When the thermometer starts pushing up into the 90s, my good attitude takes a corresponding nosedive. As a Western Oregon pluviophile, I prefer my summer heat in small doses, preferably bookended by big cooling rain storms. So here we are in the annual dog days of summer when the days and nights are too hot, there do not appear to be any rainstorms on the horizon, and my whole self is on a 24/7 quest to pretty much always have something cold, hydrating, and nourishing in my hand to refresh my body and soul. Not only does this wonder-beverage need to be a delicious vehicle to support deep hydration and body and mind wellness, but it also has to be easy to whip up at a moment's notice. Fortunately, I am married to a talented mixologist. When the weather gets hot, he makes sure to have all the ingredients on hand for easy beat-the-heat carbonated drinks that include herbal extracts and syrups for an added wellness boost.

With the heat and sun come sunburn, heat rash, heat exhaustion, and even heat stroke. There are things we can do to prevent these from happening and natural remedies for when they do.

In modern Western culture, people often disregard dreams as mere fluff that our brains discard as we slumber. But throughout history and cultures, humans have valued dreaming in different ways. Dreams are seen as a door or bridge to the spirit world or the subconscious. They are often full of symbology from our lives, become outlets for our deepest concerns and fears, or offer us tools for self-reflection and a map to our current state of mind and heart. Although we can dream at any stage of sleep, our most vivid dreams occur during our REM (rapid eye movement) sleep cycle, so depending on how well we sleep, we may spend more than two hours each night in some form of dream state. Sleep researchers tell us that deep non-REM sleep rests our bodies and refills our tanks to start another day and REM sleep is crucial for dreaming, memory consolidation, emotional processing, and healthy brain development.

Slime—that strange substance that defies Newton’s laws of viscosity—has been a staple in store toy aisles for almost 50 years and the DIY versions have been around almost as long. The typical school-science-project slime recipe involves mixing either borax or contact lens solution with PVA glue and water. The science behind it is a chemical reaction between the polyvinyl acetate in the glue and the borate ions in the contact solution or borax, an action called cross-linking that results in a logic-defying substance that is a whole lot of fun to play with. However, fascinating DIY science aside, too much exposure to boron—which is the base of borax, boric acid, and also, ironically, that contact lens solution—can cause respiratory, skin, and eye irritation, and when ingested can lead to nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Note the caution on the front of a box of borax detergent: Caution: Eye irritant, may be harmful if swallowed. Needless to say, that DIY slime hack is not ideal for small children, particularly those who tend to taste-test things. Fortunately for the child in all of us, you can make slime from psyllium husk!

Spinach has been providing humans with bountiful nutrition for more than 2,000 years. By the time this cool-season annual reached western Europe in the 11th - 15th centuries, it was already an established crop and widely cultivated in the Middle East and Asia. It has long been considered the “Captain of Leafy Greens,” which is an apt title for this vitamin- and mineral-packed veggie. However, because our bodies cannot metabolize spinach quickly, it can produce gas, bloating, and stomach cramps. This is not to say we shouldn’t eat raw spinach; we absolutely should because it’s loaded with all kinds of other essential nutrients like vitamin C, niacin, potassium, etc. that are more available to our bodies when eaten raw. But to capture all of the benefits of spinach, it behooves us to eat it in other ways as well. Dried spinach is a delicious, high-nutrition option!

This time of year, I’m reminded of my love for herbal salves, and in particular, this Gardener's Salve. The blend has been in the Mountain Rose recipe book for many years and is one that I turn to each spring and summer. Between planting, weeding, and pruning, my hard-working hands reach for this DIY hand balm time and time again. Being with the plants does wonders for my emotional wellbeing so taking the proper steps to ensure I can do it in optimal comfort and for many years to come is very important to me.

When my husband and I got married, we wanted to offer a full mocktail bar for our wedding guests. I love using oxymels for mocktails: the traditional syrup made from an acid and a sweetener (usually vinegar and honey) lends a complex flavor that up-levels any drink. They are also a yummy way to serve herbs to friends and family.

Hydrosols are high quality, distilled botanical extracts, not to be confused with the “floral waters” you might have seen for sale that are often just water combined with essential oils. Hydrosols are beloved by the herbal community for their ease of use and versatility in aromatherapy, herbal body care formulations, therapeutic applications, cosmetics, and household recipes. They add variety and scope to our herbal practices, and we appreciate the added safety they give us when working with children, elders, and pets. Although they are made using the same distillation process as essential oils, they are more sustainable because distillers get significantly more hydrosol per distillation. But not all hydrosols are created equally. We’re excited to tell you more about these lovely plant waters.

It’s almost elderflower season! When I excitedly announced this among friends recently, they all gave me a grin-and-eye-roll combination that, if I’m being honest, I receive on a regular basis from this bunch. It’s all done in good fun—it’s no secret that I choose to live my life much slower than the modern-world pace, as closely aligned with the turning of the seasons as possible. My favorite people may tease me about my Luddite ways and seasonal delight over things like elderflowers, but they aren’t fooling anybody. They’re always the first ones to belly up for our refreshing cordials and festive cocktails and, because I let most of my homegrown elderflowers turn into berries, they are also the ones who slyly check in throughout the year to see if I’ve got any cordial made with the dried elderflowers that sustain us when the fresh flowers are long gone. Here’s to elderflower cordial and sharing with friends!

Research compiled by Oregon State University has shown that roughly half of the adult population in the United States doesn’t get enough of the vitamins and minerals that leafy greens supply: 52% don’t get the recommended intake of magnesium, 44% don’t get enough calcium, and 43% don’t get enough vitamin C. Although many of us know that we need two to three cups of leafy greens a day to supply our exquisitely complex bodies with the vitamins and minerals needed to carry out cellular processes and repairs, many of us have trouble eating adequate amounts of those greens.

There are a lot of reasons to love summer, but a big one here in the Willamette Valley of Oregon is the wealth of fresh garden and farm produce. We’re heading into salad season, always a good opportunity to explore new flavors and ways to enjoy the freshest greens, ripest tomatoes, crispest cucumbers, sweetest corn, and more. We’ve got four standout salad dressing recipes from around the world for you to enjoy this season, along with ideas about how to best use them: horiatiki from Greece, wafu from Japan, esquites from Mexico, and tahini-lemon from the Middle East. Enjoy!