I’ve been intending to post a new blog article for the past week or so, but events always conspire against me. At first I was shattered from travelling all over the country for work, then we spent almost two weekends at the farm digging and introducing new people to the delights of nettles and bramble root vinegar in the freezing cold. (You can read all about it and see pictures on the Springfield Sanctuary Diary page.)
Last weekend we dug more of our garden and Chris mowed the lawn for the first time, then Sunday we went to Calke Abbey where Sky Symphony put on two six-kite displays as part of the Midland Kite Flyers public fly-in.
Today I succumbed to the cold which has been threatening for the past four days, so I thought I would share some simple cold remedies which help me.
You would think that eating as many nettles as I have over the past few weeks, I’d be able to laugh in the face of normal viruses, but no such luck. Lack of sleep and the exposure to a myriad of bugs thanks to our air-conditioned office has finally worn down my resistance.
Saturday was a total nettle day. I guess I should mention garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) as well. This was a totally new plant to me when I first moved to Solihull as we don’t have any growing wild on the farm. I would go through phases of digging it up or ignoring up until Debs made me eat a leaf last year when she came to visit and we wandered around the garden just before she left. Since then I’ve been thinking I really should do something with it.
Inspiration came last Friday, when I read Loba’s post on the Anima Centre blog about nettle yoghurt dip. It seemed to tie in beautifully with making a nettle pesto – something else I’ve been wanting to make for a while. I searched the net for suitable recipes and gathered together quite a variety, including one made from brown bread. (I’ve not tried that one yet!)
Saturday morning was spent at a public healing session, so I wasn’t able to get outside until 12.15pm. After mulching the nineteen strawberry plants we now have growing from the ten plants I bought from the garden centre last year, I decided it was time to pick nettles. Despite further digging in the bean patch by Chris, there were still plenty of young nettle tops to harvest from the bottom garden bed, even though I’ve already picked them hard for a previous soup. My basket was soon full.
It must have taken over an hour and a half to make all the nettle items. Poor Chris kept asking when lunch would be ready, but he had to wait!
Nettle pesto
1 large garlic mustard plant (about 2 large handful of leaves, discard the thickest stems)
2 large handfuls of nettle tops (use gloves)
2oz almond pieces (I didn’t have any pine nuts)
4oz grated parmesan
4 fl oz extra virgin olive oil
Blanch the nettles and garlic mustard leaves in boiling water then strain into a colander and run cold water over it. Place the blanched nettles and garlic mustard in a liquidiser with the grated parmesan and sliced almonds. Add enough olive oil to enable the liquidiser to work. When everything is a paste, drizzle in the rest of the olive oil and spoon into clean glass jars and store in the fridge.
I was amazed how easy it was to make and the bright green colour was stunning. It tasted wonderful on home made granary bread – something I’d not thought of doing with pesto until I saw other people’s blogs.
Loba’s nettle yoghurt dip
2 handfuls of nettle tops
2 heaped tblsps natural yoghurt
1 tblsp chopped chives
6 sprigs applemint from the garden.
Juice of half a lemon
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Cook the nettle tops until soft (I cooked them in the water strained from the blanched nettles for the pesto, then used this water for the nettle soup I made next.) Liquidise the nettles. I used some of the strained cooking water to ensure a smooth paste, but next time I’ll just put the yoghurt into the liquidiser instead. Chop up the chives with a pair of scissors and the mint in a coffee grinder. Mix everything together and use as a dipping sauce for bread, vegetables etc. It has a wonderfully fresh flavour and is very moreish!
Then I made a nettle soup with onion, marjoram, sweet potatoes, potatoes, carrots and parsnip. We took it with us to the fly-in the following day to eat with ham and sorrel sandwiches.
Cold remedies
As soon as I feel a cold coming on, I reach for the elderberry. Usually it is Kiva Rose’s elderberry elixir, but this time it was the elderberry tincture.
Elderberry Elixir (based on Kiva Rose’s recipe)
2 Pint Jar
1/2 ounce of dried Elderberries (2oz fresh approx to fill half the jar)
1 cinnamon stick,
1oz root ginger peeled, sliced and chopped
Large handful or fresh or dried rosehips
Chopped peel of half a large orange
appr. 1 pint Brandy
½-1lb Honey
Place the herbs in the jar, cover with honey and mix well. Add brandy until the jar is full and mix well again. Leave to macerate for 4-6 weeks.
The nice thing about elderberry elixir is you can take a dropperful every half hour and it tastes wonderful!
Elderberry Tincture
Pick elderberries in autumn and remove from their stalks with a fork. You can freeze them in plastic boxes and they will keep until you need them. Fill a screw-top glass jar of any size with fresh or frozen elderberries. Pour vodka over the berries until the jar is full and “podge” it with a chopstick to get all the air bubbles out, top up the vodka again and screw the lid on firmly.
Leave the jar to stand in a cool, dark place for at least three weeks. Shake the bottle every day. When you decide that it has had long enough, decant the tincture through a plastic sieve into a jug and then pour the liquid into a glass bottle. Squash the elderberries with a potato masher to remove as much of the juice as you can and add this to the tincture. Make sure the bottle top fits securely.
Date and label the bottle so that you know what it is and who made it and when it was made. Tinctures should keep for at least 2 years in a cool dark place, as long as you don't leave the top off and let all the alcohol evaporate.
My throat usually gets treated with cider vinegar and honey, but with all the myriad of cider vinegars in the larder, I can actually choose which herbs to take.
At work I have a combination of sage, motherwort and nettle vinegars, which is really for warding off chest infections from the air vents and mineral content. At home, I’ve been using the fire cider vinegar I made last October and some horseradish honey.
Horseradish Honey
Grate up two roots of horseradish and add to 3/4lb runny honey. Place in glass jar with screw top lid and leave to infuse for several weeks.
Another wonderful liquid to make with horseradish is Fire Cider Vinegar. Apparently the recipe came originally from American Herbalist, Rosemary Gladstar. I first saw it in Lesley Tierra's book, “ Herbs for Children” as a recipe for young herb lovers to make. This is my version:
Fire Cider Vinegar
Equal portions of horseradish and ginger root – grate or whizz in a coffee grinder. (It is your choice whether you peel the roots or not. I didn't)
1 head of garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 good handful of rosehips (fresh or dried)
6 cloves
2 tsps paprika
2tsps turmeric
2 tsps cayenne pepper
(If you have access to fresh chilli peppers, you can add these as well, leaving the seeds in to give extra “fire”!)
Mix all dry ingredients together in a large glass jar so it is filled about half full, then add cider vinegar stirring well to remove air bubbles until the jar is full. Place cling film over the top of the jar before sealing with screw top lid. Label and date. Place jar in warm, dark place for 6-8 weeks. Strain and use.
