Welcome May!

Dear Readers,

May has come at last, and rainy April has left a bounty of wild things and flowers in her wake. We have finally been able to put the two tropical milkweeds outside that have been battling aphids all winter on the kitchen windowsill. We are little by little setting up a Monarch Waystation, with as much milkweed as we can get our hands on. We started some from seed, but something has been munching on them, and only one seedlings remains. Such is gardening!

Spring is such a busy, "everything has to be done at once" season, but we feel a surge of energy from the pulsing earth, and love to get our hands in the soil and take part in making this world a more beautiful place.

The dandelion blossoms and violets are in plentiful supply for only a few more days, so we've been picking as many as we can. We currently have dandelion blossoms steeping in honey and grape seed oil, and the whole dandelion plant steeping in apple cider vinegar. There are lots of  ways to enjoy its benefits! I had Tasha film me talking about dandelions yesterday, and we're working on getting the video on YouTube (finally!).

My trick for getting greens into my family's bodies is by pureeing them in my Blendtec blender, then adding them into baked goods. The vitamins and minerals are in there, and no one can taste them; I call it magic. :)

Garlic Mustard is invasive, yet welcome in salads and cooked greens.

I love the solar-powered fountain that we bought last year for the bird bath; it keeps the water mosquito-free and makes a relaxing sound whilst we work in the garden. See those violets in the background? They are stock-full of Vitamin C, and nice lung medicine, as well.

We've dusted the cobwebs off of our Etsy shop and have reopened it, featuring modest skirts for ladies, as well as selling some of our extra antique and vintage clothing. It can be hard to find pretty prints that aren't bright colors or harsh stripes, so we hope to supply some of that need!

A handmade vintage skirt for someone tall and thin!

Our first three-tiered skirt, ready for a lucky customer!

Another Weed Walk Video

Dear Friends,

Due to overwhelming (ha!) requests, we've posted another video for you, to help learn a few uses for the plants that may be growing in your yard. This time AnnaMarie is with me, and she did really well for not being prepared!

We're enjoying perfectly sunny weather here today, not too hot, and not too cold, so we're going to have to get out and do some harvesting! We hope that this encourages you to do the same.

Love,

Marqueta

Keeping Well This Season

Dear Friends,

A hearty "Thank you" to all of you who requested my books, and for spreading the word to your friends. For those who missed the giveaway, both books are available on our sidebar, for a nominal price.

We'd like to share some of our favorite ways of keeping well during the cold time of year. First off, we never refer to it as "cold and flu season," since we believe that calling it thus is inviting colds and flu into our households!

Secondly, we like to eat as many in-season foods as possible, such as cabbages, root vegetables, and squash, since they were given to us by a wise Creator who knows what our bodies need this time of year. We are always in awe when we study all the health benefits of the humble cabbage, alone (including being a colon cancer preventative).

Lovely red cabbage~

Third, we try to include as many bitter, sour, savory, and pungent foods as possible, as they help our bodies to digest the heavier fare which keeps us warm, while adding plenty of nutrients and immune-boosting qualities. Some of these include garlic and onions, lemon juice, cayenne pepper, and pure apple cider vinegar (in salad dressings, as well as a warm drink made of 1 TBS vinegar, 1 tsp. powdered green stevia, and 8 ozs water).

Fresh ginger root is wonderful to chew or suck on when you feel you are coming down with something, and is much more socially acceptable than garlic! Fresh ginger makes a great infusion, too (we chop it in the blender with a little water, then add it to water that has come to a boil, then cooled slightly). You can also add powdered ginger to your cider vinegar drink.

We especially like the beautiful shapes that ginger comes in~

Culinary herbs that boost the immune system include: sage, thyme, hyssop, rosemary, and oregano. These all make good infusions as well, and can be drunken freely throughout the day. To make an infusion, we simply toss in a handful of dried herb of choice into a quart jar and fill it with almost-boiling water and put a lid or plate on top. We like to set the jar close to the kettle (but not touching the burner) while the water is heating, to lessen the chances of its shattering. We let it cool for at least half an hour, then strain and drink (with or without sweetener, depending on our mood). Of course you can use a teapot, too!

Elderberry is full of vitamins and minerals, and if used daily can be a tasty tonic (we like to make syrup or tincture for family use).

