It's Time for Some Weed Appreciation

March 28 is a very special day. It's Weed Appreciation Day!

So many people spend a fortune and endless hours trying to develop and maintain a perfectly manicured, pristine lawn. I am not one of those people. To me there is nothing more delightful that seeing all the amazing little plants popping up like old friends. Some call them weeds. For me, they're herbs, spring gifts to be eaten and used and treasured.

Dandelions are just beginning to peak up, thanks to the warmer weather we've enjoyed. Not only to their bright yellow flowers look so happy and cheerful, they are a wonderful leafy green to kick start your system for warmer weather. Add some young dandelion leaves to salads for a lovely, peppery bite and lots of vitamins and minerals.

Stinging Nettles are young now. Yes, they can feel painful if you pick them without gloves. But they can easily be stripped for their stems and cooked. They have a great, spinach like flavor and are packed with nutrients.

One of my spring favorites is chickweed. This tender plant is so cute, and it has a nice tender sweetness. I tend to nibble it while I'm working in the garden. It's juicy and refreshing, and can make you feel like a kid again. It also makes a nice, soothing poultice.

There are so many other delightful surprises that a spring lawn brings. Plantain, ground ivy, and soon violets all coming up and not only delighting the birds, and animals, but providing nutrition and care for those who look. What a glorious day and what's not to love about Weed Appreciation Day!

The Secret of the Salve for Gardener's

When we started our business, we came up with many wonderful creations. One of our earliest and most popular is our salve for gardeners. Steeped with the treasured little calendula plant in every step, it is the perfect balm for chapped and cracked, hardworking hands.

But this salve for gardeners has a little secret. It is based an the wisdom of herbs and healing shared by Airmid, a goddess of the Tuatha Dé Danann. Her family were healers and surgeons to the gods. Airmid's gift was regeneration. She knew the secret of all of the herbs, one for each day of the year and the different parts of the body. Her recipes and blends have been passed and shared through the ages, her lessons on herbs whispered from the people and plants to all that could hear. We listened, and we heard.

We infuse Calendula, a champion with healing properties and infused it in to oil that is the base of this soothing salve. To that we add comfrey, rosemary, sage, basil, hemp seed and other oils, aloe, and a luscious blend of other herbs and oils. These combine to aid with the healing of nicks, scratches and cuts, all while softening and soothing your hardworking hands. Airmid had a fondness for gardeners, since they tend to her favorite plants - the herbs. 
 
We love to garden and get our bare hands good and dirty. That's why we've created this gardeners salve with the Airmid in mind – Airmids Salve for Gardeners.

You'll also find that it is a wonderful rescue for cuticles and knuckles that are becoming dry and cracked from the cold weather. It's always with me to give a quick treatment after a frosty encounter. 

The secret is out - but the softness and soothing continue!

It's That Cinnamonny Time of Year

Autumn is a time of shorter days and a sharp chill in the air. The leaves turn color with a flash, then fall to create great mounds of crunchy, kickable fluff. It's not my favorite season, but it does have it's magic.


This time of year I crave cinnamon. I always like it, but now I crave it. Marsala Chai tea, snickerdoodles, pumpkin pie, baked cinnamon apples and all other kinds of warming goodies. Not just food either. Nothing smells as wonderful as some cinnamon and orange rinds gently simmering on the stove. I have a cinnamon broom hanging on my door to great me with the warm and invigorating fragrance. It's used to Tingle my lips, sooth my sore muscles, and scintillate my skin in Pumpkin Chai Latte sugar scrub.  

Here are a few facts about cinnamon you may not know.

1. Cinnamon is made from the inner bark of the tree, which is a tropical evergreen laurel.
2. Cassia is strong, spicy and sweet. Ceylon or true cinnamon is more complex and citrusy.
3. It is an ancient spice, used in embalming, a costly process that filled the body cavities with spiced preservatives. 
4. Chinese myths tell that cinnamon grows in paradise and all that eat it will gain immortality.
5. To maintain their hold on the cinnamon monopoly, ancient Arabians created a myth of giant birds that used cinnamon sticks as nesting pieces.  Donkey meat would be used as bait for the birds. When the birds brought the meat to their nests,  it would collapse from the weight and those below would collect the twigs.
6. It has shown promise in the treatment of diabetes, arthritis, high cholesterol, memory function, and even leukemia and lymphoma.
7. Because cinnamon contains eugenol, you can dust some of it on cuts and scrapes to help relieve pain.
8. The fragrance of cinnamon is said to alleviate exhaustion.
9.  In the book of Exodus, God instructs Moses to make a holy anointing oil out of cinnamon, cassia, olive oil, myrrh, and hemp. (Exodus 30: 22-33).
10. A 2004 study found that the smell of cinnamon helped boost brain function.
11. The smell of hot cinnamon buns produces an aphrodisiatic effect. 

I still crave the sunlight of longer days, but until those days return, I'll cinnamon it up.

Revenge of the Sock Monster

We all have them. Those lonely singles that frustrate us no end. Where did the other one go? It was probably eaten by that most insidious of all beasts - the sock monster.

I have a bag of single socks, collected in hopes of a mate turning up eventually. Or they are there because I've forgotten I've recycled the mate because it had holes or was torn. But there is something that keeps me from throwing those single socks out. Which is good, because there are so many things we can do with them.

• Use that single sock for a rag is an obvious one. Make a nice little dusting or polishing mitt.
• Make a cat toy. Stuff the toe of a small sock with catnip. Tie a tight knot or two above the herbs. Cut the top part into strips and toss it to your cat. They'll love you for it.
• I remember making lots of sock puppets when I was little. Sometimes I didn't wait for a mismatched pair, much to my mothers chagrin. All you need are buttons, ribbon, felt, glue and some imagination.
• Cut socks into strips and use as garden plant ties. I like to leave long ends to be tossed about in the breeze to help deter critters and birds. That doesn't always work but it looks pretty.
• Use them to cover bottles and jars. Bottles of oil or syrup can leave sticky rings. Slip a sock over the bottom of the bottle to catch drips. Replace with another sock when it gets messy and just wash the old one!
• You can also use it as a glass or bottle cozy.
• Fill with rice or flax seed. Sew the end closed and you have a wrist wrest.
• And my absolute favorite. Make sachets. Fill old socks with your favorite scents. This time of year I have lots of pine needles so I fill one with crushed or cut pine needles. Tie off or so the end and put in drawers or linen closets. I like to tuck them in to sofa corners so it smells nice when you sit down. You can use lavender, lemon verbena or dried lemon peel, rosemary, rose petals or any combination that makes you happy. You can also toss these in to the dryer to add some extra scent.

Reef loves his Catnip Sock

So have a snack every now and then, old sock monster. I'm ready for you.

What do you use old socks for?