What are your most beloved summer memories?
For me, it’s the sweet scent of newly opened blossoms and baskets filled with iced tea, fresh fruit, and homemade snacks. Wearing breezy cotton clothes and leaving shoes behind to feel the earth - moss, grass, or sand underfoot. Meandering through woods, dipping in wild waters, and getting lost in gardens or fields of wildflowers like bees drunken on nectar. The embrace of golden sunshine kissing the skin. These long summer days feel eternal, full of abundance, joy, and light.
In our gardens and wild spaces…
August is here and we are making the most of the season and preserving the bounty to use in the year ahead. The work we do now fills our apothecary jars with the freshest ingredients that we will use in our creations. We’re harvesting lavender, lemon balm, clary sage, bee balm, chamomile, calendula, spearmint, roses and mugwort to make balms and oils, distill hydrosols, and blend teas. In the wild, we have picked nettles, plantain, red clover, elderflowers, yarrow, St. john’s wort and mullein – all of which you may also find growing around you to use.
My vegetable garden is looking lush and has been feeding us very well, soon I will plant some Fall crops. Part of my daily morning routine includes spending up to an hour tending the beds. I love this quiet time to notice the little details and the persistent maintenance has made the work feel less heavy this year. The foods that I harvest, share, and preserve are gratifying – but gardening also creates a rhythm for me that is soothing, and grounding, and eases my anxieties. I am already excited to expand our herb cultivation for Gnat and Bee next year.
Summertime self-care recovery:
This season calls us to find adventure. I love to see new places, find wild waters to swim in, and go hiking and camping. After diving into mother nature and feeling like I can use a deeper cleanse, I love to use our botanical creations to treat myself to a spa day at home. I take some time to get extra rest, stretch, hydrate with water or herbal teas and ask..what does my body really need right now? I enjoy curating a facial using one of our tea + clay masks, then I’ll use wildflower toner or a hydrosol and finish with a slow gua sha message with Illuminate Facial Serum. This year, I’ve discovered the joy of blending our bath salt soaks with some oil and using it for full-body exfoliation. After a salt scrub, I’ll take a warm bath or shower and finish with cool water. If nature explorations are in your plans this month, I highly recommend treating yourself to a home spa day when you return home. Gift yourself a slow embodied experience and return to yourself.
Be kind to yourself.
In this fast-paced world, we may find ourselves dependent on processed and convenience foods, poor habits and overstimulated by screens and notifications. Take care of yourself and your nervous system. Take breaks from screens or stimulants to recharge, reconnect and dream your own dreams. Nourish your body with real foods, hydration, movement, and time spent in nature with yourself or with loved ones. I wish you peace and a beautiful rest of this sunny season.
Thank you for connecting here,
Natalie Friedrich