One of the most important things to remember is to keep yourself hydrated, since winter air is dry air. Drinking well-filtered or distilled water is the best, and at LEAST eight cups of water (this is really the bare minimum).

We hope we've given you a few ideas that you can put to use; feel free to share what you use in your home too!

Love,

Marqueta

The Cicadas Had a Coming Out Party

 Dear Friends,

Thank you for your response to our eBook giveaway; We're doing it through today, so if you'd like a free copy, just drop us a line!

The other day we noticed a few alien lifeforms (aka cicada shells) all over the trees, and even on the tire swing's rope!

Evangeline and Frankie collected a few and played "Mama and Papa Cicada" for a while, but then they threw them down and said they were creepy! :) We've been enjoying the varied cicada songs ranging from droning to "buzzsaws" and "scissors grinders," who sound like they've been wound up only enough to sing for a few seconds, and then stop, and the "ZZZZZZZZIP" of the common meadow cicadas, who create such wonderful harmony! Our area missed out on the emergence of the periodical cicadas with their deafening droning, and we are grateful that we can still hear the crickets chirp each night. Here is a fun link to help identify the sounds of summer's insect orchestra: http://www.musicofnature.org/songsofinsects/iframes/twentyspecies.html

And in garden news, Evangeline's sunflower has outdone all the others with its numerous heads~

 And Frankie is having a conversation with this sunflower; I wonder what it's saying?

We harvested a few elder blooms from the woods behind the house, and still haven't identified the plant in our picture that is in the mint family (but tastes horrible!)~ Elder flower is a folk remedy for fevers, used in a hot infusion to cause perspiration. It is best combined with mint, to avoid any nausea that may occur.

 Audrey made a poem and illustrated an Elderberry Fairy for me, which I thought was sweet!

 Our bee balm (Monarda didyma) is finally blooming, and is a favorite with hummingbirds! Since we have one solitary plant, we don't have enough to harvest lots, so we have been sneaking it here and there. We vastly prefer its "fireworks" to the much louder kinds our neighbors have been setting off!

 Our green beans are starting to come on, although we lost a few plants to the heat (next time we won't plant them on a hot wire fence!). We're hoping that the Kentucky Wonders will grow tall enough to shade our home in a month or so. Did you know that green bean hulls are said to control high blood sugar? It seems everything is jumping on the herbal bandwagon these days! ;)

Our chickens are growing up fast! We had to give our two roosters away, since they're not allowed in the city, but we still have our 6 Rhode Island Reds,  and one lone Hickity Pickity, my black hen (who makes a wonderful fashion accessory!).

 Look at those beautiful iridescent feathers!

 Thank you for coming by Birdsong Cottage today, dear friends; we hope you stay cool, if it's hot where you are. If it's cold where you are, we hope you stay warm!

Love and blessings,

Marqueta

It's Honeysuckle Time!

Dear Friends,

Welcome to Birdsong Cottage today! It is a beautiful, sunny day today, following a nice, soaking rain yesterday. The garden (and weeds) is growing nicely, and we've already been harvesting a few radishes and lettuce. We hope that we'll be harvesting peas before long (barring unforeseen chicken attacks)!

Here's Frankie sampling the radishes~

We are blessed to have a little woodlot with a stream in it behind our home, and we are excited to have the honeysuckle bushes coming into bloom. If every family in the area harvested honeysuckle blossoms in the spring to enjoy in their homes, they wouldn't be so invasive!

We think the blossoms look like fairy dancers!

 

We have been experimenting with using honeysuckle medicinally, and harvested enough almost-opened buds to make a jar of honeysuckle glycerin (we're out of honey, or we would use it, too). We're going to dry some for les tisanes, as well. It takes a LOT of blossoms to fill a jar!.

The buds fit in so well with the "English Cottage" look~

 

 

According to the book Backyard Medicine, "Honeysuckle is good for treating heat conditions (hot flashes, fevers, sunstroke, and urinary tract infections), spasms in the respiratory system in such conditions as asthma, croup, and bronchitis, and it is antiseptic and effective against many microorganisms, reinforcing its value for sore throats and respiratory ailments." James Duke rates honeysuckle second only to eucalyptus for sore throats.

