Things are coming together beautifully in a desert paradise

Wow, it's been a busy week! Last night I gave a talk about Edible and Medicinal Plants at the Tucson Weston Price Chapter pot luck, complete with samples of many of our edible and medicinal plants. I made a delicious savory acorn molasses bread based on Kiva Rose's flax bread recipie, and mesquite almond chia crackers, which were a huge hit, a bit sweet like graham crackers, but GF and sugar free to boot. Fresh and brined grape leaves were a hit to eat our rice with, and the samples of fresh Monarda went home with talk participants since they enjoyed the hot spicy potency of the fresh leaves.

My last herb walk before I go away on retreat to the Anima Center is this Saturday from 8am to 1 pm. There is still time to sign up if you'd like to join me. A few days ago the wash was full of water and the plants blooming or ripening fruit. It is a lush little area we'll be visiting, and it won't involve any vigourous hiking, so feel free to come and enjoy the plants with me. 20$ per person. e mail me to register and get more details. blueturtlebotanicals at gmail dot com.

I'll have an all day plant HIKE on Sept 13, 2008, for 40$ a person. It will be a chance to spend much more time in the natural setting in which our medicinal plants grow, and more time on each plant, and just get out and enjoy nature for a day! If you are interested please register by Sept 12.

This weekend was characterized by delicious rain and clouds shrouding the mountains, blessing them with a kiss of much needed moisture in this hot dry season often plagued by fire. I was out stomping my bare feet around in the fresh water running in the washes. A beautiful little canyon I found when I meandered off the trail was full of green fruited cherry trees, flowering red root, Algerita/oregon grape, Coffee Berry Rhamnus, Oaks, Monarda, Evening primrose ( still not flowering yet!) and Mountain Marigold. The grapes all have green fruits dangling below the vines.

Blissful!

My birthday is tomorrow and I'll be out in the mesquite bosques looking for my beloved passionflower.

Chaparral oil is steeping, so if you are interested in buying oil or salve, give me your order right away, so I can get it to you before I leave on my retreat at the end of the month!

I have a good lead on office space to rent for the fall, so a place for consultations and workshops is in the works it seems.

My sweetie is teaching Yoga classes in Tucson, Sundays at 11 am, Mondays at 9 am and Tuesdays at 6:30pm. If you are interested in taking yoga, regardless of previous experience, he'd love to have you join him. http://www.openspacemovement.org/stillthemind.

It just started raining buckets of water again! yay! I love summer in the Sonoran Desert!