March 2, 2020 · 6:54 am

Huckleberry Mountain Botanicals

Would you believe I found another awesome herb resource? You already know that I’m a huge fan of the Herbal Academy and have taken several courses online with them. But today, I’d like to introduce you to Huckleberry Mountain Botanicals.

My first course was The Basics of Holistic Herbalism was incredibly comprehensive. Herbalism isn’t just about taking this or that herb to improve your health you know. It’s about looking at the body as a whole and determining where herbs can provide support as part of a regular, herbally enhanced diet.  

This course started with a refresher botany section. Herb identification is vitally important, especially if you have moved to a totally different environment like I have. We wouldn’t want to poison anyone now, would we, especially since I taste the herbal concoctions on myself. After that, there was a section on medicinal properties of types of herbs, very useful.

But we weren’t finished learning yet! Session three covered the skin as an organ and talked about interactions herbs can have on it, followed by the digestive system in session four. When using herbs as medicine, it’s important to note each individual’s reaction to herbs because of his or her skin sensitivity and digestive process. It’s not just a matter of popping herbal capsules and hoping for the best.

The last section in this course discussed stress and pain. Yes, there are some herbs that can help with these conditions, but looking at the causes of stress and pain holistically and developing better coping strategies was emphasized rather than just herbal application.

So what else does Huckleberry Mountain Botanicals offer? Oodles of herb stuff! 

Let’s start with the free stuff, my favorite. Periodically, there are free informative herbal webinars that you can attend! Yippee! The next one is in March, but I don’t see what the topic will be just yet. Then there’s loads of free herbal content. Who doesn’t want to improve their herbal understanding without paying a dime? 

Are you interested in growing your own herbs and making your own concoctions like I am? Then you should check out the Cultivating Herbs Bundle and the Herbal Preparations Bundle. 

To step things up a bit, there are some courses for the professional herbalist including the Fundamentals of Holistic Herbalism Certificate Program and Nutrition for the Herbalist which begins in November. 

Are your kids interested in herbs? Then you should know that the Children’s Herbal School begins on June 15. What a great way to spend their summer productively!

So there you have it folks! Yet another fabulous herbal resource for those of you interested in herbs!

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February 26, 2020 · 6:34 pm

Natural Healing–Jengibre

Ginger (zingiber officinale) is reported to have arrived in Mexico first in Cuernavaca with the Spanish in the 1500s. Cultivation commenced and ginger exports back to Europe began shortly thereafter. Mexico remains one of the top 30 ginger exporters in the world. Ginger is known as jengibre in my area of Mexico but it is also called ajenjibre in other areas and has a variant spelling of jenjibre. 

Jengibre is most often used for gastrointestinal complaints in Mexico. A pinch of powdered root in your cup of yerba buena (spearmint) or manzanilla (chamomile) will help with nausea. This anti-queasy effect occurs because ginger’s active principles work directly on the intestinal tract by stimulating saliva production, digestion activity and food absorption thereby relieving nausea, constipation and flatulence. Along the same lines, ginger improves kidney function and lowers blood glucose. 

Ginger is also effective as an anti-inflammatory compound, a warming agent, a pain remedy, antidepressant and useful in lowering cholesterol. Ginger has antibacterial and antifungal properties. It works as a warming agent by improving blood circulation through stimulating the heart muscle and diluting the blood. It is also effective in treating migraine headaches. 

When we all had a particularly bad case of a dry cough that lingered earlier this year, we found that ginger works well as a natural cough suppressant. That anti-inflammatory action mentioned earlier relaxes membranes in the airways, reducing the cough reflex. To brew yourself some ginger tea, add 20 to 40 grams of fresh ginger root slices to hot water and sweeten with honey (another natural cough suppressant). 

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Interested in natural remedies? Uncover herbal remedies from traditional Mexican sources for healing and wellness in the Exploring Traditional Herbal Remedies in Mexico series.

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February 24, 2020 · 9:35 am

The Great Goat Escape

The other day, my husband sold one of our nameless goats to his buddy. He made sure there was no mix-up with Jolina, his princess. Nameless goat was taken away and we went about our afternoon and evening activities.

We were awakened at 2 am by goat bleating. My husband went out to investigate, but all the animals were sound asleep. I happened to peek out the front window and lo and behold, there was Nameless goat clamoring to get in. 

My husband went to open the door, but it since it opens outward and it must have scared Nameless because she ran up the hill. It was a moonless night, so chasing her around in the dark wasn’t an option. We settled back into bed and hoped she’d return.

About an hour later, we heard some goat screaming and were sure she’d been eaten by the coyotes. However, in the morning, she was waiting by the door again.

The fact that she returned troubled my husband greatly. He was sure his buddy was dead or had an accident. He even sent a search posse of other buddies who were unable to locate the guy. 

All of that worry was for nothing. Two days later, the buddy showed up at our house demanding the goat he had bought and paid for back, as if it was our fault she jumped ship. And that’s literally just what Nameless had done. Apparently, good buddy was already three sheets to the wind when he loaded her up and didn’t properly secure her in the back of his truck and she escaped.

He didn’t notice until he got home but couldn’t come look for Nameless because he had to recover from his overindulgence or continue with it, which was also the reason the posse couldn’t find him. 

Nameless is now safely housed in buddy’s goat shelter. Since he has a habit of leaving his critters unattended while foraging for long periods of time, I wouldn’t be surprised if Nameless makes another break for it in the future.

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Do you like animal stories? Then check this out!

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