 Another thing we were excited to find in the woods is Sweet Cicely (Myrrhis odorata). Sweet Cicely is a licorice-scented plant that resembles deadly hemlock, so you have to be very careful when identifying it. Its leaves and flowers are good in salads, and the stems make a good "nibble".

 The leaves of the species of Sweet Cicely that grows near us have bright, shiny undersides, with the veins on the leaves going to the tips of the "teeth", instead of the valleys, like hemlock. Again, be very, very careful if you want to use any member of the carrot or parsley family! It is better to not use them at all, if there is any doubt.

The rain droplets on the false solomon seal looked so beautiful in the morning sun, we couldn't resist taking a picture of him, too!

 

May you have a magical day of exploring today.

Love,

Marqueta

 The Honeysuckle

  I PLUCKED a honeysuckle where
The hedge on high is quick with thorn,
And climbing for the prize, was torn,
And fouled my feet in quag-water;
And by the thorns and by the wind
The blossom that I took was thinn'd,
And yet I found it sweet and fair.
Thence to a richer growth I came,
Where, nursed in mellow intercourse,
The honeysuckles sprang by scores,
Not harried like my single stem,
All virgin lamps of scent and dew.

     So from my hand that first I threw,

      Yet plucked not any more of them.  

                      ~Dante Gabriel Rosseti

An Interview With Jamie Jackson of Little Mama's Herbals

Dear Friends,

I feel privileged today to share a little email interview I did with my friend Jamie Jackson of "Little Mama's Herbals". Jamie and her husband Jeffrey are living the dream that many of us have, of going back to the land and building a home from scratch. They live in the Ozarks of Missouri in a beautiful wooded acreage with a creek and several springs. I asked Jamie to tell us a little about herself, and give a little advice to others, and here is the result (All herbal information given is strictly educational). I'm sure you will feel blessed by her story (My questions are in italics)~

~(All photos courtesy of Jamie Jackson)~

"Tell us a little about yourself, Jamie~"


"I grew up in the Houston, and East Texas area. I was a sick child, that grew up to be a sick adult.

When I was about 17, a lady at church gave me a job at the health food store and I ended up being book buyer. I got to read all I wanted and really started getting more into health and fitness. My aunt was a body builder. With her, my mom and I went through a body building kick.

For a while, I was very mainstream health, like jogging, vitamin pills, protein shakes, and roller skating. I was healthier in some areas, but still had nagging health issues.

In my mid-20's and 30's health was a side issue or a non-issue as I worked, drank and partied myself towards an early grave or at least a very hard and fast dead-end. After the suicide of my brother, a downward spiral started that ended 4 years later in a health collapse right after working through the Y2k project for a software company. It was the perfect storm of depression, illness and complete exhaustion.

Over the course of that next year, I became sicker than I ever had in my life. I was diagnosed with A-typical Narcolepsy with A-typical cataplexy. I had pain everywhere - every muscle, every joint, it was hard to walk. It swung from being impossible to sleep, to being impossible to be awake. I caught every bug, couldn't think or remember, developed RLS and all this on top of my existing health issues that had gotten worse. During a horrible bought of sleep paralysis, I met the "Old Hag" - though I didn't know who she was at the time. This was the dead end, my brick wall.

A friend gave me a book that I needed. It taught me how to breathe properly and how to meditate. That helped me sleep and start getting my strength built up. That book led to another book from so many people, which led to so much for me.

I started breathing correctly, got more energy, started eating better and was able to get off all my medication. I've met new teachers along the way and everything changed.

Someone gave me Countryside Magazine and I fell in love with the back to the land movement and the self-sufficient lifestyle. That led me to cut back my work hours, save every penny, work on getting out of debt and within 3 years I moved to the country to start my first small homestead.

Countryside helped get my interest in herbs fired back up and I started studying as I could. When I met my husband, we moved to upstate NY where I met more teachers and my learning really took-off. We became organic gardeners and began planning an earth sheltered home. I was introduced to the "Wise Woman" tradition of healing and started learning full-time how to become a medicine woman.

My body and spirit are healthier now than I've ever been in my life. The more steps I take towards living the way human's traditionally lived, the way my ancestors lived, the healthier and happier I am. We work hard outside, breathe deeply, eat good food and try to take a more mindful and spiritual approach to life now."


