Lots of Green Talk This Week, Its all Simple Stuff to me.
Not sure why but it seems there is lots of talk about living green on the Television this week. I suspect some of it is political, and some of it is just plain honest worry about our world. Stories about the honey bee's disappearing are making the rounds again, which is alarming to say the least. Might just be a cycle in nature, might be mankind's rough handling of the fragile balance of nature. The last of the summer garden, a few tomatoes, a straggling vegetable here and there. Wood is stacked nicely and a load in the house next to the wood stove for chilly mornings.
A bit of new Mullein, my winter cough medicine is drying, ready to be smoked, yes, I wrote smoked....an old native American cure for bad coughs and it really does work. Smoke it in a pipe. The tender flowers of the plant from summer are picked and put in a bottle of olive oil for ear aches. Echinacea roots dried and ready for tea. Medicines, natural and cheap right outside the back door.
I guess its all part of living green, although we just call it living simply. The fall winds helping dry our clothes on the solar/ wind generated clothes dryer ( the clothes line).
Shopping for winter clothes all done, that was "green" too, all recycled clothes from Goodwill Thrift store. My home made soap is "green", but again, making it is just part of our simple living to me.
Not a paper napkin to be found in this house, or aluminum foil and not even a plastic storage container for food. Simple stuff, maybe its simple to be green !
What are you doing to be green ? Love to hear your ideas
Comments
I love hanging my clothes out to dry too. Can't do it now for a couple of days though because we will be hit by a tropical storm in 24 hrs.
I love to use vinegar & baking soda as cleansers. That's another one of my contributions to being green.
No recipe really, just dry mullein leaves smoked in a pipe for a cough and the flowers are picked carefully with tweezers from the stalk, put in a bottle, small one, and then filled with olive oil. When you have an ear ache, you just put a few drops in your ear.
The plant has a long history of use in many cultures. In Europe it has been used for coughs, cramps, tumors, swelling and gout. In Ireland, it is considered for all lung problems and is extensively cultivated and kept on hand. In England, mullein has been used for hundreds of years and is mentioned in almost every medical herbal. In North America the Indians soaked their sprains in mullein water to heal them and pneumonia was cured by bathing the patient in its cool essence. The mullein leaves were steeped and the steam was inhaled to cure sore throat, catarrh, and asthma. The Indians used it to cure skin sores and eruptions.
Mullein is very effective when taken in the early stages of infection, when the lungs feel hot and dry and the throat is hoarse, raspy, and when there is a slight fever present. It is one of the best herbs to use in lymphatic congestion. The lymphatic system plays a major role in cleansing the body from impurities and works continually to protect the body from toxins.
Mullein is rich in organic iron, easily assimilated to build healthy red blood, but not stored. It also contains vitamin C, bioflavonoids, B complex, vitamin A, potassium and calcium. It has a high mucilage content and contains mild saponins.