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On Gratitude, Mindset, and Tuscany 

I'm wrapping up this newsletter above the ocean on my flight back from three beautiful weeks in Tuscany that began with a glorious herbal intensive alongside Rosemary Gladstar, Olatokunboh, Margi Flint, Rosalee de la Foret, Yolanda Joy (our organizer), and many other fabulous event attendees in a castle outside of Florence. Then I continued with two weeks traveling alongside my parents throughout Tuscany with base camps in Florence, the Tuscan hills near Pienza, downtown Sienna, and the coast in Castiglione della Pescaia. It was a wonderful trip full of amazing scenery, art, culture, food, drinks (but not as much as my photos might suggest!), and quality time with wonderful people, and I am so grateful for the blessing to have gone on this trip.

Being on the trip got me thinking... even amongst both big and little wonderful things, it's easy to get caught up in the things that aren't going well. 

Unforeseen passport problems that (slightly) delayed and nearly cancelled my trip, shoddy plumbing, cold rain, tricky roads, city crowds, germs, disruptions to sleep/food habits, husband couldn't join, a long 48 hour string of flights, countries, busses, and hotels to get home... As a somewhat anxious, perfectionist, type A personality, I know I can easily get bogged down in these things, but for this trip, I channeled my fun-loving husband Shannon and a GRATITUDE MINDSET. 

Which is to very intentionally (and regularly) said to my oft-perfectionist, stress-case self: 

"Hey, this is an amazing thing that's happening. I've worked really hard to get here, so no matter what, I am going to let go of what isn't working, focus on what's great, and make sure to enjoy this beautiful moment to the fullest." 

(And it worked!)

Here's the Thing: 
A gratitude mindset doesn't just apply to fancy trips to Tuscany. 

It also applies to the mundane day to day. 

I don't  expect life to be perfect nor fake a good mood. But studies show that practicing gratitude regularly helps retrain us for a better mindset, more joy, and better physical health. For example, keeping a gratitude journal and noting (perhaps three) positive things each day has been shown to lower blood pressure and improve people's overall happiness scores by about 25%.  Rosalee reminded me of this during her class on Cooling Inflammation when she encouraged us to experience more moments of awe. Shannon is great at this, and I've slowly gotten better. To pause and see beauty or joy in even the little things - 

a flower, a sunset, a cute animal, a precious moment, a smile on a stranger's face.

With that, I encourage you to take a moment and appreciate the green leaves and flowers  erupting across the landscape right now as we celebrate and shift into the green season. 

~ • ~

This newsletter includes Home Herbalist Series begins SOON • Seasonal Energetics Drop In Classes • Plant ID 101 • Autumn Olive Spotlight • Free community classes/podcasts • New Podcast Release • Foreign Language Book Releases • Sleep e-Book Flash Sale

COUNTDOWN: 
Home Herbalist Series Starts in ONE MONTH!

Tuesday Nights June 11 - August 20, 6-9 pm Eastern Time

Remedy kits are limited but still avaialble 

Details + Register HERE to ensure your spot and kit!

Learn to become an herbalist in your home with the Home Herbalist Series! Lay a great foundation with herbs through in depth notes and homework (including monograph creation). 

This is my ONLY IN PERSON series this year at the new place (simultaneously live streamed and recorded), and it surprisingly still has plenty of space (and I might also be looking for a classroom assistant - someone already familiar with the material to help give me a hand with cleanup, in class, on zoom, and with dog walks during break - in exchange for class access though the kit would be extra - email me if interested). 

The new home doesn't have big herb gardens yet, but the land is magical (still plenty of medicinal plants!), classroom is lovely, and Chichester, NH is actually closer to most places since I am near the highway. I am just 5-15 min from Concord, 10 minutes from I-93, and 5 minutes to Route 202/4 and the Epsom traffic circle.

Plant ID 101 

Spring is the perfect time to buy or pull out a field guide and begin to identify wildflowers! Can you identify wild plants with 100 percent certainty? If you plan to ingest it or give it to someone else, you need to! The ability to “key out” and identify plants is a crucial skill for any herbalist or wild food forager. Nothing is quite as powerful and healing as picking a plant yourself, turning it into a remedy, taking it, and feeling that plant infuse you with its vital energy. But (to quote Spiderman), with great power comes great responsibility. Most of us did not grow up learning to identify plants, so we rely on field guides to help us figure it out.

Fortunately, learning how to identify plants can be incredibly fun. A new plant that you don’t already know becomes “the next Great Plant Mystery,” and the process of sleuthing out its identity helps you look more closely at and connect with each plant.

Autumn Olive (Elaeagnus umbellata)

That heavenly aroma in the air (or will be within a few weeks)! You can thank (or curse?) autumn olive. These invasive shrubby trees grow wild along roadsides, highways, and in neighborhoods. In spite of their invasive nature, they always make me smile. I adore the sweet soapy perfume-y honeysuckle fragrance they emit in spring. I use the flower essence to help people with new ventures - new job, recently single, menopause… In the fall, you can harvest loads of berries, which contain 17 times more lycopene than tomatoes, as an antioxidant superfood. Not bad as fruit leather, jam, or cordials. (Because it is invasive, it's technically illegal to harvest -- please do not intentionally/unintentionally plant or propagate it. Don't spread or compost berries/seeds, for example.)

The Latest Community Classes
Podcasts & Announcements

NEW Podcast

Keep an ear out for podcasts and other free replays airing these next few weeks! 

JUST RELEASED: Plant Love Radio, Tea Talks with Jiling (and Tesia Love!) on Mountain Rose Herbs Herbal Radio

Airing Soon: HerbRally, podcast/video/recipe on lemon balm with Rosalee, podcast with Lana on Plant Love Radio <3

Upcoming May & June Classes

June Herbal Events!

NH Herbal Network's 

Herb & Garden Day! 
Event is Saturday, June 1 in Warner, NH
I'll be teaching and vending alongside so many great herbalists. 
Get your EARLY BIRD tix and event details at nhherbalnetwork.org/herbday

New! Gather: A Northeastern Herbal Conference

Sunday June 23, all day at Bentley College Waltham MA

A full day of fabulous talks, vendors, etc! Including Margi Flint, Mary Blue, Ryn Midura, Jade Alicandro, and many more! I will be teaching and possibly vending.

Get info and tix at www.healersharvest.com/gatherherbalconference

Book News!

The e-Book Version of Herbal Remedies for Sleep just went on flash sale! For just $3.99 you can get the electronic version for Kindle on Amazon (affiliate link) or wherever ebooks are sold, such as B&N | Bookshop | Storey. Sale ends May 31.

Body into Balance recently released in Spanish (in Spain), Italian, and French - it's already available in German and Estonian - and will release in about 18 months in Hungarian! Check out the various book covers/titles on my Instagram page.
They're only available via booksellers in those countries (not through me). (Maybe in the future I can get some in Spanish - wish me luck. International book shipping is $$$.)

Wintergreen Botanicals

Maria Noel Groves, RH (AHG)

www.WintergreenBotanicals.com

603-340-5161

office@wintergreenbotanicals.com