Fire cider vinegar can be drunk with honey and boiling water (about 2tsps of each to a mug of boiling water) or on its own in a little water. It can also be used in salad dressings. Like elderberry elixir, the advice is to take this potion at the first sign of any viral infection.
My friend Margaret was talking about her recent cold at the public healing session on Saturday morning. She’d attended the vinegar workshop last November and made her own fire cider to take home with her. She said she started “swigging it down” the minute she knew she was getting the cold and offered it to her husband who refused to even taste it. Needless to say her subsequent cold and cough were only half as bad as his!
If my cough gets too bad, I shall resort to some sage, thyme, lemon and honey with ginger. If I’m out of fresh root ginger, I still have a whole load of ginger tincture we made at the January workshop.
Ginger and Lemon Tea
Grate or finely chop 1inch root ginger without peeling. Place in a cafatiere or teapot and fill with just boiling water. Infuse for ten minutes. Squeeze the juice from half a lemon and place in a cup or mug. Pour the strained ginger tea over the lemon juice and add honey to taste. For an anti-viral chesty tea, add 1tsp dried thyme and 1tsp dried sage to the grated ginger root. Infuse together and pour over lemon juice and honey.
After using all these remedies, I shall have to see how long my cold lasts!
Tuesday, 7 April 2009
Tuesday, 17 March 2009
Spring Tonics
The equinox will be upon us in another few days. Light is increasing, stimulating new growth in so many different areas. Pink strands hang from the flowering currant in my garden, echoing the yellow forsythia flowers draped across the cherry tree. The first few dandelion flowers have appeared in strange places – one by the front door and another in the back garden. The latter found its way into my first fresh nettle soup of the year, mixing with onion, carrots and parsnips to brighten and lighten the heavier root vegetables from last year’s harvest.
Nettle and carrot soup
1 onion (peeled, diced and sweated in a tablespoon of vegetable oil)
8 carrots (scraped and chopped)
3 parsnips (peeled and chopped)
1 colander full of young nettle tops (washed)
zest and juice of 1 orange
parsley
All the ingredients fitted into my 5 pint saucepan, so I covered them with water and simmered for about 20 minutes after bringing to the boil. After whizzing in the liquidiser, it just needed some salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot with wholemeal or granary bread.
Spring is often a time to think of tonics. Matt Wood has defined a tonic as “a herb or food that acts on the body in a slow, nutritive fashion to build up the substance of the body.” Jim MacDonald has written a really useful paragraph on his website describing the many different kinds of tonic, showing how different herbs can be used to meet different bodily needs.
Tonics can be taken in many different forms, from the simple nettle tea, to the complex maceration of a tonic wine. Here are four different recipes for a tonic wine. Two came from one of Debs Cook’s collection of ancient books and the third from Juliette de Bairacli Levy’s basic herb book.
Nettle Tea
Gather two handfuls of fresh nettle tops, (preferably in Spring) and place in teapot or cafatiere. (Wash first if any soil or debris can be seen) Fill the teapot with just boiled water and leave to steep for ten minutes. Strain and drink. Honey can be used to sweeten to taste.
Aromatic Wine
2-pints red wine
1/2 Tbsp sage leaves
2 Tbsps thyme leaves
2 Tbsps hyssop leaves
2 Tbsps spearmint leaves
2 Tbsps wormwood leaves
2 Tbsps marjoram herb
Use dried herbs
Chop the herbs into a coarse powder. Moisten the powders with some of the claret. Pack into a coffee machine, using parchment paper. Pour the claret over the herbs. It should yield about 1 pint of filtered liquid.
This French formula possesses strong tonic and aromatic properties. It is useful for invalids with feeble digestions and will also help with flatulence and other digestive disturbances. Use 1 tablespoon at a time. For ulcers, use heated as a hot (external) compress (dip a cloth into the hot liquid).
Tonic Wine
1 pint Madeira
1 sprig wormwood
1 sprig rosemary
1 small bruised nutmeg
1 inch bruised ginger root
1 inch bruised cinnamon bark
12 large organic raisins
Pour off about an ounce of the wine. Place herbs in the wine. Cork the bottle tightly. Place the bottle in a dark, cool place for a week or two. Strain off the herbs.
Juliette de Bairacli’s medicated wine
Several sprigs of rosemary and wormwood
6 candied cherries
2 nutmegs
1 inch cinnamon
Candied angelica
Bruised ginger root
1 doz large raisins
Pour over wine and leave in warm place for 1-2 weeks
Sarah Head’s medicated wine
6-8 sprigs rosemary (fresh)
2 sprigs mugwort (dried, but can use fresh)
2 handfuls of organic apricots
2 grated nutmegs
1 inch grated ginger root
1 quill cinnamon bark broken into pieces
Place ingredients in a 2lb glass jar, cover with Madeira wine, seal with screw top lid, label and date. Leave in a warm, dark cupboard/airing cupboard for 2-4 weeks. Strain and bottle. Take one small shot glass full as required.
Having made all three tonic wines, I preferred the taste of my version of Juliette’s recipe.
Christopher Hedley has a wonderful nettle iron tonic which I’ve made for several different people. As with all nettle “medicines” the recipients tend to take it until they don’t like it any more or forget and stop, which usually means they don’t need it.
Christopher Hedley’s iron tonic
Soak equal amounts of fresh nettle tops and organic apricots in good red wine, with a little bitter orange peel added. Soak for two weeks, strain and store in a cool place, Dose 1 or 2 dessertspoons twice daily.
This last recipe made me start to think about how to develop a tonic for a specific person. Karen was involved in a serious car accident at the beginning of the year. Thankfully she is now on the mend and I was wondering what would be helpful for her once she comes out of hospital. I put a query out on Henriette’s herblist, describing what had happened and said I was thinking of adding plantain to Chris Hedley’s tonic.
Henriette has suggested adding something for the liver to counteract all the medication she’s been on (dandelion and burdock should be available) and something for the digestive system to help it start working again after all the opiate painkillers she’s taken. She suggested prunes, figs, mallow or plantain seeds. I inadvertently dug up a marshmallow root recently, so it can be added to the mixture along with some dried prunes and figs. These can be eaten in very small doses once they have macerated for a couple of weeks or whizzed up with the infused Madeira.
Henrietta also suggested rose petals and rescue remedy. I still have some dried dogrose and apothecary’s rose petals from last summer, so I can add those to the mix. Hopefully we should be able to gather everything else during the next workshop on March 28th then Karen’s friend, Julie, can take it home with her to give Karen when it’s ready.
Nettle and carrot soup
1 onion (peeled, diced and sweated in a tablespoon of vegetable oil)
8 carrots (scraped and chopped)
3 parsnips (peeled and chopped)
1 colander full of young nettle tops (washed)
zest and juice of 1 orange
parsley
All the ingredients fitted into my 5 pint saucepan, so I covered them with water and simmered for about 20 minutes after bringing to the boil. After whizzing in the liquidiser, it just needed some salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot with wholemeal or granary bread.
