Top Ten Reasons Why
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Top Ten Reasons Why
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By: Jordyn Cormier
Being an empath or a highly sensitive person (HSP) in the modern world ain’t easy. Everyone is stressed—and empaths and HSPs are the emotional sponges, soaking it all up.
To clarify, being a empath doesn’t just mean you care and feel for other people. It means you actually feel their emotions in your body. It can be sometimes difficult for true empaths to discern whether an emotion they’re experiencing is their own or someone else’s—which can be incredibly overwhelming and depleting.
While being highly sensitive to the needs of others can be a truly wonderful quality, it takes some dedicated effort to manage. It’s ironic that empaths are so good at being there for other people and making others feel better—but it’s often to their own emotional and energetic detriment.
Empaths can easily become oversaturated with emotions, leading them to believe they are depressed, ill or flawed in some way. But that’s not usually the case. A sensitive person just needs time to recenter.
If you’re an empath, you really need to prioritize your self care. Here are a few basics that every highly sensitive person should have in their toolkits.
You know that dramatic friend you have who is always in a crisis? As an empath, it’s important to realize that they can be an energy suck—no matter how much you love them. If, while spending time with them, you can feel your energy being drained, focus on your breathing.
Holding your breath only allows negativity to fester and grow, so breathe deeply to ground yourself. Maybe also treat yourself to a little time out. Take a stroll around the block, a reprieve in the quiet bathroom or a relaxing drive to get away from the contagious drama.
Social situations can be really challenging for HSPs and empaths. Highly empathetic people deeply experience others’ negative energies. In fact, they tend to absorb them.
If you find yourself at a party in a conversation with energy-sucker, make an excuse to take a walk outside to balance and reground yourself. Then, keep your distance as much as you can for the rest of the event.
Social situations are already challenging enough. Create a bubble of safe, positive space around yourself to hold onto your own energy.
As an HSP or empathic person, you probably tend to try to help people in need, no matter what. But when it comes to being there for people and sharing your positive energy, don’t be an overgiver—it’ll only deplete you.
Be polite, but let people know when you’ve reached your limits. Yes, you want to be there for the other person, but you need to honor your needs.
Try to become aware of when your emotional energy is reaching critical levels, and prioritize yourself. Place your oxygen mask on before assisting the person next to you.
You simply can’t always be there for everybody. You need to prioritize your own needs, too. So practice saying no.
For instance, one day you’re wiped, but a friend wants to grab a drink and talk about their absolutely horrible day at work. Be polite and honest. Say, “Sorry your day was so rough, but I can’t tonight. I can grab coffee tomorrow and talk all about it, though.” You could even suggest that maybe it’s best for your friend to stay in, take a hot bath, and treat themselves, too!
Saying no isn’t mean. It’s being open and honest. You need to make time for your own needs, too.
Being a highly sensitive person means you need to guard yourself a little more than others. Your powers of sensitivity are a wonderful gift that can really benefit those around you, but you want to make sure that you are not suffering as a result. It may be tough for you, but start putting yourself first.
A kitchen herb garden can be simple or ornamental, blended with decorative flowers or combined with other edibles. Herbs will thrive in pots on the patio, in raised beds, and in plots-even on a sunny windowsill. The Old Farmer’s Almanac Garden-Fresh Cookbook lists the best herbs to grow!
A Kitchen Herb Garden
The following herbs have a range of culinary uses:
Basil, an annual, grows 1 to 2 feet tall in moist soil. Encourage bushy growth by pinching off flower buds. Pick the leaves often, from the top. Use them with pasta, vegetable dishes, soups, salads, and oils or vinegars.
Chive, a perennial, grows 12 to 24 inches tall in moist soil. Harvest the hollow, grasslike leaves in the spring by snipping them close to the ground; they will soon grow back. Chives enliven rice, cheese dishes, eggs, vegetable dishes, dressings, sauces, and dips.
Cilantro/Coriander, an annual, grows 6 to 30 inches tall in light soil and full sun to partial shade. Pick the leaves (cilantro) sparingly when the plant stands 4 to 6 inches tall. Pick the aromatic seeds (coriander) when they ripen. Use leaves and flowers raw in salads and cold vegetable dishes, and the seeds in pastries, custards, confections, and meat dishes.
Dill, an annual or biennial, grows 2 to 3 feet tall. Harvest the leaves when the flowers begin to open; collect the seed heads when they are dry and brown. Use the leaves with soups, seafood, salads, green beans, potato dishes, cheese, and sauces, and the seeds for pickles.
Mint, a perennial, grows 1 to 3 feet tall in moist soil and partial shade. (Mints can be invasive. To prevent spreading, plant them in pots.) Harvest young sprigs and leaves frequently for a bushy plant. Use fresh or dry leaves and stems with roast lamb or fish and in salads, jellies, or teas.
