Planting for REAL

It's frustrating to me, as a formulator, when certain herbs are inaccessible. When formulating, I often create the blend in my mind initially, then work towards accessing specifics herbs and teas to create my finished project/product. I imagine what each herb will add to the recipe and which herb or herbs will help to make this new blend both effective and pleasant in taste.I dream big at these times.
Yet, I realize that this frustration is an example of my unwillingness, to realize at all times, that I am working with the natural world. I get wrapped up in the idea of what I want to make a certain blends.I often am asked "Why can't you just make such and such blend?", my answer is  "That plant is not available right now". Their questions  act as a reminder to me.The lack of understanding by many people is key here. I take time to explain that we do not work with flavorings, or artificial ( natural) ingredients, we cannot generate our ingredients by a whim. There are seasonal changes and many factors that relate to the unavailability of specific herbs.Loss of natural habitat, crop failure experienced by growers, natural resources that may make it unaffordable for herbs to be grown in a region where they once thrived. Many, many variables exist..

When I find myself wresting with  frustration, I am motivated to grow more of the herbs that I need.

The fact that were are losing plants at a record rate, encourages me to get busy, put seed and plants in the ground. Learn how to grow, harvest and create with those plants, that are grown by us, at Herbal Sage Farms. We cannot grow everything we use in our blends, but we can make a difference by growing those that we can.We can add to the plant population of our planet, not just glean from others.
Perhaps a field trip to the land would help folks understand the reality of REAL..

Real food, real plants, real herbs. REAL.TEA..

thanks for listening, time to water the seed beds and  get these plants ready to flourish!

Woodstock ,Jack Casady, Jefferson Airplane, Richie Havens and me

Today is one of those days when I realize the tapestry of life is woven deeply thru so many of us, connecting us in ways that we could have never imagined.

In my senior year at my hippie high school I was introduced to Richie Havens, his music, his poetry of song and sound was ever etched in my mind and heart. He embodied to me the essence of  a real man. His tonality struck me, his words moved me, how I heard him, in my own way, gave me hope. And I needed hope during those years, thank you for that Mr. Havens.

I also viewed the images from that famous event called Woodstock, for the first time during my  senior year. Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane, Mountain, Janis Joplin, Joe Cocker, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Their  music, created a road to freedom for me. They fed into a sense of freedom that I longed for. I ate it up.
Many years later , I reflect on that freedom, the style of life that I led then, and the incredible need to be true to myself,  still year after year. By following my heart and lots of hard work I find myself full circle with a few of those individuals that gave me that sense of hope, thru their music, when I needed it most.
Jefferson Airplane, and in particular Jack Casady from the Jefferson Airplane band is a person who is currently woven into the tapestry of my life.

Organic full leaf green tea with chia for Jack Casady

I am working closely with Jack to create a custom Green Tea blend  specifically for his tastes.
Yes, that's true!
I met Jack thru his friend Jorma  Kaukonen years ago, down at Jorma's Fur Peace Ranch. Seems that music camp that Jorma and his wife built is close to Herbal Sage Farms...go figure.
Jack and I have worked on other organic tea blends and now I have the pleasure of creating another tea for him. Jack loves full leaf organic sencha green tea, I do too. It's a mild green tea, yet full bodied a with just the right amount of astringency. Jack is into chia seeds right  now, so I added some organic chia seeds with the sencha leaf. Its an amazing blend actually smooth tasting and very ,very healthy.

So we never know how things will work out, or how folks will work into our lives. I for one, feel blessed and grateful for this twist of fate.

Like Richie Havens who sang so often about Freedom, I feel  I can only be free when my heart is open to experience whatever it is that is put in front of me. How my life  has evolved to this place in time, where I can share my art of blending  with someone who shared their art of music, with me so many years ago, is a mystery to me.

All I can say is , YES, and clap my hands, clap my hands... RIP Richie Havens

Athens Farmer Market

I have the honor of being on the Board for our Farmers Market here in Athens, Ohio. Our market is over 40 years in the making and I have been serving up my herbal brews as a vendor at the market for over 12 years.I was elected to the board last year and had to run again tonite.Ballots are being counted at one of our local brewery's... Jackie-O's, so we're not sure how it'll all turn out!