Spring is often a time to think of tonics. Matt Wood has defined a tonic as “a herb or food that acts on the body in a slow, nutritive fashion to build up the substance of the body.” Jim MacDonald has written a really useful paragraph on his website describing the many different kinds of tonic, showing how different herbs can be used to meet different bodily needs.
Tonics can be taken in many different forms, from the simple nettle tea, to the complex maceration of a tonic wine. Here are four different recipes for a tonic wine. Two came from one of Debs Cook’s collection of ancient books and the third from Juliette de Bairacli Levy’s basic herb book.
Nettle Tea
Gather two handfuls of fresh nettle tops, (preferably in Spring) and place in teapot or cafatiere. (Wash first if any soil or debris can be seen) Fill the teapot with just boiled water and leave to steep for ten minutes. Strain and drink. Honey can be used to sweeten to taste.
Aromatic Wine
2-pints red wine
1/2 Tbsp sage leaves
2 Tbsps thyme leaves
2 Tbsps hyssop leaves
2 Tbsps spearmint leaves
2 Tbsps wormwood leaves
2 Tbsps marjoram herb
Use dried herbs
Chop the herbs into a coarse powder. Moisten the powders with some of the claret. Pack into a coffee machine, using parchment paper. Pour the claret over the herbs. It should yield about 1 pint of filtered liquid.
This French formula possesses strong tonic and aromatic properties. It is useful for invalids with feeble digestions and will also help with flatulence and other digestive disturbances. Use 1 tablespoon at a time. For ulcers, use heated as a hot (external) compress (dip a cloth into the hot liquid).
Tonic Wine
1 pint Madeira
1 sprig wormwood
1 sprig rosemary
1 small bruised nutmeg
1 inch bruised ginger root
1 inch bruised cinnamon bark
12 large organic raisins
Pour off about an ounce of the wine. Place herbs in the wine. Cork the bottle tightly. Place the bottle in a dark, cool place for a week or two. Strain off the herbs.
Juliette de Bairacli’s medicated wine
Several sprigs of rosemary and wormwood
6 candied cherries
2 nutmegs
1 inch cinnamon
Candied angelica
Bruised ginger root
1 doz large raisins
Pour over wine and leave in warm place for 1-2 weeks
Sarah Head’s medicated wine
6-8 sprigs rosemary (fresh)
2 sprigs mugwort (dried, but can use fresh)
2 handfuls of organic apricots
2 grated nutmegs
1 inch grated ginger root
1 quill cinnamon bark broken into pieces
Place ingredients in a 2lb glass jar, cover with Madeira wine, seal with screw top lid, label and date. Leave in a warm, dark cupboard/airing cupboard for 2-4 weeks. Strain and bottle. Take one small shot glass full as required.
Having made all three tonic wines, I preferred the taste of my version of Juliette’s recipe.
Christopher Hedley has a wonderful nettle iron tonic which I’ve made for several different people. As with all nettle “medicines” the recipients tend to take it until they don’t like it any more or forget and stop, which usually means they don’t need it.
Christopher Hedley’s iron tonic
Soak equal amounts of fresh nettle tops and organic apricots in good red wine, with a little bitter orange peel added. Soak for two weeks, strain and store in a cool place, Dose 1 or 2 dessertspoons twice daily.
This last recipe made me start to think about how to develop a tonic for a specific person. Karen was involved in a serious car accident at the beginning of the year. Thankfully she is now on the mend and I was wondering what would be helpful for her once she comes out of hospital. I put a query out on Henriette’s herblist, describing what had happened and said I was thinking of adding plantain to Chris Hedley’s tonic.
Henriette has suggested adding something for the liver to counteract all the medication she’s been on (dandelion and burdock should be available) and something for the digestive system to help it start working again after all the opiate painkillers she’s taken. She suggested prunes, figs, mallow or plantain seeds. I inadvertently dug up a marshmallow root recently, so it can be added to the mixture along with some dried prunes and figs. These can be eaten in very small doses once they have macerated for a couple of weeks or whizzed up with the infused Madeira.
Henrietta also suggested rose petals and rescue remedy. I still have some dried dogrose and apothecary’s rose petals from last summer, so I can add those to the mix. Hopefully we should be able to gather everything else during the next workshop on March 28th then Karen’s friend, Julie, can take it home with her to give Karen when it’s ready.
Tuesday, 17 February 2009
Of canals and herons
A heron perched on roof tiles of a school building at the bottom of our garden last Saturday morning as we were eating breakfast. It was still very frosty and he fluffed up his feathers so they resembled a ragged blue skirt over his lower white plumage. This was the second time I’d seen him perch there recently. I suspect he uses it as a vantage point between the two patches of water in Robin Hood Golf Course and Olton Mere.
The Mere was built in the late eighteenth century as a holding tank for water from Hazel Brook to feed the local section of the Warwick to Birmingham canal. Now it’s owned by a private sailing club with no access for the public unless they are willing to pay annually for the privilege. You catch tantalising glimpses of open water from the train as it rushes past on its way from Olton to Solihull station.
Canals often provide me with a means of escape from city or suburban life. When the sun shines I disappear from the office towards the Convention Centre situated at the heart of the restored Birmingham Canal system. If I walk towards Wolverhampton I can check on shepherds purse, plantain, horseradish, nettles, blackberries, rosehips and, my favourite, elder trees.
Occasionally I turn left rather than right and walk towards the university. It was along this path I discovered wild rue and mugwort while a guardian heron slept on one leg on top of a brick wall next to a new block of flats.
It always makes me curious when a new animal or bird crosses my path more than once. I wonder what their presence might teach me. If you search the internet, herons are mainly described while they are standing in deep water, yet my encounters with them have mainly been perching on high places either on tall trees or walls/roofs.
Herons are often associated with balance and harmony, knowing when to connect and when to stand on your own. They teach active patience, learning to wait until what you need comes to you and then spearing it, grabbing opportunities when they arise.
Their slate blue feathers can be associated with the “third-eye”, the energy centre situated in the middle of the brow/forehead. This centre helps with intuitive perception, the “gut feeling” you learn to rely on or, in my case, the sudden understanding about why a person is acting a certain way without any prior knowledge or information. I call it “reading the silence”. It doesn’t happen very often, but when it does, the insight is profound.
The really good thing about finding a heron near a canal means there must be fish living in the water. Herons are the curse of every fishpond owner as they can clear a garden pond within a few minutes. I remember one eating all the trout in the Sanctuary pond before I left school in the mid-70s and we’ve never had fish there since.
I don’t know a great deal about fish, but someone I met by the Olton canal last October said there was a wide variety of fish living there including a large pike!
What did surprise me during my canal walk was the variety of herbs and trees. As well as elder, hawthorn and horse chestnut trees, there were hazel, holly and sycamore - all mature trees with lots of undisturbed saplings growing up in any available space.
