Autumn

     The weather cools and we bow to the deep dark of the coming Autumn Equinox.  I forget and then am enamored when I realize there are three more weeks of Summer September 1.  The weather did not cool until today so it was easy to enjoy  Summer still here at the beginning of September.  My classes wind down and I look toward markets for income Autumn and Winter.  I went to market for the first time last Autumn and it sparked imaginings of a lucrative income opportunity and the opportunity to share herbal knowledge with folks is always a blessing.  My wares are Salve, Tea, Tincture and Vinegar also available through my website www.sarahannelisabeth.com.
     Time to wrap up the season gardening and processing harvest.  I have ordered hay for the beds at SDG and Hiddenbrooke and I made Basil Pesto and Zucchini bread this week.  (Ocimum basilicum, Labiate, Annual, Asia).  Basil is a well known spice. Although my first Pesto was Parsley, I have come to appreciate having a variety of Pesto now for the Winter.  I make seven quarts  - three Parsley, two Basil and this season two Lamb's Quarter.  Lamb's Quarter grew into a small tree at Flora Jones so I had no choice but to make Pesto.  I have had Basil tea in the past and in the Mediterranean O. comosum is made into a drink called cherbet tokhum.  The essential oil is used for flavor in condiments and liqueurs and scents in soap and perfume.  Leaves have been used as mosquito repellent to expel worms and for snake and insect bites as well as acne.  An infusion aids digestion and is antibacterial.  Zucchini (Cucurbita pepo, Cucurbitaceae, Annual, Turtle Island) is high in beta carotene and also contains vitamin C and folic acid.  The word squash comes from the Native American word askustasquash which means eaten raw or uncooked.  Europeans pounded the seeds into oatmeal and used it on their faces to remove freckles. 
     Hurricane Dorian travels up the East coast in North Carolina today while wildfires rage in Brazil.  The great storm of 2019 so far having ravaged the Bahamas.  Two more months of hurricane season to go.  As I stared at the radar image on the Weather Channel I marveled at how singular the weather is, having its own purpose and we just have to get out of harm's way.  Let go of applying gender to the weather and its force just becomes a violent entity for which we have to prepare.  Not unlike the Establishment that emulates nature and of which we have to stay out of harm's way.  Hitler has a famous quote "I do not see why man should not be as cruel as nature," so I suppose we should take it into account managing our new reality.  We are capable of benevolence and compassion, community and cooperation, but in the face of those who do not abide by such notions we have no choice but to stay out of harm's way. 
     I love to watch animal documentaries most recently Serengeti and it is wonderful to watch how the animals interact.  The circle of life indeed as any of the animals from Baboon to Zebra can fall prey to the wild through starvation, injury, dominance, etc.  Might makes right in the animal kingdom and so it seems in our Establishment.  It helps me to recognize it.  It sets my mind at ease to have clarity about the challenges we face.  Embrace and appreciate the kind and loving, but remember we are inundated with animals who rule us.  Those who see so far into the future we are but a speck of dust on their grand plan - dominance.  The animal kingdom dips and sways adjusting to its triumphs and losses as we do.  I want to understand and here is my latest attempt. 
     I have gotten my first grant for A Farm for All!  In the frenzy of organizing the space I sent in some information and lo and behold we got the grant!  We will provide Solidarity Shares from our Herb CSA for low income folks.  So exciting!  A Farm for All! appears to be a project with much potential (www.afarmforallny.org).  I have spent my adult life working in non-profits in one way or another and I'm bringing that knowledge and experience to A Farm for All!  We will have our first fundraiser September 15.  Get your tickets at Brown Paper Tickets https://bpt.me/4344733 or donate at paypal.me/afarmforall.  It will be great to see you!  We harvested fifty pounds of Shiitake mushroom and we will be serving them at the fundraiser.  Come one come all, there are rooms and campsites available for overnight stays.  Air Bnb www.airbnb.com/rooms/345o2699.
     Shitake mushrooms (Lentinula edodes, Omphalotaceae, East Asia) has been eaten since 199 CE and is the second only to Button mushroom which is 60% of the world's mushroom production.  Before ketchup, mushroom sauce was the favorite condiment.  Shiitake as well as velvet shank, nameko and oyster are the favorites in Japan.  Oyster mushroom has the ability to take up toxins from the soil and still be edible.  Mushrooms contain potassium, linoleic acid, folic acid, carbohydrates, iron, niacin and B vitamins.

Shitake Mushrooms, Lentinula edodes

     2019 becomes memory.  Joyful and peaceful and full of fresh food.  To have all my crops again is awesome.  I have spent my life making it up as I go along which has its share of pitfalls and triumphs.  I believe it is the nature of Spirit, although controlling one's reality is the norm.  Courage and faith, joy, love and peace abound.  Certainly not for the faint of heart.