I peeked out into the backyard and made eye contact with a fox. It was looking back at the commotion it had caused with one of our pullets slack in its mouth. It made deep eye contact with me before bounding off into the woods at the back of the house with its catch still between in its jaws. The offending coop has since been moved out of the run and a newer more secure one is in its place.

We’ve since had to keep a vigil every dawn and dusk as the foxes have been returning without fail to try their luck. It’s been very Sonya Chicken’s by around these parts. Lots of tears shed, curses lobbed, and backyard chases to scare them off.

There is no true lesson to be learned here other than sometimes life hands you a shit sandwich and you have to make the best of it. I’ve had to get some triggering dental work done recently which has left me rather sorrowful and pouty. The hour long drive to the dentist on winding prairie country roads dotted with wildflowers has thankfully given me time to cry, write poetry, sing songs to move grief, and call loving friends. Even amongst the muck there is goodness.

I have a summer bucket list to fully take advantage of everything we’ve got going on and make sure that as the days begin their slow descent into Autumn that we do not meet them with regret. Most days this finds us sun-browned and mosquito bitten. On Tony’s temple resides a permanent tanline from where his spectacles sit on his face. Between our mild winter and wet and stormy summer I have used more bug spray alone this month than I think I ever have in life. I find myself more bothered by the heat and bugs this year too. Kansas is muggy and humid. The moisture clings to the air, fogging the windows and giving a slow syrupy molasses feel to the air. It only takes only a few minutes to feel rivulets of sweat dripping down my back when I step outside. I buy a giant bag of ice almost weekly now to fill coolers and water bottles that are working over time.

I hope summer has been good to you, reader. On the other side of the world where I was born-they are descending out of winter slowly. Every video call with my brother finds him in a thick puffer coat while I pin up my hair and fan at my face. I dream of taking my children to see where I grew up in the summer which would be around Christmastime . Botswana has a dry kind of heat that beats down red hot on your head but is somehow more tolerable than the corn sweat of Kansas. I find I cannot properly describe the taste of baobab fruit or marula and summer bounty fruits from that side of the world. They will have to experience it for themselves. I hope we can make it happen soon.

Is the season wherever you are being good to you?

Rootin’ Tootingly yours

Farai

Romance stories require a Happily Ever After or Happily For Now end and honestly its soothing for brains that lean towards pessimism and catastrophizing. Its a spell to remind the brain that good things happen. Especially if you put in the work to learn and grow from your mistakes that you just might reap what you sow and that it might be just what you needed.

I know a lot of folks categorize romance reading as non serious, fluff, and drivel. Its elitist, and exclusionary and honestly closed minded. You do not have to read it if its not your vibe- but to feel a sense of superiority because you do not is base and frankly annoying.

Ok rant over!

Last year and I shared some our favorite romance reads and now that summer is here were back again to do the same!

Farai

In February I stumbled upon the Game Changer series by Rachel Reid and I have NOT looked back. I have never been into sports and the only other notable sports adjacent books I read were the football Sugar Blitz series by Jamie Wesley which I enjoyed. But baby let me tell you- these queer romance hockey based stories have me in a chokehold. Its been really lovely to read about men falling in love and being vulnerable and tackling internalized homophobia and dealing with their issues. I’ve went to a few hockey games and found myself actually understanding a sport for the first time. I’ve bonded with random strangers at fairs, concerts, and the internet over these books. Its been really fun.

Carrie

All the Feels by Olivia Dade. This is the second in a trilogy, and while the other two were fantastic, this is the one that’s stuck with me the most. Alex and the way he’s judged for his ADHD, the way he’s willing to take on harm to keep others safe, was a deeply moving character. And it would be impossible not to fall in love with Lauren, with her beaky nose, gorgeous eyes, and the way she pairs her quiet competence with curiosity, withholding judgment.

Farai

I will never not recommend G A Aiken and the Dragon Kin series. Its filled with violent, blood-thirsty, fierce women and some dragons . I love them. The world building is rich and vibrant.

Carrie

Act Your Age, Eve Brown, by Thalia Hibbert was a gorgeous and heartbreaking ode to the weight of masking and the judgment autistic people, and especially undiagnosed autistic women carry. It’s also hot af, and one scene convinced my hubs to get *cough*creative*cough* in new ways.

Farai

Steel Pack Alphas by Reece Barden - this one falls under paranormal romance . There lots of shifters, fated mates, and requires you to suspend your disbelief to fall into this world. My local library had the ebook set of the books and I read them all and had many a discussion with Carrie about how the author chose to write the characters and what we found refreshing . As a writer I cannot help but dissect stories as I read them but this one was a continuous series done right.

Carrie

The Stranger I Wed, by Harper St. George. Also, Eliza and the Duke, and as soon as my Libby hold comes through, Imma bet I’ll recommend The Dove and the Rogue too. Historicals have my heart forever, and these historicals were fan-freakin-tastic. The Stranger I wed also has the best trope–marriage of convenience. Yes, please, give me a man who yearns for the wife he married for money and discovers that she is so much more than he expected.

