Most adults catch between two and four colds a year and the average infant or child catches from six to ten colds a year. That means, in our lifetimes, most of us will have a cold or flu for between two and three years. That’s a lot of Kleenex. Immune Boosters The good news…
Every spring people stock up on Round Up and Weed-B-Gon to prepare themselves for battle against one of my favorite flowers – the humble dandelion. If you’re not as big a fan as I am of these yellow-headed “weeds”, which grow in lawns and sunny open spaces throughout the world, I know of a great…
Fifteen years ago, my husband and I stood under a massive, gnarled limb of an oak tree and said our vows to each other. Oak trees are considered sacred by many cultures, but we didn’t know that then. Nor did we know they were traditionally used for spiritual and civic gatherings (like weddings) to offer…
Plants have been powerful allies for health and healing for as long as humans have lived. Herbal medicines can be effective remedies for ills as anyone who’s sipped on ginger tea for a stomachache can attest. They can also be powerful tonics for everyday health. Many common plants are full of vitamins, minerals, proteins, antioxidants,…
It’s spring and it’s gardening time again! It was the shortest winter in history (although I perhaps would not have said that mid-January). I planted a few of our beds a couple of weeks ago. It’s our seventh gardening season in our backyard, and I actually sort of know what I’m doing now. It helps…
Cough, cough, cough. Cough, cough, cough. That’s how our household sounds this week. So it was with interest that I read that infused Douglas-fir needles are a traditional cough remedy. Douglas-fir needles? They’re everywhere here; they dust the sky and litter the ground. And yet I’d never thought to ingest them. According to botanist and…