Through the Eyes of Another

There are times when it feels like I'm not walking the talk.  It isn't just me either.  Having talked to other herbalists who share this feeling, it would seem that the more social media is out there, the more intimidating it is.
Between the magazine and helping my sis with her soap biz, there are times when I just barely catch a plant before it is too late.  Just an acre or so of working gardens, with the woods and fields being a rare treat at this time of year, it's hard to figure out how others do it.  There are frequent, beautiful posts on ethereal settings, long plant monographs, and exhaustive how-to articles, all while maintaining businesses, treating clients, and on an on an on.  Sometimes it just seems impossible.  I feel like a slug!

Jewelweed climbs up the porch steps.

But then, something wonderful happened.  We are sharing the house right now with a little non-herbal family of a woman and child.  You know how being around a baby helps you see the world through new eyes?  Well that happened to me this year.  I look around and see how this might look to someone else.

One of the shipping desks is pulling double duty.

It started with the dozens of lavender wands, and the huge bundles of fresh lavender hung to dry in the kitchen.  But that's nothing.  The kitchen counters are lined with various curiosities and odd bottles (it doesn't help that I recycle every jar that comes near the house). 

Our roomie casually gets her breakfast bagels with nary a word about the peculiar clutter.

Molly and I sit around chatting while we chop mimosa bark or strip leaves.  Daily now, we cut a large bowl of elderberries to be dried.  There are baskets of leaves and twigs drying everywhere.

The weighing table is getting buried.

There isn't a room in the house that doesn't hold evidence of what we do here. 

The back office needs more shelves.

I have to smile at her ability to not make any smart cracks about the things that must look pretty weird.
I'm grateful for being able to see it through the eyes of another.