How to Make Elderberry Syrup — Richo’s Blog

According to herbalists, Elderberry syrup is a great preventive for colds and flus, an antiviral (helps prevent viruses from replicating) and immune stimulant. European Black Elderberries (Sambucus nigra) are the best type to use. Here is a simple recipe for making the syrup at home: 1) Use one cup (appx 100g) of dried black elderberries.…

via How to Make Elderberry Syrup — Richo’s Blog

Mushrooms, Mexico, & Molecular Mycology (new video!)

“An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.”

Upon discovering these words from Ben Franklin years ago, I quickly realized the extraordinary value of investing in one’s education. A casual look at my bookshelves, notebooks, and study habits over the years easily confirms this.

What does all of this have to do with nature?

Almost everything.

As a way of learning nature skills, I am a big proponent of investing in quality education. While I believe that books and websites are excellent learning tools, I feel that in-person training from exceptional educators is an often overlooked yet essential strategy for acquiring information.

This is why I am a huge fan of attending educational events, and why I recently drove to central Pennsylvania to study with a visiting mycologist from Oakland, California.

This mycologist, whose name is Alan Rockefeller, is an expert on the topic of DNA sequencing and he travels all over North America studying and teaching classes on mushrooms.

I acquired an incredible amount of value during Alan Rockefeller’s event and decided to document the experience. If you are interested in learning more about Alan’s work, and especially about the motives behind one man’s devotion to kingdom Fungi, check out the brand new video!

A recent trip to a living American chestnut tree brought me directly to two late winter mushroom species. While snapping a few photographs, I could not help but think that — as paradoxical as it sounds — without fungi, perhaps the lone, living American chestnut tree would not exist at all. You can read more about these thoughts (and two mushrooms) on Instagram.

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Thanks for reading and watching… and as always, thank you for your support!

-Adam Haritan

Love It Up With Herbal Aphrodisiacs Recipes

Good Witches Homestead

Sex doesn’t have to be all business and no fun! If you find yourself slipping under the bedsheets for the primary purpose of procreation or if you’re struggling to express your sexuality, if you feel something in your sexual life is off or maybe you just want to rev up an already pleasurable experience—let’s talk about it. Let’s talk about sex, baby, and how herbs can help!

Get ready to discover and celebrate the wonders of sex! You can use herbal allies to enhance sexual function while enjoying heightened expression and pleasurable intimacy. Through this 3-part intensive on herbal aphrodisiacs and sexual health, you’ll learn about the physiological processes that play into your sexual function and gain the understanding of an entirely new approach to using classic botanicals to support and jazz up your sex life. We’re pulling our favorite hot herbs into an irresistible collection of aphrodisiac recipes…

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Whiskey & Spice Milk Punch w/ A Magical Touch of Heather — Gather Victoria

Happy Imbolc! In celebration, I’m sharing this recipe for Whiskey Milk Punch from the Gather Victoria ECookery book (for Gather Patrons) which is called Scailtin in Ireland. It can be dated back to the 1700s where it was commonly served in a punchbowl and drunk warm in a mug – but I’m serving it over…

via Whiskey & Spice Milk Punch w/ A Magical Touch of Heather — Gather Victoria

Mushroom Colors & The Surprising Stories They Tell (new video!)

Anyone who has ever walked through the forest knows how colorful mushrooms can be.

Red, purple, blue, green, yellow, black, white… it seems that just about every color is represented in the fungal kingdom.

But have you ever asked yourself “Why?”

Why are mushrooms so colorful? What’s the reasoning behind coloration within the fungal kingdom? Why are some mushrooms highly pigmented while others are seemingly drab?

Fortunately, a new study has given us some answers based on trends spanning 40 years and over 3 million observations of mushrooms.

Needless to say, the results of this study are quite fascinating!

If you’re interested in hearing some surprising stories that the colors of mushrooms can tell, check out the brand new video!

I was a recent guest on the Awake Aware Alive⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ Podcast hosted by Jacob Gossel. In this interview, we discuss foraging for food, nature connection, my thoughts on hunting, and lots more!

You can listen to the podcast here.

Lastly (and this may pertain more to PA folks, though anyone can certainly help!), you can support a fantastic organization in Pennsylvania by voting for Pennsylvania’s River Of The Year and selecting “Buffalo Creek.” This waterway is stewarded in part by the Audubon Society Of Western Pennsylvania and is designated an Important Bird Area due to species of concern that inhabit the area. If Buffalo Creek receives the most votes, the Audubon Society will be awarded a grant to expand their conservation impact in this high-quality watershed. To show your support, click this link and select “Buffalo Creek.” It only takes a few seconds!

Thanks for reading and watching (and casting a vote if you did!), and as always, thank you for your continued support.

-Adam Haritan

Raspberry, Herb of the Year and Herb of the Month: History and Lore

The Herb Society of America Blog

HOM Brambles

By Pat Greathead

Raspberry, Rubus spp., is the International Herb Association’s Herb of the Year^TM for 2020 and The Herb Society of America’s Herb of the Month for January (Brambles). The genus Rubus includes both the red and black raspberry and the blackberry as well as almost 700 other species. Rubus is in the Rosacea family.

My Wisconsin Unit of The Herb Society each year examines the IHA Herb of the Year.^TM In this blog post, I have mainly focused on red raspberry leaf and have used information from many websites in writing this article. I hope you enjoy reading it as this is the year of the raspberry!

