Archive for the ‘A-D’ Category

Teas

It was a long hot day yesterday and as soon as I got in the house, I started some tea. I use a commercial machine that prepares tea and my choice of tea yesterday was 2/3 black and 1/3 green. It certainly hit the spot.

There’s more to tea (camellia sinensis) than just the few brands you find at the local grocer. In fact one of my favorite kinds of tea is Dragon Well. Dragon Well is a green tea, sometimes called Lung Ching. It’s hand processed and pan-fired and gives classic Chinese green tea flavor in a signature flat shape.

Gunpowder is a very popular green tea as well. It’s tightly rolled and panfired resulting in a sweet mellow brew.

Have you tried roobius? Roobius (Aspalathus linearis) is an herbal tea and is naturally caffeine free. I sometimes brew it for the spouse.

Get out of your black-tea rut and experience some of the various flavors that other teas can bring to your palate. There’s a whole other world of tea flavor awaiting youl

green-tea from GReen Dragon Herbals

green-tea field

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Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving

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Hauling Sweet Annie

My parents have the most wonderful garden. They can grow anything!

When I mentioned that I’d like some “Sweet Annie”, (aka Artemisia annua) well they went a little wild and planted a whole row of it.

Come harvest time, Dad cut it all down and make big bundles out of it. The bundles were a couple feet wide and 6-8 feet long.

He then popped them in the bed of his big old Fod pickup and hauled them to me, a nice little trek.

The whole time, he was just a little bit worried that he might get pulled over. Not for speeding. Not for weaving or anything like that, but because he had a whole pickup bed full of some ‘weed’.

Luckily nothing happened, but all that worry could have been resolved if he’d looked up ford truck accessories and got himself a bed cover!

truck cover

truck cover


Then no-one would have wondered, and he wouldn’t have worried!

And yes, now I have sweet annie growing here too! LOVE that scent!

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Chew on…

Got your chew on?

Do you know what people did people there were commercial toothbrushes? What? You didn’t realize there ‘was’ a time before toothbrushes? Well, yes! Long before toothbrushes were invented people used twigs to brush their teeth with.

People would cut off a young branch of trees, strip away the outer bark and chew them down until they the fibers begin to seperate and then brush and use them. Dogwood branches were a great brush! Dogfood sticks reach around and between your teeth pretty darn good.

Course these days, most people opt to see their dentist regularly and that’s a good thing. Hopefully you’ll have a great checkup but when you don’t you’ll want to have good dental insurance.

So get your chew on and visit your dentist, but first be sure to visit United Dental Insurance for your own dental insurance policy.

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Red Clover – Trifolium pratense

Common name: red clover

Red Clover is found all across the US. You’ll find it in yards, roadsides, fields and in other disturbed habitats.

Originally was native to the Eastern Mediterranean and Asia and was naturalized to the United States.

Red clover grows up to 16 inches, with a hairy upright stem. The leaves are made up of three (and an occasional lucky four!) oval leaflets with a prominent white “V” mark in the center, commonly referred to as a chevron. The flowers are purple to pink and are egg-shaped.

Red clover is a member of the pea family, Leguminosae. Clover is part of a group of plants that are able to take nitrogen from the atmosphere and make it biologically available to other plants. Nitrogen fixation is of critical importance in protein production in plants and makes the plants a critical player in agricultural planning.

Historically, red clover flower tea has been used as an antispasmodic, expectorant, a mild sedative, and a blood purifier; as well as for asthma, bronchitis and respiratory spasms. Red clover was also used for athlete’s foot, sores, and other skin issues. You’ll even find red clover wine!

Active compounds are flavenoids, phenolic acids (including salicylic acid), volatile oils such as methyl salicylate and benzyl alcohol, sitosterol, fatty acids, tannin and starch

Research scientists are studying the herb for combating AIDS, diabetes and menopause.

Magically speaking, the red clover was believed to bring good luck!

It was believed that whoever carried a three-leaf clover with him would be able to detect witches, sorcerers and good fairies around him.

