Preparing for the cold...

It's getting cold! I'm not really ready for fall, but I don't think it will wait for me to be ready, so I am embracing the descending energy, and preparing for the cold.

I'm so reluctant to let go of the bounty of the harvest. I am spoiled. I love walking outside and picking most of my breakfast every day. Today I harvested Amaranth leaves, basil flowers, a purple bell pepper and a tomato, and cooked them up with half of an onion from the farmers market, a clove of garlic, a can of kippers, and some olive oil and balsamic vinegar. I will miss fresh greens when they run out.

I have been cleaning up my neglected tomato plants, collecting finished compost and starting a new batch in the tumbler. That compost is black black black! It's beautiful, and the next round of crops are sure to love it.

Speaking of the next round, I am going to cover my tomatoes with a very low tech hoop house to extend the season a bit, and am considering what to plant underneath them. Broccoli? Kale? Chard? Leeks? Spinach? The tomatoes won't last too far into winter, even with the hoop, but I'd like to make the most of the subclimate the hoop will create.

I was at the Resource Sales Yard yesterday, hunting for PVC pipe for my hoop, and happened upon a great old door instead. It has 5 panes of glass, and will make a fantastic top for a cold frame. That old door is going to save me a fair amount of measuring, cutting and assembly. Now I just need to figure out the ideal angle and build myself a box! I also lucked out with a roll of chicken wire to contain the leaves that won't be fitting into my compost bins.

The first light frost is coming up quickly, and afterwards will be the ideal time to plant the heirloom garlic I ordered from Seed Savers. I've never grown my own garlic, and I'm really excited about it! I ordered 3 different varieties, and need to prepare their bed. More about garlic later!

So, what are you doing to extend your growing season? Who out there has built a cold frame or a hoop house? What tips and tricks do you have to share?

Green Blessings!

Excellent Read!

I just finished reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. Wow. Just Wow.

You'd think the story of a family eating locally for a year would be dry, but not when it's written by Barbara Kingsolver! Many things impressed me about this book: specifically, it is full of recipes :) and the sidebars written by her husband, Steven Hopp, are informative and full of resources for further learning. Her chapter on Harvest Day is insightful, practical and compassionate. This book is inspiring, and an invaluable catalyst to raising awareness about local and sustainable food sources. This is a "we can do it" kind of story, and it leaves me with a greater-than-before desire to do more. I want chickens, and a bigger garden!

I'm this week's featured vendor at the farmers market! Come on down!

This week's write up for the market! Check out the farmers market crop report for what everyone will have this week! I'm this week's featured vendor! Isn't that exciting?! Come on out and see me! I'm giving away FREE travel sized rescue remedies with the purchase of any bagged tea or herbal blend!

Heather Luttrell CCH of Wild Vitality is a Certified Clinical Herbalist, Reiki Practitioner and Nutritionist. She is a Louisville resident and small business owner, with an office on Main Street where she sees clients by appointment for herbal/nutritional consultations and Reiki. Sign up with Heather to stay in the loop for class offerings this fall, and don't forget to enter the drawing for a FREE Reiki Session! (an $80 value!) Heather specializes in custom formulas, so please ask for what you need if you don't see it offered!

This week Heather has a special offer for all farmers market attendees! Buy one bagged tea or herbal blend, and receive a FREE travel sized bottle of Rescue Remedy! (while supplies last!) Rescue Remedy is a flower essence formula developed by Dr. Edward Bach, and is indicated in the patterns of imbalance of panic, disorientation, loss of consciousness, acute trauma or pain. The positive qualities that it conveys are calmness and stability in any emergency or time of stress. This is a great remedy to keep in your purse or car, for any circumstances when someone needs immediate help, before and after moments of difficulty, and for accidents or upsets. Its calming influence is especially helpful for children, animals and plants.

This week at the market, Heather will have:

· An assortment of culinary and medicinal herb plants

· Teas & herbal blends ~ tummy tea, nutritive tea, peace tea, demulcent drink, aphrodisiac infusion, tonic soup herbs and the much loved antioxidant bomb!

· Flower essence sprays ~ 5 flower/rescue remedy spray, Road Rage spray, No More Monsters spray

· White Sage Room Clearing Spray (think liquid smudge with extra goodness)

· No More Bugs! ~ no scary chemicals here! Reapply often to stay mosquito-free without DEET.

· White Sage Salve

· Handmade semi-precious gemstone beaded jewelry

This week's Farmers Market feature - Tummy Tea!

The crop report is up! Here's my write up for this week, but do check out the link for all that will be offered!


WILD VITALITY- LOUISVILLE, CO

Heather Luttrell CCH of Wild Vitality is a Certified Clinical Herbalist, Reiki Practitioner and Nutritionist. She is a Louisville resident and small business owner, with an office on Main Street where she sees clients by appointment for herbal/nutritional consultations and Reiki. Sign up with Heather to stay in the loop for class offerings this fall, and don't forget to enter the drawing for a FREE Reiki Session! (an $80 value!) Heather specializes in custom formulas, so please ask for what you need if you don't see it offered!

