Braiding Sweetgrass

This week I want to talk about a book that I've been listening to on Audible for a few weeks.  It's called "Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants" and it is written by Robin Wall Kimmerer, a indigenous scientist, botanist, mother, woman and member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. 

The book has become a New York Times bestseller, a Washington Post bestseller, and a Los Angeles Times bestseller in just two short years after it's release.  I'm only half way through, but it has already changed me and the way I see the world.  Robin's writing is so beautiful and descriptive that I feel like I am walking through her world, seeing, feeling, touching and smelling the plants that surround her.  I find myself captivated by her search for a property that she and her daughters can call home.  She spends years cleaning out a pond in her backyard so that she can enjoy a swim in the cold clean water, all the while learning about the ecosystem that surrounds and supports the pond, its plant life and its inhabitants.  I am enjoying learning about the indigenous way of harvesting and living in harmony with the earth.  A partnership where human and nature feed each other and there is much emphasis put on giving back to the earth as taking only what you need from it. I have long felt that I only take from nature and have been wondering, especially now that I'm getting older, about how I can give back.  For me, my house is my sanctuary and I find so much joy in creating a home where I can live with my dogs and be nourished by my surroundings.  This past summer I put in several more corrugated iron raised beds and grew many vegetables and flowers.  I know that these are good for the bees and the birds.  What else can I do? I am looking at buying a hydroponic growing system so that I can grow my own fresh lettuce, kale, herbs and tomatoes all throughout the year rather than just in summer. In Alaska, we live in one of the world's last completely intact ecosystems, which is incredible.  But it has me wondering how I can make a difference up here when it comes to giving back to the earth.  I don't have an answer today, but I think this is one thing that I would like to make an element of my business moving forward.  If I can find a way (or ways) to give back, then I know I can teach other people how to do it too.  It might start in the home, we'll see. : )

In any case, I highly recommend this book.  It's an amazing listen. Thank you Robin Wall Kimmerer.

Until next time,

~ Joni, Sophie and lil' Pri