I decided to come home tonite and post to express how connected I feel with this wonderful town of Athens, Ohio. When moving to this region full time in the mid 1990's I had no idea how wonderful and rich my life could become. The hills that surround Athens and Meigs county are comforting, The folks in this area are interesting, creative, loving and quick to laugh. It seems as though many of us have come from other areas, yet were all drawn, for diffferent reasons to make a claim here.We now call this place home,
Check our our Athens Farmers Market website and see what some of the farmers and producers are up to. I'll let you know if I cleared the ballot count!
 http://athensfarmersmarket.org/

Traveling with my companion Gypsy Rue, is a bit like heaven on earth. Moving along the roads of America with my sometimes mellow, always curious 113 lb German Shepherd makes it all look so easy. With her by my side I dare to stop more, to explore new places, hidden and not so hidden places that catch my eye as I drive. When traveling alone the idea of stopping "anywhere" is just that, an idea.
We are heading south, chasing the warmer weather. Tonite,I called out to whomever was listening via my CB radio and asked for a "good" truckstop. A place where a soon to be weary, RV driving woman could rest. Quickly the reply came thru, mile marker 29South."That's a good place", the answer came in loud and clear over the speaker. Destination suggested by an anonymous fellow traveler. I answered back, "Well, I have this 113 pound German Shepherd to walk too", the voice committed again, " Yes, that's where you want to be". I took a deep breadth and relaxed a bit.Grateful for this new destination point,  I continued south, knowing rest was soon to be had.

The sunset softened and the sky turned deep pink, and the road became a bit easier, anxious thoughts of where will I stay meandered away. I had a place and it wasn't far . I asked for help , got an answer and made a decision. Soon I'd be cooking supper in the RV, walking the dog, then settling in for the night. The hum of the big rigs running down the highway, these folks, these drivers, are often my go to when I am sitting on the fence, of where to stop for the night.

Gypsy Rue and I have traveled many roads together, often times only once, if I let fear overtake me, the adventure becomes a chore, but when I take each mile in the moment, the adventure remains.
Thanks and see y'all on the road tomorrow~
Moe and Gypsy Rue

Rosemary Gladstar, Herbalist and Friend

Last month I had the opportunity, again, to listen to my friend Rosemary Gladstar talk about using  herbs for nutrition and health. She was speaking at The Mother Earth News Fair and I was an exhibitor there.Rosemary is one of the matriarchs of the herbal world. She has been creating effective and great tasting herbal formulas for over 4 decades. I am honored to know her and feel blessed too, of having her support and encouragement over the years. Her belief in me, as I grew The Herbal Sage Tea Company,inspired me to become a better formulator. Rosemary has a great way of reaching out, she makes it look so easy! I was sent this prompt today, this is a new venue for Rosemary, using the Internet to share her story. Take a moment and join her, and I know you will enjoy her as much as I have over the years!

 Maureen and Rosemary a few years ago at

The New  England Womens Herbal Gathering

                                                            http://rosemarysremedies.com

Letting Go

Fall is quickly approaching and soon winter will be creeping in. Changes are all around, and its time to  let go of the falsehood of control,of trying to hang on.As the leaves are beginning to turn here in SE Ohio and I am settling in with the changes that have happended in my life this year.This has been quite a year in learning to let go. Perhaps not so much in learning as an achieved task, but learning,as forced ,to move thru hard times.

 Early summer my father passed on, it was difficult and too quick. Once he was able to come home from  the hospital and be at our house, he let go and within a week was gone. I hadn't wanted that happen, yet it wasn't up to me, was it? Summer began then, in a new way for the first time in my life, no talks of fishing trips, no calling home to tell him about new recipes, new clients, new endeavours. He had always been the guy I went to as business grew ( up and down!), then grew again. He helped me keep to the task at hand, always helping me look to the finished product, the end result. Regardless, if it was beneficial in  financial growth ,or just another one of my creative ideas, that created yet another curve in the road of my life!

I miss him.

