"The gentle rays of the morning sun bathed her face as she stepped out to tackle morning chores, causing her to pause for a moment, breath deeply, and soak it all in."

We've been riding the temperature roller coaster again this week, bouncing between a snippet of sun and a torrent of rain and wind (and sometimes snow). Today is another wild one, with a mix of snow and sleet. We still got in our morning walk, but it was not a day to linger and enjoy, that's for sure.

Each morning I try to get in some time sun bathing my eyelids as part of my eye health routine, but it's doesn't always work well with so many grey days. I started this habit several years ago, but it's been reinforced recently as I started reading, "The Ultimate Guide to Red Light Therapy".

The author opens with a discussion of how sunlight was used for treatment - even on problems like knife wounds that refused to heal - with good results. The current narrative of the sun being bad for you has never sat right with me, since the sun provides energy for all life on earth.

That said, we run into problems with sunlight exposure when our diet is too high in Omega 6 fatty acids (seed oils) - which is common in the Standard American Diet. (This is explained in the book, "Your Guide to Cellular Health". If we have too many seed oils in our diets, we burn and don't deal with the sun well. If we get back to a better balance, the sun heals like it was meant to do. It's all a dance of life and energy.

I'm working my way through the book, and looking forward to adding more tools to my natural health toolbox.

Helping you create resilience and abundance,

Laurie (and August IV, August V, and Duncan)

This week's featured articles...

The wind is howling outside my windows and we've switched from sleet to snow as I've been writing - perfect weather for a cup of herbal tea. In my latest round of exploring our native remedies, I'm making up pine needle tea. This is a good one for you if you are dealing with respiratory "yuck".

(Tomato tea is another good remedy for stubborn congestion.)

This article on potato towers is one of our most popular spring articles. It includes basic design, best varieties for towers, and troubleshooting tips.

If you're prepping for spring and summer storm season, having some freeze dried meals on hand is helpful for power outages and other issues. These are our favorite freeze dried food providers, and why we like them.

I'm also going to randomly add a link to my favorite homemade chocolate pudding recipe, because it would be nice to have some. I may make it, or maybe my son will get the hint when he reads the newsletter.