This week in Washington has been seriously lovely. The shadows are lengthening like long cat stretches. The nights are cool and breezy and quiet. Late summer storms thunder through the early evenings with brute force and then dissipate as quickly as they came. And although the equinox is still a month away, you can taste autumn in the wind.

So when Kristen Dilley of Portland Apothecary reached out to me to collaborate with their fall CSH share, I was absolutely on board, both emotionally and mentally. “CSH” stands for “Community-Supported Herbalism,” a riff off the more common “CSA,” or Community-Supported Agriculture, the increasingly-popular boxes of assorted produce that city-dwellers pick up every week from a local farm. An herbal CSH is pretty similar, but instead of a weekly box of food, subscribers get a quarterly box of seasonal herbal medicine and self-care products.

Portland Apothecary’s CSH boxes are something else altogether. I’ve been following Kristen and Elie on for awhile, and was in complete awe of their summer share. It included basil and citrus sugar scrub, pedicularis + california poppy extract for relaxation, rose/calendula/huckleberry leaf facial toner, and more. Like, you’ve got to be kidding me, right?

And the autumn share promises to be just as magical. Maybe even more so, because Kristen and Elie are boosting the medicine to help brace us against the coming cold season. It will include elderberry elixir, hyssop and yarrow flower tea, elecampane honey (I don’t even know what that is but it sounds delicious), Queen Anne’s lace and tourmaline flower essence (!!!), mountain soap with juniper, rosemary, and fennel, fire cider for fighting colds, and more.

And! Hand-drawn recipes from yours truly.

If you live in the Portland, Oregon area, lucky you – you can pick up your share in person and meet the ladies behind the madness. But if, like me, you live on the opposite side of the country, no problem. Your share will be delivered directly to your door.

So let’s do this! Support small business and passion projects, earth-based medicine, and accessible self-care and healing. Pre-order your share here.