Spring Elderberry

This is the time we begin scouting out local areas for elderberry harvesting. Although we have begun to grow elder on The Herbal Sage Farms, we still harvest from the wild for most of our elderberry.
The rich white showy flowers scattered generously on the umbels of each elderberry bush guide us to our future harvesting sites.One of the most fun parts is finding the places where elderberry grow undisturbed by car,electrical sources and other impediments.
We are feeling blessed this year, with our rain, and our continued quest for the best crops, we have found what may be this years Mother load! We will keep you posted and let you know as time moves along. Much can change, nature can wipe out a whole area, but we are hopeful, as most herbalist are, that Mother Nature will provide!

Chesterhill Auction

Thursday I attended the Chesterhill Auction, in Chesterhill, Ohio. Driving about 40 minutes deep into the country I drove past the auction sign and into the small town of Chesterhill. I knew I had passed the entrance but for the life of me did not know where I was.I stopped to ask directions at a small convenience store/gas station, the first woman I asked who was working the counter had no idea about any Amish auction. I thought this was a bad sign,that the locals did not even know about it. I thought that perhaps I had really driven too far!Finally one of the women from behind the deli counter was able to direct me. She knew where it was , yet had never gone herself. I was told I hadn't gone to far and to turn around and make the first right past the building with the orange roof.
So I proceeded to drive back in the direction I came and look for this orange roofed place, I never did see the building but I was driving slow enough that the Chesterhill Auction sign rose up out of the clay soil and presented itself to me! Yes I had arrived.
Luckily I was early for the auction and sat in on a compost tea workshop, being The Tealady, I felt it was important that I attended, and had hoped that I had not missed it due to my detour. Kyle O'Keefe, an Americorp worker from Rural Action taught the workshop, he was a wealth of information.
The auction was filled with folks looking for a fresh deal and many of us were successful! I brought home first of the season red raspberries, and some fresh strawberries.I was told that 95% of the sellers at the auction were Amish and the buyers where made up non Amish and Amish.

There were a few Amish handmade items, and I bought a bird house and a nicely built wood basket.I'll use the basket at my farmers market to display my elderberry tea, and the birdhouse will find a nice home at my in laws 200 year old home in PA.
Do you attend a local farmers market? Tell me about it, I'd love to learn more about your experiences at these events,and hope to stop by Chesterhill again next week.

Tuesday, June 14th, 2011

When I had my vintage clothing shop in Cleveland I loved Tuesdays. It is the day where sales tended to be a bit slower and if it rained, I often had the day to myself, listening to old records,rearranging my showcases full of vintage jewelery and dreaming of possibilities.I allowed and encourage my mind and heart to live in the sea of creativity, all day.Tuesdays' were a gift to my muse,
So today I am in a small college town, and the sun is shining. Although I no longer have a retail store I have wonderful offices in a shared facility, and on Tuesday its my day to work solo.I give myself this day to work on the creative aspects of my business, not formulating herbal recipes necessarily, but creating new, and strengthening current business relationships. In the herbal tea business I am able to work with like minded folks, I have peers who are practitioners, gardeners, chefs, massage therapists, doctors, naturopaths, community health folks, artists etc..you get the idea! Working with herbs as food and as medicine, is a wonderful vehicle to reach out to others in a positive way. Who doesn't love nourishment.
Once in awhile, when I had that shop in Cleveland, folks would come in on those rainy Tuesdays, more often than not these folks tended to stick around and listen to old records and we would share our ideas about the interesting items around us.
So if someone comes to the offices today, I'll make a cup of iced tea and we'll listen to the tunes on the computer. Although the location has changed, Tuesdays are still a day to nourish my creative side. How about you?
Thanks for listening,
M