Raspberry leaves are among the most pleasant tasting of all the herbal remedies, with a taste much like black tea, without the caffeine. Raspberries are native to Asia and arrived in North America via prehistoric people, with the first…

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Do Plants Scream When Stressed? A Brand New Study Has Some Answers

Noises associated with plants aren’t unfamiliar to those of us who spend time with plants. We hear plants in the wind, in the rain, and even when fruit capsules explode to release seeds.

Generally, plant noises are considered to be the by-products of mechanical processes, rather than the ways in which plants intentionally communicate with other organisms.

In fact, it almost seems too esoteric to suggest that plants communicate using sounds, yet new research offers insights into the unique ways in which plants may do just that.

Interestingly, many news outlets have picked up on this story and are now reporting on the ability of plants to “scream” in stressful situations. These situations include drought-like conditions and the physical cutting of stems.

But is that what plants are really doing? “Screaming” when cut or deprived of water?

That’s the topic of this week’s video, so if you’re unfamiliar with the ability of plants to emit informative airborne sounds in stressful situations, check it out!

Mushrooms utilize all kinds of organic material for sustenance… including the stems and leaves of moss. If you’re unfamiliar with this particular moss-loving fungus, check out the recent Instagram post!

Thanks for reading and watching, and as always, thank you for your continued support.

-Adam Haritan

Baba Yaga’s Wild Spiced Honey Cookies — Gather Victoria

Ever since I called upon Baba Yaga to be my winter baking muse this season – I’ve had nothing but trouble. Which should have been no surprise, Baba Yaga is renowned for testing your mettle with endless impossible tasks which determine whether she will help you- or hinder you – according to her liking! And…

via Baba Yaga’s Wild Spiced Honey Cookies — Gather Victoria

Two More Reasons To Add Mushrooms To Your Holiday Menus

Greetings!

If you’re looking for reasons to eat more mushrooms, read on.

Two new relevant studies were published in the scientific literature this past year, each one highlighting the importance of mushrooms in the human diet.

1. Mushroom consumption and mild cognitive impairment

As part of a recent study design, and to determine any association between mushroom consumption and mild cognitive impairment, researchers in Singapore analyzed diet and lifestyle factors of 663 participants over the age of 60.

After controlling for factors including age, education, cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activities, meat consumption, and vegetable consumption, participants who consumed greater than 2 portions of mushrooms per week had lower odds of having mild cognitive impairment compared to participants who consumed mushrooms less than once per week.

Findings were similar in males and females, and results were published in the Journal Of Alzheimer’s Disease. Researchers concluded: “Mushroom consumption could be a potential preventive measure to slow cognitive decline and neurodegeneration in aging.”

2. Mushroom consumption and prostate cancer

A brand new study published in the International Journal Of Cancer looked at the association between mushroom consumption and prostate cancer in over 36,000 Japanese men between the ages of 40 and 79.

This was the first long-term cohort study ever published on the subject. (A cohort study follows participants over time to determine the incidence of, or mortality from, a disease or other outcome.)

Results indicated that higher mushroom consumption in men over the age of 50 was related to a lower risk of incident prostate cancer. Additionally, researchers found a beneficial effect of mushroom consumption on the prevention of prostate cancer regardless of clinical stage of tumor development (localized or advanced and metastatic).

Researchers in this study concluded that “habitual mushroom intake might help to reduce prostate cancer risk.”

So… if you needed yet another reason to eat more mushrooms, perhaps these two studies will influence your decision in a positive manner.

Lastly, today (Sunday) is the last day to enroll in Foraging Wild Mushrooms, as registration will close at midnight. This online course is designed to teach you the skills necessary to safely and confidently harvest wild fungi for food, for medicine, for study, and for fun.

Additionally, a portion of all proceeds derived from course sales will be donated to the Pennsylvania Parks & Forest Foundation — a nonprofit organization whose mission it is to inspire stewardship of Pennsylvania’s beautiful state parks and forests.

You can learn more about the course here.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you’ll consider adding more mushrooms to your holiday menus!

-Adam Haritan

Full Cold Moon Spell Cookies

Happy Full Cold Moon!

For many of us, this Full Moon reaches its peak fullness at 12:12 on 12/12 this year!

This full moon activates the powerful numerology code of 12! 12 is a number of wholeness and completion. This full moon illuminates the completion of our our journey throughout this past year and helps us see the bigger picture of just how far we have come. This powerful full moon is helping many realize a shift in consciousness.

If you are sensitive to energy, you may have been feeling this powerful portal opening for some time now. You might be feeling anxious or restless if you haven’t been living up to your potential or fulfilling your purpose. This is not a punishment… this is a reminder and a call to evolve!

2019 is a 3 number, and 12/12 also translate to 3, making today a 333 day. 333 is a number of big changes and the expression of our truth. 333 carries the energy of 9, which is another number of wholeness and completion. It’s time to prepare for the big changes that 2020 holds for us while also reflecting on our journeys from 2019.

Moments after the moon reaches her peak fullness, Chiron, the wounded healer goes direct. Chiron has been retrograde since July of this last year. When this asteroid stations direct, under the light of the Full moon, you might feel a sense of clarity about your journey of healing over this last year. Some past triggers from that time might get pulled up for reevaluation and healing once again, but remember this is part of the journey.

The healing journey moves in spirals and holds many ebbs and flow. Embrace what comes up! Feel and heal your way through it.

The Cold Moon represents the time when we are called inward to experience the quiet reflection of our own souls. A sense of hibernation and rest comes with this full moon.

The moon in Gemini also represents the mind as well as our connection and ability to communicate with others. This is a time to gather with friends and family around the fire. Seek comfort in the quiet long nights and the closeness this time of year can provide!

Read complete article at: Spirit de la Lune ~ Full Cold Moon Spell Cookies