On the banks were dog rose and blackberry briars with plantain, garlic mustard (jack by the hedge), false alkenet, coltsfoot and nettles on the lower slopes. What surprised me was the large bed of alpine strawberries. I wondered if they were wild or escaped from a nearby garden.
Despite the traffic travelling over intermittent bridges, the towpath itself was blissfully quiet; the only noise a gentle splash from moorhens and mallards swimming on the surface of the water.
It was not long after the Autumn Equinox when I walked along the canal basking in the peace and sunshine and thinking about the Irish navvies who created both the canal and the railway which runs alongside. There is still another month before the Spring Equinox. Although days are definitely longer now, I am curbing any impatience to be up and doing. The heron brings a timely lesson - it is enough to be resting, watching and waiting for a few weeks more.
The Mere was built in the late eighteenth century as a holding tank for water from Hazel Brook to feed the local section of the Warwick to Birmingham canal. Now it’s owned by a private sailing club with no access for the public unless they are willing to pay annually for the privilege. You catch tantalising glimpses of open water from the train as it rushes past on its way from Olton to Solihull station.
Canals often provide me with a means of escape from city or suburban life. When the sun shines I disappear from the office towards the Convention Centre situated at the heart of the restored Birmingham Canal system. If I walk towards Wolverhampton I can check on shepherds purse, plantain, horseradish, nettles, blackberries, rosehips and, my favourite, elder trees.
Occasionally I turn left rather than right and walk towards the university. It was along this path I discovered wild rue and mugwort while a guardian heron slept on one leg on top of a brick wall next to a new block of flats.
It always makes me curious when a new animal or bird crosses my path more than once. I wonder what their presence might teach me. If you search the internet, herons are mainly described while they are standing in deep water, yet my encounters with them have mainly been perching on high places either on tall trees or walls/roofs.
Herons are often associated with balance and harmony, knowing when to connect and when to stand on your own. They teach active patience, learning to wait until what you need comes to you and then spearing it, grabbing opportunities when they arise.
Their slate blue feathers can be associated with the “third-eye”, the energy centre situated in the middle of the brow/forehead. This centre helps with intuitive perception, the “gut feeling” you learn to rely on or, in my case, the sudden understanding about why a person is acting a certain way without any prior knowledge or information. I call it “reading the silence”. It doesn’t happen very often, but when it does, the insight is profound.
The really good thing about finding a heron near a canal means there must be fish living in the water. Herons are the curse of every fishpond owner as they can clear a garden pond within a few minutes. I remember one eating all the trout in the Sanctuary pond before I left school in the mid-70s and we’ve never had fish there since.
I don’t know a great deal about fish, but someone I met by the Olton canal last October said there was a wide variety of fish living there including a large pike!
What did surprise me during my canal walk was the variety of herbs and trees. As well as elder, hawthorn and horse chestnut trees, there were hazel, holly and sycamore - all mature trees with lots of undisturbed saplings growing up in any available space.
On the banks were dog rose and blackberry briars with plantain, garlic mustard (jack by the hedge), false alkenet, coltsfoot and nettles on the lower slopes. What surprised me was the large bed of alpine strawberries. I wondered if they were wild or escaped from a nearby garden.
Despite the traffic travelling over intermittent bridges, the towpath itself was blissfully quiet; the only noise a gentle splash from moorhens and mallards swimming on the surface of the water.
It was not long after the Autumn Equinox when I walked along the canal basking in the peace and sunshine and thinking about the Irish navvies who created both the canal and the railway which runs alongside. There is still another month before the Spring Equinox. Although days are definitely longer now, I am curbing any impatience to be up and doing. The heron brings a timely lesson - it is enough to be resting, watching and waiting for a few weeks more.
Thursday, 5 February 2009
New writing blog launched!
Ever wanted to steep yourself in English countryside or be wooed by a powerful warlord of the Middle East?
Interested in stories of the past which have lessons for the present and future?
Take a look at the new writing blog, Mercian Muse by Midlands writer, Sarah J Head. Here you’ll find extracts and links to romance, poetry and short stories, both published and free reads.
Leave me a comment and let me know what you think!
Interested in stories of the past which have lessons for the present and future?
Take a look at the new writing blog, Mercian Muse by Midlands writer, Sarah J Head. Here you’ll find extracts and links to romance, poetry and short stories, both published and free reads.
Leave me a comment and let me know what you think!
Tuesday, 3 February 2009
Keeping warm in the snow.
Whenever I’m worried about something I make soup. It seems to be a helpful way to stop my world coming to an end. It seems to work and my family and visitors appear to appreciate whatever version I put in front of them.
Many of us are experiencing a “real” winter this year with temperatures at or below freezing for days at a time and this week, substantial amounts of snow. I always enjoy watching flakes begin to fall and a white carpet slowly covering the garden and surroundings. As long as I know all my loved ones are safe, with access to shelter, food and warmth, I can relax and snuggle down to enjoy some restful time inside the house.
At this dark time of the year, we need to think about nourishing our bodies and nettle is the perfect ally. Outside in both gardens and fields, nettles have been growing for a month or more. I still have several jars of dark green dried leaves from last year’s harvest, so this seems a good time to indulge in Spiced Nettle Latte – an idea I got from Darcey Blue, the Sonoran herbalist.
Spiced Nettle Latte
To a handful of dried or fresh nettle leaves, add one cinnamon stick, 1 clove and a grated half of a nutmeg in a teapot or cafatiere. Fill with just boiled water and leave to infuse for ten minutes. Heat up milk and whisk to make it frothy. Add equal amounts of tea and milk to a mug, then sprinkle powdered cinnamon or nutmeg on the top of the drink. Sip while warm.
When I made this for last November’s workshop there was a very interesting reaction – those who normally didn’t like milk liked the nettle latte and those who normally didn’t like nettle tea, enjoyed the latte. Seems like a popular drink for many people! When I made it at another workshop, some people asked for a milk-free tea and also enjoyed it.
I make several different versions of Nettle and Potato Soup depending on what vegetables I have to hand. Here are two popular ones.
Nettle and Potato Soup
Ingredients (1) Nettles, 1 lb potatoes, 1 onion, 1oz butter, water, salt, pepper, a few sprigs of parsley and thyme
(2) A colander full of fresh, washed nettle tops, 2 large sweet potatoes, 1 onion, 2 leeks, 8 cardomon seeds, 6 carrots (scraped), 4 garlic cloves
Method: (1)Wash nettles under the tap to remove any insects, cobwebs, dust or other debris and shake to remove excess moisture. Peel and chop the onion and sauté in butter or oil in a hot saucepan for five minutes until soft. Peel and quarter the potatoes and add to the pan. Cover with water and add nettles, herbs and seasoning. Cook for about 20 minutes until potatoes are soft. Liquidise. Serve with bread and butter.
