Hello friend,
Bushy chaparral reach for the sky, radiating across the rocky trailhead. As we climb, I see stout barrel cacti with long curved spines guarding cliff edges, low-growing beavertail cacti raising their flat shriveled pads, and silvery-brown cacti with fur-like spines hiding under shady rocks. Birdsong crescendos as the sky lightens. Mason, Rosalee, Emily, and I shoot video for their new project as we meander into the sunrise overlooking Palm Springs. They turn around at a trail junction and I continue uphill, picking up my pace to beat the rapidly rising heat. (The “balmy” 85°F pre-dawn temperature hits 95°F by 8 am, then surges to 110°F by midday.)
Ahead, the dark maw of a box canyon reveals a jagged green sanctuary of sycamores, desert palms, desert willows, and desert lavender. Hummingbirds and bees flit about, a cacophony of birds. Here, as everywhere, water is life.
Descending back to town, the heat rises like a wave. I skirt the canyon edge to stay in the remaining shade, and notice bighorn sheep silhouetting a ridge between wilderness above and city below. Here we are, wild together. It’s time to hydrate.
I’m in Palm Springs for the grand opening of a new Mountain Rose Herbs Mercantile. Reaching the store in time to say hello, I settle onto an old green stool by the entry with my friend Steven. As we compare the Pacific Northwest and desert terrains, I mention my parched throat and skin. Naturally, our conversation shifts to demulcents. I scour the store and return triumphant with marshmallow and licorice root. We brew a marshmallow cool infusion, which I offer to customers alongside little nibbles of licorice. Such sweetness. The cool mucilage soothes our skin and senses.
Demulcents, or mucilaginous plants, are squishy and cooling. They coat mucous membranes with a protective layer of polysaccharides, perfect for dry or raw skin, whether from the environment, a recovering sore throat, or talking too much. Teaching back-to-back in Wisconsin, Ojai, and now Palm Springs, I’ve been relying on marshmallow cool infusions to keep my hardworking vocals juicy. (Demulcents extract better in cool water, which keeps those delicate polysaccharides fat and happy.)
As we heat up in July, chill out with a…
Marshmallow Cool Infusion
Add 1 oz (about a handful) of organic marshmallow root to a 1-liter glass jar.
Pour room temperature water over the roots, filling the jar.
Steep overnight at room temperature.
Strain in the morning, then enjoy throughout your day.
Other options: Refrigerate for extra coolness. Infuse with other demulcents like cucumbers, linden, or hibiscus. Steep with a pinch of fresh mints, lemon balm, tulsi, or other cooling nervines. Top with fresh citrus, muddled fruit, a splash of coconut water, or a pinch of salt for extra pizzazz.
Have fun, and enjoy a juicy, cool rest of your summer!
節氣 Seasonal Nodes
The 24 seasonal nodes in the Chinese lunisolar calendar observe seasonal shifts. Each node has 3 pentads, poetic snapshots of natural phenomena. Here are July’s seasonal nodes and pentads:
July 7: 小暑 Lesser Heat • 溫風至 Warm breezes begin • 蓮始開 Lotus flowers open • 鷹乃學習 Young hawks learn to fly
July 23: 大暑 Greater Heat • 桐始結花 Paulownia trees flower • 土潤溽暑 Moist earth, damp heat • 大雨時行 Heavy rains fall
Recommendations
Herbal Radio: Enjoy this month’s conversation on how to run a farm-based herb school with herbalist, artist, and mama extraordinaire Crystal Moore-Stevens.
Herbalist Answers: This new Herbal Radio series brings together awesome herbalists to answer one botanical question each month. Watch on YouTube, or listen wherever you get your podcasts. This month we explore, “What does being an herbalist mean to you?” (Find me on a mountain and in a river.) Two months ago, “What herb do you wish people knew more about?” (I love this new series!)
Summer Reads: 🌿 Part 1 of Herbalism is Activism: 5 Plants for 5 Seasons. 🍓 Memoirs: Forest Euphoria by Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian. Book of Lives by Margaret Atwood. The High Sierra: A Love Story by Kim Stanley Robinson. 🌻 Nature: How Flowers Made Our World by David George Haskell. The Enduring Wild by Josh Jackson. 🌈 Creativity: Don’t Call it Art by Austin Kleon. Good Writing by Neil Allen & Anne Lamott.
Book Updates: Round 1 of edits! Just turned in draft 2 of the intro and Chapter 1. Now editing the Earth Element chapter, and awaiting Water. It’s what my friend Maria calls the “hot potato” period of passing a book back and forth. Very. Exciting. And a whole lotta
worklove. (Anticipated publication Jan. 2028)
❤️ Happy mid-summering! May this be the best season of your life,
JilingLin.com • Acupuncture, herbs, art
Hi! I’m Jiling, an acupuncturist and herbalist in coastal southern California bridging medicine and expression through my Ventura acupuncture clinic, Five Elements classes, and Elemental book-in-progress that interweaves nature, art, movement and ritual for thriving personal and ecological wild beauty. Learn more about me here, join events here, get acupuncture here— and buy me a tea to fuel the book-writing magic. See you next month!