Farai

Kait Nolans In a Kilt Series was fun. I’ve been into book series where everything is wrapped up in a neat bow at the end of it. Life is already so full of unanswered and open questions we have to live with. I love a highlands story. I mentioned Lisa Rayne in last years post but if you are into historical scots fiction here is one for you too.

Carrie

Another recommendation for Kait Nolan - Hero, Unexpected. I will EAT UP a small town romance. Throw in mostly retired drag performers as fairy godmothers, a friends to enemies to marriage of convenience theme, heavy yearning, and meddling (for good and ill) family and leave me alone with my book and tea please.

Carrie

I Got Abducted by Aliens and Trapped in a Rom-Com, by Kimberly Lemming. Look, if you prefer your anthropological and anti-colonial commentary with a side of prehensile, suctioning tails and a double mate system designed to fill all her *cough* needs, this is the book for you. It’s absolute absurdity, whip smart satire, and something you definitely don’t want your kid connecting their headphones to as you listen.

Farai:

Laurie Gilmore’s cuties cottagecore Pumpkin Spice Cafe series was cozy and adorable. I am always wondering how folks come up with the concepts for their stories and this one is no different. Its formulaic by I love me a formula.

Carrie

Violet Thistlewaite Is Not A Villain Anymore, by Emily Krempholtz. This cozy fantasy romance hit just right. The deeper messages of guilt and harm and rebuilding are timely, but the way Violet and Nathaniel circle each other, they way they fall in love, longing for emotional intimacy and openness with each other, was perfection.

Farai

Katee Robert's Neon Gods is retelling of a modern greek romances was fire, very hot and steamy. I am typically not a fan of modern retellings of things but this worked for me!

Carrie

The Antiquarian’s Object of Desire, by India Holton. Yes, this is the third in the series, and yes, you can read this first. Friends to lovers can be a special sort of challenge, and Holton got it right here. Somehow, in all her books, she manages to lean into the absurd (Magical antiques! Ghosts in the bedroom!) without ever losing the emotional weight that gives her books staying power. Imagine Anne Shirley weeping to Marilla over dying her hair green, only grown-up, and subtle.

Farai - Tricia O Malley’s Loves a Witch. How fun would it be if we lived in a world where magic was real and that major inconveniences could be fixed with magic too. It has some familial angst, dragons, and the over arching theme present in romance novels to just let go and surrender.

Carrie

Power by Kathy Lockheart. I am not a fan of billionaire romance. Besides the fact that being a billionaire is fundamentally unethical, the power dynamics have me wanting to scream “RUN BEFORE HE MURDERS YOU AND GETS AWAY WITH IT!” All that aside, this book’s entire theme is power and risk, and I’ve rarely seen it examined so well. There’s a skeevy friend, workplace harassment, a secret relationship, and decisions about who to believe.

Happy Reading and Rootin Tootingly yours

Farai and Carrie

I deep clean and declutter of all of their books/ toys/ clothes in preparation for birthday. I make room for the new and set aside hand me downs for younger children in our lives. I take immense joy in seeing my friends kids in something my children wore. The memories those clothes hold now making new ones somewhere else on children I love too.

Tony and I had a chuckle going through all the baby book as we went through his book shelf. Reminiscing on ours and their favorites and squabbling about which ones we just could not part with. A perfect core memory.

Here is a very good list of things we love/use very much.

1. An acorn purse to hide treasures in.

2. A Yoto player to listen to stories and podcasts on .

3. Little Witch Hazel. Summer is my favorite chapter.

4. An etch a sketch for doodles. Our thrift stores are riddled with them.

5. One good cap to rule them all . We had the baby version of this one and got the toddler one and will probably get the big kid one once he sizes out. They retain their resale value but most importantly- they are made of recycled bedsheets. The owners of the company are very sweet as well. It washes like a dream.

6. A mini backpack for toting around treasures These don’t crumble or fall apart EVER and my kiddos put them through the ringer. Easy to find second hand online too.

7. A stainless steel water bottle thats easy to sanitize. I also ditch the plastic straw and get a stainless steel straw as well.

8. One good vintage beanie baby procured at an thrift/antique store for $2 to be carted around indefinitely. Wise parents would be smart to procure a spare and hide it somewhere safe in case the original gets lost.

9. A toy stove for lots of chef and cooking play.

10. Art supplies / water wow books.

Some extra reading

Rootin Tootingly yours

Farai

People can get intimidated by working with plant remedies. But if you cook with spices or drink tea, then you are already working with herbs. Here’s how you can take it up a notch.

