If I could only have three herbs in my life, comfrey would be on that list. I’ve used it constantly for many years in my veterinary and naturopathy practices. Its name comes from the Old Anglo-French word cumfirie To Heal. And what a healer it is! Over the years as a veterinarian and naturopath, I’ve […]
I love going to greenhouses and garden centers. There’s something about stepping into a building full of plants that fills my soul with delight. The diversity of colors and forms is amazing. It’s also remarkable to see how many different cultivars and variants botanists have come up with through selective breeding. Gregor Mendel would be […]
Glorious, beautiful spontaneity cared for and guided by loving hands, healing intent and reverent awe; that’s how I would describe the medicinal cottage herb garden of Carolyn & Josh, The Homesteading Family. I recently paid a visit to these good folks up in Northern Idaho. It was a twelve-hour drive and I’d do it again […]
One of the unique things about my herbal practice over the years has been that lots of my patients are pretty dumb. Seriously, you wouldn’t believe some of the dumb things they do! They cross the street without looking both ways, chew through electrical cords, and get bitten by cats, chase cows and get shot. […]
Summer is upon us and a year of pandemic-induced cabin fever has nearly driven us loco! As a result, folks are more anxious than ever to hit the road and have some fun. The beaches beckon. The woods woo and the lakes lie longing for our paddles. Cruise ships are calling and the highways hail […]
As many of you know, about a year ago I had brain surgery. A nice man spent about nine hours puddling around in my noodle to remove a large, benign Vienna sausage I was growing which was putting pressure on my optic nerve and trying to make me blind. The surgery was very successful. There’s […]
Global Pandemics, shortages of everything, skyrocketing prices, inflation, wars and rumors of wars…Yeah, things are a little stressful these days. And stress ain’t good. A little stress at the proper moments in life can be a beneficial thing. Our adrenal glands release a little adrenalin and cortisol and it zeroes our focus, increases our speed […]
We talk about self-reliance here pretty regularly. Gaining the knowledge to use common plants to care for our loved ones when things go pear-shaped is certainly a worthwhile ambition and one that I heartily recommend. But what if you aren’t a prepper? What if you could care less about all the tin-foil-hat, SHTF, TEOTWAWKI, apocalypse […]
Once in a while a plant sneaks up on you. The species name of hops, Humulus lupulus, means Hops, the little wolf in Latin. The Romans called it that because hops has a habit of entangling and strangling neighboring plants…you know…like a wolf does. OK, so the Romans were a little confused about the predation […]
