Nettle Seeds and Chanterelles

Several weeks ago I picked my first Chanterelles of the season, I knew they would arrive when the Nettles turned to seed - so I’d stopped eating them until they were ready to harvest and dry for the winter.

This plant and mushroom form a symbiosis with me, weaving through my life and the land. Like other earth-based species, they show me the turning points of the year.

As soon as my winter stores of mushrooms start to deplete - the nettles arrive! Their potent spring nutrition balances out from cleansing to sustaining over the season … then the immune system boosting mushrooms arrive in preparation for the cooler autumn weather. A time when my attention changes from daily harvests to laying down winter stores.

Admittedly it’s been a cool summer in this part of Scotland, which contributes to shifts in annual seasonal growing patterns, confirming for me that developing an intimate kinship with the land - one that feels aligned with Earths rhythm - not a marked in a calendar - a myceliac thread that connects me to the ancestral in such a way it feels timeless …

Yet in our modern, digital world it hasn’t passed me by that so many are recognising Lughnasadh, in a way that feels like a thirst to return to the land for deeper connection.

These first harvests mark an important time to come together in community and prepare for the winter ahead. I feel it was more than a festival, it was practical. A day to come together and reflect on the past growing year and imminent harvest … and how best to distribute the work that needed to be done.

What has your growing year been like? What seeds have you planted that are ready to harvest? I would love to hear your reflections, whether physical or metaphorical.

With much Love,
from my Heart to yours,

Tania Aurora White Crow

🙏🏻 🤍✨