Merry meet all,
I saw the movie The Last Voyage of the Demeter the other night. It was a great movie. I thoroughly enjoyed it.It has been a long time since there was a real monster. I believe they perfectly captured the vampire essence.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Voyage_of_the_Demeter
A green pepper is growing in my garden. Tiny tomatoes are growing in my garden too. The nasturtiums are blossoming. The purple coneflower blossomed. My garden is so beautiful and always reduces my stress. I have harvested so many raspberries I can soon make a jar of jam. The blueberries are ripening. The lovage is growing back, the lemon balm patch is huge, the apple mint is flowering, the spearmint has grown nicely, the squash vine is getting bigger, and my celery stalks are not that thick yet but they will ripen too. The black petunias look velvety. They are so beautiful. The astilbe is in flower. The nettle has grown well and will soon flower. Everything is in bloom and very fruitful. I love August. The elecampane didn’t flower this summer. It may flower next year.
I have to complete my Materia Medica. I have so many pressed leaves, flowers etc., in the thick Jane Austen book. They have to be placed in the Materia Medica. I have to write the monographs and I will get after that soon. I have to complete the big monograph project too. I have to get more serious -well, it was very hard to learn the material. I mean Lesson 1 in Unit 4 of Advanced was very difficult to read. I bought a medical dictionary and had to ask for lots of help. I pressed through but I did succeed.
I received the beautiful book Botanical Skin care Recipes. I intend to use and enjoy the book. I want to try all the recipes. I am so happy to report that the big, big book The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive plants by Christian Rasch. I do plan to enjoy that book! It cost me $150! I need the book that did indeed cost me an arm and a leg for research, to protect myself and others, and for general interest. I wanted the book because I want to make a flying ointment and include mandrake. I added 1 tablespoon of mandrake in the herbal oil mixture. I also want to not include poisonous herbs if I do end up selling herbal teas. I want to know what is bane and what is balm. The book was expensive but necessary.
I love the beautiful herbal books I have acquired. They are amazing and are chock full of wonderful herbal wisdom. I shall treasure and keep the books for years. I mean one thing that makes me sad is that eventually my lessons at the Herbal Academy will come to an end, and I really don’t want that. The teachers and students are super nice people, and I will value the lessons from the school. I never want the lessons to end. I am glad the courses are self-paced. I am trying to stretch the lessons for as long as I can.
I am fortunate to get the chance to study the lessons. I’n drying lovage, mugwort, lemon balm, St.John’s wort and yarrow in the kitchen. I love herbs. I will use the herbs for teas. Now is the time to dry herbs for teas, tincture making, syrups, poultices. Some herbs can be gathered before they flower, as they can be more potent. I love to let the bees get their share of the nectar before I harvest. It has never made too much difference to me if they have flowered or not. I know St.John’s wort, queen Anne’s lace, burdock, coltsfoot and other herbs have flowered, and been bee pollinated on the nature trail. That would not stop me from harvesting them. I just have to come up with an intention of how I intend to use them. I am sure I will think of something.
We all know the best teachers I have are the herbs themselves. Yes, the best teachers are the herbs. They have taught me what I know. That ranges from protecting them from pest insects, to how important it is to water them, whether to grow them in containers or in the ground, when to harvest them, when to dry them, how to grow them. I learned how to appreciate the sun shining on the herbs- whether they need tons of sun or partial sun, how to support them as they grow, where to plant and when to plant. I could go on and on. The volatile oils they contain, the room that their roots need to grow, how to harvest dandelion roots, the shapes of the roots, how to use the roots once they are harvested. I learned how to use herbs in teas, tinctures, syrups, and cordials. I love herbs and they are my teachers, my companions, and they protect my health. I have harvested elecampane roots, dandelion roots and burdock roots. They all grow roots and the roots all grow in their own predetermined way and in their own space. Plants need room to grow, need tons of sun and they need nutrients. I know now to offer just enough fertilizer, to store roots, bark, seeds, and leaves in bone dry jars. I have a dehydrator and a drying rack. I use both. I intend to use the dehydrator a lot this fall. Yes indeed. I grow herbs that go from a seed to a full fledged plant. I will always treasure the moments I have experienced in my garden that have left me speechless. I was so enthralled with the beauty I witnessed. I tell ya, my garden must be located on a place of power. I am convinced it is in a place of power. I have seen beautiful elecampane flowers, beautiful purple coneflower, watched bees pollinate comfrey, and helped earthworms tunnel through the fresh soil. I have watched rain replenish the parched soil and seen my garden withstand fierce storms. That can’t be beat. I hope I get to live here a lot longer. Most of the plants in my garden are happily establishing themselves. It is how they grow.
The asters have blossomed. It saddens me but fall is coming with its ‘scythe’. I know many people are excited about Halloween. I want to help my garden grow first. Then I will be excited. It will then be time for ciders, cordials, syrups and tincture making. More on that later.
Blessings, Spiderwitch
