2/18/2026

It's been a busy morning.....

I donated to David Hoffmann's Go-Fund me to help with his medical bills because if it were me, I hope that others would pull together to help, too. Evidently, Medicare is not paying his bills due to some mix-ups, so as he is trying to heal, he is also dealing with the stress of medical bills piling up.

This man has been instrumental for a very long time (and still is) in my herbal learning path.

He wrote the book, Medical Herbalism, which is a book that should be a resource in every herbalist's library. My copy is pretty beat up and dog-eared now. I've used it in clinical practice with clients as well as for teaching herbalism to you.

If you'd like to help David out, even a small amount helps. It adds up!

On a side note, Joe and I do not have insurance, and we haven't had since I officially retired from the Clark County School District back in 2017. The cost is literally unaffordable for us.

We never used it anyway because medicinal herbs and essential oils as well as lifestyle have been the 100% mainstays for our health and wellness for going on 15 years now, ever since I decided to go cold turkey off all the yucky, toxic Big Pharma and OTC meds I was on from childhood into my early forties.

What a blessing herbalism and aromatherapy have been for us.

But there's always a chance of a major medical issue arising. We don't know what the future holds.....

We're members of Samaritan's Ministry, which is a Christian share plan for coverage over $10,000 for a single event. Will it work? I hope so. Each month we write a check to someone we don't know to help with their medical bills. And we always give to the people, too, who have medical needs that aren't covered by the ministry, as there is that option.

If your heart calls you to help David Hoffmann, that's wonderful, and if it's not possible, I know a simple prayer will help greatly.

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I've been seed shopping this morning too! I spent quite a lot of time on Baker's Creek Rare Seeds and also Strictly Medicinals sites.... What a rabbit hole!

Goodness! It's scarily addicting, isn't it? At least it is if you garden. Usually, I'm focused on medicinal herbs and vegetables for food, but today? I got trapped in the Everlasting Flower web. I really had to rein myself in.

I splurged last weekend when we went to the Co-op in Moscow to find decent veggies, and I bought a dried flower bouquet from a local farmer who lives in Elk City. Normally, I'm very utilitarian, sticking with just what we need, but these flowers improve my outlook and mood every time I see them. They're so beautiful!

Plants are such a gift!

Our senses have quite a lot to do with well-being. Scent, sight, what we hear, how something feels to our touch...it all supports well-being.

And that's why I'm going to try to grow a little flower garden along with developing our vegetable and medicinal herb gardens again this year. Why not? They'll add color, joy, and food for the pollinators. I hope I can grow flowers for simple beauty as well as medicinal flowers and plants. 🥰

​If you'd like to watch a Playlist of part of our garden at the old homestead, I talk about many of the plants we grew there. This summer will be busy as we get our gardens going here at the new place. We're starting from scratch!

Here's the first one, for you...and it's been a few years. If you like this, let me know if you'd like me to share our gardens as we get them going here at the new place!

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Thank you!

SO many replied back to my last notes with your thoughts about wanting herbal information on inflammation as well as how to incorporate medicinal herbs into your daily life, especially cooking in the kitchen.

Your feedback was so valuable, and I appreciate you so very much! If you replied, you helped guide my path for what you need and want. If you didn't reply, that's ok. I believe that for every one who writes to me, there are probably 10-50 others who feel the same way.

I love when you reply! I can't answer all the notes anymore, as that's all I'd be doing, but I read every single note from my favorite people (that's you).

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Fruit and Herbs Energy Ball Recipe

I thought you might enjoy this little taste of some herbal energy! In Sunday's note, I gave you a recipe for Honey-Turmeric paste, so if you missed that one, you can find it HERE.

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped almonds or brazil nuts

1 cup dried chopped figs or dates

1 cup dried apricots or raisins

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup of unsweetened finely shredded quality coconut

1-2 tsp cinnamon

Optional: 1 tsp cacao powder

Optional: raw honey or nut butter

Directions:

Using a food processor, mix the nuts, fruit, cinnamon, and vanilla until everything is finely chopped.

Put the cacao powder if using and coconut in separate bowls.

This is the fun part: Form the mixture into small balls (I like 1 inch in diameter, approximately). If you want, you can also add in some honey and/or nut butter to form more of a paste. You may. need to add more of the cinnamon or cacao powder if you choose to do this.

Roll the balls in the coconut shreds. **If you want, you can also incorporate some coconut right into the balls too.

Enjoy!

For storage, keep these in the refrigerator in a container. If they are very sticky, I will sometimes use parchment paper to separate layers, but they don't last long! Mr. V. loves them.

**NOTE: If you're enjoying my shares of food and medicinal herbs here in my notes, I would love if you would hit "reply" and give me a simple "yes" or a little thumbs up because it adds to the feedback for a course I may create if it seems like it will be well-received. Also, I'll continue sharing more if I know you like them.

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More Gardening Adventures!

My friend, Audrey over at Audrey's Little Garden, is hosting a Spring Gardening Summit (it's free) next week! There are a LOT of great speakers, and I know you've probably heard of many of them. I'm one of them, too!

Between us, we'll be speaking on topics like:

• Planters for gardens
• Soil strategies
• Planting an orchard
• Growing in small spaces (there are a few talks on this topic!)
• Pest management
• How to weed less (this one is one I'll be honing in on, for sure!)
• Growing a skincare garden (this is my talk)
• Growing houseplants
• Encouraging children to help in the garden
• And LOTS more!!!

Click the button below to find out more and to save your free seat. The summit begins on Monday!

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It's Time to Forage Poplar Buds!

If you have cottonwood or other poplar trees growing near you, then it's time to see if they're ready to harvest the buds. The buds are the leaves tightly curled up, and they contain incredible resin that has some very wonderful analgesic properties. I also share how to make a poplar bud salve.

*Please subscribe to my channel, if you haven't yet. 🥰 It means the world to me.

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And that's all for now! I hope your week is amazing, and I'll see you inside the Spring Gardening Summit next week!​

"For as the earth produces its sprouts, And as a garden causes the things sown in it to spring up, So the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise To spring up before all the nations." ---Isaiah 61:11

Hugs, Health, and Herbs,

Heidi

P.S. I forgot to tell you: My popular 80 page guide, Herbal Salves, Oils, Butters, and Balms (which I used to sell long ago and is only available with certain courses now) is included as a FREE gift from me for joining in this year's Spring Gardening Summit! ​

P.P.S. Please forward this note to a friend who enjoys herbalism and gardening, and encourage them to sign up for our newsletter HERE. Thank you SO very much!

H