Hello and Welcome!

Allow me to introduce myself - my name is Nicki Schneider and I am an aspiring Herbalist.  This blog is an extension of my education and a way for me to teach you as I learn about the joys of Green Medicine.  I love to eat plants, grow plants, play in plants and lay with plants.  Currently I live in a duplex in a small urban city, but I plan to have a small farm by the end of this year (2013.)  **crosses fingers**
So, how did I get where I am and why do I want to be an herbalist?  Well, since this is my blog and I have all the time in the world, let's start at the very beginning.

I graduated from college in 2007 with a degree in Biology.  I had no idea what I wanted to do, besides get a job and live on my own.  I landed a job as a naturalist with the area parks system and that is what I did for 2 years.  It was a fun job, but the pay was crap and I basically worked to pay bills.  I moved in my current home because I had to and it felt right at the time, whether or not I was going to be able to afford to live here was a concern, but I knew it was the right thing to do.

Being on my own with not a lot of money, I ate a lot of spaghetti and beans and rice.  I knew it wasn't the greatest, but I was naive and fell into the trap of "eating healthy is too expensive" blah blah blah.  It's embarrassing to admit, really.  But that all changed when I moved into my house and met the plum tree that grows in the front yard.  That tree changed everything.  About a month into my new home I walked out onto the front porch (I lived upstairs) and stared into the canopy of this beautiful tree and picked enough plums to make a cobbler.  My life changed.  I walked outside, picked some fresh food and ate it.  It was free and it was growing right there for the taking.  This launched me on a path of gardening, CSA's (Community Supported Agriculture programs) farmer's markets, canning, drying, preserving, teaching cooking classes, learning how to cook, identifying wild edibles and ultimately wanting to be an herbalist.  All because of a plum tree.  A plum tree that makes the best plum preserves I might add.  Here she is in the spring time - the fragrance is intoxicating when she is in full bloom.

So, why is the blog called "Spittle and Lawn Grass"?  A friend of mine once said I used nothing more than spittle and yard grass to heal myself and I thought that was a fitting description of green/herbal medicine.  Walk outside and you're at the pharmacy.

So, welcome.  I hope you enjoy this journey as much as I am and I'm glad to have you with me as I learn.