Infusions

The easiest thing would be an overnight infusion of a mineral rich herb like nettle, oatstraw, or even something in the mint family like spearmint or peppermint. There is SO much you can do. But keep it simple by adding 1 cup of dried herbs to 4-6 cups of water into a pitcher. Fill it with warm or room temperature water and let it steep for 4-6 hours or in the fridge over night. In the morning, strain, and enjoy like an iced tea. You can dress it up with ice, some honey or a sweetener of choice. You could research an herb popular to your culture and find out how your ancestors prepared it. Hibiscus, ginger, okra are great examples.

Herbal Oils

Herbs are growing and flowering abundantly right now. A yarrow oil made from flowering tops and leaves will make a beautiful wound salve later on. A peppermint infused oil would be delicious to rub on sore muscles after a long hike. If there is a plant calling to you- do some research and see if you can dry it and make a simple oil infusion with it.

Herbal Honey

Honey is also flowing in abundance right now. Honey infused with sage and thyme is a boon when colds leave the throat sore and inflamed.

Shrubs

There are a bajillion recipes for shrubs online. Its essentially a fruit fermented with some sort of herb and sweetener like honey that you can use to make salad dressings, and seltzer. I make a strawberry shrub that tastes infinitely better than the strawberry limeade from sonic that Tony and I enjoy. AND is fermented and gut healthy.

Compote

The beauty of summer is the abundance of fruit available. Making a simple compote with extra fruit and a dash of herbs is a great treat. Top your yogurts with it. I like to mix it with sparkling water and make a fancy mocktail.

Hair Rinse

Brew a strong pot of herbs like horsetail, rice grain, and rosemary. Let it cool off, strain it and add it to your hair care routine for some tender loving care.

My instructions are loose and up to interpretation because I encourage you to use your imagination and what is available to you in your area. Use your intuition or find a recipe from a reputable source online. I have a patreon called Folk Herbalism for Everyone which is an archive of some simple folk remedies patrons have access to.

Rootin Tootingly yours,

Farai

If you are not hip to Thriftbooks- I need you to get on this train ASAP. I have slowly been building up my folklore library and having a blast finding books. I read a Shona folktale entitled The Cat Who Came Indoors to my oldest last night and we were absolutely tickled. It’s been a joy dissecting themes in stories from around the world with her.

Speaking of which my oldest turned 10. I have been a mom for 10 years! I am flabbergasted. Over the course of the week leading up to her birthday I witnessed my girlfriends/ aunts interact with her in different ways. One affirming her creativity, one educating her about safety, one holding her accountable for her behavior, one telling her how proud they were about something she had done, one laughing at her jokes. These 10 years flew by but were made much sweeter by my amazing community. I am grateful.

I have been gathering up plans and designs to paint folk motifs around the finished parts of our home now that certain parts are done. I am bartering with an artist friend and I am very excited. There is a cross section of art and symbols between both sides of my heritage as a Zimbabwean and Kansan. Themes of grassland, cattle, nature veneration and much more. I am having fun exploring it all.

I’ve written about the theme of play as adult before. What does it mean to do something purely because it brings you joy and nothing else. I am asking myself that question again. We already have a lot of things we need and have to do - its important to make space for things we get to do.

Rootin’ Tootingly yours

Farai

Thanks for watching

Rootin’ Tootingly yours

Farai

The weather in Kansas is still mild. I’ve joked internally about it being the most unsummeriest summer ever- but its held true since I had to postpone my annual camping trip with a girlfriend because of all the storms and tornado warnings we’ve been ensconced in. Instead we picnicked with bits and bobs from our fridges at the lake and between the wind and high tides from all the rain we’ve had, it was still picturesque and relaxing. It reminded me that enjoying nature doesn’t always have to be a big production. Sometimes all you need is a basket and a blanket and the rest will figure itself out.

Ive been re-listening to some afro beats from summers past because a good afro-beats jam is peak summer listening to me. Imagine windows down music blasting on the highway with your loved ones around you nodding alongside you and shimmying in their seats. Favorite core memory.

I taught an class on growing/drying/brewing herbs for teas this past spring at a friends farm and got bitten by the herbal ice tea bug and have been making all kinds of delicious blends and syrups to go along side them. I made a chaga decoction whenever it rains heavily, but yesterday by the time it was ready- the storms had given way to sunny skies and my cooled down decoction found its way into becoming a cold chaga mushroom iced tea of sorts. Finding random ways to make every day things like staying hydrated fun and fancy with stuff I already have around has been lovely.

I flew down to TN to visit a girlfriend Tori of Cedarhill Apothecary. She drove us down to the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina for a market she was vending at and we also explored downtown Ashville, bopping around vintage and cute little stores and and trying different restaurants . In between creek hopping and visiting a hot spring- it was an absolute perfect child free break for me. Waking up in the mountains felt like being cradled in the palm of the Earth’s hands. Our accommodations jutted up against a valley and was peppered with wild blackberries. I felt like a bear frolicking after a long rest.