(2)Peel and chop garlic gloves and onion. Wash and slice leeks. Sauté these in hot butter for 5 minutes until soft. Add peeled and chopped sweet potatoes, carrots, nettles, cardomon pods to saucepan and season to taste. Cover with boiling water and cook until everything is soft. (about 20minutes) Liquidise.
Nettles can be added to any vegetable soup. They go well with tomatoes and red and yellow peppers and any other vegetables you happen to have lying around. Dried nettles can also be added to main meals as a crumbled topping over pizzas or bolognais or used to make a sauce with pasta.
Nettle and Tuna Pasta
This is a quick and easy recipe for one person and can be easily expanded to feed a family.
Ingredients: 285g tin of tuna in brine, dried or fresh basil, two handfuls of dried nettles, two tomatoes, 1 onion, cooking oil or butter, 3oz of pasta. (any other vegetables e.g. one sweet potato, small tin of sweet corn depending on how hungry you are.)
Method: Peel and chop onion finely and sauté in hot butter or sunflower/ vegetable/olive oil in a saucepan until soft. Drain tuna. Wash and slice tomatoes. Add both to onion and cook gently. Add dried nettles and dried or fresh basil. Cover and simmer until pasta is ready. Check regularly and add extra liquid if necessary. Cook pasta in separate saucepan in boiling salted water for 15 minutes. If you are cooking other vegetables these can be cooked with the pasta. Drain pasta and serve with tuna/nettle sauce.
Winter is very much the time to indulge in “comfort vegetables”. This is the recipe for the soup I made last Friday for Saturday’s tincture workshop. It fed nineteen people on Saturday and three on Sunday with a little left over for Chris’ lunch yesterday. Chris said his friend was very grateful for its warmth and heartiness when they were kite flying on Sunday. The soup is vegan and celiac - friendly. I might use butter another time to give a richer flavour and substitute parsley for coriander if I were using ordinary potatoes and parsnips instead of the sweet potatoes and squash.
Orange Soup
1 large head of celery, washed and chopped.
1 large butternut squash peeled, de-seeded and sliced
1 large onion, peeled and diced
4 large garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced ½ an hour before cooking.
4 large sweet potatoes peeled and sliced
8 large carrots, washed and scraped.
½ bunch of coriander leaves.
10 pints cold water
Pepper and salt to taste.
Sweat the garlic and onion in a little vegetable oil until soft in the bottom of a large cooking pot with the lid on. (About 5 minutes). Add the celery and chopped coriander leaves, stir, then add the water. Cover, bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes. Add squash, carrots and sweet potatoes together with a little salt and pepper. Cook for a further 30 minutes or until everything is tender. Liquidise, season to taste and serve with homemade granary bread.
Last, but not least, if you are looking to increase your omega-3 oils you could try this version of Rebecca Hartman’s flax seed tea
Warming winter tea
Place 1-2tsp flax seed together with a broken up cinnamon stick and maybe a couple of cardamom pods and some sliced orange peel, a handful of fresh or half a handful of dried rosehips and the juice of half an orange. Put all the ingredients in a small saucepan and fill the saucepan with cold water. Bring to the boil, then simmer uncovered until the amount of water has halved from evaporation. Strain, add honey to taste and sip while hot.
One word of warning. I made a large quantity of this tea on Saturday with 4 tablespoons of flaxseed in 5 pints of water with 2 sliced tangerines, but no spices. Several people were unable to drink the tea on its own until a cinnamon tincture was added which then made it palatable. I shan’t be making it without cinnamon again!
Many of us are experiencing a “real” winter this year with temperatures at or below freezing for days at a time and this week, substantial amounts of snow. I always enjoy watching flakes begin to fall and a white carpet slowly covering the garden and surroundings. As long as I know all my loved ones are safe, with access to shelter, food and warmth, I can relax and snuggle down to enjoy some restful time inside the house.
At this dark time of the year, we need to think about nourishing our bodies and nettle is the perfect ally. Outside in both gardens and fields, nettles have been growing for a month or more. I still have several jars of dark green dried leaves from last year’s harvest, so this seems a good time to indulge in Spiced Nettle Latte – an idea I got from Darcey Blue, the Sonoran herbalist.
Spiced Nettle Latte
To a handful of dried or fresh nettle leaves, add one cinnamon stick, 1 clove and a grated half of a nutmeg in a teapot or cafatiere. Fill with just boiled water and leave to infuse for ten minutes. Heat up milk and whisk to make it frothy. Add equal amounts of tea and milk to a mug, then sprinkle powdered cinnamon or nutmeg on the top of the drink. Sip while warm.
When I made this for last November’s workshop there was a very interesting reaction – those who normally didn’t like milk liked the nettle latte and those who normally didn’t like nettle tea, enjoyed the latte. Seems like a popular drink for many people! When I made it at another workshop, some people asked for a milk-free tea and also enjoyed it.
I make several different versions of Nettle and Potato Soup depending on what vegetables I have to hand. Here are two popular ones.
Nettle and Potato Soup
Ingredients (1) Nettles, 1 lb potatoes, 1 onion, 1oz butter, water, salt, pepper, a few sprigs of parsley and thyme
(2) A colander full of fresh, washed nettle tops, 2 large sweet potatoes, 1 onion, 2 leeks, 8 cardomon seeds, 6 carrots (scraped), 4 garlic cloves
Method: (1)Wash nettles under the tap to remove any insects, cobwebs, dust or other debris and shake to remove excess moisture. Peel and chop the onion and sauté in butter or oil in a hot saucepan for five minutes until soft. Peel and quarter the potatoes and add to the pan. Cover with water and add nettles, herbs and seasoning. Cook for about 20 minutes until potatoes are soft. Liquidise. Serve with bread and butter.
(2)Peel and chop garlic gloves and onion. Wash and slice leeks. Sauté these in hot butter for 5 minutes until soft. Add peeled and chopped sweet potatoes, carrots, nettles, cardomon pods to saucepan and season to taste. Cover with boiling water and cook until everything is soft. (about 20minutes) Liquidise.
Nettles can be added to any vegetable soup. They go well with tomatoes and red and yellow peppers and any other vegetables you happen to have lying around. Dried nettles can also be added to main meals as a crumbled topping over pizzas or bolognais or used to make a sauce with pasta.
Nettle and Tuna Pasta
This is a quick and easy recipe for one person and can be easily expanded to feed a family.
Ingredients: 285g tin of tuna in brine, dried or fresh basil, two handfuls of dried nettles, two tomatoes, 1 onion, cooking oil or butter, 3oz of pasta. (any other vegetables e.g. one sweet potato, small tin of sweet corn depending on how hungry you are.)
