The newest issue of
The Essential Herbal magazine is in the mail, heading to eager subscribers so now there is a moment to post the cover and table of contents here for you to peruse. If you've never seen the magazine, there is a link to a free pdf of a back issue to check out over there >>>. The Essential Herbal is a print magazine that comes out every 2 months, written by, for, and about herbie people and the things they love - HERBS!
Although it is mid-February, we're having a temporary thaw here. This new issue is spring-y and has the feel of a new season in the garden all over it! Some of the suggestions that we got notes about have already been implemented. The crossword puzzle has been made easier to read, there is an article focusing on the herbs of one region of the world (and that will be a series), and we also have something for the people who were looking for herbal gift baskets (Easter baskets this time)! I am extremely happy with the way this issue came out, and think you will enjoy it too!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Crossword PuzzleField Notes - what is happening to herbalists right now?
Cocoa for Health, Cindy Jones... that's right, it's GOOD for you!
Flower Essences Part 2, Kristina Haslam... learn to make your own flower essences with this series.
Beautiful Benjamin, Gale Lascala...a kindred spirit who loves the wild native spring flowers.
List Article...What would you most like to learn about herbs?
Down on the Farm, Mail-order Herb Plants-Garden in a Box, Michele Brown & Pat Stewart...the care and feeding of plants that arrive in the mail.
Spring Time Herbal Healing Checklist for Allergy Sufferers, Cory Trusty...Learn to calm allergies with herbs.
Separation Anxiety and Stress - not just for Humans Anymore! by Kathi Garrison... help for lonely pups.
It's all in the Planning, Susan Evans... getting ready to start a new garden requires thought.
Planning the Herb Garden, Mary Ellen Wilcox... a different take on beginning a garden (with recipes).
Dandelions & Lightningbugs, Jill Beebout... A tale of the moon and the sun, and how they share the sky.
Beeswax - White or Yellow? by Marti Graham... The difference between grades of beeswax.
Getting to Know Your Soil, Pat Myers... Loam? Peat? Limestone? Pat explains and tells you how to fix yours.
Herbal Easter Baskets, Betsy May... Lots of great ideas for the friends you'd love to gift this spring with a basket of goodies!
Louisiana Lagniappe *see below- Herbed Shrimp Salad in Avocado, Sarah Liberta... mmm, MMMmmm.
The Global Herbal - Africa, Marita Orr...Herbal wisdom from around the globe.
Adventure in Junk Gardening, Barbara Will...Barb takes one person's junk and turns it into treasure.
Strawberry Drinks, Maggie Howe... A selection of delightful, refreshing beverages.
* Sarah's recipe got mangled somehow, and there are a few important words missing. Here it is:HERBED SHRIMP SALAD IN AVOCADO
by Sarah Liberta
The pure, clean flavors of fresh herbs and a touch of lemon juice accent the taste of the sea in this perennial favorite. The Jerusalem artichoke adds a sweet, smoky surprise.2 large avocados
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 pound large shrimp, boiled in well-seasoned broth, chilled, peeled and deveined
1 English cucumber, chopped
1 cup grape tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise
1/4 cup of sweet onion, finely diced
1/4 cup of celery, finely diced
1/2 cup of Jerusalem artichoke, chopped
1 Tbsp. sweet marjoram
1 Tbsp. parsley
1 Tbsp. lemon balm
1 Tbsp. chives
marjoram blossoms and other small edible flowers
balsamic vinegar
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
Put 1 Tbsp. olive oil in a small skillet. Add onion and celery, stirring until they begin to wilt. Add artichoke, season with salt and pepper, and sauté about 3-4 minutes. Set aside to cool. Split avocados and remove pits. Use a large spoon to remove the flesh without breaking the shell. Coarsely chop avocado, place in a large bowl and toss with lemon juice to prevent darkening. Set aside 4 whole shrimp; chop the remainder into bite-size pieces and add to avocados. Add cucumber, tomatoes, onion, celery and artichoke. Coarsely chop herbs and add all but 1 tsp. to the bowl. Salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle with vinegar and oil. Toss to coat all ingredients. Mound 1/4 of salad into each of the avocado shells and arrange on 4 plates lined with lettuce leaves. Top each portion with the reserved shrimp, remaining herbs and garnish with edible flowers.