I am feeling the call to write and read more poetry. I went through all my books the other day and it felt like rediscovering old friends. I set up a little basket on my book shelf for all the sweet little books that you can just pick up- read a poem and put back down.

I’ve picked one section of my house to deep clean almost everyday. Everything is coming together so beautifully. We are excited to get some of our long waiting projects underway.

Rootin’ Tootingly yours

Farai

Life is not slowing down right now but I can take the time to ensure things slow down in my head. I hope I can encourage you to do the same. I’ll be taking a wee hiatus from substack for the next couple of weeks to find some inspiration for the next half of the year.

In the meantime as always thank you for your support and your readership. It is amazing that over one thousand of you are subscribed to hear what little old me has to say in my little neck of the woods of the internet.

Some previous posts to read during my hiatus

Rootin’ Tootingly yours

Farai

Find below a recipe for how to make your own along with some of the teas and infusions I am drinking right now and my favorite to-go cup. Feel free to double and triple the recipe and make some to share.

My favorite infusions right now are:

Alfalfa

Nettle

Red clover

Rosehip

Lemonbalm and Tulsi

My favorite teas right now are:

Iced roobois

Iced chai

Iced matcha

Once a week I leave my home before 7 am to sequester myself at my local shop that opens bright and early so that I can write and get freelance work done. Disposable coffee cups are a large source of waste. I finally replaced my lost beloved stainless steel one with the Strova by brumate . Its compatible with hot, cold, and iced carbonated beverages. Its pricey for a cup but totally worth it in the long run for me.

Stay herbal and hydrated.

Rootin’ Tootingly yours

Farai

Before I start this rant post, I recognize a few things,

1. This is not everyone’s portion in life.

2. Do what you can.

3. Be realistic about your abilities, but do not be afraid to stretch past your comfort zone.

4. I did not do most of these things during pregnancy and the first 2 years postpartum. My energy back then was on birthing, supporting, and growing my babies and myself.

Every so often I hear people complain about the city I live in while engaging in zero mutual aid, volunteering, or in general doing absolutely nothing to improve or help. It can be as simple as picking up trash at a park, to running for public office, or volunteering at soup kitchen . Whatever, you name it. Just do something. Showing up builds community. If you are feeling lonely or wanting to build relationships, show up.

I also want to preface this by saying I am not rich in any shape or form. We support our family of 4 very precariously on a single income. Most boards i’ve seen are populated by retired and well off older white folks with time to spare. Volunteering is not accessible to everyone. But it is doable.

Here are a few things I do, not counting mutual aid, random birth work, and some other things.

Visiting our local library and engaging with their programs, art installs, and book store.

Join local facebook groups or email lists ran by folks with shared interests- for example: birding, mycology, herbalism, writing etc etc.

Supporting my local bookstores.

Getting a membership at our local children’s museum.

I help run a local urban homesteading facebook group with over 1000 members. It is relatively easy lift unless we are hosting classes or a skills conference which we only do when we have community partners and time. This came from my need to connect with other plant people . I’ve given and received so much from this group. From seedlings, to chickens, to support, resources, and a really good sister friend.

I co-founded an informal social group for Black Women in my city to meet and hang out. We meet for brunch, picnics, hikes, painting, crafting, and soon book club. This one came from my desire to be around more Black women. It also gave me another amazing sister friend.

I help run our local secular homeschool co-op because our city has ZERO options for secular home educating families ( hello bible belt) so we had to make our own community. It is now egalitarian in nature and so all the parents pitch in to ensure its success which makes it so much easier. We do so many cool things together.

I am on an advisory and advocacy board for our local Parks and Recreation organization. I along with other members get to let the director and employees know what my section of the community needs from them as a public serving organization. Like more trash cans and accessible bathrooms at parks, along with making suggestions like “hey, maybe instead of calling the police on unhoused folks sleeping in parks or acting out maybe call a mental health crisis response team instead, because of course I do not want the mumbling naked man scaring my kids at the park-but I also don’t necessarily think he needs to be behind bars if he’s obviously malnourished, overheated, and struggling.”

Tony goes to our neighborhood improvement meetings, he’s on the board for our local Doula Organization that provides free doula care to pregnant families as well as Habitat for Humanity and he runs a quarterly Dad group where dads can meet to hang out and talk about fatherhood since there are not a lot of third spaces for men other than bars.

Do we have time for all of this? NO. But we find a way to make time. Its typically only a few hours a month if that.

Do certain things fall to the wayside because of our involvement ? Maybe.

Do we get by with childcare from friends sometimes? Absolutely.

Do I like being involved in all these things? No. But being in service is important to me.

Do I mess up and make mistakes? Yes.

Harreld’s are naturally hermits— I’d much rather be at home. I am easily annoyed by stupidity and hubris. Sometimes I feel intimidated AND I’m often made to feel like an outsider when people do not like what I have to say. My voice is shaky when I have to challenge rich white people on some of these boards who are threatened by me. BUT I love mankind. I live here too, and I have a RIGHT to make this place a better community for my children and I, along with those who do not have space to advocate for themselves.

