Shooting Stars...

With the start of the sixth season of the Homestead Herbalism course set to start in a few weeks, I am excited to meet a brand new group of students and bond with them over the course of the next 8 months...or much longer, as is very often the case. The first few classes are always friendly enough. People called together by a common love of plants always have alot to talk about, you know. But after a few months of shared gardening experiences, getting caught in a downpour on a weed walk or hearing an inspiring herbal healing case study, the bonding grows deeper. Add to that a few personal or physical challenges shared and these new friends and their new herbal allies rally round and bond us all in an irreversible way. No denying what magic occurs when bringing sensitive people and plants together. It is life altering.
I'd like you to meet two former students (Class of 2005) that have surely continued to grow their herbal wings since their time here on the Farm. Robyn, on the left, helped me at the Farm at Coventry booth a few summers at the Phoenixville Farmer's Market, had her own line of herbal infused vinegars, and continues to be diligent about creating and using her herbal remedies to keep her family well during the cold and flu season. Robyn and her family recently moved north to the Schuykill county coal regions to lead a more simple life, homeschool the kids, have a bigger garden and wildcraft elderberries and anything else she will surely find.
Jenny, on the right, is a beautiful free spirit who in a few short weeks is heading west to jump feet first into a 10 week work/study position at Oregon's prestigious Herb Pharm, an 85 acre certified organic herb farm. She is not afraid of hard work, and loves her people and this earth passionately.
These young women lead different lives, but their bond is their strength, their passion, and their hunger to learn. oh yeah. I am so proud to know that they each carry a little piece of the Farm with them wherever their lives move them. ..no matter how far they fly. Amazing women, both of them.