Get Ready for a Healthy Winter

My apologies for being away so long.  We sold our house in Williston and  moved to the Northeastern part of Vermont.  Needless to say, it has been many weeks of packing, moving and getting settled.  Although we are still in temporary quarters, we are on a lake and enjoying the Indian Summer days, warmer than usual, as we wait for the right house to come on the market.

Proverbs 6:6  "Observe the ant's ways and be wise, which having no chief, officer or ruler, prepares her food in the summer, and gathers her provisions in the harvest"  
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Although I have had a very small vegetable garden of my own this summer, due to the move; there has been an abundance of food at the local farmers' markets with the warm summer we have had.  I am gathering vegetables at great prices to get my freezing done, and putting squashes into my cool spare bedroom closets.  I sure do miss my cold cellar and pantry.  It's just part of my nature and fall routine to get the fresh foods put up so that we have them in winter.  There's nothing like knowing where your food comes from and how it has been preserved; and no healthier foods to eat that those that have ripened and been picked locally at the peak of perfection so that the full nutritional value is contained within.
The same goes for the herbs.  Time to do the last of the foraging and drying.  Time to take stock of what you have on hand for winter health issues and make sure that you can put your hands on them should you need them.  We in Vermont, are blessed to have numerous herbalists and apothecaries where we can obtain dried material if we don't have our own.  Making those tinctures of Echinacea, Goldthread, Meadowsweet, Astragalus and so many others according to your household's winter needs will go a long way to keep colds and flu at bay, but will be advantageous should someone come down with something more serious.  You will be able to hit any threat of sickness immediately.
Don't underestimate the power of food.  Those squashes that keep so nicely all winter in cold storage are full of vitamin A, which is a great adaptogenic immune booster against the common cold.  Others like garlic, onions, apples are God's special provision for those of us who live in northern climes.  Want to learn more?  Watch for more information on our video class on Thursday, October 4th.  We will discuss the many option for your food stocks, supplements and herbals that you can make and prepare to have on hand for the winter months to prepare yourself and your families for a bulletproof immune system for winter.  Want to learn how to make elderberry syrup?  We will have an open classroom at Hunger Mountain from 6 to 8 pm.  We will have recipe, lecture and you will take some home.  For more information, call Cathy at 802-683-1785 or email thrushsong60@gmail.com.  Hope to see you there!
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