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4d • 
Herbal Use
Describe Before You Name - Herbs
Before we decide that something is “hot,” “dry,” “tense,” or “stagnant,” it helps to begin with something simpler. what are we actually observing? Someone might say, “I have congestion.” But that name does not tell us very much yet. Is the mucus thin or thick? Clear or colored? Does the person feel warm or chilled? Are the tissues dry and irritated, or moist and heavy? Does movement help? Does warmth help? Is there tightness or a feeling that things are not moving well? Those observations begin to show us a pattern. This is different from diagnosing a disease. We are learning to describe what is happening well enough to notice useful relationships. That matters because two people can use the same word for what they are experiencing while the underlying pattern looks quite different. Over the next several weeks, we will begin working with patterns such as heat and cold, dryness and dampness, tension, weakness, and stagnation. But the first step is not memorizing those names. Describe what you observe before you decide what to call it. What Comes First? Someone tells you, “I’m congested.” Before deciding what pattern is present or what herb might fit, what is the best first step?
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4 members have voted
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New comment 4d ago
4 likes • 4d
This is so relevant! There are so many subtle symptoms that are precursors for larger conditions....so it is easy to tune out the runny nose or ringing in the ears.... Thank you @Jim Flach for this post....we need to dive deeper to understand, before we start throwing tinctures at it!! 🤣🤣🤗🤗
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9d • 
Practical Living Skills
Do We Need to Keep Track of This?
We have been looking at how a useful household practice becomes part of ordinary life. We started with a real need, connected a small action to an existing routine, watched where it broke down, and kept the change when it proved useful. Now we can widen the view a little. A household contains many things we use, store, maintain, replace, and depend upon. Food is stored in several places, tools move around, filters need changing, batteries run down, equipment needs maintenance, and important documents need organized locations. It may seem that the answer is to inventory everything, but a record is useful only when the information helps us do something. Before making a list, we should ask ourselves what would I need to know later that I might not remember when I need it? For one item, simply knowing that we own it may be enough. Another, we may need a location, quantity, purchase date, replacement date, model number, or maintenance history. Some things may not need to be recorded at all. This matters because every inventory, spreadsheet, notebook, label, or app also has to be maintained. If the record takes more work than the problem it solves, it can become another household practice that eventually breaks down. Rather than inventorying the entire household, start with one small category where losing track creates a real problem. It might be filters, pantry staples, documents, medications, batteries, garden supplies, credit card information or replacement parts. Then ask: What do we actually need to know? What decision would that information help us make? Would we realistically keep the record current? This week, notice where you catch yourself saying, "I know we have one somewhere," "I don't know when we changed that," or "I thought we had more." That may be exactly where a useful household record should begin. Where does your household most often lose track of something that would actually be useful to know? Where would a simple household record help you most right now?
Poll
9 members have voted
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New comment 7d ago
1 like • 7d
It is funny.....I have been watching YouTube "Hoarders"—because I am a retired rehabilitation counselor, and I guess I miss working with my clients—I have worked with a lot of hoarders, and it is a very real mental illness. (that is reprogrammable) The reason for saying this is the goal was to think of what 'do you really need?" 🤔 My near-death experience taught me...that none of the physical realm items go with you...not even your body. So, what do we need...if your home was burning and you had to leave quickly...what would you grab? 🤔 I am a minimalist...(not extreme) My goal is to have --digital flash drives of all important documents or save them in the 'cloud' (Google Drive) I have scanned all family photos and converted videos to flash drives. They are kept in a fireproof box. 🔥 A 'go tote" a backpack with basic camp things, first aid, and nonperishable food. 😎🎒 I have a wooden bench seat that is part of my dining room set that is also storage. I keep grains, legumes, dried beans, etc. (my tomatoes, bell peppers, and basil seeds set) . 🌱 So, to answer this question, @Jim Flach has posed: What do we actually need to know? 🤔 Personal identification documents—passport—birth certificates— -investment papers. wills, etc. (external hard drive, the cloud, safety deposit box) What decision would that information help us make? 🤔 Keeping the important documents that allow us to 're-establish' with government agencies, employment, and travel. ect. Would we realistically keep the record current? 🤔 If you have this completed on your checklist, your mind is free. Also, give a trusted family member or dear friend a copy as well. ````````````````````````````` I was traveling in Denmark and forgot my passport at the youth hostel... (long story). Do you know how hard it is to 'prove' who you are to authorities...scary. After that, a scanned copy of my passport is with me at all times while traveling. 🙄 Yes, it is important to 'track' the important things and be prepared...consider this...
1 like • 7d
@Jim Flach Awe, shucks....
