First I must share my excitement is getting to over flow. Sometime around the 15th of this month I will be traveling out to pick up our grouping of Bee's and a new hive. For the first hive we will go with the traditional stack box style. Then when it's time to split them, we will use a top bar hive.
Now as for my herbal request, it has to do with something I have been slowly making for some time now. I have been compiling a Wise woman Herbal book for my children. The only herbs in it are ones we can grow ourselves or harvest from the surrounding area. I was once told "It is best to know 40 uses for one herb then to know 1 use for forty herbs". After much dilemma I have had when locally buying herbs I decided not to include herbs we could not provide ourselves.
swinging upon the outstretched limb of our Magic Tree next to the old garden, June 2009.
I have my list compiled of herbs for the book. Roots, leaves, trees, etc. for making it easier to write in alphabetical order, but the book itself is no where near complete.
I found a few folklore "charms" in a book titled :Mugworts In May by Linda Ours Rago
I am looking for simple backyard {Ohio grow able} ingredient herbals. Especially little sayings to go with each herb such as the one found in the above "In Dock Out Nettle. Don't let the Blood settle".
The book has helped in my understanding of what the masses thought of as "Witch Charms",which were actually knowledge passed down from mother to daughter in Rhyme. In a time when women were uneducated, unable to write, they passed the knowledge of herbs in rhymes. Making it easier to remember & repeated with their application, again reinforcing the memory.
May Day Basket 2006
I would also like to include the source of the knowledge shared from you and if in the future I decide to make this compiling of Herbals more public, ask of your permission to share & be able to mention the source. It would be through self publishing since I would like to share a copy with friends & family, meaning I would be downloading my finished compilation through an online self publishing site. Keeps pricing low for publishing a book with color pictures and durable cover.
I will share here when all is done should anyone else like a copy.
Feel free to share either by comment or Via email. If you go to my profile, you will find my email below profile picture.
I must Thank you ahead should you choose to share your herbal wisdom/ rhymes. One or ten, or even a suggestion of where to find what I seek. All are appreciated.
Sweet Dreams,
~Tammie
8 comments:
very exciting...i am also starting 2 hives this year! i have two 8 frame hives, but i find the top bar hives very interesting!
What an awesome idea!We live in Central Texas...so most of what we could grow wouldn't count.I will be investigating this more from my area.
I know vinegar and epson salt combined will draw out swelling and infection.We not only use this with our aniamls but on ourselves.
Looking forward to the publication.
Cindy from Rick-Rack and Gingham
Tammie dear,
What a great gift of green wisdom to pass on to your family and generations to come.
Good luck with your new bees!
Sharon Lovejoy Writes from Sunflower House and a Little Green Island
That is a great idea! I'm in for a book. I have not wisdom to impart. You will enjoy your hives. I have two and even though I'm not the beekeeper I love to sit and watch them. Good luck with the book and keep us posted.
Some of my friends who read this want to know how to send you their herb info. You can email me privately if you'd like.
Katybug
Jo~ I really wanted to start with the top bar hives but things just worked out for me to get a stack box with my bee's. VERY exciting.
Cindy~ It's funny really, I have been compiling notes for years and decided I would like to have what we grow & have used in a more lasting form. I made a photo cookbook with recipes we have discovered/created over the years with cordianting picture pages w/ the finished item & pics in example, us picking the blueberries to go with the blueberry applesauce etc. I made it through shutterfly about 4 years ago & everyone loved it. Although it is not cost effective to go the same route with the herbal, being I want it to be in similar form, I am contemplating lulu.com but still shopping around so i can keep the book under $28. going to check into an office supply store for what they have to offer. Great tip on the epsom & Vin, I will be keeping it in mind as I write the entries for each herb.
Sharon~ Thank you. I hope they like it since I am including memories that have something to do with each herb. Making it more meaningful to them but also slight entertainment for anyone else that would read it. I keep thinking about the car ride home with those Bee's- I'll be holding onto that luck. :)
Birds Bees Berries & Blooms~ One of the greatest pleasures from my previous foster bee's, was to sit & watch them. Truly wonderous! My lil book will most likely not be done until next winter since this is the year I am hoping to have that Nikon D3100 to take the pics for inclusion. But I will be sure to share when it is complete.
Katybug~ Your profile is private so I am not able to email you but the email for my blog use is unusual_farmchicks at yahoo dot com
I look forward to reading of the herbal wisdom they share. Thank you! {and them ;) }
I'm in the Boston area, so perhaps this is out of your range, but one thing that I've actually foraged for a lot is rose hips -- they grow like weeds! (I mostly get them from the grocery store parking lot ;-) )
Rose hips store an incredible amount of Vitamin C, and is great to add to the diet in winter. You can dry them (I usually remove the inner seeds) and then add them to oatmeal (or anywhere you'd use dried fruits), or you can cook them into a syrup that you add honey to. This syrup is then great for hot toddies to cure sore throats -- I could see equal parts hot water, rose hip syrup and lemon juice (with perhaps a shot of whiskey thrown in) doing a great deal of good for minor colds.
You can also use that syrup in place of honey in tea (because it is already sweetened) to give your system a boost.
The only other Wise Woman-type thing that I work with is peppermint oil. Be careful with this, as peppermint oil is INCREDIBLY strong, and it's often recommended to not use directly on skin (I've only once had an "overdose" -- it caused reddening and itchiness). But peppermint oil will cool the body. If you dab it along your breast bone, or along the insides of your arms, or on a bandana (that you then moisten with cool water) you will find that heat won't bother you quite so much. It kinda tricks yourself into thinking that you're cool -- you still sweat, and you still require hydration, but you don't feel OVERWHELMED with the heat.
Also, peppermint oil can help reduce nausea, just smelling it.
Thanks Dea Chan, I have 40 herbs for the book, just worked out that way with no planning.lol. I did not include Roses but plan on having a second installment once this one is complete.
I am hoping my lil brother who is stationed in Qutar can find me an E.O distiller...well, I asked for one for Panda but I know I will be using ALOT if he can locate one at a decent low price. ;)
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