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today's email contains... seasonal musings... upcoming classes (including advanced guest teachers, FREE community classes and a fantastic NH Autumnal Herb Event)... new thyroid blog... the latest happenings here at Wintergreen Botanicals

Transitioning with the Seasons
~ Autumn Equinox ~

Autumn Equinox will soon be upon us and in the next few months, the season will shift.

The season is waning. The nights will surpass the days. The temps cool, air dries, 

and the earth slowly seeps into slumber.

While some of you rejoice in breaking, drying temps, for many, this is a challenging season. Dwindling daylight and less expansive days, particularly for those of us in the northern climates. But there is a beauty to this season as well. 

Autumn, we contract and travel inward. 

We give ourself more permission to rest, which is easier with the darkening nights. 

That can be a much needed respite in these times of "doing too much."

Cooler temps encourage us to fire the stove back up, brew up some hot tea, and simmer nourishing soup, stews, and broth. We fill the pantry with herbs, remedies, and food, like squirrels before the frost arrives. Yet once it does, it's almost a bit of relief. All that work of the season is winding down, and now is the time to slow down and reflect.

This is a season to nourish our bones, rest, and replenish our soul.

Our last paddle-camp hurrah of the year was spent reflecting and soaking in the dwindling rays of the sun on Lake Umbagog.

Things are still a flurry of season's-shift activity here, but in the preparation for changing times.

I was out of the office and out of town for most of the past two months (which was beautiful in many ways but also exhausting), and we are planning to stay local for the coming months so that we can begin house hunting and preparing to sell our home - the goal being to find a unicorn of a home closer to community and our family in Concord. Wish us luck! 

In the office I'm still maintaining a busy class and client schedule but also transitioning some infrastructure that should open more space in my work life in the coming months - transitioning to an outside apothecary (how glorious it will be to only maintain/oversee gardens and remedies for me) as well as training the new and amazing virtual executive assistant Dayna in taking on more of my background administrative and tech tasks that take up gobs of time yet keep things afloat.  I will be grateful once these transitions are complete to be able to devote more of my time to writing, clients, and course development/teaching as well as the ever-present attempts at better work/life balance. 

I'm so grateful to the various helpers, guest teachers, colleagues, students, and clients, who have made this year possible. <3

In the background is sporadic work on upcoming book(s??) in the publishing game of hot potato. Book #3 is nearing edit/design completion and will soon be ready to announce and share - it's not due to release until April 2024, so I expect to start taking pre-orders after the new year and doing more travel next year to promote it and teach.

Autumn Classes 
 

• Backyard Medicine: Wed, October 11, 6-8 pm IN PERSON ONLY in Auburn, NH. Learn about Maria's favorite easy-to-grow medicinal herbs! Free and open to the public; no registration required. Hosted by the Griffin Free Public Library and the Massabesic Garden Club, but (for space reasons) the class will be located at the Auburn Village School's Cafeteria. 
• Herbs & Mushrooms for Immune Resilience: Mon, October 23, 5-6:30 pm. Hybrid - In Person AND Live Streamed AND REcorded. Hosted by the Concord Food Co-op but the in-person class will be held at Hotel Concord in Concord, NH. Free and open to the public but registration is required here.
• NH Herbal Network's Herbal Harvest Thyme Event held at Misty Meadows in Lee, NH: Sat, October 14 all day, mostly outdoors. Be sure to get tickets early to get a better price! $35 early bird vs $55 at the door to attend workshops. $5 at the door to just shop. This event will feature workshops (I'll be doing an herb walk!), local herbal artisan vendor market (I'll be there selling my books!), food trucks, and more. Misty Meadows happens to also be my favorite herb shop in the state, and they have beautiful gardens! Details and registration here.

Natural & Herbal Thyroid Support

Survey your peri- and post-menopausal friends and relatives, and you might discover a surprising trend: almost all of them have a thyroid issue and/or are on levothyroxine (brand name Synthroid). Well, not all of them, but probably an awful lot. They may have been put on medications based solely on lab results after routine screening, or they may have gone to the doctor feeling utterly exhausted, gaining weight in spite of healthy diet and exercise, losing hair, thinning eyebrows, a bulging or creased throat, or feeling unusually cold all the time.

According to some statistics, one in five women over the age of 60 has clinical or subclinical hypothyroidism, possibly more, and thyroid disorders are five to eight times more common in women than men. Although any gender, at any age, can develop hyper or hypothyroidism, autoimmune thyroid disorders are more likely to develop during times of major estrogen fluctuations – not only peri/post-menopause but also in pre-/post-natal folks.

In this new blog post, I cover thyroid basics (much of which you may never have heard about before, particularly not from the doctor) as well as natural and herbal support methods, some of which are safe alongside thyroid medications.

Read the Full Thyroid Blog Here

and/or 

Register for my More Detailed On-Demand Online Class

Wintergreen Botanicals

Maria Noel Groves, RH (AHG)

www.WintergreenBotanicals.com

603-340-5161

office@wintergreenbotanicals.com