Happy Monday {{first name | my friend}},

The larches in Montana are turning gold. They're one of the few conifers that drop their needles every fall. If you're wondering when color peaks where you live, this fall foliage map updates daily with the weather, so you can slide through the weeks and watch it roll across the country.

Tomorrow is also National Coffee Day, so keep an eye out for the Purity Coffee info below. Pour yourself a cup and settle in.

🩺 HEALTH HACK: You can help your blood sugar without leaving your chair. Keep your feet flat, lift your heels while the balls of your feet stay put, then let them drop and repeat. University of Houston researchers found this “soleus pushup” improved blood sugar control by 52% after a sugary drink, because this small calf muscle can keep burning fuel for hours without tiring out.

✨ MAGICAL PLACE: About two hours from Tokyo, Miharashi Hill at Hitachi Seaside Park is covered in roughly 33k round, fluffy kochia bushes. They stay bright green in the summer, then turn a deep, fiery red across the whole hillside in October. This year the park expects peak color right around October 15. SEE THE HILL change color.

🤔 DID YOU KNOW?: Late in life, Thomas Edison set out to find a rubber plant that could grow in the U.S., and his team tested over 17k plants to find one. What they arrived at was goldenrod, the yellow wildflower. Edison bred them to grow 12 feet tall, and the USDA resumed his work after his death.

🌱 REGENERATIVE FUTURE: Until this year, there was no global agreement to protect the open ocean. Last week, the High Seas Treaty reached 100 countries on board, and the first meeting in January can begin setting up marine protected areas. That could help lead to safe zones for whales, sea turtles and the fish that cross these waters every year.

🕺 PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT: There's a reason Mondays feel like a good time to start something. Researchers found gym visits and searches for “diet” jump at the start of every week, month and year, and again after holidays. They call it the “fresh start effect”, where a new date gives you an opportunity to release the old version of yourself. October starts Thursday, so what are you hoping to add to your clean slate?

🧭 NATURE SKILLS: Wild rose hips are ripening now, and they can be an easy find for new foragers. Pick the firm red ones, and wait until after the first frost, since the cold makes them sweeter. The inside is full of seeds and tiny hairs that irritate your throat, so steep them whole for tea and strain, or split them and scoop out the middle before cooking.

Tomorrow (September 29th) is National Coffee Day, and since most of us reach for a cup before we start our day… it's worth getting from a transparent source, so you really know what’s in it.

Purity Coffee is USDA organic, specialty grade, and lab tested for mold and mycotoxins. They also roast in a way that holds on to chlorogenic acids, the antioxidants coffee is known for. And the beans are Smithsonian Bird Friendly, grown under shade trees that give migrating birds a place to rest and feed.

I interviewed founder Andrew Salisbury for our Q&A series, and the amount of testing behind every batch is a big reason it's the coffee I recommend.

For Coffee Day week, Purity is giving ECL readers 30% off plus complimentary U.S. shipping, today through Friday, October 2. It's open to new and returning customers, so if you're already a regular, this is a good week to stock the pantry for fall.

Get 30% off Purity Coffee

The equinox is here. How might you honor it this week?

🟦⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🛁 Warm bath before bed (2.9%)
🟫🟫🟫🟫🟫⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🍂 A 15-minute awe walk (22.1%)
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩⬜️⬜️ 📝 Set intentions for the new season (33.7%)
🟨🟨🟨🟨🟨🟨🟨🟨🟨🟨 🌙 Just watching the light change (41.3%)

To a healing future,

— Rob