few remaining weeks of wintry weather as the Wheel turns bringing us to mud season and the greening time of year.  Each season has its charms and challenges and I am ever grateful to be here to experience them.

Avoiding the Post Holiday Immune System Crash

The sparkle and excitement of the Winter Holidays are over, gone with the strings of twinkling tree lights and aromatic greens that decked the halls.  Although we all proclaim to love the holidays, when they are officially done most of breathe a huge sigh of relief.  We have pushed ourselves about as far as we can go in terms of doing our part to make the season merry and bright.  We are exhausted.  We have had weeks of poor nutrition in the form of sugary treats and alcohol.  Our budgets and our patience have been stretched to the limit.  Our guard is down and opportunistic viruses or chronic diseases are able to take advantage.

There are so many things that herbs, essential oils, and flower essences can provide to help us through this post holiday let down and boost our immune systems to combat whatever viral marauder comes our way.  Here are some of my favorite ways to keep myself healthy during January and February.

 

Eat local, eat seasonal, and eat organic.  This will go a long way to keeping anyone healthy.  Traditional foods of autumn and winter make so much sense when you think about them.  Traditional methods of preservation such as pickling, fermentation, and jam and jelly making are brilliant means of saving the harvest in such a way that the healthful elements are retained.  During winter if we are active we can stand a little extra sweetness, a slice of pie brimming with blueberries (frozen berries actually are better here since freezing breaks down cell walls and allows you to access nutrients more efficiently) high in antioxidants or pumpkin with its beta carotene.  We’ll use the calories chopping wood or shoveling snow.

 

 

Roasted organic root vegetables are a delicious way of adding nutrition as are soups and stews. Don’t forget to add some Astragalus root to your soups as you prepare them.  You can remove the woody pieces before serving and they will have lent their immune boosting properties to the broth.  Likewise, Garlic, Thyme, Oregano and many common kitchen herbs have great healing to offer.

Root tonics made by chopping up the roots of fall dug Burdock, Dandelion, Yellow Dock, and Wild Sarsparilla are an old time remedy for delivering minerals to the body.  Cover your chopped fresh roots with organic Apple cider vinegar and let the whole concoction steep for several weeks.  Then take a big ole spoonful every morning.  Definitely good for what ails you!

Take Elderberry syrups, elixirs, or tinctures at the first hint of a cold or flu.  Elderberry has been a traditional flu remedy and modern studies support the idea that Elderberry stops the influenza virus in its early stages.  This remedy is simple, inexpensive, delicious, and suitable for all ages.

 

Treat Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) with flower essences (St. Johnswort, Water Hyacinth, and Witch Hazel are good possibilities) and nervine herbs (including St. Johnswort), along with exposure to sunlight as much as possible. 

 

Realize that abrupt changes in body temperature cause big energy loss and compromise immunity.  Don’t get a chill.  Stay bundled up and keep your feet dry.  Your mother was right about many things!

 

If you do get sick, REST!  Our society does not support rest as an acceptable method of healing colds and flu, but it is an important part of healing with the added benefit that if you are at home resting, you are not out and about spreading the germs around.  Sick days are not to be saved for added vacation.  If you are fortunate enough to have sick days at work, use them to heal. 

 

As I write this, the second ice storm of the season is transforming the landscape.  I’m warm by the fire with a nice mug of Rosehip and Lemon Balm tea.  The ideas I’ve shared today are just a hint of what I share in my educational programs.  If you think you’d like to know more about the Herbal Mentorship or the Flower Essence Practitioner Training, so that you can be more empowered to care for yourself and your family, please visit my website: www.lichenwood.comto explore these opportunities.