Oregano, a tender perennial, grows 1 to 2 feet tall and tolerates poor soil. Harvest leaves when young and use in any tomato dish. Try it also with beans, mushroom dishes, potatoes, and summer squashes, or in a marinade for lamb or game.
Parsley, a biennial, grows 12 to 30 inches tall in partial shades. Leaves can be curly or flat, depending on the variety. Cut or pinch the leaves as needed. Use fresh in soups, salads, and sauces or as garnish for anything.
Rosemary, a tender perennial, grows 4 to 6 feet tall in neutral to slightly acidic soil. Gather leaves and sprigs as needed for use with vegetables or in lamb, poultry, and tomato dishes; breads and custards; and soups and stews.
Sage, a perennial, grows 1 to 3 feet tall in well-drained soil. Pick the leaves as needed for use in soups, salads, stuffings, cheese dishes, and pickles. Its strong flavor makes it excellent for salt-free cooking.
Thyme, a perennial, grows 12 to 18 inches tall in well-drained soil and full sun to partial shade. Harvest the tops of the plants when they are in full leaf. Use the leaves, fresh or dried, in casseroles, stews, soups, and ragouts, and with fish, potatoes, green vegetables, and eggs.
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Growing herbs in containers or a small space is so easy—and who likes paying for a package of herbs from the grocery store every time you need a few sprigs or leaves.
If the meals at your house have been a little bland, fresh herbs can make a huge difference in flavor; they are considered the mark of a serious cook and are essential ingredients in many culinary classics.
In late spring, garden centers offer a wide selection of herb plants making it easy for you to start an instant herb garden. Or, many annual herbs like dill or cilantro are easy to grow from seed. Having trouble deciding what to grow? Take a look in your cupboard and start with the herbs you already like to use. Once you have become a seasoning pro, you can branch out and add some new herbs to your repertoire.
Annual herbs such as dill, basil, cilantro, and summer savory are easy to grow from seed. The plants last for one season only so grow plenty of extra to dry or freeze for use over the winter. Once you get used to their flavors you won’t want to cook without them.
Biennial herbs such as parsley and caraway can be started from seed also. They will grow well the first year and come back the second year when they will bloom and set seeds. Then the original plants will die.
Perennial herbs include Greek oregano, thyme, sage, winter savory, chives, and mint. Once established in your garden these plants will increase in size and come back every year.
Tender perennial plants such as tarragon, rosemary, and stevia need to be grown in pots so they can spend the winter indoors. Put the pots outside as soon as the weather warms in the spring.
It is fine to have your herbs scattered throughout the landscape—many are as attractive as they are useful—but it is easier for you to harvest them if they are all in one or two spots. You can spend a lot of time planning an elaborate herb garden if you like but you don’t have to. A sunny corner close to the kitchen door is an ideal location and will make it easier for you to step out and snip what you need for the meal you are making.
A small space is all you need to grow a gourmet herb garden but if space is really limited or even non-existent, culinary herbs grow well in containers. Use window boxes, hanging baskets, or a whiskey barrel to grow a mini-garden of kitchen herbs.
Even though I have large patches of culinary herbs in the garden, I always keep a hanging pot of rosemary, thyme, oregano, summer savory, and basil growing just outside the back door. Since it is so convenient I find myself using those herbs in my dishes more often and the fresh flavor makes a huge difference in my otherwise plain cooking. When the weather gets cold, I bring the pot indoors and keep it going in a sunny kitchen window. It doesn’t get much handier than that!
Herbs are forgiving plants and will grow in less than ideal conditions.
The season for bumper crops of fresh produce is approaching fast! Be ready by growing the herbs necessary to flavor your world and spice up your life!
Get inspired by Robin Sweetser’s backyard gardening tips and tricks. Robin has been a contributor to The Old Farmer’s Almanac and the All-Seasons Garden Guide for many years. She and her partner Tom have a small greenhouse business and also sell plants, cut flowers, and vegetables at their local Farmer’s Market.
Starting seeds properly can make or break your entire growing season! Here’s are some tips that include when to start seeds, which seeds to start indoors, and how to do it.
Consult the table below to see which crops are typically started indoors, which are typically started outdoors, and which can be variable. (Note that gardeners in warmer climates will be able to start more crops outdoors than gardeners in colder climates.)
Start Indoors | Start Outdoors | Variable |
---|---|---|
Broccoli | Beets | Beans |
Brussels Sprouts | Carrots | Celery |
Cabbage | Corn | Kale |
Cauliflower | Garlic | Spinach |
Eggplant | Okra | |
Lettuce | Onions | |
Peppers | Peas | |
Pumpkins | Parsnips | |
Swiss Chard | Potatoes | |
Tomatoes | Radishes | |
Watermelons | Squash/Zucchini | |
Sweet Potatoes |
Things to Keep in Mind:
Before transplanting seedlings to your garden, you’ll first need to do something called “hardening off.” This will prepare the seedlings for the harsh realities (i.e., climate) of the outside world!
