This winter has brought the sacred tree medicines in abundance, so I have been getting my local terroir in strong doses, birch chaga from Quebec and Ontario, maple syrup tapped from the many sugar maples growing on the farm, and several different coffee cultivars, hand roasted on an iron skillet over the central hearth. Sometimes I like to mix all three of these and have a mushroom coffee with maple, and starting my morning with a few drops of 95 proof pine pollen tincture, hand made by a friend of mine living in the Pontiac region of Quebec. These tree medicines are powerful allies in the cold months when our immune systems may be compromised and while most people go into semi-hibernation and stay in doors. Pine pollen being a natural source of testosterone, bio-identical to human t. Packed full of good hormones, and micro-nutrients. The chaga drunken black and earthy is immune boosting, adrenal support, life extension, adaptogenic, anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, phytosterols and triterpenes that give it a therapeutic benefit. I drink it piping hot and brew it 4-5 times before it gets weak. All the wood cutting of late winter would not be the same. And for the coffee, I’ve been using Peruvian beans as of late, roasted in coconut oil, another medicine. Bulletproof (that is blended with butter) is usually my go to, and though it is an imported buzz, unlike yaupon, I think of it as a minor medicine, and certainly a folk placebo for starting the day with vigor. This year we have had spells of warm thaw, and are expecting a week of -celsius in the double digits even now as spring is just days away. This will probably affect the maple harvest, and I have been learning a lot about the processing of syrup, the coloration, and alchemy behind this beautiful amber medicine. It’s health benefits are beyond compare when taken in moderation. Like I always like to say, all food can be either a drug or a medicine, it is about the dose that is dependent on how it will work for you.
:aferalspirit: 