So show up, dammit. If its not there and it needs to be, make it happen. If it already exists, go anyway-even if you are nervous.

Rootin Tootingly yours,

Farai

I like to get to the root of things. I want to understand why things are the way they are. I re-read books sometimes just so I can attempt to revisit the characters choices, and try to parcel out the motivations of the authors when they wrote those characters. I find it very hard to just be in the moment. I spend a lot time over analyzing and brow-beating myself for the choices I have made / am making. Often times my loved ones have to call me back to myself.

Sometime last month I found myself crying on a friends shoulder as we swung on her porch swing. I was recollecting about a choice I had made, batting the issue around in my mind back and forth- only causing myself harm. Not the first time, and wont be the last, she looked me in the eyes and dropped an absolute gem like she is often wont to.

She told me Flowers do not always mean fruit. The words echoed through my psyche. Ping ponging back and forth seeking purchase so I could use these words to reframe and dismiss the helpless ruminating I was spiraling in. You can put swaths of time and effort into something and at the end of the day sometimes you may not have what you hoped for or worked towards come to fruition.

Have you ever watched a strawberry blossom become a berry? Or a rose bloom become a rose hip? It is awe inspiring, but sometimes- once the petals fall off- nothing happens. You are left with what was and what it is. It doesn’t make the bloom any less beautiful or the work that it took to bloom any less worthwhile even though it often may seem like it. At the end of the day the time you devoted to it is already gone and that is all.

It’s important to be present with the work you are doing in the moment as opposed to focussing too much on the outcome-because while the outcome is important, its not always gauranteed. Do the work for the love of it anyway.

I’ve begun the process of finding beta readers and edits before hunting for an agent for my novel. If i’m being honest- I could have done this last year but I was frozen in fear at the what ifs. What if no agent is interested ? What if no publishers want to take this story on? The reality is this: I love my story. I love my characters. I love their quirks, I love that Dolan carries notebooks everywhere and is a twin and that Kaino could probably kill a man with her bare hands but also needs lists everywhere so she can get things done. I had so much fun infusing African elements, plants and music into this story. The process of making this flower was the best kind of challenge. I have no control over the fruiting process. I do not know if anyone will like my story, or love my characters. I have no control over how my book will be received. All I can do is enjoy my blossoming.

@thehillbillyafricanSpending this summer in service of my first novel so I can get it out there ! #authorsoftiktok #authortok #blackromancebooks

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Rootin’ Tootingly yours

Farai

1. Tick pick. If you live in a place where there are no ticks. How does it feel to be God’s favorite? If you don’t. Solidarity to you my friend. Use a tick pick to pick them sumbitches off vs. your hands/nails. Also get a really good tick spray. Tuck your socks into your pants. Do regular tick checks. Keep a ziplock bag to store them.

2. Drawing salve. For stupid ass tick bites, splinters, spider bites, and who knows what else. In a pinch, plantain salve or a plantain spit poultice works great for spider bites and stings too. Please watch bites, and if infection spreads. Immediately get medical help.

3. Bandaids in all shapes and sizes. More than you think you’ll need, especially if you have young kids who think bandaids are the solution to all the worlds problems.

4. Comfrey salve. For all your bruises, scrapes, bites, and stings as well. I will never live without it.

5. Your pain medicine of choice. I am partial to white willow

6. Tweezers. In all shapes and sizes.

7. A salve made with skin soothing herbs like lavender, yarrow, or calendula or better yet both. It really depends on what you want. Yarrow is excellent for wound healing. Calendula and lavender for skin soothing as well. A salve made with these herbs would be magnificent for a simple sunburn.

8. An acute allergy remedy of choice. Get an extra inhaler if you or a loved one uses them. Make sure you have your epi-pen if you need it.

9. Swimmers ear drops. Once pool season is upon us, I keep a bottle on me.

10. If your littles get ear infections, learn this technique . My oldest got an ear infection once and now any time they get stuffy I do this massage with a simple oil and they are golden . I also have garlic mullein ear oil on hand.

11. Gauze, wound tape. I use these a lot when making poultices.

12. Hypochlorous acid, hydrogen peroxide, witchazel etc etc to clean wounds.

13. Homeopathics of choice if you are into that.

14. Electrolyte packs for the dehydrated amongst us.

15. A skin soothing spray for mosquito bite relief. Works also for sun burn. I made Rosemary Gladstars OG recipe for years and it works great.

This is the basic version of what I keep on hand. Do you have any suggestions?

Rootin’ Tootingly yours,

Farai

Irises and peonies are peeking their heads through their sepals and slowly starting to bloom. The front yard looks particularly verdant with all the storms we have had here recently. I cant wait till they are actually in full bloom.