Christianity believed the three-leaf clover to be a symbol of the Trinity, so many churches and church windows are designed around a cloverleaf.

red clover

red clover

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Comfrey

Comfrey has many common names. You many know it as: knitbone, healing herb, boneset, slippery root or bruisewort.

Latin: Symphytum officinale

Centuries ago the Greeks used comfrey to stop bleeding and to treat bronchial issues. Dioscorides prescribed comfrey to heal wounds and mend broken bones. The latin conferta means grow together which is where comfrey is purported to have gained its name.

Comfrey is used today externally in balms and salves and as feed for livestock. Recent controversy over it’s toxicity has stopped people from using comfrey as an internal aid. Comfrey MAY be toxic when ingested.

The plants themselves are an upright leafy perennial. Very hardy. They die back in the winter and come right back in the spring. Comfrey has a way of taking over so plant it in a restricted bed.

Magically speaking, comfrey is used in any form of magical healing. Also used for traveling safely.

comfrey

comfrey

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Calendula

Calundula got it’s name during Roman times. It was noticed that the flowers bloomed the same time each month, or calends and named them thus. They were grown during Roman times, not only for their color and the joy blooms brought to their lives but instead as the flowers were used to treat scorpion bites.

The Doctrine of Signatures suggests that calendula might be used for headaches, toothaches, and fevers. The Doctrine of Signatures suggests medical purposes for plants based on the physical appearance of the plant or flower resembling some portion of the human body.

Magically speaking, calendula is considered quite powerful. It’s used in potions to view fairies, love visions and more.

In the kitchen, a long time ago, you’ll sometimes find calendula in the soup or stew or mixed in with the vegetables. It was even used, at the time, in oats, puddings, and wine.

Today, you’ll sometimes see calendula used in salves, powders and ointments for external problems.

Latin: Calendula officinalis

Do not confuse the African marigold with Calendula. The African marigold is sometimes used as an insect repellent and is NOT a medicinal plant. Do not substitute one for the other.

calendula

calendula

Mountain Rose Herbs. A herbs, health and harmony c

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Chamomile

Chamomile has blessed our hearts and mind for what seems like an eternity. Remember Peter Rabbit? His mom soothed his headache with a cup of chamomile tea. Today, many people will sip chamomile tea to calm their nerves, especially before bedtime.

Medieval people used chamomile as a strewing herb. Tossed about and tread upon they released their scent subtly helping to mask filthy odors. Women have used chamomile tea for ages to add highlights to their hair. Chamomile has also been touted to have been used to retard meat spoilage and as an insect repellent.

Medicinal: The essential oil derived from the pressing of the chamomile flowers is slow yielding, making this oil one of the more expensive oils. It’s said to help as an anti-inflammatory, as an antispasmodic, and as an anti-infective, the reason you see chamomile in so many ointments, lotions and salves.

Aromatic: Chamomile flower have a vague apple scent to them, making them a great addition to most any herbal preparation.

Latin: Chamaemelum nobile (low growing variety) Matricaria recutita (tall annual)
Flowers: Very similar to daisies
Leaves: alternate, divided into threadlike segments
Flowering: Late spring thru summer

chamomile

chamomile



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Bay Laurel – Laurus nobilis

In Greek mythology we find that Apollo loved Daphne. Apollo was most known as the god of light, and also attributed to prophecy, medicine, archery and as a good shepherd of herds and flocks.

Daphne was the daughter of the river god, Ladon and Apollo fiercely pursued her. She fled, he followed and as he tried to touch her, she transformed into a laurel tree. Apollo then made the bay laurel his sacred tree.

Bay laurel leaves are used for protection, hence the ancient laurel head wreaths. Over the years its attributes include aids for menstruation, snake bites, even colds.

Today, bay is typically used in cooking. You can harvest and use year round.

Bay: Bay laurel, sweet bay
Botanical: laurus nobilis
Flowers: Inconspicuous, no petals, four lobed, greenish yellow
Leaves: Alternate, shiny, dark green, thick and leathery with wavy edges
Fruit: Dark purple to black one seeded berries about a half inch long
Flowering: Spring

bay

bay



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