"I feel like the hand of the divine lifted me out of the pit and that was the biggest blessing of my life. I try to live my life now showing how grateful I am for that. "

"What motivates you to live the lifestyle you do?"

My health issues started me down this path. Now I feel like I've found out about a birthright that everyone has and should know about. I want to learn and pass down as much as I can. We have the right to know how to simply build a home, grow our own foods and make our own medicines.

That is the way healthy people and societies have lived, until now. I may not hit the mark completely, but I at least want to give a leg up to another generation. I hope I can pass this all down to my niece if she remains interested and that I can teach others one day.

~~~~~~~
"What advice do you have for anyone who wants to learn how to make their own medicines?"

First get a field guide like Newcomb's wildflower guide. The first few pages show you how to identify flowers using a key method.

Not being able to afford formal training in herbalism held me back for a long time. Then I read a Susun Weed book and that opened the flood gates of affordable and free information, training and a whole new way of taking health into my own hands. I found her website, more of her books and videos, then books from Rosemary Gladstar and Juliette de Baïracli Levy. I found affordable herbal teachers and another big snowball began.

There is so much information available through used books online, money should not be an issue for anyone. Read as much as you can first. Get on forums and trade books with people if you have to. Then when and if you are ready for more training, there are many affordable teachers you can meet through either Susun's network of friends such as Kiva Rose and Barbara Hall and so many others. Or maybe like me, a teacher will just arrive in the form of an herbalist neighbor.

There are videos on www.herbmentor.com . Read anything by Stephen Buhner or Matthew Woods, read the online works of Jim McDonald or get his CD's, take Barbara Hall's affordable online class on Choosing and Using Herb Books or any of her classes.

Pick one plant to work with and learn everything you can about that plant. You'll learn about it just sitting down next to it and spending time with it. You retain information about a plant better the same way you do about people, by associating with them and making friendships.

~~~~~~
"What is/are your favorite plant/s to work with, and why?"

"My favorite plants to work with are the most common and abundant plants that are growing where ever I am at the time. The plants that are growing at your doorstep are usually the ones we need the most and they are working the hardest to get our attention.

We are now in the Missouri Ozarks and I had to leave behind some wonderful plant allies in NY. There is was Motherwort for the extra support I needed during the beginning of menopause; jewelweed and plantain for the poison ivy, cuts, scrapes or bruises; goldenrod for sore muscles and allergies; and dandelion for bitter greens and minerals.

Here in Missouri my favorite and most abundant herbs are "self-heal" for minerals; juniper needles for healthy breast tissue and a great tasting decoction (simmered tea); elderberry and rose for immune support; and mullein for lung support and a nice herbal infusion (long brewed tea).

For herbs that aren't so common, we have started herbal gardens in no-till beds and in the woods After the home is finished, it'll be nice to have more energy to focus on food forests, gardens and cultivated medicinal herbs.

My prayer is that everyone can discover the life changing experiences that working closely with plants continually has to offer."

"Thank you so much for your time, Jamie!"

****************

If you would like further information on Jamie's homesteading adventures, please visit her blog Update From Falcon Creek.

Love,

Marqueta

All that Autumn Brings

Dear Friends,

Thank you so much for stopping by, and welcome to anyone who may be visiting us for the first time today!

As you can see, the sunflowers are as high as an elephant's eye right now, and we have much to thankful for at this time of the year. We have been the blessed recipients of produce from several of our neighbors, when we had felt sad at not being able to get a garden in this year.

We have also been learning about so many different wild things to eat, and to use as medicine, that our hearts are full as we think on how generous our Heavenly Father is to send these to us, free for the taking.

Lavender is a wonderful relaxant, as well as keeping moths out of woolens. Try a little lavender oil rubbed into your temples the next time you have a headache, and have fun experimenting with lavender in baked goods.

Moonwort (or Mugwort) is a nice digestive bitter, helping out the liver when digesting the heavier foods of fall.



Japanese knotweed has edible sprouts in the spring, and the roots can be dug in the fall and used as a source of the anti-oxidant resveratrol. It is also believed useful in the treatment of Lyme disease.

Hollyhock leaves and roots are soothing to the diuretic tract, and the green seed pods make yummy snacks.

If you are blessed to have raspberry plants, now is the time to harvest and dry them for winter teas. They are full of iron and calcium, and are a wonderful immune booster, as well as aiding the female organs in functioning properly. We like to mix them with mint leaves in an infusion.

