Being invited into an artist’s studio, up the mountain, past the outskirts of town, quite a ways down a winding dirt road and into the forest, feels like a visit to a shaman. Artists straddle the worlds and live in the thinned veiled realms of the creative. Their homes and studios have a unique energy to them. They can’t help but imbue their space and working materials with an artistic magic; alchemizing basic materials into to icons, idols and keepers of human meaning.

We got to spend an early evening in the meadow with our local rancher, Woody Woodward. I knew a little about the work he was doing with the animals and we have a freezer stocked with some of the best beef we have ever eaten from his ranch. What Woody is doing through Magnolia Grassfed is so much more than just providing delicious food. His practices are helping maintain the health of the meadows by mimicking ancient herding behaviors. Woodys work with the ecology of the meadow supports the grater wildlife sanctuary this community calls home.

“Dads are most ordinary men turned by love into heroes, adventurers, storytellers and singers of song.” - Unknown

If there is an herb that is most loved and valued across all of time and geography, it might be rose. Roses have been valued for their beauty, fragrance, and health benefits for hundreds of years.

Get out and enjoy the sun, the landscape and majesty of Colorado's beautiful mountain towns with your friends and family. Do so safely by protecting your skin and eating well. We have to be careful year-round and Summer can get us into the habit of adopting skin and diet rituals for optimum health.

For a long time I’ve been interested in having a relationship with the plants that grow in the ground. It started off as wanting to deepen my understanding in relationship to the food that we put into our bodies.

Pottery, for me, is really more about getting to know the process. I use a wood and soda firing technique, which is a process that always comes out different than I think.

Summer is Pitta Time… where the mental, emotional and physical flames (read: inflammation) are fanned by the strong solar energy. The ambitious and visionary constitution of Pitta is quick to express anger, judgement and conflict. In the body, Pitta leads to inflammation, rashes, and indigestion.

Staying vital in the summer is maintained by staying hydrated, cool and rested. The high solar energy can quickly drain our ojas (vitality) and deplete prana (life-force).

Drinking plantain in tea form can be helpful for inflammation in the respiratory tract, digestive tract, reproductive tract, and urinary tract. Read more about the array of benefits here.

1/3 of the profits will go to Bat Conservation International. These bat houses are well suited for the mountains. They are designed by one of the leading bat scientists in the world, Merlin Tuttle…

You can imagine it as a wild spinach. It’s taste is a unique one among the wild plants, as it tends towards a salty flavor - a rare treat. The leaves, stems, even flowers are edible raw or cooked. Read more about the rich herbal properties of this plant here…

The beloved Calendula brings bright warmth to our gardens and hearts. It can help with inflamed and irritated skin…

Perhaps these 2 have never existed separately but more like 2 fish swimming in tandem, mirroring each other’s every move. This connection is what makes the healing art of bodywork so potent…

YOU Can Help Save Bees! Bees are responsible for about 80% of all pollination, 70% of food pollination is performed by bees. They are dying at a rapid rate. This is due to pesticides, loss of habitat, climate changes, and more human interferences. We are a huge part of the problem, but we can take action to be a part of saving them too.

Beltane or May Day adorning all with beautiful flowers and rejoicing in the fecundity on earth.

With the Milk Moon, the scarcity of early spring is giving way to late spring, where abundance is starting to overflow. The animals have birthed, the rains have come and the fresh green grass is plentiful.

I don’t know how it all started… the chicken or egg… the chicken coop my neighbor gave me or the fresh egg bread we left on another neighbor’s porch. But I somehow find my self at the top of the most curvy road in the country with a very unique and connected community.

A sweet song to serenade you into spring!

Perhaps in gaining our safer, more predictable way of survival we have lost a secret language and sensory communion with the natural world? Let's get curious about what the forest has to tell us.