i laughed, i cried, i brushed my teeth with nettle tea

"an attitude of gratitude is the beginning of everything." --The Elders

last weekend i went to the southeast women's herbal conference in the beautiful and ancient blue ridge mountains. we registered under our first names, not our patriarchal patrilineage. there was much singing and merrymaking and drumming and walking and listening and laughing and tears. it was basically the herbaculture internship crammed in one weekend, but without the kitty crisis. the conference focused on

simple living
local plants
and
deep nourishment

"we are midwifing each other back into wholeness," we said.

i slept in a cozy tent nest beside a misty lake under a waning moon and woke to wild honking geese. i brushed my teeth with nettle tea. i dreamed of bright birds. i ate acorn/autumn olive/chinese chestnut/sweet potato cornbread. i awoke my venus. i danced around a fire. i slept past 7. i went to a class devoted to burdock root. i never considered a shower. i reconnected with old friends. i held burning mugwort over my leg three miles.

...and other secrets too sacred for a blog, even this one.

love to ally'all