And don't forget the old standby, garlic! Not only does eating it help fight the bad bugs going around, but you can also make it into a stylish necklace, as the Italians do!

The nights are getting cooler and cooler, with frost on the ground a few times, but the days are so beautiful and blue that we want to spend every minute we can outside, soaking up the healthful sunshine!


We hope to be moving sometime in the middle of October. If we do, we will have two autumns this year; September in Idaho and October in Missouri! We really want to be there in time to scout out the wild areas in the neighborhood and see what goodies Mother Nature has for us there.

May your family be blessed with peace during this harvest time of year.

Love,

Marqueta

A Lesson from the Moonwort

Dear Friends,

I'd like to share with you a special experience that I had just yesterday. Feeling completely overwhelmed with the sheer magnitude of life at the present, I wandered outside to counsel with the Lord.

I happened by my moonwort plant (Or am I hers? I'm never quite sure!), and sat by her on our sandy path.

Plucking a few stems to savor the pungent aroma, I began making circles in the sand with a stick.


A tiny beetle happened to be crossing the path, and I placed a few grains of sand on it to see what it would do.


It began to struggle to get out, but was unable. I then rescued it with my stick and it went on its way.

(Can you see the tiny beetle in the photo below?)

Suddenly I saw myself as that beetle; buried in the obstacles that life had given it. Then I saw how God sees me: What seem to be mighty boulders in my life, to Him, are only grains of sand. He places these obstacles in my way to teach me to trust in Him above all, and to help me to grow to be more like He is. As I put complete trust in Him, I see those "boulders" for what they really are~ Just tiny grains of sand.


They say that Moonwort produces lucid dreams; in this case, I think she produced "lucid wakefulness" for me!

Blessings to you this day,

Marqueta

***************************

Psalm 46

¹God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

²Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;

³Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.

⁴There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.

⁵God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.

⁶The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted.

⁷The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

⁸Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desolations he hath made in the earth.

⁹He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.

¹⁰Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

¹¹The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

Yikes! A Recipe for Comfrey Burn Paste

Dear Friends,

Thank you so much for coming by! We hope that you have had a restful weekend, and are ready to begin a new week. Welcome to any new visitors who might be stopping by for the first time.

We had a scary experience last week, of Evangeline playing with matches in the backyard. She managed to catch her frock on fire, but fortunately AnnaMarie saw her and put out the flames before they could burn her badly.


She ended up with only a small third degree burn where the dress had melted itself to her back (Bad, bad polyester blend! Remind me to use only natural fibers from now on), which is healing nicely, thanks to Dr. Christopher's Burn Paste recipe. We were caught unprepared, but fortunately had all the ingredients at the time Evangeline was burned. Dr. Christopher said to always have some made up ahead of time, which is a very good idea! You never know, especially with summer's fireworks, campfires, etc, when it will come in handy!

Here is the recipe: Mix equal parts liquid honey and wheat germ oil. Then add enough powdered comfrey leaf or root (you can use fresh, but it's a lot runnier) till you have a nice thick paste. This paste is applied quite thickly and covered with gauze and some time of plastic covering to keep it from oozing (it will anyway :) ). As the paste absorbs, you add more paste, but do not remove the paste already on the wound.

We have used this recipe for quite a few scary accidents, and have never been disappointed with the results.
It keeps well for a long period of time, but would last even longer with the addition of a little powdered slippery elm bark powder.

Here is a link to more information about herbs to use for burns~

We are so very glad that Evangeline's guardian angels were watching out for her, so she could be right back out doing what she loves best~



On another note, Jenny had asked me about oily hair and how often it has to be washed. I have read that the more often you wash your hair, the more your scalp will produce oil, from the dryness of the scalp. I know that women used to use a dry shampoo of cornmeal between washings; perhaps that would help absorb the oil if you wanted to start tapering off on how often you wash your hair. I'm sure it may take a while for the scalp to adjust, but I'm almost positive you would see results in time.

A blessed day to all of you, from all of us.

Love,

Marqueta

**********************

If thou of fortune art bereft
And if thou hast but two loaves left
To thee, sell one and wit the dole
Buy hyacinths to feed the soul.

~James T. White