I recently got some mehendi (henna) to play with decorating my hands and nails. It has taken me back to secondary school days back home where my friends would decorate our hands during Eid and other events. I am very much out of practice and my designs are very rudimentary. But that is part of the process. My oldest gave herself a bunch of chicken themed designs which was fun too.

Rest. I am almost a year post breastfeeding and its taken my cycle and my body a long time to regulate and return to my version of normal. I have endometriosis so periods are already a whole song and dance in my body. I pay deep attention to my cycles since they speak teach lessons that I’ve been taught to listen to . One of those lessons is rest. Western culture eschews rest when menstruating even though it goes against what our body is asking of us. I make myself sit down and rest. It feels good.

As my kiddos get older, we have moved away from diaper bags and I was on the market for a comfortable but gorgeous purse as I reclaim some of my autonomy over my possessions. I joke that one of my life goals is to live a life that makes a killer estate sale. For years now I have been pinning some specific vintage leather Coach purses to my pinterest boards. I dreamt of finding said purses on my list waiting for me on the rack of a thrift store or tucked somewhere in a basket at an estate sale. While that dream has not come true yet I did find one for a song on depop! I find a lot of joy in curating items I will hopefully have my whole life. These items exist outside of trends and popular culture but instead are things that bring me pleasure when I pick them up or lay an eye on them. Things that I can take care of because they take care of me.

Here is a video of me sharing some of my heirlooms below.

@thehillbillyafricanNot sponsored lol, I just love a bespoke item ig ! #plannertok #travelersnotebook #leathergoods #estatesale

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What is moving you right now?

Rootin’ Tootingly

Yours

Farai

This past week we buried Stanley- my beloved pup of 15 years. He is resting by the violet patch with his brother Duke- a stones throw away from my grandmother’s Irises that my cousin Lisa gave to me. A few days later I stood near as my close friend Anita had to make the awful decision to put her beloved horse to sleep as well. Everyone in the pasture was crying. Bawling really. I wiped my eyes and found that I unconsciously had moved closer to a tree, right palm on the trunk, using it to steady and ground me. We spoke of the change we saw in Anita before and after her horse had come into her life. Everyone shared stories of just how deeply Sassy had touched our lives. Thank you’s and words of love were whispered to Sassy as she transitioned. . Though her body is gone, the stories we have and tell are what we have to hold us through.

I took my oldest child down to my family’s hometown here in Kansas yesterday. It is very rural. It is where my father and grandparents where born. It’s where I spent my first few years in America and feels like home in that special way that the places your people are from shape you.

I know the creek my father played in as a child. Where the outhouse used to be. It’s the first place I experienced unconditional love after my mom passed. Under my Aunt’s care I got to experience the joy of just being a child finally-at 18. To sit, rest, explore, play. I learned to crochet and made a chain so long I wound it around the farmhouse. I cleared a garden fence running away from a garter snake that startled me. I chased ornery cows back to pasture, I slept in the attic in the coziest nook and filmed grainy videos on my shitty web camera while barn cats and baby pugs played at my feet.

I drove 40 minutes each way to the local community college to get my CNA and CMA certifications and studied under lamplight in the kitchen table whose ceiling was covered in woven baskets learning what B.I.D. and P.R.N. and what water thickness were and who needed what. For fun, my one friend and coworker Trina and I would drive around since that was all there was to do. Apparently no one could say Farai so everyone called me by my middle name Diana or Fi. It was weird, it was formative.

I showed her the gas station where I had my first job making pizza and donuts. I drove down the spindly gravel roads showing her the lands and houses that belonged to our relatives and made a stop at the cemetery- moving the heavy wrought iron gate open so she could meet the gravestones of her ancestors and we could make offerings to them.

One day I'‘ll show her the the one lane country roads where were I learned to drive, the tiny community center I learned to swim at, where I opened my first bank account, and the wee library a town over is where I got my first library card. Children thrive on stories. So do we.

On the other side of the world. My mother’s grave is lost. We do not know where she is buried. There is no place for me to kneel and cry like I can for my father. I cannot show her where my mother played as a child. It is sad. I think a lot about how those of us with lost connections or unknown connections find a way to connect to our people.

My father always said to lean on the trees. I listened recently to a podcast about the connection to wells, water, and rivers in European mythology. I then listened to another podcast on the story of Nyami Nyami and Kariba Dam in Zimbabwe and the connection of the Tonga people to the Zambezi River. The Tonga people called the Zambezi river “Kusambabezi” which loosely translated to “those who know where to bathe” alluding to their relationship to the waters of the river. They knew where to go. I was born in Kariba. I constantly give homage to the lands I am from and how they have shaped me and my people in most introductions of myself. I cannot show my child where the grandmother she is named for is buried. But I can show her how she belongs to the Earth. The trees whose shade will sit under were the same ones her grandmother did. She can help me transplant Prairie sage from my Aunt’s garden into our yard and she can know the stories of the land it came from. I can tell her the stories of her people. We can also make our own stories. I can put her hands on the trees that live next to us right now so they can help her when she needs them to help her stand up right. One day she will have her own stories of who taught her to drive, how she learned to swim, where her people are buried and how they lived their lives.

