It's getting to be that time of year....the sun is beating down and the temperatures are climbing by the week, but night time temperatures are just perfect still, and I'm relishing the familiar rhythms of the desert cycles. Waking early at dawn for a walk with the bird songs, and to spend time in the garden- enjoying evening walks in beautiful riparian canyons with friends- for ceremony, for drumming, for observing nighttime creatures like the scorpions and bats. Ocotillo flowers are exploding into passionate red pompoms of sweet nectar- attracting hummingbirds and bees, and wandering herbalists like me. Prickly Pear Cactus and Cholla Cactus are budding and flowering with their sexy, luscious and moist petaled flowers. Lizards are scampering and resting on shady stucco walls and under the shade of my squash plants -reminding me of the dreaming medicine they hold. What we dare to dream we can create- with the application of authentic heart feeling, directed will and focus, and a healthy dose of magic and real world action.
I'm astonished and overwhelmed and grateful for the abundance of wild and wonderful medicines at my doorstep and beyond....
Gifted with the rare treat of fresh green moist chickweed underneath the deliriously fragrant jasmine vine out my back door, the exquisite blossoms of pomegranate flowers in the yard, the medicines that come to me from friends gardens, the blooming desert and familiar and favorite collecting spots.
I harvested fresh oats- realized that I've been harvesting from this same stand of oats for almost 10 years...and it is abundant and well. My beloved cottonwood and walnut trees welcome me back and beacon with juicy buds and leaves and the promise of nuts, to climb and be embraced. Canyons rich with medicines that I've missed while I was away- Artemisia ludoviciana - Estafiate, Arcostaphylos pungens- Manzanita, Mimulus guttatus- Monkey Flower, Garrya wrightii- Silk Tassel, Juniperus depeanna- Alligator juniper, Oenethera biennis- Evening Primrose, Glandularia spp - Desert Vervain.Cherry blossoms are about to burst open Mexican Elder blossoms are a light and a buzz with bees galore.
I've been making medicines of all kinds to restock the apothecary that dwindled in the many moves I made in the last year, and taking advantage of the warmth of the desert sunshine in my medicine making.
Beautiful ruby red St John's Wort oil....
Fragrant pink Rose Gulkand, Rose Infused Honey and Rose Infused Sesame oil after Community Plant Learning Circle this week- all about the heart medicine of Rose.
Ocotillo blossom elixir and flower essence
California/Mexican Poppy tincture...
Many of these medicines and more can be found at my Poppy Swap store where you can enjoy them fresh from me to you!
Or if you can't settle on just one item- you can join the Herbal CSA and get freshly made, wild, weedy, wonderful medicines from the desert and beyond every month delivered to your mailbox!
I am so grateful to be able to do this beautiful work in the world...to help others connect with themselves, and the medicine plants, and share the healing power of nature and honoring our heart's truest callings and deepest needs. If you'd like to find out more about how to work with me privately I encourage you to contact me today for an Introductory Session to my Wellness Programs. And to join me on my FREE teleseminar on May 5, 2012- Every Day Nourishment!
With humble gratitude and all the love of flowering of the desert,
Darcey Blue
