By Kristina Jensen ©

I am going out to pick flowers with my eight year old son today. We are making up a new batch of my special herbal hair tonic. The look of joy on his face tells me that this is a good thing to do, an old thing, a connected thing. We talk about flower fairies as we gather the well-used woven basket and take off our shoes so that the dew can wash our feet clean. It is early morning and each droplet of water shines with the first rays of the eager sun, shattering light into a million shards of powerful energy.

My son is home-schooled. His preference for fairies over rugby or remote control cars does not concern his father and I. He is free to choose his passions and right now, small figures present in nature consume his attention. His pockets are full of seeds, flower stalks, interesting rocks and tiny mouse skeletons from under an old refrigerator. These, he weaves together with wire and pipe cleaners to create figures which for him have lives of their own, unique personalities and best of all, the unmistakable artistic freedom of being fashioned by a child's hand. We encourage him in his art, choosing to move with him as he grows and changes, allowing wherever possible, the first-hand experience of nature to be his teacher.

This morning, he brings his own basket along. 'How about a brew of fairy flower tea?' he asks me. I nod and smile, and he picks alongside me, adding his own favourites like fennel and sorrel to his collection. When I turn to look at him, he is sitting back on his haunches, chewing on a stalk of fennel, a far off look in his eye. 'This fennel tastes different today', he says, coming back, '... more watery.'

Vibrancy greets us as we gather the quantities of each flower and herb that we need from our garden and orchard. The flowers stretch their beautiful faces to the sun, drinking in the dew and sunlight potion nestled like crystal jewel globules on their petals. Calendula are bold, resplendent in all shades between yellow and russet orange. Rose petals fall gently into our basket along with energetic skyward-pointing sprigs of rosemary. The restorative properties of lavender add their voice to our collecting and all that remains is to take a stroll over to the orchard. Here we will pick a lemon, for we require a piece of its peel for our concoction.

My son finds a dead goldfinch under one of the apple trees. He picks it up gently, cradling its tiny body in his palm. As with everything he finds, it is subject to his careful examination. He opens up its wings and I take a breath, imagining the marvel of its flight if it was to suddenly awaken and fly up and away. But no, the characteristic red cap of the finch is dull and tattered and I wonder aloud whether it was old and was ready to die. 'Do you think there is a bird heaven?' my son asks me. I don't say anything. I know he is thinking about what a bird heaven would be like if there was one and I want to wait for his ideas first before sharing mine. 'This bird eats seeds, right?' I nod. 'Then it will be flying over a field full of grasses with all the other goldfinches. I want to bury it, Mom.'

So we dig a small hole under the apple tree and lay the lifeless body down on a handful of thistledown. He picks a small comfrey leaf to cover the bird and we shovel the earth over and pat it down. A white rock nearby serves as a gravestone and some of our flowers are taken from the baskets to adorn the resting place.

We share a long look full of unspoken things; the sorrow of the bird's passing, the brightness of the day, the happiness of being here together. He leaps into my arms for a tight hug, dabbing his eyes on his sleeve. Then we are up into the next moment, wiping our hands on our trousers, leaping through the long grass, heading home to sup that fairy flower tea and prepare an infusion of our favourite herbal skin and hair tonic.

Make-it-yourself – herbal hair food

(Recipe by Kristina Jensen ©)

Especially helpful in the treatment of dandruff, skin irritations and dry flaky skin, this simple, fragrant tonic can be applied daily to strengthen and revitalise any area of your body. Simply splash a little onto the palm of your hand and rub in gently. You can also keep it in a spray bottle for easy application.

Collect:

3-4 sprigs of rosemary

10 stalks of lavender

5 calendula flowers

a piece of lemon peel

a handful of rose petals

Bring 3 cups of water to the boil and remove it from the heat.

Drop the herbs, peel and flowers in and leave covered until cool.

Strain the liquid off the herbs.

Add ½ a cup of witch-hazel, ½ cup of rosewater and 1 cup of apple cider vinegar to the herbal mixture.

You can also add a drop or two of tea tree oil to combat skin infections, especially if you live somewhere where there are biting insects.

Decant into a bottle. Store away from the sun. Herbal hair food lasts for up to two years.

Kristina Jensen is a 'poet afloat', freelance writer and musician living on a boat in the Marlborough Sounds, New Zealand, with her artist husband and home-schooled son. Her aim is to create a healthy balance of people-time and nature-time: currently about 75/25 in favour of nature. Choosing to live a simple life without many material possessions or financial debt means that Kristina and her family devote most of their time to creative pursuits, sailing and the appreciation of nature's beauty and abundance.