Deborah J. Martin's Blog, page 20
August 26, 2012
Of Hornets & Hummers
I (we) have a problem. Hornets have found the hummingbird feeder. These guys are damned near as large as the baby hummer and our normally aggressively-territorial hummers are being chased away.
Problem is, they both like the same thing … sugar! If I take away the feeder the hornets go away, sure, but so do the birds!
Did a wee bit of research on the ‘Net and found that Wormwood or strongly aromatic Mints are hornet deterrents. It’s a little late to plant anything but I’d just cut some Wormwood...
August 20, 2012
This, That ‘n T’Other
It’s been a few weeks since I’ve posted anything here so thought I’d catch y’all up on what’s been happening (which ain’t much):
My surgery went fine and I’m recovering nicely (at least according to the surgeon and the professional torturer, aka physical therapist). Rehabbing a shoulder is no fun and I’m still working on getting all my range-of-motion back. It’s painful work but in this case, no pain no gain holds true. If I don’t push it, my shoulder will freeze again and I only want to go th...
July 30, 2012
AFK
In case you’re not up on the latest acronyms, that stands for “away from keyboard”.
I’ve been rather quiet the last few weeks and am fixin’ to get even quieter. My shoulder is horribly painful and working/playing on the computer makes it worse. (In case you haven’t been following, just search “adhesive capsulitis” to find out what I’ve been dealing with since March.) After trying virtually all non-invasive therapies known with no results, they’ve finally scheduled my surgery for tomorrow, 31st...
July 13, 2012
Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose
I’m not sure how many folks out there understand French. Translated, that means “the more things change, the more it’s the same thing”. Happens a lot but for about 1600 years? Read on.
A couple of years ago, I got all excited about Mullein popping up in our yard. I had a good harvest in 2010 and last year but this year? All I have are leaves; no stalks, no flowers. No flowers=no seeds so I’ll just have to hope the birds and wind help me out from afar next year.
In that post I mentioned that pow...
June 28, 2012
I’ve Got A Fever(few)
I can’t help it. Every time I work with Feverfew Tanacetum parthenium, I think of this song made famous by Peggy Lee. Whether I’m weeding around it, harvesting, or just talking with it, the compelling beat and lyrics run through my head.
The common name, Feverfew, is (according to Maud Grieve) a corruption of “Febrifuge”, the therapeutic action for which it’s famous. In other words, it brings down fevers. Lately, it has become a popular solution for migraine sufferers … perhaps because it’s al...
June 21, 2012
On Spirit Guides
Everyone has at least one spirit guide, whether you know they’re there or not. You may call them guardian angels. I call them family and friends. If you pay attention, you may notice that some come and go … they’re only with you for a specific reason and once you’ve learned whatever it is they are there to teach, they move on.
One of the things I’ve noticed is that some folks seem to think their guides are watching over them 24/7/365. A bumper sticker I see frequently reads, “Never drive faste...
June 18, 2012
Summer Solstice 2012
Summer “officially” begins this Wednesday, 20 June at 7:09pm EDT. I know all sorts of witches getting ready for rituals and the like, but not me.
First, I actually welcomed summer about a week ago. My clue that it’s summer in my small part of the world is when the fireflies finally start twinkling in our trees. (High summer is when the katydids start their incessant noise at sundown.) Rather than a calendar telling me what season it is, I pay attention to the seasons as they occurhere and I ca...
June 15, 2012
Follow Friday
Borrowing a phrase from Twitter, here.
I follow a lot of blogs. I mean, a lot. Over 40 at last count. (That’s a lot to me.) I’m quite thankful for a reader that pulls them into one place via an RSS feed. Otherwise, I’d probably miss one or two or ten, given my screwy schedule. I thought I’d take today to share a few of them with you. Maybe you’ll like one or two, yourself.
Herbal-Related
Dr. Weil’s Daily Health Tips While not always completely herbal, always chock-full of good tips.
June 7, 2012
It’s All Very Clary to Me
Bad play on words, I know. Count yourself lucky I didn’t sing, “I can see clarly now …”.
Clary Sage Salvia sclarea is quickly becoming one of my favorite plants. (Shh. Don’t tell the others.) I’ve got two beds of it started in the garden in the hopes that I’ll get enough leaves to make a bit of hydrosol. Much as I’d love it, I don’t have the room to grow enough to distill for essential oil.
Baby Clary Sage
First, the description: Clary Sage (yes, it’s a relative of common Sage) is a biennial pla...
June 4, 2012
Scorpion Medicine
I was stung by a scorpion somewhere around midnight Saturday in my bed. No, not the huge suckers you see in the desert … we have little ones that are called “wood scorpions” around here because that’s where they live – trees, woodpiles – all of which are around our house. They and brown recluse spiders are the only reason I have an exterminator using icky chemicals. Biting bugs/arachnids are all well and fine outside the perimeter of the house but indoors? A resounding no.
Unless you’re allerg...
