Do What You Love

October arrives here with the most beautiful weather we have seen in months! The newsletters will come less often with less time spent indoors!

Our thoughts become focused on the November Horse Trials (I am Dressage steward and Cross Country steward!). Dharmahorse has a rider in them this year. I clearly remember decades past when I would merely jump judge on XCountry... the sweet morning air, the desert in autumn with a palpable silence as I sat, secluded by my jump, waiting for each rider to arrive and sail over.



I had a powerful evening yesterday. I went to teach Dressage lessons for old friends/students at their Warmblood farm in the north valley. The woman is in her late 70's and recently had shoulder surgery. She carefully mounted her retired Eventer, walked a warm up around the Dressage court and trotted him, on the aids, balanced and willing. My admiration and love for her was the highest it has ever been!

Her husband, in his 80's, rode a big mare who has had some difficulties. He was on her as a train roared by about 100 meters from the arena. Of course, all the horses there are used to it - but I always flinch when the trains are whipping by! He continued with trot to canter transitions on a 20 meter circle while I sat on a cinder block and felt the ground shake, pound and shiver. He said, after so much rain, the ground is like jello underneath... yikes!

It was magical, sitting between a huge, green hay field and the arena with shadows reaching across the flat field like ghostly fingers... watching the horses dance in the fading, peach colored glow of evening.



My friends were doing what they love. So was I. It is vitally important that we all add such moments of bliss to our lives at every opportunity. I dare say that by getting on the horse (literally or figuratively), one can put pain, sadness, grief or guilt on a shelf to be visited later or simply forgotten.

I'm looking forward to this autumn. Tomorrow, I will go to the Fair and embrace the feelings of harvest and celebration. I will summon courage and ride something scary, eat things that are not healthy and just have some time all to myself. I moved here decades ago from Boulder, Colorado to get warm! I have stayed because I like warmth... warm people, too!

Have a great October!

Katharine and the Dharmahorse Tribe:
Dream Cat, Wally, Grits, Penny, Majic, Andy, Sage, Phoebe and Skipper!

Parsley - Petroselinium crispum

 

 

Parsley, the lovely green sprig sitting at the side of your plate in a café, is a profound healing herb. It is intended to freshen the breath and aid digestion when placed beside your meal, but what parsley offers you and your animals goes way beyond these properties. A member of the carrot family, it is easy to grow almost anywhere.

 

I think I may owe my health to parsley. As a teenager, I devoured it by the bunch. Often eating 8 to 16 ounces of the fresh herb in a day, I was drawn to it in markets, at restaurants and in people's gardens. I also had suffered renal troubles from the age of 7. When I started eating strangely large amounts of the parsley, the kidney and bladder trouble disappeared.

 

I also smoked cigarettes. I started smoking in college in 1970. Once addicted to the nicotine, it took many years to be able to quit, but the devouring of parsley continued and my lungs are healthy. I tell these stories because we can read about properties but to actually experience these effects is more powerful.

 

Parsley supports kidney, bladder and lung health. It also tones the liver and spleen, contributes to skin health, soothes an upset stomach and, yes, makes the breath fresh. It contains substantial amounts of Vitamin A and C, potassium and chlorophyll. Its folic acid content supports heart health and parsley helps lower blood pressure. There are therapeutic amounts of trace minerals as well.

 

With this amount of easily assimilated nutrients, parsley has been used to treat acne, gallstones, gout, some cancers, glandular disorders and infections. It can promote menses, so pregnant being should never eat amounts like I have and do consume. Actually, I was eating the doses I use for my horses. For coughs, difficulty urinating, gassiness or infections, I will feed a horse 8 to 16 ounces of the fresh herb (1 or 2 of the bunches from the market). If they are reticent to eat it, I figure it is not needed (then I munch it down to avoid waste).

 

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