Note her fabulously sensible shoes! Her thrift store shopping is very handy for creek stompin' too, as it turns out. 
I've never identified the above wildflower. The flowers resemble Spring Beauty and when they are blooming at the same time one needs to look closely to see a difference. These are a couple of inches taller, I think. the Spring Beauty isn't showing yet. No Trout Lily leaves yet either.
I *think* this is a skunk cabbage. The leaves are very large when mature, about a foot high and resembling loose Romaine lettuce more than cabbage. However, I didn't see what was happening inside the rotting dark purple leaf at the top of the picture until I got it home and looked at it! Isn't that amazing!
Ramps! Our ramps all survived! We planted them several different places and I found them in all of the spots. They are robust and strong. What a delight to find them! The trilliums that will accompany them aren't up yet.
I loved the looks of this stick laying on the woodland floor. We decided it was a mushroom wand.
Galls of some sort, I imagine. Might be fungus. Molly pushed on one of the puffy ones and said that a puff emerged - so it could be a puffball type of fungus.
I would have missed this had I been alone. Molly found this and it was the only one we found of the thousands that will be out in a few short days. Bloodroot.
Several patches of the Dutchman's Breeches are starting to poke their heads up, and uncurling their dusky leaves. The leaves seem to green up quickly in the light.
We watched the goldfish congregating near the surface of the lake as we walked out of the woods. I cannot express how relaxing and centering that little walk was - how those few minutes seem to have changed everything. And if there was any doubt, Spring is indeed going to be arriving soon.
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There are a lot of other things going on around here. The fun part of the year is closing in.
A little outpatient procedure that might really help for the time being, it is called a TIPS procedure - Transjugular Intrahepatic Portosystemic Shunt - where they go in through the jugular and down into the liver to install a shunt to relieve pressure. This would result in less fluid build-up in his stomach. 
On the way out to the hospital the other day I noticed that the anise hyssop was sending up beautiful purple leaves, and that the luscious chickweed growing next to it is blooming. I want to get outside and pull up some of the deeply rooted (!!!) white bladderwort. Maybe I can do a little before the sun goes down.
I did manage to pull the stray turnips from last year and drag in the bamboo tipis and structures that dotted my garden (Bob grows bamboo, so I go a little crazy with it) just in case the tractor and plow wander up this way.
That is a phrase that struck my funny bone, and unfortunately for those around me, I've been busy finding ways to use it in various sentences. Buck rub is the bane of the tree farmer's existance, so it strikes me as even odder to only be hearing about this now, 20 years or more after they moved onto a tree farm! Could it be that my family, recognizing that the combination of my jr. high sense of humor plus an affinity for words would find the term too glorious not to bandy about? Ah well... Aye yam what aye yam.
They have a healthy amount of salt added to the mixture before being poured into the mold. I personally don't like using them in the winter, but during the other three seasons they remind me of the shower you take after spending the day in the ocean - clean, fresh, and soft. The bluish green one is Ocean Rain and the reddish orange one is Yuzu. They average a little over 7 ounces each! They're 
Marge Reppert hands out 
I was fond of the tree trunk carving. Love stuff like this! 
The lemon thyme is putting out fresh leaves. We always seem to have some fresh thyme, but I noticed how lush this looks. Of course those leaves are way smaller than they appear in the picture, measuring no more than 1/4" each in length.
I've talked about the mountain mint that grows here. It was a little slip that came home from Baton Rouge with me, and now it is quite a large, healthy patch. It is spreading vigorously with underground runners. I am becoming a bit alarmed. May need to move the berries.
The beautiful gray sage is a marvel to me in the winter. As harsh as the weather is, the plant continues to push small leathery leaves. Really a stunning plant! When it warms up a bit I will trim it way back to get rid of the "legs".
