Forage and Gather is for those who live by the turning year, and teach the next generation to listen for its song.

Once upon a time, there was a woman who listened to the wind.

She tended herbs and stories in equal measure, wrote by candlelight, and believed that beauty and healing begin at the same hearth.

Her name was the Windesphere Witch — a keeper of seasons, stories, and the gentle magics of everyday life.

These days, she’s simply Beth.

But the heart of Windesphere still beats beneath every word you’ll find here.

Me and Jim — my forever love, co-conspirator in chickens and compost, and the best Sunday dinner date a girl could ask for.

There’s always room at my table.

Welcome. I’m Beth — a wellness and functional medicine nutrition coach, herbalist, healer, writer, passionate tea drinker and lifelong celebrator of the seasons.

After decades of working with plants, people, rituals, recipes, and stories, I’ve come to understand something simple but profound: healing begins when we slow down, connect, and tend to what’s alive — in our bodies, in our kitchens, and in the earth beneath our feet.

This Substack is where I share that world with you.

What You’ll Find Here

Forage & Gather is a space where elegant, nourishing, nature-connected living meets functional wellness and rooted herbal wisdom. Whether you’re here for a seasonal tea ritual or exploring how food truly becomes medicine, I hope you feel both inspired and deeply at home.

Together we’ll explore:

• Seasonal rhythms and how to live in sync with them

• Herbal remedies, functional health insights, and food-as-medicine recipes

• The joy of feeding people — and yourself — well

• Beautiful rituals for home, healing, and celebration

• Stories, reflections, and glimpses of real, grounded daily magic

You’ll hear from my garden, my animals, my kitchen, and my heart. This is personal, purposeful, and full of life.

But beneath it all runs an older voice — the one I once called The Windesphere Witch.

She’s the part of me who still walks the forest paths, listens for the wind, and remembers the language of herbs and seasons.

She’s not a witch of fright or fantasy, but a keeper of kinship — the guardian of stories, soil, and soul.

You’ll meet her often here, quietly tucked between the recipes and reflections, whispering reminders of the beauty and balance that come from living close to the earth.

Before I was a grandmother, I was a homeschooling mother — one of the greatest joys and privileges of my life.

I left a bustling family business to trade ledgers for lesson plans and boardrooms for garden rows, and I’ve never once regretted it.

Those years of teaching taught me that learning doesn’t always come from books.

It comes from the turning of the seasons, from the kitchen table, from the soil itself.

It’s in the way a child learns to tell a ripe tomato from a green one, or how to listen for the hum of bees, or how to ask before picking the “birdie berries.”

Now, with my grandson Wolfie, I get to live it all again — slower, softer, with more grace.

Together we gather acorns, press herbs, plant potatoes, and talk to the earth.

He’s learning what I once taught his father: that the garden is not just a place to grow food, but a classroom, a sanctuary, and a story that keeps unfolding.

How we raise the next generation matters deeply to me — not only to know the names of things, but to know how to care for them. I write about this often here.

That is the truest inheritance we can offer: a reverence for the magic of the living world, and the understanding that we belong to it, not apart from it.

Three Ways to Join Me

1. Free Subscribers

You’ll receive seasonal essays, herbal musings, personal reflections, and recipes 1–3 times a week — all grounded in the rhythms of nature and home.

My hope is that this space feels generous and nourishing, whether you’re planting a garden or sipping tea at your kitchen table.

2. Paid Subscribers: The Seasonal Table

Pull up a chair at the deeper end of the table.

This space remains free because it’s meant to be shared. If you believe in that, you can support it by becoming a paid subscriber. Paid subscribers keep the lights on—quite literally—but the stories, recipes, and field notes stay open to all. Every so often, I send a private letter to say thank you and share what’s brewing behind the scenes.

3. Founding Members

In addition to all of the above, Founding Members receive a one-hour Seasonal Simplicity Coaching Call (a $175 value).

It’s a gentle, personal session — a cup of tea shared across the miles — where we explore what the season is inviting you to gather or release, and create one small seasonal intention to carry forward.

You’ll also receive a few personalized herbal or ritual ideas to support you.

This is the quietest, most intimate corner of Forage & Gather — a table set with intention, where we honor the turning of the seasons and the deeper layers of nourishment, beauty, and belonging.

A Bit More About Me

I live, write, and garden in Cleveland Heights, Ohio with my husband of over 40 years, Jim — my forever love and biggest supporter. We became first-time grandparents this year, and I’m blissfully embracing the role of “Fairy Granny” to our grandson, Wolfie, who already knows where the blackberries grow and how to pick herbs with care.

I’m also lovingly “owned” by three cats, a dog, several horses, wild honeybees, too many vintage perfumes, and an urban garden filled with herbs, fruit trees, rambling roses, and a flock of heirloom chickens.

I believe in Sunday dinners, setting the table beautifully (even on a Tuesday), and using Grandma’s silver on an ordinary day. I believe in lighting candles, sipping tea like it’s a ritual, and saying grace in whatever way feels true.

And I believe the most elegant prescription for health is found at the end of your fork.

Thank You For Being Here

Whether you’re a seasoned gardener, a curious newcomer, or simply someone who wants to feel more connected to your body, your home, and the living world around you — this space is for you.

I hope this newsletter fills your life with sacredness, rhythm, beauty, and joy.

You can subscribe for free anytime — and if you’re moved to support this work, membership to The Seasonal Table is just $5/month or $55 /year. A Founding Membership is 150.00 a year.

With affection always,

Beth

Stay up-to-date

Newsletters will arrive right into your Inbox. I do hope you’ll enjoy being a part of the newsletter but if you later decide that it’s not for you, it’s easy to unsubscribe using a simple link at the end of each newsletter. I will miss you, but you can come back anytime. There’s always a place for you at my table!