As an herbalist, people are always asking me what my favorite herb or spice is. Easy: garlic! Pungent garlic is a remarkable medicinal food with widely confirmed health benefits — all wrapped up in a delicate white paper case. Garlic has played a central role … Read More
The mail has been a bit slow this year (we've all felt the pandemic related delays...), but that shouldn’t stop your kids from making a Valentine's Day card for someone they love. We've got some simple steps from Busy Little Hands: Art Play! to … Read More
The fabrics we wrap ourselves in daily are a potent form of visual expression and a reflection of ourselves out to the world. Clothing is symbolic. Clothing is a language with which we speak to those around us and through which we’re able … Read More
I grew up on a 150-acre sheep farm in rural Virginia. We had a fabulous garden right out our back door. We ate from it all season long and well into the winter. Our pantry and freezer chest were chock-full of homegrown food. I still … Read More
You might say that Kaori Becker has cooking in her genes: her grandmother owned a ramen shop in Fukushima, Japan, and her mother Yukiko, is such an inspired home cook, the food she made spurred Kaori to delve deeper into cooking herself. Tapping into that … Read More
We’ve teamed up with Norma Pasekoff Weinberg, author of Making Herbal Hand Creams and Salves, to bring you Natural Hand Care in the Age of COVID-19. This free mini-eBook is packed with helpful information, fun facts (Vulcan handshake anyone?), and yes-you-really-can-make-these-at-home natural hand care … Read More
It’s cold, REALLY COLD, here in North Adams, Massachusetts. As we hunker down for our biggest winter storm of the season, we turn to fire cider to warm up. It’s tasty, easy to make—and best of all—it’s an effective remedy for many of the cold, … Read More
Nature has been an inspiration to artists ever since people began making art. You can make some fantastic art using objects found right in your backyard — like twigs that you can glue together to make a picture frame. It’s fun to walk outside and … Read More
How do birds find a mate? The approaches of different species are as varied as those of humans. Some birds seem like Casanovas or even Marquises de Sade, while others seem as courtly and reticent as the most genteel Jane Austen characters. Cranes and swans … Read More
Apple is America’s signature pie: not just something we love to eat, but a universal symbol of things we hold dear. Is it any wonder, then, that making an apple pie is one of fall’s enduring rituals? To some degree, whether it is store-bought or … Read More