October arrives with kaleidoscope colors, harvest festivals, and the first snows. Take a drive up to the mountains, fall color will soon be at it’s peak. The golden aspen against that cobalt sky is a gorgeous site. Later in the month consider a visit to Denver Botanic Gardens, Hudson Gardens, or a local park or bike path to experience the beauty of the fall season.

It’s the last harvest month. Pumpkins, apples, pears squash, kale, and all the cooler veggies are in season. Get family and friends together and celebrate a harvest feast.
Be ready for that first snow and the ensuing freeway chaos by getting the snow tires on early.

Halloween is coming up at the end of the month. I make it a point to visit one of the haunted house venues every year with screaming friends and family. Great fun being chased by a chainsaw wielding maniac.

On a more reflective note, before we made Halloween into a candy/costume fest it was an important Gaelic festival celebrating the end of summer and the start of the Celtic new year. During Samhain, October 31st, it was a time to remember and honor the ancestors, to slow down and contemplate past events and plan for the future. What do you want to honor and bring into your life as the seasons turn?

Herb of the Month – Burdock

Burdock, Arctium lappa and Arctium minus, is a common weed, one you have probably cursed when your dog and your pants come back from a walk covered with clingy burrs. This widely unappreciated plant is also a nutritious food and effective medicine that helps to support the body’s detox system.

Burdock is a biennial, growing a large taproot and basal leaves the first year and the second year sending out a tall flowering stalk of pink or purple flowers which turn into the burr seed heads.

Burdock helps to remove stagnation and get rid of metabolic wastes. It is often used in detox teas and tinctures and for skin problems such as acne, psoriasis, and eczema. It can be used dried or fresh in teas, tinctures, decoctions, and vinegars.

Burdock has been used as a food in Asian cultures for centuries. You can purchase fresh burdock root, sold as gobo, at Asian markets or get it dried online or at your local herb store. I threw out my back years ago trying to remove it by digging, so now I just buy it.

Here is a stir fry recipe to try with the fresh root: https://www.wandercooks.com/japanese-burdock-and-carrot-stir-fry-kinpira-gobo/

“‘It’s never too late to be what you might’ve been.”

?George Eliot