Watch our video on hardening off for more info:
After the hardening-off period, your seedlings are ready for transplanting. Here are a few tips:
The seeds are rolling in, and if you are as eager to get the garden party started as I am, it is hard to refrain from starting them too early. When should you start your seedlings?
There is always some debate about when is the best time to start seeds indoors. If you plant seeds too early, you need to be prepared to keep potting them up into bigger pots.
Here in New Hampshire, I run a plant business with my partner and Memorial Day is usually our biggest weekend for selling plants. So, we gear our seed starting to have the plants looking their best then. As soon as I get my new calendar in January, I turn to May and mark Memorial Day weekend as our end date. Then, I number each Saturday back from there into February; 15 weeks is when we begin, and as the season gets busy, we even do some planting on Wednesday—hence the half weeks. As the seeds roll in we sort them by the number of weeks recommended on the packets.
Every location is different, but here’s an example of the way we plant:
For your planting dates, look at your local last frost date and use that as your end date.
The Old Farmer’s Almanac has an online planting calendar based on your last frost date, which makes it really easy to figure out when to plant what.
It is best to err on the side of caution if spring is usually slow to arrive where you live. To avoid having leggy weak transplants, it is better to sow seeds a little late than it is to sow them too early. Younger, vigorously growing transplants will make the transition to the garden much more successfully than spindly, overgrown ones.
Bear in mind that small seeds usually take a lot longer to germinate than big ones, but germination time is usually on the packet. There might be a few seeds that need special treatment before planting so look for that when you are sorting them. You don’t want to find out at planting time that the seeds needed a month in the fridge first. Been there, done that!
If you haven’t ordered your seeds yet, it’s not too late!
Also, are you using the Almanac’s Garden Planner tool? It’s amazing and free for the first week—enough time to plan out a garden and give it a go.
Get inspired by Robin Sweetser’s backyard gardening tips and tricks. Robin has been a contributor to The Old Farmer’s Almanac and the All-Seasons Garden Guide for many years. She and her partner Tom have a small greenhouse business and also sell plants, cut flowers, and vegetables at their local Farmer’s Market.
The Rings
Keywords: Love, relationships.
Meanings: The Rings is the rune of love and when it is the leading stone, it is a positive answer to your question. It is very much a rune of relationship and can indicate engagement, marriage or a new/renewed relationship. It can also indicate the need for a fresh approach to an existing relationship.
Also known as: Algiz, Eoih, Elgr
Pronunciation: el-hahz
Letter sound: Z
Translation: protection, elk, sedge plant
Keywords: protection, defense, opportunity
Primary Themes Elhaz is the rune of defense and protection. Its shape is said to represent both the elk, with its imposing antlers, and the sedge plant, whose sharp leaves act as natural protection from would-be predators. Both images illustrate the power represented by this rune— a built-in protective force that discourages negative influences from affecting your personal experience.
Drawing Elhaz indicates that you are safe from danger and that there is no need to fear. However, don’t take the protective energy for granted by being reckless with your actions, as this rune does not mean that there is no danger present whatsoever. It simply means that as long as you remain alert and clear-minded and in touch with your intuition, you are headed for a positive outcome. Elhaz has also been interpreted as a symbol of reaching up to connect with the divine for support. By listening to your higher guidance, you will know which moves to make to stay out of harm’s way.
Magical Uses: Protection from negative energy and people, protection of property, strengthen friendships, astral communication
Runes for Beginners: A Guide to Reading Runes in Divination, Rune Magic, and the Meaning of the Elder Futhark RunesLisa Chamberlain
Tarot Influence
The Six of Wands Reversed
Success may be delayed. Be wary of accomplished enemies
Astrological Influence
Pisces
Pisces brings intelligence and perception to the forefront. This may be a time to rely more on serendipity than cold, hard facts.
Element Influence
Fire Reversed
Fire reversed denotes calamity that may be on a catastrophic level. Prepare to deal with changes you do not want.
Keywords: goal, realization, expansion, world travel, fulfillment!
Astrological Correspondence: Saturn
The World card, regarded as the most fortunate card in the major arcane, is a symbol for all that we can accomplish on our path through life, for perfection, beauty, success, and public recognition. This is where the cycle ends and begins again. Happiness and wholeness are key elements that provide a sense of physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. Signaling accomplishment and reaching of one’s goals, the World card makes us aware that in completing this cycle we are ready to embark on a new adventure. We are prepared and preparing for another journey with higher awareness, knowing that active engagement and service are called for. In a negative situation, this card can point to major obstacles in our path, to setbacks, to loose ends we have left untied as well as lack of commitment.