Author: Amelia

  • No More Eggs

    No More Eggs

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    Amelia
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    I don’t really know if it merits a blog post, but I thought I should announce somewhere on my site that I’ve finally decided to stop losing money in the egg game. For over four years now, I have raised chickens and ducks on soy-free organic layer feed, allowing them to free range the entire…

  • Favorite Herb This Week: Ginger

    Favorite Herb This Week: Ginger

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    Amelia
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    Ginger is the herb I’d like to highlight this week, as I have started working with it more frequently since growing my own last season. Zingiber officinale is the official Latin name, and the plant is native to somewhere in Southeast Asia. You CAN, however, grow it here in Connecticut if you play your cards…

  • Bone Broth Revisited

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    Amelia
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    You’ve likely heard various diet fads touting the incredible benefits of bone broth: a slow-cooked broth made with animal bones.  You can purchase jars of bone broth at most health food stores for anywhere from $9 to $20 a pint.  But do the physical benefits your body gets really merit that kind of expense? If…

  • Fighting Cancer Naturally

    Fighting Cancer Naturally

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    Amelia
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    As far as I can tell, I don’t have any more cancer. Yet. I felt a lump on my neck a few months ago and decided to have it checked out at the doctor. They ended up doing an ultrasound of my thyroid gland, which led to a biopsy, which eventually led to a very…

  • Real Roots Root Beer!

    Real Roots Root Beer!

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    Amelia
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    I’m making a blog post about this because the Facebook post went viral. I’m guessing you guys are interested in making root beer! I had a lot of sassafras saplings coming up into my raspberry patch, so I went in there with my shovel and dug a bunch of them out. Sassafras roots always break…

  • Black Walnuts!

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    Amelia
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    If you live anywhere in the Eastern or Central United States, you have probably seen a black walnut tree. Black walnuts (juglans nigra) grow from New England through Wyoming and are wildly prolific. Just try digging up a sapling somewhere… they root in like a badass and if you don’t want that tree to grow…

  • Summer Mushroom Foraging

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    Amelia
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    I don’t usually have enough time to create a blog post over the summer and early autumn months, for what should be obvious reasons. The gardens look atrocious right now, as I have neglected clean up in favor of harvesting and preserving before it’s too late. I wanted to share a brief glimpse of some…

  • Herbal Smoke and Smudging

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    Amelia
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    Cleansing your body and your space with herbal smoke has been practiced by many cultures all over the globe for centuries. There is quite a lot of controversy over the word “Smudging,” as it originates from the Native Indian tribes of the Southwestern United States, where white sage (salvia apiana) grows wild. I personally use…

  • Maintaining a Healthy Urinary Tract

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    Amelia
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    This is one of the articles I wrote during my Herbalist Certification course. It’s chock full of good information about urinary tract health, so if you have bladder issues, pay attention! References are cited at the bottom of the page. Just like the book with the title referring to the opposite end of the digestive…

  • Forest Bathing for Health

    Forest Bathing for Health

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    Amelia
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    Go ahead, call me a Woo Woo dirty hippie; I believe the forest heals you. When your mind is in turmoil, you can’t get good sleep, you find yourself in and out of depression, you can’t focus on life, or you just generally feel like crap, go into the woods. Find the biggest tree you…