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15d • 
Roots Through Time
A Garden Was Never Finished
When we look at an old garden list, it is easy to imagine the garden as a collection of plants, but a working garden around 1440 would have been something much more dynamic. Much like today, some plants were sown each year, while others survived from one season to the next. Certain plants could be divided or moved to new locations, while others scattered seed and returned wherever conditions allowed them to grow. That meant the gardener was not simply deciding what to plant. He was also watching what returned. This changes how we might picture Mayster Jon Gardener's world in the 15th century. A useful plant that survived winter, spread into a workable patch, or reliably produced seed represented more than one season's harvest. The plant could become part of the continuing structure of the garden. Likewise, the gardener still had to intervene, much as we do today. Beds were worked, plants were moved, unwanted growth was removed, and useful plants were encouraged. Every season, however, did not begin with an empty piece of ground. That relationship is still worth observing. In our own gardens, some plants disappear unless we continually recreate the conditions they need. Others seem to settle into a place and become increasingly dependable. The lesson is not that an old garden was automatically more sustainable. Gardeners then, as today, managed succession differently depending on the plants, conditions, needs of the household, and their own observations. What this historical record can remind us is that a garden exists through time, not just in a year's planting plan. Permanent culture begins when we notice not only what grows, but what persists, reproduces, moves, and returns. What plant in your garden seems to have found its own place? When a useful plant returns reliably, when would you work with that pattern rather than start over? When a useful plant begins returning on its own, what do you usually do?
Poll
10 members have voted
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New comment 7d ago
1 like • 9d
@Sarah Peterson, how blessed you are to live in a forest and the tree seedlings manifested your thoughts! 🌱🌱 The barn blowing over—YIKES! That's a pretty serious wind!! 😲😲
1 like • 8d
@Jim Flach Tomatoes are so resilient...when it comes time to 'thin' them as seedlings... I just can't do it...I keep them all. Wound up with 100 tomatoes! I made a lot of salsa preserves that summer!! 🍅🍅😍
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12d • 
Polyculture and Garden Design
Watching the Sun Move Through the Garden
One way to understand a garden’s sunlight is to stand in the same place and watch where the Sun sets. Around the autumn equinox, it sets close to due west. Mark that spot against something you can recognize, such as a tree or fence post. Watch again every few weeks. Through fall, the sunset point moves south along the horizon and the days grow shorter. After the winter solstice, it begins moving north again. For the Southern Hemisphere, this is reversed. By the spring equinox, the Sun follows nearly the same path across the sky that it does now. The difference is where the season is headed. In spring, daylight is increasing. In fall, it is decreasing. That small observation can help us understand why a bed that receives plenty of light in summer may fall into a tree’s or building’s shadow later in the year. It is worth recording what actually happens in our own gardens before deciding where a fall crop or a permanent planting should go. Have you noticed a part of your garden that changes more with the seasons than you expected?
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New comment 9d ago
1 like • 9d
@Jim Flach Haha....indeed!! 😅🌲🌲
1 like • 9d
@Sarah Peterson Love it! 🌲💝
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22d • 
Roots Through Time
Keeping the Garden Producing, Part 4
Mayster Jon Gardener’s instructions from around 1440 were not limited to what people should grow. He also considered when plants should be started so the household could continue harvesting through the seasons. For the leafy vegetables then called “worts,” he described sowing at several times of the year rather than planting everything at once. Young plants could be moved into prepared ground as earlier plantings were harvested. Although the exact months he named belonged to his climate, crops, and growing conditions, the relationship is the useful part. When everything is planted at once, much of it may mature at once. That can leave us with a brief abundance followed by an empty bed. Spreading plantings over time can provide a steadier harvest and make better use of limited growing space. Today we often call this succession planting. We might sow another short row every few weeks, follow a harvested crop with another, or grow varieties that mature at different rates. Weather, day length, soil, and available space still affect the outcome today as it did in 1440 AD. A calendar plan gives us a starting point, but observation tells us when and where it needs to change. Mayster Jon could not control the season, just as we cannot today, although he could plan how the garden moved through it. That remains a useful distinction. Resilience does not depend on one large planting. It develops as we prepare the next stage while using the present one. That remains a useful distinction. Resilience does not depend on one large planting. It develops as we prepare the next stage as we use the present one. Where could one small second planting extend your harvest? Which approach would be easiest to try in your garden?
Poll
8 members have voted
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New comment 17d ago
1 like • 18d
@Jim Flach Oh! Pathogens? I must research this!!! 🧐😁
1 like • 17d
@Jim Flach Good to know! I researched a bit. If they are raised in a hydroponic method and only take what will be used...it can reduce those variables. I imagine restaurants don't have much choice, as they need supplies on hand to fill the menu! 😳
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Elizabeth O'Carroll
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Elizabeth O'Carroll
@elizabeth-ocarroll-8652
Elizabeth, M.Ed., MRC, M.Msc. World traveler, counselor, author & educator inspired by life & beautiful souls.
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Joined Sep 10, 2026
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