Published via Ecency

Yesterday was the first sunny day since we've arrived at Casa nel Bosco, the lovely homestead we'll be taking care of for the next few months.

I was so happy to finally see the sun again after quiet some time of grey weather.
After chilling and soaking up the light for a while with my morning tea I set out to gather some lemon balm in the garden, something I wanted to do since we've arrived here.

There hasn't been anyone living here permanently since the passing of its owner (and builder) about a year ago.

But his three children don't like their childhood home in the woods to stay empty, so they give people like us, who like that kind of lifestyle, the opportunity to house-sit and enjoy living semi-offgrid surrounded by Nature.

The area around the house is well maintained by the workawayers/volunteers who have lived here over the past year.
But the garden, a short walk down the road, doesn't look as if anybody had set foot in it since its guardian left (as you can see it the picture above).

So it is beautifully overgrown by now, which is great for someone like me who feels more like a gatherer than a gardener 😄

The plant that has mainly taken over the plot is lemon balm. It's everywhere!

I believe that Life always takes care of me, so when I see an abundance of a certain plant at the place I was guided to, I know it is good for me in some way and I should use it.

I've never really used lemon balm as herb in the kitchen before, but now that I have it all around I put it in almost everything I cook.
It was especially great in the pumpkin soup I made the other day 👍 It also looks so pretty as decoration on the plate 💕

Apart from using it fresh (it also grows in abundance on the slope right beside the house, which is very comfortable) I also want to dry some of it for later use as a delicious tea.

I just love the minty lemony smell and the fresh taste, it gives me a feeling of sunshine and energy 😊

I just looked up the medicinal properties and benefits of lemon balm and had to laugh when I found this sentence on some random website:

Lemon balm is a plant with a long history of use as a relaxing herb.

That is exactly what I needed!
Relaxation is such a big topic for me right now!
I'm consciously working on raising my awareness of my body's stress level during the day and allowing myself to rest more and lower the level of tension and nervousness that my system got so used to over the course of my life.

It's a process, but now I got help 😄🌱 Awesome! Thank you Nature!

I will probably gather some more lemon balm over the next days, but the first batch is already happily drying above the dinner table beside the wood stove.
When it's dry I will put it in a jar, so we still have some when winter sets in more seriously.

I love having herbs hanging from the ceiling, it feels so natural and right. It always makes me happy seeing those beautiful green bundles.

I can feel them radiate their magic from up there already 😊