Deborah J. Martin's Blog, page 16

Nail Fungus: Eew

Three years ago, I picked up a fungus under the nail of my pinky finger. Don’t ask me how, I don’t know. What kind of fungus? Don’t know and it doesn’t matter.

It didn’t bother me unless I looked at it. Then, it did. The nail was lifting … at one point it was nearly 3/4 of the way down to the cuticle. Every now and again, I’d make an attempt to resolve the issue but because it didn’t hurt, my efforts were half-hearted.

At one point, I found a website (can’t find it again, naturally) that said n...

Practical Herbs 2: A Review

I’m going to preface my remarks by warning you: I’ve been a Henriette Kress fan for years and was thrilled to get a sneak peek at her new book.

Practical Herbs 2 is as wonderful as Practical Herbs. Down-to-earth advice for a variety of ailments, detailed descriptions of 20 herbs, directions for making a variety of herbal preparations …

One of my favorite things, especially in the herbal solutions sections, is that she doesn’t limit herself to herbs. Some problems can be due to deficiencies in v...

Hallowe’en Rant

image courtesy wikinut.com

Warning: may be profanity-laced. I’m irritated. NB: I am not a historian. Just a somewhat-intelligent woman who happens to be a witch.

It’s that time of year … the media feels a need to talk to “real” witches to tell their story. 99 times of 100, they interview someone who follows the religion of Wicca and imply the interviewee speaks for all. Facts aren’t always straight, either. Most of the time I can just shrug it off. But this op-ed piece is … somewhat misinformed...

Rainy Days & Mondays

Lovely wake up … rain soughing on the metal roof while a cold front breezed through the window that made my nose cold while the rest of me was warmly snuggled under the covers.

Fresh hot coffee … Maks and Mischa feeling energized, emptying out their toy box & playing with toys they haven’t looked at in months.

Hot shower then … Brrr. The on-demand water heater (conveniently located in the basement) decided to throw an error in the middle of rinsing my hair. Well water is COLD even in Fall.

I’m a...

Cat Nip

(No, I’m not high in this photo. I have an overbite. And I forget my tongue sometimes. Wanna make something of it?)

Meow. I’m Mischa and I’m hijacking DJ’s blog today to bring something of extreme importance to your attention. (Maks was supposed to type this because he’s more dexterous but the idiot is out on the deck chasing a lizard.)

Oooh. Milk ring. Be right back.

Milk ring subdued. On to the vital information I need to impart.

I’d like you to know that not all cats like Catnip. I, myself, am...

Don’t Sneeze! It’s Goldenrod.

Solidago nemoralis

Well, maybe you’ll sneeze, if you have an allergy to members of the Asteraceae family and you stick your nose right in it. But Ragweed has green flowers with pollen that will float on the slightest of breezes. The pollen on Goldenrod is much heavier and doesn’t fly as well.

This tiny specimen lives about a half mile from my house, in one of the few patches of direct sunlight. Farther down on the county road where there’s an abundance of light, the Goldenrod looks like huge cl...

On Privacy

Hello. My name is DJ and I have a problem. I’m addicted to privacy – especially Internet privacy.

I actively dislike sites that offer something free … in exchange for my name and email address. I know if I give out my email address, I’m going to get unwanted correspondence. These sites don’t allow me to decide if I want further communication – they force me to “opt out” – but they still have my contact information.

I actively dislike sites that require me to log in with my Facebook or Twitter a...

Growing It Alone

Today I posted this picture on Facebook:

This is the one Calendula in two beds that has bloomed. None of the others have even budded, yet! And as you can see, there’s plenty of room between this one and its neighbor, although I noticed some late seedlings popping up this morning. Most of the beds that have “flower” herbs in them are the same way. The lack of sun and buckets of rain this year has discouraged germination & prevented what’s supposed to flower from actually flowering. I’ll be thri...

Life – Connected

Not being able to get out into the garden much due to all the rain has given me a lot of time for reflection. Below is a magazine article I wrote several years ago that shows my ruminations:

I live in the woods and frequently have city friends come to visit, to “connect with nature”. While getting out into the country, away from city noise, light and smell, is a great thing to do, Man and Nature are already connected, even for city dwellers.

Plants have nourished every other living thing on thi...

Growing Herbs (Pictures are Deceiving)

I’m stuck inside due to the horrendous rain (which will wash out the July 4th celebrations, too) & the only “garden” I can do anything about is my one indoor herb: Stevia. It’s a rainforest herb … likes lots of warmth, sun & water. Unfortunately, it has to stay inside in the winter due to the low temperatures & also during the summer because it gets so hot on the deck that it fries. It needs trimming again.

When I bought it, I thought I was getting a nice, compact, shrubby-looking plant. What...