This week Heather will have:

• an assortment of culinary and medicinal herb plants
• teas & herbal blends ~tummy tea, nutritive tea, peace tea, demulcent drink, aphrodesiac infusion, tonic soup herbs, and the much loved antioxidant bomb!
• Flower essence sprays ~ 5 flower/rescue remedy spray, Road Rage spray, No More Monsters spray
• White Sage Room Clearing Spray (think liquid smudge with extra goodness)
• Bug Spray ~ no scary chemicals here!
• White Sage Salve
• handmade semi-precious gemstone beaded jewelry

This week's featured product is Tummy Tea! Tummy tea, a favorite recipe amongst my colleagues, is a wonderfully healing blend of Calendula flowers, Chamomile flowers, Plantain leaves, Marshmallow root, Peppermint leaves, Fennel seeds and Licorice root.

Tummy tea is helpful for those with digestive upsets, leaky gut, food allergies, dysbiosis, flatulence, diarrhea, and really most digestive "stuff". Tummy Tea won't get to the root of what's going on with you, but these herbs are great allies while you're figuring it out! I suggest drinking Tummy Tea 20 minutes before your meal, and/or after your meal. I recommend a quart a day for my clients with digestive maladies. For best results, use anywhere from 1 teaspoon to 1 Tablespoon of herbs per cup of nearly boiling water, and brew covered for 20 minutes or so. I like my herbs floating freely in the water, and I strain them out right before drinking my tea. You can use the muslin bag that comes with your bag of Tummy Tea, or a simple kitchen strainer. French press pots and travel mugs are fantastic for brewing herbal teas! Sweeten to taste with honey or stevia and enjoy! The package is re-usable, compostable and biodegradable! Call me for a refill and I'll give you a discount!

Graduation

Wow. It's so hard to believe that I've graduated! I think I've gotten lost in the process, and can't see the forest for the trees. It's been all about plugging away, learning, writing up cases, reading cases, writing feedback, writing my thesis, etc for so long, that I don't quite know what to think now that it's finished. The learning continues eternally, of course, but the structure has fallen away to leave me with a glorious springtime in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.













Our ceremony was unbelievably lovely. It's been 15 years since I have graduated from anywhere or anything, so I really didn't know what to expect. Penny organized the lovely space, Bobbie and her Mom did a fabulous job decorating, and Karen organized the compostable place settings. We all pitched in for a Nutritionist potluck, and I have got to say, the spread was amazing! I made Michael Moore's perversely decadent guarana fudge and a kava beverage to balance us out. It was a nice party! Family and Friends came out to honor us and celebrate with us, and for that I am truly thankful. There was so much love and support in the room.

It moves me to tears to realize that our graduation ceremony may be the last time I sit before Paul Bergner as he tells us wonderful stories to inspire us, bring us to deep reflection, and help us remember the lessons. He is a gifted storyteller, and would have made a very successful Bard, in those times. His generosity, compassion and vision are integral to the impact he has made upon all of our lives. I know that mine will never be the same. What a wonderful gift to humanity, to be a Teacher. I know that his rewards will be great.

With hardly a moment to breathe, or process the transition, my first day at the Louisville Farmers Market was Saturday. The weather was perfect Colorado Springtime, and it was the best opening day I've ever had at a market. I am inspired and hopeful. To be sustainable is my goal, and it will be lovely to make a go at it with the market and my private practice.

I've had my hands in the dirt every day, and have given up removing the last bits of soil from under my nails. I have been planting seeds, dividing and transplanting herbs, cleaning last year's dead wood, and hauling cinderblocks for my new veggie garden. I've eaten fresh, wild greens almost every day, and last night shared a meal of barbequed buffalo, greens and fingerling potatoes with a dear friend. I feel good about the work ahead of me, and hopeful. I meet more people every day with the vision of a greener, more sustainable life. It is heartening, and I welcome my place in this grassroots evolution.

My logo is done!

It's done! The logo is fantastic, and the business cards have been ordered! I'm excited, and it was absolutely worth the wait!

I've been seeing purple and green everywhere. My office, my tomato seedlings, the grape hyacinths that hypnotize the honeybees. Everywhere!

Graduation from NAIMH is May 15th, and the first day of the Louisville Farmer's Market is May 17th! Whew! There's enough to do for myself and clone, but it'll get done!

Last weekend I went to a really cool workshop put on by Mary Barnes, RH (AHG). I like her, she's one of my favorite teachers, and she's a formulation whiz! We percolated licorice root, infused comfrey oil and formulated a really nice muscle balm. Her tips and tricks were great, I learned new things! I love learning new things about topics I think I already have handled. I've been infusing oils and making tinctures for about 10 years, but I have never percolated a tincture before last weekend. The physics of it are really cool, and it's a great science project! Also, it solves the problem of how to get the last drops of precious tincture out of the marc. Delightful! Since the workshop, I've been dreaming of percolating tinctures, and it solves the problem of how to make what I need to make in time for the market.

What is this market I speak of? Louisville is finally getting a farmer's market! The organizers are organized, and understand the magic of good marketing. I'm hoping for a good turnout on May 17th, our first day. Come see me if you're in the area! I'll be set up on the corner of Walnut and Front Streets in Old Town Louisville, just off of Main Street. Head east when you see the barbershop! The hours are 9-2, and we are open every Saturday until October 25th. I am bringing herb and heirloom veggie plants, teas, tinctures and salves. Later I will have organic produce from my garden. It's going to be a great opportunity to meet and greet my community!

Come out and see us!

Green Blessings,
Heather Luttrell