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Thursday, May 20, 2010

Gathering Herbs for 'Baby, Come!' Tea



The other day my friend Gerit sent me the photo you see above. She told me she had found these flowers in her garden, and that the light pink blossoms, called Robert Geranium or Geranium robertianum, were an important part of an old recipe for tea called 'Kindlein-komm!' Translated to english, 'Baby, come!" As the name states, it's meant for women who are hoping to have a visit from the stork as soon as possible. Women have claimed to have gotten pregnant within weeks or days of drinking this tea three times a day! Well, naturally I needed the recipe.


Baby, Come! Tea Recipe:

Lady's Mantle 50 g
St. John's Wort 50 g
Lady's Bedstraw 50 g
Robert Geranium 50 g
Yarrow 50 g
Yellow Sweet Clover 50 g
White or Yellow Dead Nettle blossoms 5 – 10 g

Instructions: 
Gather and dry these herbs, preferably during the waxing moon and before noon for the highest potency.  Grind into a tea. Drink 3 cups a day, beginning on the day after your period has ended or if your period is late. During your period, abstain from drinking this tea, and substitute with another, such as raspberry leaf, or mugwort, which supports ovulation.

I began gathering this morning, although it is very wet out (it's been raining on and off for over a week now), and most of the ingredients haven't yet blossomed (herbs tend to be more potent when they are in bloom). But I knew where I could find lady's mantle and yellow dead nettles and thought I would get a head start on making my Baby, Come! tea. 

When it's wet like this, you rarely see a single soul while out in the woods or fields. Which I admit, is how I like it best. It's very quiet...


...just the sound of the creek running, the birds singing, water dripping from leaves, my footsteps through tall damp grass, and Kiki behind me, sniffing and sometimes digging.

I came to the field where I had found lady's mantle once before and began treading slowly, parting the high blades of grass carefully; my sneakers were soaked through by now. I finally spotted some leaves of lady's smock, glistening with rain drops.


There is something about gathering your own herbs...you feel connected to all the women before you who did the same, picking leaves from stems on still mornings, with intentions of healing, or a heart filled with hope. And there is that closeness with God, with nature...that gratitude for the miraculous fact that every growing thing has it's own unique properties, some of which hold the power for healing, or nourishment. And there is this feeling I get when I see an herb I was looking for...the feeling that it is there, growing and existing only for me to come and discover it.


I ended up finding a whole handfull of lady's mantle, and then moved on to yellow dead nettles, which are a favorite of bumble bees and ants for their sweet and plentiful nectar. I had to shake a few insects off of the ones I picked. Yellow dead nettles have a mild and pleasant fragrance. I kept breathing it in while I gathered.

I also found some wild strawberry, and decided to harvest some of their leaves, which, when dried, make a lovely tea. Strawberry leaf tea is good-tasting tea which helps to ease an upset stomach.


On my way back home, with my hand full of herbs and Kiki with a muddy snout from poking it into mouse holes, I stopped to admire this woodpile.


Yes....I admired a woodpile. And I was glad that a neat, tawny stack of wood could bring joy to my heart.

My herbs are drying now. And I am taking time to notice the small, simple things that make me happy...


...like a wild rose in an egg cup.



xoxo country girl 

p.s. thank you, gerit, for the herblore and wisdom you share with me!


14 comments:

  1. When I was at a teacher's sustainable workshop in the Bahamas a few years ago, a local woman made us "21-gun salute" tea from herbs we collected. After I tried some, she said it's supposed to give you many, like 12-14, children!

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  2. Oh Dawn, thank you for taking me on another adventure of collecting herbs! You are amazing and I love going with you and Kiki on your trips to the woods and fields.

    Once your herbs are all gathered and dried keep us informed on the progress of your tea's namesake:)

    Blessings..........
    xoxo Gert

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  3. Thank you for your gift of sharing your journeys and making me feel like I can call you my friend! I, too, have been trying to have a baby and have a heavy heart with desire and hope as I pray for patience over this 5 year period of 'wait' time. Do you have any suggestions on where to get these herbs for this tea in America? I will try anything holistic for a peaceful process in doing my part in purifying my body & soul for this life I desire so much!!! Much luck & blessings to you --- always! xox Jaclyn ><>

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  4. I loved this post, and across the world, somehow I feel that we have experienced similar emotions over the weeks. I have had a few rocky ones, and just yesterday, something broke. Gratitude poured in, and I saw my home, dog, husband, life for all the little beautiful things that somehow had gotten cloudy. It's a shame when that happens, but it must be to allow clarity during the return. Well, I felt that same clarity from you this morning. Maybe it was all your adventures as of late, or maybe I am projecting. But, I love your woodpile. I would have stopped at that today, too. One day, I would love to take a nature walk with you and Gerit.

    xo

    Organic Spark

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  5. I believe a tea that comes from this much beauty and appreciation will be very powerful indeed! As always, your photos are amazing. I can see why you admire that woodpile!

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  6. Good Morning! I love when you take us on such beautiful walks...I always feel like I'm there too.
    I am a true believer in the power of natural herbs ~ along with your own spirit to succeed and fullfill this dream, I know it will bring you peace.
    btw, strawberry leaf tea is the best! It's very soothing and if you want to really get some energy, dandelion tea is great!
    Enjoy your day ~

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  7. Thank you for this sweet journey out in nature. I always feel so peaceful after our walks in the woods. Hoping "Baby Come Tea" lives up to it's name. Enjoy learning about the wild herbs and plants you show us.The wood pile is amazing. Someone worked very hard and I can appreciate it's beauty too! God's nature is a gift to us all,thanks again for sharing some of his gifts in your part of the world.♥

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  8. I can't get over how beautiful the area you live in is; how amazing it is to be able to go for a walk outside of your house and find all of those beautiful herbs!!
    Wishing you luck on your Baby, Come! quest ♥

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  9. what an amazing journey! the tea sounds super and i'm sending positive vibes your way for success :) thanks so much for always sharing these fun things with us!!

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  10. A lovely damp stroll through the woodland. Gathering herbs for tea and such.

    It was great fun.

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  11. and i will pray that the baby comes soon.

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  12. what a beautiful post dawn. i can see that you are truly finding strength and healing from your surroundings. i'm so happy that you are finding this happiness, it's so important to have an open heart when you are trying to conceive.
    wishing you love and strength on this journey of yours

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  13. It's just a thought, but have you ever read 'Creative Visualization', by Shakti Gawain? It's a charmingly written book that contains various exercises and meditations where you visualize something that you want to manifest. One exercise I love is where you create a 'treasure map'. Here you make a picture of something you want to happen (in your case, having a healthy, happy baby), using drawing, painting,collage, etc. You must be sure to draw yourself (or glue a photo) on to your treasure map, and to write affirmations on it. Then you simply hang or place the map somewhere in your home and look at it regularly. As sceptical as I was when I first tried it,I have found this exercise and many others in the book to be very powerful.
    In addition there is a book called 'The Fertility Diet', by Nina Planck, which you may find interesting.

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  14. I hope the tea works - even if it is just a nice idea you had a lovely walk...and you shared it with us...you live in such a beautiful part of the world. My head was foggy today so I went for a walk...around the housing estate...what I'd give for the surroundings you have! xxx

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