This last week that sadness was rekindled as a close friend, Megan who lived in the DC area passed on unexpectledly. Now THAT was something too, that I didn't want to happen. She leaves behind a very young son,a loving family and many, many friends. My friend Megan helped steer me ,while I  maneuvered thru the hoops that  the large natural food store chain,that had picked up The Herbal Sage Tea Company Teas, put me through.  She kept me grounded and reminded me of my vision for The Herbal Sage. Her help was invaluable as I got knocked around by the "big" players, helped me stay true to quality and to the passion that still drives me.

These losses this year have actually been gifts for me. Their passing has helped me realize the fleeing of this life.Sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly it always moves on. How I move with it is up to me.

I am drinking a nourishing herbal tea, organic nettle leaf as I write.I had thought of this blogg as an avenue for herbal news, I realize that I hadn't written in so long because this fear and sadness I held close and hung on to,kept me stuck and unable to write. Perhaps with this blogg post, I am able to let go a bit more and make room for the richness and beauty of  this season.

Thanks to all of you for reading.

Foods that Heal ~ Spicebush

Harold  was the man who introduced me to this native shrub called Spicebush. To Harold, Spicebush was a common shrub with many uses. Although this shrub is found throughout all of Ohio, I had never seen it near our home in Cleveland. Probably because it is an understory shrub, meaning it grows under other trees in the woodlands, and there was not  much in the way of woodlands on the west side of Cleveland where I cam from!.

During a hike in the woods near our home in Rutland, Ohio Harold broke off a small twig from this beautiful plant and had us put it on our mouths, much like a large toothpick. The taste was spicy and the fragrance was intense. He explained that folks around here use the twigs by adding it to hot water to make tea. Harold and his brothers would make batches of this tea during deer season every fall when hunting. I loved it the taste. Honestly I'm not sure if I loved the Spicebush itself, as much as I loved that Harold took time to show us so many things in these woodlands, he was a treasure for sure.

Spicebush ( Lindera benzoin) is in the Laurel Family ( Lauraceae). It bears bright red fruit in late summer and early autumn on the female shrubs. These berries are often eaten by wildlife, yet they are so abundant here that the bounty is plentiful for all. The glossy foliage is dark green and is often found near its neighbor the Paw Paw Tree.

Local Paw Paw expert Chris Chmeil uses the leaves of this shrub for tea.This is Chris at our local Athens Farmers Market, showing dried Spicebush twig and leaf. We've both been at this market for years, Chris with Integration Acres and me with The Herbal Sage Tea Company.

Letting the berries of the Spicebush dry, I then prepare tea from this dried material.I like to crush the berries and blend with local mints or other herbs to create inspired blends. I vary the amount of berries in each blend, as well as vary how much the berries are crushed. When the berries are crushed the flavor is more intense than when left slightly crushed, then the taste is milder.

Often folks say the berries taste similar to allspice. I can taste the subtleness and understand their comparison, but I admit there is nothing like this berry as far as unique flavor.The berries,leaves and twigs can all be used as tea. It is said that this tea will relieve fatigue, cold symptoms and intestinal disorders. Oils from the berries have been applied topically to treat bruises and as a general first aid, first relief, for cuts and abrasions. The strong fragrance of the leaf, crushed is often used to invigorate while out in the woods hiking. Try crushing a leaf and add it to you pocket, remove and smell when needing a bit of energy! Using the leaf, berry ,or twigs as  a compress has traditionally been used to soothe mild skin irritations , rashes and  itching.

When brushing up against Spicebush in the woods I often think of Harold and am forever grateful for the patience he took with a city gal and her urban son, although poking fun of us for our naivety , he helped to open up a whole new natural  world  for us.

The Herbal Sage Tea Company will have  Native Spicebush  Tea Blend available as soon as the berries are harvested and dried. Check on this seasonally delightful at
www.herbalsage.com

If you want to learn more and taste Spicebush visit The Paw Paw expert, Chris and friends at this year's Spicebush Festival in Athens Ohio. Follow the link below  for details
http://www.athensohio.com/events/festivals/summer-solstice-spicebush-celebration.

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