Method: Peel and chop onion finely and sauté in hot butter or sunflower/ vegetable/olive oil in a saucepan until soft. Drain tuna. Wash and slice tomatoes. Add both to onion and cook gently. Add dried nettles and dried or fresh basil. Cover and simmer until pasta is ready. Check regularly and add extra liquid if necessary. Cook pasta in separate saucepan in boiling salted water for 15 minutes. If you are cooking other vegetables these can be cooked with the pasta. Drain pasta and serve with tuna/nettle sauce.
Winter is very much the time to indulge in “comfort vegetables”. This is the recipe for the soup I made last Friday for Saturday’s tincture workshop. It fed nineteen people on Saturday and three on Sunday with a little left over for Chris’ lunch yesterday. Chris said his friend was very grateful for its warmth and heartiness when they were kite flying on Sunday. The soup is vegan and celiac - friendly. I might use butter another time to give a richer flavour and substitute parsley for coriander if I were using ordinary potatoes and parsnips instead of the sweet potatoes and squash.
Orange Soup
1 large head of celery, washed and chopped.
1 large butternut squash peeled, de-seeded and sliced
1 large onion, peeled and diced
4 large garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced ½ an hour before cooking.
4 large sweet potatoes peeled and sliced
8 large carrots, washed and scraped.
½ bunch of coriander leaves.
10 pints cold water
Pepper and salt to taste.
Sweat the garlic and onion in a little vegetable oil until soft in the bottom of a large cooking pot with the lid on. (About 5 minutes). Add the celery and chopped coriander leaves, stir, then add the water. Cover, bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes. Add squash, carrots and sweet potatoes together with a little salt and pepper. Cook for a further 30 minutes or until everything is tender. Liquidise, season to taste and serve with homemade granary bread.
Last, but not least, if you are looking to increase your omega-3 oils you could try this version of Rebecca Hartman’s flax seed tea
Warming winter tea
Place 1-2tsp flax seed together with a broken up cinnamon stick and maybe a couple of cardamom pods and some sliced orange peel, a handful of fresh or half a handful of dried rosehips and the juice of half an orange. Put all the ingredients in a small saucepan and fill the saucepan with cold water. Bring to the boil, then simmer uncovered until the amount of water has halved from evaporation. Strain, add honey to taste and sip while hot.
One word of warning. I made a large quantity of this tea on Saturday with 4 tablespoons of flaxseed in 5 pints of water with 2 sliced tangerines, but no spices. Several people were unable to drink the tea on its own until a cinnamon tincture was added which then made it palatable. I shan’t be making it without cinnamon again!
Tuesday, 20 January 2009
Searching for lions in winter
Many people know dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) but few go hunting for it across fields in January. Standing in the middle of an empty five acres, gardening fork in one hand and a yellow washing up bowl in the other, I must have looked a strange sight to passing motorists or horse-riders trotting wearily home after a day’s hunting. Bitter wind sweeping down over the Cotswold hills made my eyes water, so I could hardly see and bending down made my nose run, necessitating the application of tissues every five minutes!
Luckily the ground was not frozen, nor was the soil too wet to release the dandelion roots when I found them. “Gather second year roots,” says Linda Ours Rago in her book, “Blackberry Cove Herbal: Healing with Common Herbs in the Appalachian Wise Woman Tradition”, but she doesn’t say how to recognise the difference between first, second or older roots by the crown of new leaves appearing on the surface.
What I discovered was that smaller roots seemed to have more leaves and thicker roots were only just sprouting a dark, green array. The thicker taproots are not like carrots, they are actually the product of several small roots – often from more than one plant- twisting around each other to reach up to half and inch diameter, but with a hollow centre.
It’s often easier to identify the roots once you have tipped the clod of earth upside down. The white root sap will gleam at you from the darkness of the soil, enabling you to almost “crack the clod open” to reveal the root in all its glory – no matter how small it is!
I love roots. I don’t enjoy digging them, especially not on my own, but there is a real sense of achievement and worthwhile effort when you’ve finished all the scrubbing and other preparation and the jar of new tincture is sitting on the table waiting to be put away to macerate.
I washed the roots, scrubbing them furiously before swilling in several changes of water. After that I cut them into small sections less than an inch long and about 1/4inch thick and put them on trays to dry in the fire oven for several hours. They came out very crisp but the leaves didn’t disintegrate on touch, which I would have expected if they had dried too long.
Normally I wouldn’t bother drying them, but they were so wet and my harvest was only half of what Chris and I gathered last year, so I decided to concentrate everything to try and extract the maximum amounts in vodka. It will be interesting to see how it turns out.
Seeing the crispness of the roots made me want to create a dandelion root chai with other spices. Unfortunately my coffee grinder isn’t working at the moment, so I shall have to wait until I gather my next batch of roots to try this out.
It seems only right that dandelion’s Latin name comes from Greek words 'taraxos' (disorder) and 'akos' (remedy), echoing the many centuries dandelions have been helping people. Its English name is derived from the French “dents de lion” meaning lion’s tooth referring to the serrated edge of the leaves. Of course the French have their own word for the plant – Pissenlit – which eloquently describes its diuretic nature.
There are so many different uses and recipes for dandelions. Brigitte Mars has written a wonderful little book called “Dandelion Medicine”. It’s out of print, but still available from the US. She provides a cornucopia of ideas from nourishing soups, fritters and pancakes to cosmetic uses of dandelions.
I played with dandelions a lot during 2008. She was a real ally in helping my body return to a state of balance where my ankles no longer swelled if I sat at my desk all day or stood in front of a group of people during one of my workshops.
The root is historically ally to the liver and Christopher Hedley recommends it for any digestive problems or long term treatment of gall-stones. When my hairdresser was complaining of digestive upsets several years ago, I recommended she try some dandelion tea. I warned her about the bitter taste, but she said she loved it!
Dandelion leaves support the kidneys and bring real excitement to any salad especially when coupled with sorrel leaves! The leaves are best picked before the plant flowers or they can become too bitter afterwards. I remember picking leaves in driving sleet last March, which not only shows how appalling our Easter weather was, but also how desperate I was to gather my own medicine and not be reliant on store-bought produce. Even when the leaves were dried, they still retained a more vibrant colour than the bought dandelion leaves.
My salads are never measured or weighed, but my friend, Debs Cook from The Herb Society produced a delightful dandelion salad and soup when she appeared last year in Countryfile on BBC1 last April. You can find the recipes here.
One of the new dandelion parts I played with last year was dandelion flower. We made the essence during a workshop in May. I thought the flower essence was for happiness, but I was delighted to see a wonderful story given in Matt Woods’ book, “The Practice of Traditional Western Herbalism” where an eight year old girl, who was being thoroughly obnoxious to her entire family, completely changed her nature when given a few drops of dandelion flower essence. Unfortunately I didn’t keep any of the flower remedy after the workshop but I shall be making some more this year to offer to harassed parents!
It was dandelion syrup which really turned Chris onto herbal products. I made two batches last Spring. We poured it over porridge for breakfast and Chris decided it made a really nice addition to his mid-morning coffee while I was away at work. I used Non Shaw and Christopher Hedley’s basic recipe for making syrups, inspired by Henriette’s eulogy about dandelion syrup in her blog.
