wildwood herbals

traditional american healing teas & herbs for natural beauty

[oneyearwiser]

[wildwoodherbaltea]

Beautiful!

[wildwoodherbaltea]

Some people have potpourri or scented candles. I have other things. Things that I find out on the trail, and like a little crow, I gather them up. #naturalista #parksnaturalist #snakeskeleton #katydid #mydesk #naturetreasures #doesntsmellgood #nokillbugcollection #naturefinds #bugsofinstagram #likeacrow (at County Farm Park)

[wildwoodherbaltea]

Yellow coneflower seeds are ready to harvest. Only harvest 1/3 or less, they are important late summer food for birds. They smell amazing and I wonder if they are a tea plant. #wildtea #prairiewildflowers #sustainableharvest #honorableharvest #fallseedshare (at County Farm Park)

[wildwoodherbaltea]

Herbs of the office. Calendula officinalis (ŏ-fis″ĭ-nā′lis) [L. officinalis, pert. to a workshop, storeroom, pharmacy] Part of the scientific name of a species pert. to a plant or herb traditionally sold in pharmacies, readily available without special preparation, and considered to have medicinal properties, e.g., Calendula officinalis, the pot marigold.

[wildwoodherbaltea]

Long horned bee, male, falling asleep. #beesafe #wildbee #sleeptight #latesummermeadow #asteraceaefamily (at County Farm Park)

[wildwoodherbaltea]

Their exoskeletons are marked with red like painted turtle shells, ancient prehistoric beasts stalking the sumac. #stinkbug #sumac #bugsofinstagram

[wildwoodherbaltea]

No one is allergic to goldenrod, look how heavy the pollen is, packed in a yellow bundle on the bees legs. This is not an airborne pollen. #goldenrod #wildbee #fallcolors #beeforage #wildtea

[wildwoodherbaltea]

3T olive&avacado oil infused with alkanet root, calendula, comfrey, plantain 3T beeswax 1T Shea butter 1T Cocoa butter 2t natural French vanilla flavoring 1/4t Rose red mica 1/3t iridescent gold mica

[wildwoodherbaltea]

"In autumn the sumac flings its scarlet across the landscape and in winter there are miles of white, untrodden snow. The northern woodland is a beautiful country, and knowing it in all its changing seasons, one can not wonder at the poetry that is so inherent a part of Chippewa thought. Frances Densmore describing the White Earth Reservation in 1925 #wildplants #foodmedicinecraft #sumac #autumn (at Ann Arbor District Library, Malletts Creek Branch)

[wildwoodherbaltea]

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She polishes off a bug, then proceeds to groom her bristles #justlikeacatbutbetter #preyingmantis (at City of Milan, Michigan)

[wildwoodherbaltea]

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I was searching in a field for this patch of Pearly Everlasting I found #5yearsago. It took me some time because it turns out there were only 20 plants left in the sea of goldenrod. Because I was looking so carefully, I started to see the most amazing things. A deer bed, a black and yellow agriope, three monarch wings without a body, and this #preyingmantis. I watched her finish her meal, then watched awhile longer, wondering what she would do after she ate. She stood still for a bit (swallowing?) and cleaned her bristly appendages with her mouth #justlikeacatonlybetter. Pearly Everlasting was found, brewed into tea. Thanks @monicacady for the fb post reminding me to go looking. I just took a few stems, left most to go to seed. #wildtea #alongtheway #summermeadow #insectsworld #lifehappenswhileyourebusymakingotherplans #bugsarecool #bugsaredeliciousiguess #pearlyeverlasting (at City of Milan, Michigan)

[wildwoodherbaltea]

In Children's Storybooks, Realism Has Advantages

Young children have an easier time exporting what they learn from a fictional storybook to the real world when the storybook is realistic, says psychologist Tania Lombrozo.

A list of kid’s nature storybooks that are realistic, scientific, tell a great story and are nice to read aloud.  

Bat Loves the Night

Stellaluna

If It’s Snowy and You Know It Clap Your Paws

Owl Moon

Are You a Ladybug

And then it’s Spring

[wildwoodherbaltea]

In many shamanic societies, if you came to a medicine person complaining of being disheartened, dispirited, or depressed, they would ask one of four questions: "When did you stop dancing? When did you stop singing? When did you stop being enchanted by stories? When did you stop being comforted by the sweet territory of silence?

Gabrielle Roth

[wildwoodherbaltea]

Health Benefits of Goldenrod - Herbal Academy of New England

The health benefits of goldenrod are like many herbs: antifungal, diuretic, diaphoretic. The actions to the kidneys, skin, and allergies are impressive!

In 1773 the colonist dumped tea in Boston Harbor.  So what did they sip after that? Liberty Tea "made from equal parts of sweet goldenrod (solidago odora), betony, red clover, and New Jersey tea (Ceanothus americanus)".

To make tea from sweet goldenrod, harvest the plants just before they come into bloom, usually in August. If you wait too long, the leaves may have a slightly acrid or bitter taste. You may strip the leaves from the stems and place them on trays in a single layer or dry the stalks upside down in bundles and strip off the dried leaves. Provide good air circulation and avoid direct sunlight. When the leaves are thoroughly crisp, store them in jars with tight-fitting lids, out of the sun. (From an article by Jill Jepson in The Herb Companion, August/September 1993)

More about Liberty Tea:  http://pss.uvm.edu/ppp/articles/liberty.html

“No people will tamely surrender their Liberties, nor can any be easily subdued, when knowledge is diffused and virtue is preserved.” ― Samuel Adams

[nprbooks]

In Children's Storybooks, Realism Has Advantages

A growing number of studies suggest that children learn better from stories that are realistic, and often prefer the factual over the fantastical. 

So … maybe my love of sci-fi is a sign of maturity? Just a thought.

- Nicole

[wildwoodherbaltea]

A list of kid's nature storybooks that are realistic, scientific, tell a great story and are nice to read aloud.  

1. Bat Loves the Night

2. Stellaluna

3. If It’s Snowy and You Know It Clap Your Paws

[wildwoodherbaltea]

Native bee on thistle. @mark_h_charles do you know the species?

[wildwoodherbaltea]

Late summer, Canada Goldenrod coming into bloom. Perfect time for tea harvesting. Goldenrod infusion calms seasonal allergies. #goldenrodtea