Finally, what we laughingly call the "terrorist cell" of roving chickens. There are about 6 of them, and that rooster is the ringleader. He's a beauty, by the way, with a big 
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Rescue Remedy and I go way back. My sister and I started using it (I think this was the beginning) when we gave our first public talk. That would be Super Sunday 1995 I believe... Borders... discussing teas. We continued using it for public talks, and then the following summer when faire management - in their infinite kindness - nestled a competing booth right next door to us, we starting drinking it straight from the bottle. In fairness, Scotch whiskey in large quantities wouldn't have helped calm us in that situation. But I digress...
Oh. MY.. GOSH... that is some wicked stuff. I think the first time I tried it straight. Don't. Ok? Just don't do that. Next, I tried using a shot glass. One T vinegar, topping it off with water. Only slightly better, but possible at least.
We tried a lot of things - both gentle and not so gentle... some downright diabolical... but still the groundhogs remained. Some of the shrubs in the area died (note: shrubs do not do well when doused with peppermint oil), but the groundhogs continued eating my perennials and digging away under the steps. Eventually someone told me that they don't like noisy surroundings. AHA! I stuck up some windchimes near the hole. They either began hibernation early OR they've moved on. I am quite certain that they are out there procreating as I write, as they are mutants and indestructable.
Until last night. I've gotten used to living on a windy hill. It took a couple of springs, but I'm ok with it now. The sound of wind trying to rip off siding and shingles is no biggie. The gusts that shake the house and rattle the windows are no longer frightening. However, last night the wind chimes sounded like perhaps Zeus was pounding out some armor. Every so often the wind would die down for 30 seconds or so - long enough for me to doze off - only to rise again with a resounding clanging and banging. It was an astoundingly loud night. I can hear the groundhogs laughing, off in the distance.
Brilliant blue skies, and fresh air were just impossible to resist. We had mountains of work to do, and most of it got done (or will in time). The magazine will be shipped tomorrow. We weighed 19 batches of soap, and the fats were darned near frozen! We need to find a way to store the pallets in a warm place. It is amazing how hard frozen fat can be.... We pulled and started wrapping a couple of wholesale orders, and I even put some work into the word puzzle book while unwinding during the evenings.
The path winds along beside the creek. There is a wee bit of ice clinging to the edges of the creekbed, and almost nothing is green save for the chickweed and garlic mustard. Occasionally there are some emerald ovals of honeysuckle or a random rosehip. There are many, many deer in the area, so they've picked the briars clean. We will be planting more food this spring in the form of native shrubs. 
This log (and ONLY this log) was covered with these little puffball/galls or something. I assume they were a fungus of some sort. This was across the creek from me and there wasn't a good access nearby to cross without getting soaked. 
At this time of the year, the textures of the trees are really striking. There is a good bit of diversity in the woods, and at least 10 varieties are represented. Probably more, but I haven't really thought to count them in the summer. Hmmm... there's a project. It isn't as noticeable in the spring and summer when we are busier looking at the lush greenery. Now, in the starkness of winter, the beauty of the barks is clearer.
I leaned up against a tree and looked up. The wind had all of the trees swaying and it was hypnotic. After a while, I realized that many of the trunks in the thinner trees were also swaying - and the ground is very soggy. That was a bit unnerving!
This prehistoric looking, shield-shaped creature is a stinkbug. They are one of the most prevalent (ok - aside from the flies!) bugs around, and they just want IN my house. A live one plopped onto my stove the other night from heaven knows where. I've never seen one in this color stage before. They are typically the color of the dry leaves surrounding this one. Grayish brown. They really look un-real to me when they are older... like transformers or armored tanks with legs. At least this one looks like a bug.
Upon my return, these chickens were somewhat indignant to be disturbed. They gave me a good talking to as I entered the shop to continue with the weighing of the fats. They like to dig shallow indentations right up against the foundation to stay warm, and the sun hits that side of the shop all day long.
Later, the moon rose as I was finishing up dinner on the grill. This shot is deceptively dark. It was still very light out, and directly behind me on a level with the moon, was the sun. It was a beautiful end to a spectacular day.