Rootin’ Tootingly yours

Farai

I have a signature lip color. It is my favorite, in a color-way entitled Mortar and Pestle which is very apropos for a folk herbalist no? It makes me feel my most embodied. I recently lost it and eventually I will re-up because I love it so and I like to keep a little pot of it with me. It reminds me of my Aunties and my mama. I watched a delightful video of the history of women and sacred adornments with paints and jewelry not as a source of vanity but instead as a reminder of their innate power. I do not wear much make-up. But a wee swipe of this on my lips and I feel transformed.

Tony has been fervently building and relocating our old gardens beds around our orchard. We’ve been re-establishing our beloved medicinal herb garden. Sage, oregano, lavender, dill, rosemary and some other plants have found their new homes nestled in the newly turned dirt. I hope to get to know and grow with them and add more as we go.

We seeded some native wildflowers in long strips at certain edges of our land. I am dreaming of a cut flower garden. I’ve daydreamed for years of a little stand where folks could pick free bouquets of flowers to brighten their tables. We live in a historically underserved part of town and vulnerable part of town and i’m of the mind that we deserve access to the most beauty. Even when we are in the middle of construction with drywall dust, paint splatters and raw exposed beams, my kitchen table always had a vase of flowers.

Working on my digital hygiene via and her Golden Time cohort. I have been getting back into my 365 Tao meditations which have been so eerily precisely what I need to read and be reminded of each time I open the book.

Listening to my toddler guide himself through deep breathing when is having big feelings and needs a moment to calm down. Grateful to podcasts centered around building emotional intelligence and resiliency for children. I take the responsibility of raising a boy so seriously in a world where so many men are emotionally stunted. I am fighting the patriarchy tooth and nail baby.

I won this tarot deck in the tarot for black folks class I am obsessed. I feel such comfort from the images. It’s like im sititng with folks that look like my family. Read about my relationship with tarot below.

What is grabbing your attention now?

Rootin’ Tootingly yours

Farai

I am often asked by plant curious folks “where do I start”? The internet is full of ads, courses, and carousels encouraging folks to immerse themselves into learning herbalism. Some are helpful, some are predatory. As a folk herbalist, I am interested in the stories and relationships with plants that we already carry with us. To me, you do not have to stray further than your kitchen cabinet, the park, the library, heck even in the landscaping outside of your local bank to start. Plants ask one thing of us. Attention. Witness them. I like to think we all ask this of each other too. To be witnessed is a great place to start.

What plant or herb is asking you to pay closer attention? The idea of having a singular devotion to a plant seems like the perfect way to avoid overwhelm. Can you watch a plant sprout and go through its life cycle through the seasons? Ask it if you may pick a leaf or bloom and hold it between your fingers? Pinch it lightly and take in its smell or taste if applicable. Can you dry its blooms between the pages of a book ? Can you draw it? Can you read stories and monographs about it ? Can you learn the folk lore and relationship humans have had with it? What are its other names? How would your ancestors have used it? Can you write a poem or story about it? Can you drink a simple tisane made from it or share your own drink with it? I have so many stories of how paying attention to the call of the plants has benefited me, and ignoring it has bit me in the ass.

Verbascum thapsus aka Mullein grows wild here in different parts of Kansas and first caught my eye while on a hike at a local trail. I had no idea what it was at first. But eventually came to learn its name. The next year I spent learning about the biennial Mullein in my teacher’s herb garden where it grew in random spots. I unearthed the adventurous yearlings growing in the walkways and planted them in my own garden bed. I watched the first years and their sweet rosette. I was enraptured by the second years and their tall stalks peppered with darling yellow flowers. I wove in between the bees and other insects to harvest the flowers for an ear oil. I practiced embroidery by making rudimentary french knots in between lectures.

It’s been many years since my apprenticeship, and neither my teachers gardens, nor mine exist anymore. I did however go back recently to visit where my old garden once was, and was found some Mullein pups. Grandchildren of the ones I took from my teacher’s garden paths all those years ago. I found the spot where the oregano plant I had purchased for $1 almost 9 years ago had come back . I scooped it up too. Remembering the feeling of the first time I had looked down at the plant when it was in full bloom and being blown away by its scent. The sweet floral honeyed spiciness of Oregano flower imprinted on memory and I will keep with it with me forever. All because I stopped and payed attention.

So that’s what I would tell someone who asked me about wanting to get into herbalism now. Who is asking for your attention, and how can you witness them?

Rootin’ tootingly yours

Farai

Writing , writing, writing. Talking about writing, encouraging others to write, reading other peoples writing, learning from other writers, sitting and writing with others.

