PLANT FOR THE GARDEN - PRICKLY ASH

Once a month I plan on posting about a native medicinal plant for the garden. I'm in Minnesota so my shares will be specifically related to Minnesota so make sure to check if the plants I write about can grow in your area and aren't invasive if you live outside the state. 

To start off I'll talk about Prickly Ash (Zanthoxylum americium). The first time I tried prickly ash was quite the experience. My daughter nibbled on a berry first and said her lips tingled, her tongue was a little numb and she couldn't stop drooling. She handed me a berry and I nibbled and nothing happened so I nibbled on a second and again, nothing happened. I told her to give me a third so I nibbled on a third. Suddenly it hit!! I was drooling like a Basset Hound, my whole mouth was tingling, and then my lips and tip of tongue were numb for 30 minutes. 

Prickly Ash is not related to the ash species of trees, it's actually part of the olive family. It's great for wildlife since butterflies are attracted to the flowers and birds use the tree for shelter. Native Americans would use the tree for medicinal purposes. They'd chew on the fruit and bark because it produces a numbing effect so it helped relieve tooth pain. Modern herbalists use prickly ash to treat arthritis and digestive issues. I love it because the crushed leaves and berries smell like a lemon and nibbling on the berries produces a fun sensory experience. I haven't tried it in any recipes yet but I know others have and love it. I may try it with tea sometime. 

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MY DAYS OF SHOPPING ON ETSY ARE OVER!!

I remember the days when Etsy was just a small online e-commerce site founded by three guys out of their apartment. They created the perfect platform for people to sell handmade and vintage items until they took the business public. Little by little it has deteriorated to the point of sellers jumping a cliff like lemmings. Knowing all that was happening I continued to shop there and not question anything until my first bad experience a few years back. I purchased a product I thought was American made and it turned out it was from China. The next time I went to shop I was careful to use the search filter, setting it for U.S. sellers only, and somehow still ended up buying something from China. I quickly discovered that the filter only remained set for the page I was on but as soon as I scrolled to the next page it defaulted to all locations. Ugh! After that I scrutinized things more and still ended up buying from someone whose profile said they were in California but then the item I got shipped from China!!!! Frustrated doesn't adequately describe how I felt.  

Today I went to see if I could find a potting bench on Etsy, careful to look everything over to make sure it is a product made in and shipped from the United States. This is what I came across. 

^ this is the first potting bench I came across. I like it because of the little sink. I checked the description and noticed there wasn't anything noted about assembly. Usually sellers will tell you if it comes assembled or if you have to put it together. I looked to see where the seller was from and the info is blank. 

Then I checked to see where they ship from

I noted they list this item as a handmade product.

So I decided to look elsewhere on Etsy for another potting table and I came across the exact same one but this time by a different seller.

I clicked on the sellers name to see where they were from

Then I looked to see where they were shipping the potting table from

I read the description of their table and it was 100% identical to the potting table being sold by HAPPYSHOPBY.  No variation at all. 

Then I looked at the description and this person describes it as vintage AND handmade. Claiming it was made before the year 2000.

Here's the deal. 

1. That potting table doesn't even look vintage. Does it look 23 years old to you? Even if it were never used, wood deteriorates. 

2. Handmade is totally misleading. Sure, it could be something handmade by someone else and you are selling it for them, but is that what people think when they are shopping on Etsy? No! They think YOU made that item. 

I decided to Google potting benches and sure enough, this particular potting bench is sold everywhere which makes it NOT handmade and NOT vintage. Home Depot, Target, Walmart and many other places sell it. 

Out of all of those selling this potting table, the first one on Etsy - account HAPPYSHOPBY - was by far the most expensive. 

If you are reading this and wonder "how can I be sure what I'm getting is American handmade" here's how:

1. Look at the business name, is it actually a name and not something like HAPPYSHOPBY? 

This one below is called Infinite Cedar. A real name. (name is on right below the price)

2. Look at the price. The price needs to make sense for the product. Handmade woodwork is on the more expensive side. $279 makes sense for the above table.

3. Look at the highlights. This item says it's handmade and lists the materials used. When something is handmade the materials used should also be filled in. If they made it then they know what it's made of!!

4. The description should make sense. It shouldn't read like an ad for Home Depot, it should read like the craftsman wrote it and for the above item it does.

5. The seller and shipping information should be the same. If this person made the item then it will ship from their location. 

It's really sad that customers have to jump hoops to find actually handmade or vintage items on a site that built a reputation on selling handmade and vintage items. 

Look at how they describe themselves.

Creativity lives in the heart of the scammers on Etsy selling mass produced products from other places and shipping it to your doorstep. Sadly, the ones that will pay the price for this are the true artists and craftsmen. 

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WE'LL HAVE A COUPLE NEW BATCHES OF SOAP AT THE RIVERWALK THIS SATURDAY!

While I was thinking about all of the kids that love to visit my table at the riverwalk I decided it would be fun to make some soaps that are very kid specific and this was my first of several to come. A real rubber ducky for kids to have in the bath. When the soap runs out the ducky will still be there to play with. 

The following batch smells super yummy. It's made with orange essential oil and colored with orange mica. It's smells so uplifting and the extra bonus is there's a luffa inside to help exfoliate the skin when washing. 

Both of these soaps will be at the riverwalk this Saturday. 

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OUR FIRST GARDEN PARTY

My daughter and I have been wanting to have a potluck garden party for years but it's complicated since our entire backyard is forest and native plants with our man made trails going through. It's filled with pollinators, stinging and biting insects; all things we choose to attract with native plants but don't coexist in close proximity to people and our food very well. This year, since it's the 3rd year of the drought, we aren't getting the abundant wasp population we normally have because the Joe pye weed and goldenrod are a bit behind the blooming schedule so we had a chance to carve out a spot for a party. We removed a bunch of mint and chives to locate elsewhere and then cleared the ground for tables. Our little party was nestled in among the plants and everything went great. We didn't see a single mosquito, YAY, and only a few insects appeared to sniff at the food. 

