The most beautiful and exciting thing happened today! I went outside and a tree I had never really noticed was bursting with yellow flowers. It was magnificent! Inspired by dear friends and beautiful creators on social media, I decided to use an app to identify the plant. Turns out it is a forsythia and an important plant in Traditional Chinese Medicine.

That such a joyful yellow plant could be medicinal! Thus, onwards I went stepping further down the rabbit hole into a wonderland of ingestible plant magic. The next thing I knew I had one hand picking flowers while the other hand held my baby to my hips. He was very pleased to be outside and I was overjoyed to try some forsythia syrup in the next hours.

I skimmed the internet along with my new book on the subject. In an excited rush I washed the flowers after reading one recipe and then added some unwashed flowers after reading another. I used equal parts of boiling water and white sugar along with a volume of forsythia flowers to match the water and sugar so I had a 1-1-1 ratio of all three. However, had I spent more time researching before doing I would have used this recipe from Areté. Honey is definitely a healthier choice than white sugar!

The jar, which I must remember to label in the morning, was too small for all my syrup, so I have decided to use it for the following magic: I put the leftovers in a separate jar. It is just a small amount. Tomorrow I will add hot water to it and make a tea to sip over the course of the day or over the course of several days. This decision will be made by the spirit of the moment.

Each sip will be taken in a meditative state where breath by breath I enter fully into the present moment. Just me and a jar and a tea with a plant, opening all my senses to the experience of drinking it. I might even hold a notebook at hand to take notes of any impressions, feelings and experiences that arise while I drink it.

Oh, the joys of spring!

Here is some more of what this time is:

Imagine every time you go outside the whole world has changed. Not only that, it uplifts and inspires you, brightens your day and brings joy to your heart.

This is what spring can be when we remember to pay attention. Every day new colors pop up, everything grows and flows, the hours of light become longer and joyful expansive energy starts building within and all around us.

It is this very practice of going outside and paying attention with an open heart in the here and now that the forsythia stunned me with its beauty. It was in the moment of picking flowers that a tiny bird came and landed on some branches a mere breath away from me.

It was therefore necessary to leave some oatmeal and seeds at the base of the tree. To say thank you to the tree, to the birds and the fae, and to honor those ancestors who knew how to tend to the land they lived on and be nurtured by it in return.

Happy Spring to you all!

Photos taken by Pipaluk using an Instax Mini camera.