I also made some dandelion flower salve. The sunshine yellow oil makes everyone smile! I was so glad I did, because one lady who came to my workshops had recently had a double mastectomy and she found the salve really helpful in soothing her scar tissue.
I have often thought you cannot really claim to know a plant until you have gathered and used every part of them. Although I have shared many experiences with dandelion, I suspect there are many more secrets she has yet to reveal!
Luckily the ground was not frozen, nor was the soil too wet to release the dandelion roots when I found them. “Gather second year roots,” says Linda Ours Rago in her book, “Blackberry Cove Herbal: Healing with Common Herbs in the Appalachian Wise Woman Tradition”, but she doesn’t say how to recognise the difference between first, second or older roots by the crown of new leaves appearing on the surface.
What I discovered was that smaller roots seemed to have more leaves and thicker roots were only just sprouting a dark, green array. The thicker taproots are not like carrots, they are actually the product of several small roots – often from more than one plant- twisting around each other to reach up to half and inch diameter, but with a hollow centre.
It’s often easier to identify the roots once you have tipped the clod of earth upside down. The white root sap will gleam at you from the darkness of the soil, enabling you to almost “crack the clod open” to reveal the root in all its glory – no matter how small it is!
I love roots. I don’t enjoy digging them, especially not on my own, but there is a real sense of achievement and worthwhile effort when you’ve finished all the scrubbing and other preparation and the jar of new tincture is sitting on the table waiting to be put away to macerate.
I washed the roots, scrubbing them furiously before swilling in several changes of water. After that I cut them into small sections less than an inch long and about 1/4inch thick and put them on trays to dry in the fire oven for several hours. They came out very crisp but the leaves didn’t disintegrate on touch, which I would have expected if they had dried too long.
Normally I wouldn’t bother drying them, but they were so wet and my harvest was only half of what Chris and I gathered last year, so I decided to concentrate everything to try and extract the maximum amounts in vodka. It will be interesting to see how it turns out.
Seeing the crispness of the roots made me want to create a dandelion root chai with other spices. Unfortunately my coffee grinder isn’t working at the moment, so I shall have to wait until I gather my next batch of roots to try this out.
It seems only right that dandelion’s Latin name comes from Greek words 'taraxos' (disorder) and 'akos' (remedy), echoing the many centuries dandelions have been helping people. Its English name is derived from the French “dents de lion” meaning lion’s tooth referring to the serrated edge of the leaves. Of course the French have their own word for the plant – Pissenlit – which eloquently describes its diuretic nature.
There are so many different uses and recipes for dandelions. Brigitte Mars has written a wonderful little book called “Dandelion Medicine”. It’s out of print, but still available from the US. She provides a cornucopia of ideas from nourishing soups, fritters and pancakes to cosmetic uses of dandelions.
I played with dandelions a lot during 2008. She was a real ally in helping my body return to a state of balance where my ankles no longer swelled if I sat at my desk all day or stood in front of a group of people during one of my workshops.
The root is historically ally to the liver and Christopher Hedley recommends it for any digestive problems or long term treatment of gall-stones. When my hairdresser was complaining of digestive upsets several years ago, I recommended she try some dandelion tea. I warned her about the bitter taste, but she said she loved it!
Dandelion leaves support the kidneys and bring real excitement to any salad especially when coupled with sorrel leaves! The leaves are best picked before the plant flowers or they can become too bitter afterwards. I remember picking leaves in driving sleet last March, which not only shows how appalling our Easter weather was, but also how desperate I was to gather my own medicine and not be reliant on store-bought produce. Even when the leaves were dried, they still retained a more vibrant colour than the bought dandelion leaves.
My salads are never measured or weighed, but my friend, Debs Cook from The Herb Society produced a delightful dandelion salad and soup when she appeared last year in Countryfile on BBC1 last April. You can find the recipes here.
One of the new dandelion parts I played with last year was dandelion flower. We made the essence during a workshop in May. I thought the flower essence was for happiness, but I was delighted to see a wonderful story given in Matt Woods’ book, “The Practice of Traditional Western Herbalism” where an eight year old girl, who was being thoroughly obnoxious to her entire family, completely changed her nature when given a few drops of dandelion flower essence. Unfortunately I didn’t keep any of the flower remedy after the workshop but I shall be making some more this year to offer to harassed parents!
It was dandelion syrup which really turned Chris onto herbal products. I made two batches last Spring. We poured it over porridge for breakfast and Chris decided it made a really nice addition to his mid-morning coffee while I was away at work. I used Non Shaw and Christopher Hedley’s basic recipe for making syrups, inspired by Henriette’s eulogy about dandelion syrup in her blog.
I also made some dandelion flower salve. The sunshine yellow oil makes everyone smile! I was so glad I did, because one lady who came to my workshops had recently had a double mastectomy and she found the salve really helpful in soothing her scar tissue.
I have often thought you cannot really claim to know a plant until you have gathered and used every part of them. Although I have shared many experiences with dandelion, I suspect there are many more secrets she has yet to reveal!
January Musings
Many people find winter difficult. In some respects, I’m one of them. Not because of Seasonal Affected Disorder (SAD), but because Christmas brings such a welter of responsibilities and activities that from the end of December I seem to lose the ability to think or create or do anything!
I say that, yet, looking back, the truth is I’ve done so much, I’m just exhausted. Sleep helps. Playing helps even more, but my kind of play usually results in much less sleep, so it’s a vicious circle! I’ve enjoyed myself and, from the fun, been able to kick start my creative muse and finish the adult romance I’ve been posting on the internet called Tears in a Dry Land.
It’s been a long time in gestation. Chapters 1-5 were written up in the caravan in Cornwall in 2007, Chapters 6 and 7 were completed during December 2008, but I’d never thought about the ending. I’m very bad at endings. I’m good at starting new projects, having new ideas, working on them until they are about half way through, but finishing them is like drawing blood out of a stone. I have to drag myself, kicking and screaming to ensure their completion.
Luckily I have two good friends, Steven and Matthew, who act as my editors. I can rely on them to spot not just spellings and bad grammar, but also parts of the story they’re not happy with. Their comments are usually very helpful and I’m able to change bits, add extra pages or cut things to make a much tighter, more interesting creation. It’s very satisfying when you’re happy with the last few pages and hope your readers will be too.
Chris flew off to the French Alps for a week’s skiing with his cousin and her friends last Friday. I decided to spend the weekend with my parents as they’d been suffering badly with colds since Christmas but are now much improved.
Despite the howling winds and lashing rain on Friday night, Saturday turned out to be a beautiful day (if you wrapped up warmly!). I spent time down at the Sanctuary pondering what needed to be done over the coming year.
