We put out a newsletter that is a little less sporadic than this blog. You can sign up on our website very easily. Then eventually if I think it's interesting, I will copy over the informational parts here. Sometimes. When I remember.
As the end of March is right around the corner, here in PA it's leaving
like a lion, with a possibility of flurries in the night on Wednesday. I
remember thinking we were getting the lamb when March blew in. In my
yard, the birds are already doing their twitter-pated dances, and singing
at the crack of dawn. I see them swooping around with bits of twigs
and grasses in their beaks. They know spring is here!
In the
meantime, we're also looking at the deadline for the next (May/June)
issue that will come out April 20 - so I thought I'd send a note before
we get buried in that work.
Viola spp. has been chosen as the Herb of the Year by the Intl. Herb Assoc. In the Jan/Feb issue, Kristine covered the herb, and this is an excerpt. I chose it to post here because it's an unusual but very useful way of preserving violets for use.
Violet Paste
Kristine Brown RH(AHG)
This paste is great to help soothe asore throat, ease a cough, relieve constipation, or to resolve a headache.
1 cup Violet blossoms (packed)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup water
2 1/2 cups honey
In a mortar and pestle or blender, combine the blossoms, lemon juice and water into a thick paste.
Blend honey in very well, using a spoon if combining in a mortar and pestle.
Place in a wide mouthed jar and store in a cold place (the freezer is best).
To use:
For easing
those with coughs, constipation, headaches and grief, give 1/4 teaspoon
at a time, once an hour or so, as needed until relief is sought.
If you have kids (or are a kid at heart yourself), check out Kristine’s newest – HERB CLUB!
https://herbalrootszine.org I wish this would have been around when Molly was little!
For the last several years, whenever I use dandelions for anything (I love to add the petals to baked goods, or the buds in salads and eggs) I get lectured online by people telling me that I am taking the bees' food.
I'm not sure where these people live, but around here many, many flowers bloom weeks before dandelion. Besides those pictured above, there are speedwell, various cresses, and all kinds of trees. All of the spring bulbs are up and blooming. I'm not suggesting that we shouldn't think about the creatures we share the earth with, but at the same time, the warnings about dandelions have a lot more to do with using chemical weed-killers than with learning how to incorporate these lovely greens and blossoms into our foods and medicines. There really are enough of these very prolific weeds for all of us to share.
That's it for now. Thank you for helping to make The Big Book of Herbal
Medicine such a hit! It's been a #1 New Release on Amazon since it
released on March 1. :-)
Happy Spring!
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