We had a lot of crafting with friends. We're so grateful for wonderful people to spend time with creating in the beautiful outdoors. 

Painting by Maya Valadez

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OUCH! ACUPUNCTURE

For years I've had people tell me I should try acupuncture but I have a severe needle phobia so I've avoided it. I don't care how tiny the needle is, it's still a needle and just knowing it's being stuck into my skin is enough to make me sweat and worry. 

A few months ago I finally broke down and went for my first treatment. I had such severe anxiety at the time and nothing was helping with the reflux, insomnia, and adrenaline rushes that I thought acupuncture couldn't hurt. I first tried a place in Burnsville. I was amazed at my first session because I didn't feel the needles at all and the rush of energy I felt flowing through my body made me euphoric. I knew right away that I was hooked. My new doctor recently had me try a new acupuncturist in Roseville, one with more knowledge and experience with Chinese medicine, and I'm so glad I switched over to her because she's truly a master at what she does. 

Every time I get a treatment I walk out feeling 100x better than when I went in. I still fear the needles and I cringe every time I have to lay down on the table and be poked but I love the outcome so much I just don't care. I feel the needles more now which is a good sign according to the acupuncturist. My favorite part of each session is feeling the energy flow through my entire body. I use to only feel energy in my hands but now I sense it from my head to my toes. It's calming and healing for sure. 

If you've ever tried acupuncture I'd love to read about your experience. 

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MET WITH A NUTRITIONIST

My new doctor has a group of people that are part of her healthcare team and so far everyone she has sent me off to see I've been impressed with. My most recent appointment was with a nutritionist. She went over my medical record before meeting with me so she had plans for me the moment we sat down to speak to each other. 

First priority is to find foods I can tolerate and gain weight so she had me experiment with cassava flour today. I've had cassava before in the form of pasta but hadn't eaten it since getting sick again back in December and never worked with the flour. I cooked up two tortillas, added some almond butter and blueberry jam (100% pure fruit) and ate both. It was a nice change from eating the same foods over and over for months. I hope my body handles it well. 

Normally not handling well means becomes abdominal pain, bloating, loose stools, and horrific reflux. Fingers crossed for a good outcome. 

For anyone interested in a gluten free no grain flour alternative, the recipe on the bag is:

3/4 casava flour

1/4 tsp sea salt

2 Tbs olive oil

1/3 cup warm water.

Mix together well and then make six balls. If the consistency is a little dry just add a tiny bit more water. Roll out the balls in between two sheets of parchment paper and place on non stick square griddle pan on medium heat and wait for bubbles to form on each side like you do with a regular flour tortilla. 

The cassava tortilla is close in taste to a flour tortilla but a little more doughy tasting. 

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LAWN BE GONE!

 In 2020 we removed a large portion of our front lawn and today we have just about 1/4 left to remove before it's all gone. We filled the empty space in with 90% native plants and have been very pleased with how it turned out. 

We aren't strangers to replacing non natives with natives. When we moved into our home nearly 16 years ago our entire backyard was buckthorn. It was an extension of the forest into Alimagnet park. Our first year we hired a company to remove all the buckthorn then after that we had to deal with flooding all the time so we had the yard regraded. After the regrading we bought a large sack of native wildflower seeds and spread them all over the backside of the house and within a year we started to see native grasses, goldenrod, Joe pie weed, daisies... Today we have so many natives growing back there I've lost count. The amount of wildlife that loves to be in our yard is what makes me the most happy. Frogs, toads, turtles, fox, rabbits, deer, snakes, wasps, hornets, bumblebees, hummingbirds, butterflies... We now see so many insects that we'd never seen before planting natives. We also stopped raking up our leaves in the fall and that has caused a boom in the firefly population around us. It's truly incredible and very special. 

Some people are surprised to learn that the adults of most firefly species are in fact pollinators. 

 

The honeybee isn't a native pollinator but it's a pollinator none the less.

Beautiful Monarch butterfly.

The bumblebee has some pollen on her legs.

When we removed a portion of our lawn in 2020. We did this on both sides of our driveway.

These are the plants we put in to replace the lawn. We have mountain mint, butterfly weed, bergamot, boneset, pearly everlasting... and many more.

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THE NEW WEBSITE IS ALMOST READY

I have a new website! It's not quite ready yet. I expect to be done with it around July 9th since I'll be finished tweaking it sooner than I thought. I originally planned for maybe the first of August but things are coming together quickly so I'll announce when I have all the soaps uploaded to the site so people can check it out. For now I'll have bath bombs, cold processed soap, and knitted wash cloths. In autumn expect to see more fun things. 🙂

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HAD FUN PICKING LAVENDER

Our family has wanted to visit a lavender farm for years but we've been unable to make a trip out to Washington state where they have the nations most beautiful lavender farms. We found one place in Wisconsin that grows lavender and allows visits but it is a five hour drive there, a ferry ride to an island, then a five hour drive back and I like to bring my granddog everywhere with us and they aren't dog friendly 😭 

This year while checking out Instagram I came across a post by a farmer just 10 miles from my house. She has a new lavender farm called Lavender Barnyard so I quickly signed us all up for some lavender picking and we headed over there. She's in the early stages of developing her business but she still had a good variety of lavenders to pick from and she has a great little gift shop. The owner is super nice and she shared her plans for expanding in the future, which we really look forward to because we'd like to make multiple visits each year. Following are some of the pictures we took from our first visit. 

We currently have the lavender hang drying in the living room and the whole area smells amazing!!

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