It’s a very warm day in the middle of May. I’m working in the gardens today trying to weed and prepare for the coming growing season. The dirt is like concrete. Surprisingly we’ve had very little rain this spring.

I’m in my own zone, which I like to think of as my thinking time because what I am doing doesn’t require any focus. I let my mind wonder and I immediately hear the beautiful songbirds, spring peepers, but I also hear the roar of motorcycles in the distance. I think to myself how I’d love to be on my bike right now on this perfect day.

The thing is, I sold my red Suzuki VS800 Intruder with after market cobra pipes 2 years ago because I wasn’t riding it. I always had other things that seemed at the time to be much more important. Which brings me back to today. The reality is, even if I did have my bike, I would have found other things to take precedence over going for a leisurely ride. It’s funny how we go through different stages in our lives. What we choose to focus on and what we choose or have let go. We are all on a journey and I would never have guessed where mine would have led me.

Over the past number of years, I’ve had a keen desire to look at my life differently like the ingredients in my food and what goes on my skin. I often think how differently I would have lived my life if I had considered the impact of this. I’ve always loved vegetables and vegetable gardens and flowers, but now I have a garden with a much more personal purpose. I am fortunate enough to have 2 rather large gardens. We let our main garden rest last year, so that has allowed me to have “my” garden this year.

We garden without pesticides or chemical fertilizers. We have done this for years while growing our vegetables and herbs. Last year I added plants and flowers that provide us with restorative properties for our bodies and minds. I’m realizing the importance being mindful when harvesting plants for our bodies to take a minute to appreciate what they are giving back to us.

Today I picked dandelions – roots, leaves and some flowers. The roots I will dry for later but the leaves I have washed clean salted water then rinsed in fresh water ready to use in our salad tonight. Dandelions have a slight bitter taste, which actually aids in digestion. The homemade salad dressing that we use contains apple cider vinegar with the mother but we also have infused the vinegar with another wonderful plant that has so many benefits, the violet plant.

I grow many healing plants that are used in our Skin Soothing Salve, like self-heal, yarrow, plantain – narrow and broadleaf and jewelweed, our Nourish Solid Lotion Bar infused with lavender and our Satin Sunrise apple cider vinegar soap with madder root. Other plants growing in our garden are mullein, lung wart, mother wart, chickweed, holy basil and more plants and herbs to come. It is very exciting to plant, grow, harvest and use the plants as they were intended. Simple and uncomplicated!

I have elderberry tincture in the cupboard which is used when you feel the signs of a cold coming on, orange/spruce decoction which I use 1 hour before eating to help with digestion, violet infused apple cider vinegar which is used in homemade salad dressing and currently infusing violet tincture and the list goes on. We have so much to be thankful for. We just need to really observe what is around us and what so-called weeds can offer us.

I still miss riding my motorcycle and my incredible adventures; however, my journey has taken me on another road, and I love it.