Herbal First Aid Kit
Many people know that I am a technician for the sport of fencing. I love it … I get to play with tools but most of all, socialize with friends at tournaments. However, as I’ve mentioned before, I’m a klutz par excellence. I...
Pretty, Deadly Lady
An online friend was inquiring into Belladonna last week and I told her I’d dig into my files to see what I could come up with. While I remembered some of what I found, I didn’t remember other information and found it so interesting...
Haiti
The poorest country in the western hemisphere gets rocked – literally. My heart goes out to all of them and the relatives around the world anxiously awaiting news of their loved ones. If you’ve got a spare dollar or ten, please...
I’m A Spunky Old Broad!
Wow, February is National-Something-Month par excellence! Just a sampling: International Boost Self-Esteem Month International Expect Success Month National Care About Your Indoor Air Month National Laugh-Friendly Month National Time Management...
Ginseng & Changing Times
If you’ve been following my blog for any length of time, you must have noticed that I like to look at herbs from a historical perspective … how they were used medicinally, what folklore may be attached to an herb, local customs (and...
How to Make ‘Tea’
It seems I’ve been answering a lot of questions lately on how to make and use water-based preparations of herbs. Apparently, these people haven’t read my book! So, to get the word spread a little further, here’s an excerpt...
Worth the Effort: Pomegranate
A post on a forum this morning gave me today’s subject. Someone posted a recipe for pomegranate cordial which sounds so yummy, I’m going to have to make a trip to the liquor and grocery stores and give it a try (I’ll share later...
2011 Herb of the Year
The International Herb Association has chosen an “Herb of the Year” every year since 1995, meant to highlight herbs and draw attention to National Herb Week (celebrated the week before Mother’s Day). This year it’s one of...
Book Review: Sacred Plant Medicine
Virtually any time a book title has “Native American Herbalism” or something similar in it, it’s going in my reading pile. A lot of times I’m disappointed but this time I wasn’t. I hadn’t even gotten through...
My Word 2011
It seemed like a good thing to do last year … choose a word that has the ability to make an impact on your life and concentrate on it for a year. (If you haven’t been following my blog for a year or didn’t completely rootle...
So You’re Wiccan, huh?
You have no idea how tired I am of that question after people find out I am a witch. Then, when I answer, “no, I am what is generally referred to as a ‘traditional’ witch”, I usually get a blank stare. So, below is an...
In Memoriam
Our cat, Nick, passed away this morning. I am now berating myself for not taking more photographs. This is one of him and his brother, Ivan, taken when they were kittens nearly 9 years ago. Nick is on the right. I’ve lit a candle for you...