The body responsible for maintaining live electricity pylons had written to my father the previous week, asking if they could bring a JCB into the Sanctuary to replace the wooden pole which holds the electricity cables. My initial reaction was one of shock and horror at the thought of the desecration which could be caused, but thinking about it more calmly, I realised this could be the opportunity I’ve been looking for.
The pylon sits in the middle of the top herb bed. It is completely out of place and I’ve worried about the energetic difficulties it causes to the plants. Now, if they are agreeable, we could move the live wires completely out of the Sanctuary, to the corner of the field which can’t be used for hay. The herb bed could be given a totally new lease of life.
The other major project which has to be completed before March is moving the white mulberry tree. It’s grown so large; it completely blocks the view of the valley from the summer house, so my parents decided it must go. I have asked Fiona Hopes, who came to one of my workshops three years ago, if she can find it a new home, so I am waiting to hear what she thinks.
Visiting the Sanctuary in winter is always difficult, because I see all the things which need to be done, but it’s too cold/wet/frosty to do anything about them. There is so much grass, thistles, fewerfew and other plants to remove from the main beds. Other beds have been totally overgrown and need to be reclaimed if any of the herbs I’ve planted there can flourish and be harvested next year.
The winter does allow me to see possibilities. If the ivy could be removed from under the “ancient woodland” area, we could plant English bluebells, primroses, ramsons/wild garlic and maybe other woodland plants. If the stream bed could be extended a little, we could start a watercress site – something I’ve wanted to do for a while.
There are several areas where fallen twigs and branches need tidying up into piles ready for burning, opening up other parts of the Sanctuary which we could perhaps use for storytelling or other events.
Despite all these plans running around in my head, it wasn’t until I began to stop and look properly; I began to see the wonder in the winter landscape. There were several patches of violets flowering underneath the hawthorn and crab apple trees. The bank was awash with thick, green daffodil spears and pristine drops of snow lay on the grass from snowdrops bursting into flower.
I took several photographs to prove Spring is on the way before resting for a while on the bench. A pair of buzzards were wheeling above the pasture in the next field and as they moved to other territory, I watched a kestrel and a rook battle with each other - something I’d never seen before.
The dried leaves of the Joe Pye Weed stalks (gravelroot) clattered in the wind, reminding me to listen, to be present, rather than consumed by my own thoughts. There was a tiny bird flying between the briars overhanging the fence and the tunnel of ivy sheltering the meditation space, but I couldn’t make out what it was. I know there are a pair of wrens, a robin and some finches, as well as blackbirds, hedge sparrows and other birds in the Sanctuary, but the movement was two quick to make an identification.
It was good to sit and feel the hum of the earth beginning to wake again all around me, giving strength to return to the real world, taking the confidence of new life and new energy with me.
I say that, yet, looking back, the truth is I’ve done so much, I’m just exhausted. Sleep helps. Playing helps even more, but my kind of play usually results in much less sleep, so it’s a vicious circle! I’ve enjoyed myself and, from the fun, been able to kick start my creative muse and finish the adult romance I’ve been posting on the internet called Tears in a Dry Land.
It’s been a long time in gestation. Chapters 1-5 were written up in the caravan in Cornwall in 2007, Chapters 6 and 7 were completed during December 2008, but I’d never thought about the ending. I’m very bad at endings. I’m good at starting new projects, having new ideas, working on them until they are about half way through, but finishing them is like drawing blood out of a stone. I have to drag myself, kicking and screaming to ensure their completion.
Luckily I have two good friends, Steven and Matthew, who act as my editors. I can rely on them to spot not just spellings and bad grammar, but also parts of the story they’re not happy with. Their comments are usually very helpful and I’m able to change bits, add extra pages or cut things to make a much tighter, more interesting creation. It’s very satisfying when you’re happy with the last few pages and hope your readers will be too.
Chris flew off to the French Alps for a week’s skiing with his cousin and her friends last Friday. I decided to spend the weekend with my parents as they’d been suffering badly with colds since Christmas but are now much improved.
Despite the howling winds and lashing rain on Friday night, Saturday turned out to be a beautiful day (if you wrapped up warmly!). I spent time down at the Sanctuary pondering what needed to be done over the coming year.
The body responsible for maintaining live electricity pylons had written to my father the previous week, asking if they could bring a JCB into the Sanctuary to replace the wooden pole which holds the electricity cables. My initial reaction was one of shock and horror at the thought of the desecration which could be caused, but thinking about it more calmly, I realised this could be the opportunity I’ve been looking for.
The pylon sits in the middle of the top herb bed. It is completely out of place and I’ve worried about the energetic difficulties it causes to the plants. Now, if they are agreeable, we could move the live wires completely out of the Sanctuary, to the corner of the field which can’t be used for hay. The herb bed could be given a totally new lease of life.
The other major project which has to be completed before March is moving the white mulberry tree. It’s grown so large; it completely blocks the view of the valley from the summer house, so my parents decided it must go. I have asked Fiona Hopes, who came to one of my workshops three years ago, if she can find it a new home, so I am waiting to hear what she thinks.
Visiting the Sanctuary in winter is always difficult, because I see all the things which need to be done, but it’s too cold/wet/frosty to do anything about them. There is so much grass, thistles, fewerfew and other plants to remove from the main beds. Other beds have been totally overgrown and need to be reclaimed if any of the herbs I’ve planted there can flourish and be harvested next year.
The winter does allow me to see possibilities. If the ivy could be removed from under the “ancient woodland” area, we could plant English bluebells, primroses, ramsons/wild garlic and maybe other woodland plants. If the stream bed could be extended a little, we could start a watercress site – something I’ve wanted to do for a while.
There are several areas where fallen twigs and branches need tidying up into piles ready for burning, opening up other parts of the Sanctuary which we could perhaps use for storytelling or other events.
Despite all these plans running around in my head, it wasn’t until I began to stop and look properly; I began to see the wonder in the winter landscape. There were several patches of violets flowering underneath the hawthorn and crab apple trees. The bank was awash with thick, green daffodil spears and pristine drops of snow lay on the grass from snowdrops bursting into flower.
I took several photographs to prove Spring is on the way before resting for a while on the bench. A pair of buzzards were wheeling above the pasture in the next field and as they moved to other territory, I watched a kestrel and a rook battle with each other - something I’d never seen before.
The dried leaves of the Joe Pye Weed stalks (gravelroot) clattered in the wind, reminding me to listen, to be present, rather than consumed by my own thoughts. There was a tiny bird flying between the briars overhanging the fence and the tunnel of ivy sheltering the meditation space, but I couldn’t make out what it was. I know there are a pair of wrens, a robin and some finches, as well as blackbirds, hedge sparrows and other birds in the Sanctuary, but the movement was two quick to make an identification.
It was good to sit and feel the hum of the earth beginning to wake again all around me, giving strength to return to the real world, taking the confidence of new life and new energy with me.
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