I’m back teaching local herbal classes which is lovely. Talking plants, teas, herbs, lore. All my favorite things.

Back at it with my daily mediations. Excited to kick off another Goldentime container from .

Taking care of shit. Making those appointments, checking in with that friend whose been on your mind, having those hard conversations, sending those emails, ordering that thing thats been on my to do list.

Dancing everyday.

Passionflower tincture - for those of us with ADHD.

Running errands with a friend so we can spend time together during our otherwise busy schedules.

Making mocktails everyday in cute drink ware

What’s bringing you joy right now?

Rootin’ Tootingly yours

Farai

When I was a new mother I romanticized Spring. I still do. I cannot help but shudder in gratitude at the sight of a daffodil or tulip. But Spring is rather violent too along with its beauty no? The bulbs sit frozen in the hard packed Earth. Weathering freezes and thaws, snowmelt and harsh parched soil. And then at the right moment it forces its way out of the ground to the kiss the air and find what- welcoming weather? Sometimes sure- but also maybe harsh surprise snowstorms that find its sweet new leaves dead and rotting on the ground. Then it gathers its reserves, and tries again. New leaves gently form. It learns, and relearns, tries again and figures things out before eventually blooming.

No Spring is the same even though things may feel familiar. You cannot outrun the discomfort. You have to face the ugly. I do not know why this theme plagues me. Maybe someone else needs to hear it too. Last spring was wet and rainy. This years so dry we’ve already had several fire warnings. We adjust. Have you ever met someone frozen? Its painful to witness. We love anyway. We are resilient, we are flexible. We cry and we move our bodies and we do not freeze.

Rest Easy Uncle Leon

Rootin’ Tootingly yours

Farai

Child of the Sun that I am - I was surprised to find out that my Vitamin D levels were dangerously low in December. A few months on a high dose daily supplement and a recommendation for early morning sun on my eyeballs (my bad I aint do this one at all) and my levels are finally at mid-range normal. I feel a lot better! Get your levels checked if you feel off. And if you are a person of color make sure your care team knows what ranges are actually normal for someone of your background.

One of my besties gave a beautiful podcast interview about purity culture and deconstruction.

Pedicures and manicures and a good haircut. I’m more of a dirt and worms kind of girl. But I am also the daughter and niece of fly ass Zimbabwean women. I love a pamper moment. Garden season ramping up for those of us in the midwest so this will be set aside for now. But much fun was had with cute designs and colors.

A good ass breakthrough- facilitated on my own through lots of internal work, conversations with amazing women in my life and affirmed by my therapist has brought me a lot of joy this month.

The informal social group for Black women I co-founded with some friends has had some amazing meet-ups. A book exchange, a breathwork class. All free. All accessible. All uplifting. I am grateful.

Local bookstores restocking my zine.

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Consistent physical therapy and biweekly gym time has me feeling a lot more limber.

Deep conversations with my siblings. In law and and blood. Strengthening those relationships is a boon.

I went to a rave. Much ass was shaken, much fun was had. I have been listening to 00’s dancehall music and its been an amazing blast from the past. Perfect to dance and bounce around the house while cooking and cleaning.

Tarot for Black Folks community and a challenge to pull one card a day for a month.

A practice around centering myself and my needs and seeking fun. Spring is usually a very painful time for me and it helps to acknowledge and sit with that while also prioritizing joy.

What is bringing you joy?

Rootin’ Tootingly yours

Farai

My “super bowl”is the first spring crocus that blooms in a neighbors yard in my old neighborhood. Without fail, every late winter/ early spring, I would start deviating from the path we regularly took on our walks to make sure we crossed by her house to try and catch a glimpse. After a few years of seeing our pilgrimage, she eventually invited my kids and I to pick any blooms as we desired. I’d gratefully pick one blossom, and carry it carefully home to set in a wee bud vase to bring us joy on a windowsill or bedside table.

The crocus brings me such joy because the weather is still cold and nippy, and its still too early for tulips and daffodils… but up jumps this tiny little bright cup of a bloom, singing with yellow or purple joy. Daring me to pull away from my distractions to witness its magic.

According to the groundhog we still have about six weeks of winter which I’m content with. I’m happy to be here. We’re lucky to be here. In the meantime I’m going to be turning my face towards paying attention. I think one of the most important lessons I’ve ever learned from herbalism is to be present and witness. I’ve been stuck in a negative loop for a while now and it’s been hard with sickness and exhaustion and just the overall feeling of the world right now, but I’m ready to wake up. I’m ready to unfurl like the buds underground. I am ready to take small actions or rather to put “coins in the bank” as my friend Anita calls it. It could making extra soup to share, a extra loaf of bread to freeze, a text to a friend, an email to a public official, attending a town hall, going on a walk, having that hard conversation, spending that 1:1 time with that person. Spend a little time feeding what you are hoping to grow in and around you.

What are tending to? What is your superbowl ?

Rootin Tootingly yours

Farai