- Monday, June 27, 2011
- Posted in mother earth,nourish
I have stinging nettles in my back yard (and some in my front…oh and on the side!).
They grow here without me needing to plant them. They are REALLY good for you. Nature’s medicine! They also hurt like mad if you touch them a certain way. One day when we first moved here, my boys and I were on a hike and we went off the beaten path and I fell into a patch. I was shocked at the instant, harsh burning on my legs and arms…then the deep itch that felt it couldn’t be itched. Then the many swollen bumps. Then the achy numbness for a few days. I will admit, right when it happened, I cried like a baby. I am totally okay admitting that. ; ) Because of my physical reaction, I stayed away from my nettles for a few weeks…even though I was hearing of friends making soups and teas and intentionally touching them to feel the sting, to build an immunity, to listen to the pain and connect to it…or to help soothe their arthritis. I felt stubborn for a bit. I was actually a bit angry with this plant. It hurt me! Although when I would walk outside, I felt a pull to them. I would stare at them for a long while…and watch them sway in the wind. I felt like my fear of them was teaching me something. That there are always messages in the pain. Messages we need to hear in order to grow. The pain does not come from the root. Am I rooted?
I decided to get up close. I studied them. I felt less afraid. I knew they were fierce plants and in their fierceness, offered medicine that we needed. I went back to the house and grabbed my basket. And my gloves. I can still receive their medicine, with a bit of a boundary to protect myself. I still felt the sting but ever so lightly and just enough to connect to that pain. To feel alive. To help remind me that so much wisdom comes from pain. I talked with them when picking each one. I thanked them for what they had to offer. I got a sense that they softened towards me. That they felt understood. In those moments, I truly felt the heartbeat of life from the earth. Those moments of clarity and connection that come to us when we are quiet in nature, away from the noise. I want more of those.
I dried some leaves for tea. I used the raw ones for a soup. The soup tasted like pureed artichoke dipped in butter with a dash of salt. Yummmm. I used this recipe but I substituted blended soft tofu in place of heavy cream and nonfat greek yogurt in place of sour cream. I also included crushed garlic along with the onions when sauteing in the beginning.
I am so grateful that being here, surrounded by so much lushness, has me connecting deeper to what nature offers us beyond just solace. I am so inspired by Susun Weed these days…among a few others in my life, that take care of themselves and those they love with what comes from the earth: Nature’s medicine cabinet of healing and love. Its in my back yard! Mmmmm.
June 27, 2011
Susun Weed is my hero. It is she that helped me take my first steps to heal from 16 years of Fibromyalgia, taught us to use St. John’s Wort in place of commercial sunscreen, and helped me heal from each pregnancy.
Nettles are part of every day for us. Susun has sugested that using gloves hurts Sister Stinging Nettle’s feelings, so hubby harvests them bare handed. I won’t attempt it though. I’m waaaay too much of a baby for that :-p
Peace to you in your new space.
June 28, 2011
oh this is so fun! my friend and i were just talking the other day about learning to use nettles. I’ve been stung by them many a time, one of my now found childhood memories from days spent playing in the woods. you’ve totally inspired me to delve into using these for tea and cooking!
June 28, 2011
You are so beautiful. I want to know you more every post! You remind me of how nurturing and kind I forget to be to myself and the Earth. Inspiring…as a woman and as a mother. <3
June 28, 2011
I love this story for you, Denise. You are so brave. You are so beautiful. xoxo
June 28, 2011
you are like mother nature’s messenger…bringing us bits of her quiet wisdom.
June 28, 2011
Hello to you,
You may enjoy this wonderful woman’s blog ~where grows the wild rose?
She also has a shop on etsy called GwendolynForever where she sells all kinds of lovely wild herbal salves, balms and everything to make you feel all goddessie: )
There is also a book called Earth Wisdom by Glennie Kindred that is just so beautiful and insightful to all who adore nature.
