LET PROPOLIS CURE YOU: TINCTURE

Last year I read the book "Bee Propolis: Natural Healing from the Hive" and although I was eager to make a propolis tincture after reading the book my bees weren't cooperating. They weren't making much propolis. This year I bought another package of bees and they are propolis crazy. I was able to go into the hive a couple days ago and scrape a generous portion off the side of a hive body. 

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DANDELIONS, DANDELIONS, DANDELIONS

What should I do with all the dandelions?

It use to be that I knew three things about dandelions. (1) They kill grass (2) they are medicinal and (3) they are edible. As for the edible part, I'm ok with eating dandelion greens, my grandmother used them in salads, BUT.... who wants to eat a dandelion that has possibly been peed on by my dog while on her potty break or worse yet, contains pesticide blow over from the neighbors lawn. < That's the best rationalization strategy that I've got.

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THE ART OF BLENDING

I think anyone that works with essential oils knows that over half the fun is blending to create ones own scent. In my aromatherapy certification course we were challenged into creating a blend that not only smelled the way we wanted it to but would accomplish what we needed it to as well. 

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HERBS OR SLEEPING PILLS, YOU BE THE JUDGE

Although I could talk about every single tincture I make, I don't want to over saturate your mind with this herbal hoopla. Once you learn about tinctures you pretty much know what you need to know, but I must share a little about lemon balm for those of you who suffer from insomnia.

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WORRIED ABOUT THE FLU? TRY ELDERBERRY

I'm not a proponent of vaccines so you won't see me and my family lining up for the H1N1 shot. I do however believe in herbal medicine. When your family has used herbal cures for centuries and passes along the positive benefits, you tend to listen. My great grandfather was blind until a native woman healed his site with crushed herbs. Now that is something I can't ignore.

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MAKE YOUR OWN BUG REPELLENT THIS SUMMER

Years ago, probably around 1992/1993, while I was rock climbing in the adirondacks I was introduced to the "black fly." It was my first exposure to black flies. My climbing guide had warned me that it was "black fly" season but the only black flies I knew of were those pesky kitchen flies. You know, the ones that are born as little maggots and then fly around until you kill them with a fly swatter. So, I didn't think twice about climbing during black fly season. 

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THE WORST FRAGRANCE EVER

I've seen a few blogs where people discuss their favorite fragrances so I thought I'd ask, what is your least favorite fragrance (FO or EO)?

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GREAT NEW PRODUCT ALERT!!

Make life a little easier and buy some great infused oils for use in your handmade soaps, balms, lotions, etc... Heidi over at VINTAGE FRESH SOAPS has done all the work for you by infusing wonderful herbs like sage, nettle, and calendula in top quality olive oil. 

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