Sure Cure for Insomnia

October is like this, one day it's as hot as Hades and the next you're scraping frost off your windshield. All this in a span of thirty-one days. You feel like summer is a distant memory. As you rake the leaves, wind blows in to toss them around, making you wonder why you ever bother. Well, because it's fall and that's what you do, right? We're making memories, memories laced with pumpkin lattes by the fire, hikes blessed by orange, red and yellow leaves that litter the trail, and sun downs that come all too early. It is bittersweet, this time of year. I once gave fall a Hail Mary, and that was the last time I saw things through the eyes of summer love. We go through life with strange ideas, like summer is the best time of year. For some, it is, but why? We live in a rushed society, one that barely ever stops to smell the roses. We need a little forced R and R to arouse our sense of wonder. Time is not our friend, or used to be but we lost his phone number. This ye...

They say that hawthorn uplifts your spirits. I can attest to this, as I was immediately excited beyond all reason when I was outside in my backyard and spotted some hawthorn berries on the ground. It was literally like the heavens opened up and sprayed a celestial glow upon me. Okay, word of caution: herb nerd alert! Maybe everyone wouldn't be as excited as I was, but they truly set my heart aflutter when I realized how plentiful they were in my own backyard. Good thing they are known to be a heart remedy because mine was ticking a bit faster than usual at this discovery!  Hawthorn trees may be in your backyard too. I had no idea I had any until a couple of years ago, when I spied their bright red fruit hanging in the fall. Upon further inspection, there appeared to be more trees along that "column" of trees that skirt our property line. Foraging for their berries can be a quest that is taken each fall, as finding their bright red berries is akin to an Easter egg hunt, or...