I truly love your gentle bravery, your respectful and soulful ways that seem to come so naturally to you… your writing always washes calmness over me after long and tedious days where I seem to struggle in this world.
Thanking you: )
Skye x
June 28, 2011
So good that you are connecting with the wonderful stinging nettle…..her stings are good for me at this time of year, to help control my hayfever. I noticed an improvement when I accidentally got stung years ago. With eyes screwed shut, and face grimacing, I experimented with more stings, and they worked again, so her stings are definitely my friends :~)
We love nettle soup, tea, and steamed like spinach here. I also have a flower remedy I made from her two years ago.
Your soup looks delicious, thank you for the recipe link. Love Susun Weed.
What have you picked and are drying on that lovely tray….is it bramble, or raspberry, or something else interesting? :~)
June 28, 2011
Sigh. Wonderful. I got to interview Susun many years ago for a magazine. It was the best interview of my life. I learned so much, I still practice much of it today!
June 28, 2011
I’ve heard many times of the health benefits of nettles, but I couldn’t equate that in my mind with the painful weed growing all around our house as I was growing up. Are they really rare in other places? I got stung by them so many times as a child, and there’s nothing more painful! At least, that’s how it felt at the time. Now I’ll know not to take them for granted.
June 28, 2011
Oh my gosh! I am so inspired… loving that soup, and thankyou so much for sharing Sharon with us!!
Amy
June 28, 2011
I mean, Susan… ugh! Sorry about that!
June 28, 2011
we don’t have nettles anywhere near us here in australia, but every so often i’ll have a little course of nettle tea- how beautiful that you can receive them from your backyard! i have one of susan weed’s books as well, and i just love that she’s a wild herbalist and her name is weed— perfect!
June 29, 2011
oh, do be careful. an herbalist friend of mine mentioned that eating nettles after they flower is dangerous and could make you sick:
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/edible/msg0920570828597.html
from what i’ve read, drying them first destroys the cysoliths and you can consume nettle after that, but i’m not totally sure.
June 29, 2011
I’m glad you’re enjoying your new found herb treasures.
BEWARE
I’m an herbalist in Bellingham. If the nettles have flowers they are TOXIC!!!! Only eat them before they start their reproductive phase!
June 29, 2011
I feel especially drawn to Nettle, too ~ I have difficulty eating it, as I have sulphur allergies, but it works wonders as a rinse for my hair, and it makes a brilliant, beautiful dye for fibers. My weaver friends use the stems for weaving into hats and baskets. She is such a beautiful friend and has so many gifts to offer..
Growing up I was stung so many times, then I learned from a wise person that bracken fern, when crushed and applied to the sting, can neutralize it. So if you get stung again, you could give that a try!
June 29, 2011
Oh nettles…. so powerful and beautiful but yes, the pain. Your post reminds me to approach that pain from a different point of view. One year at summer camp out there, one of the guy counselors brought out a bundle of dried nettle stalks from the season before. He taught us how to strip the stocks and braid bracelets from it. It taught us that even though something may bring such pain during one season of life, by the next season it can soften and bring us something of beauty.
June 29, 2011
thank you, beauties…for sharing your own nettle and herb stories and your love of susun weed (with the cool last name) and for your concerns/warnings!
i have a few really amazing neighbors that shared with me some nettle tips. i made sure none of them were blossoming and i knew this would be the last time i could use them until next year when they sprout again.
i try to be really informed before i feed my family stuff from the ground.
xoxo
June 30, 2011
Blessed nettles <3 My love and I harvest some earlier in the season, right at a time I was miserable with allergies. They soothe. So.
Susun Weed rocks my whole world, one day I will hear the plants talk around me
July 1, 2011
Inspiring! I keep my nettles at arm’s length, too, but have never done anything with them. Thanks for the ideas!
July 1, 2011
i love you wild womyn. everything about this is delicious. i love the way you’ve let the initial pain weave its way into your heart and your words. *miss*