~ A month of Haws ~

Oh beautiful October how I am loving this summery autumn you are gifting us ~ thank you*

The Rowan berries are in full orange fire
and the air is biting into an Autumn crisp;
while the light is sliding from its warm summer pink
to the cooler blue of shadowy fall.

Twice this month I have collected, simmered in cider vinegar and water, mashed and strained through a sieve, the meditative process of making hawberry ketchup. The picking and de-stalking are reminiscent of sitting as a child with my nana on her peaceful doorstep, shelling peas we had just picked from her abundant garden.

Red haws

blue sky.

A willow basket

made with love to hold 

these berries

~ little capsules of heart medicine ~

It is an excercise in patience to mash the cooked berries through a sieve, but listening to this, which makes it summer at any time of the year, and this which must surely make anyone just want to dance made it purely pleasurable. Many berries have to be picked to make up a weight of 500g which, as a ketchup fills just one bottle, but the taste is so good that it was worth the effort of doing it twice, so we could have two bottles!

I heard that if you turn the bottles upside down when you have poured in the hot sauce, it makes them self sterilize, so that is why these two are rather a sticky looking mess :~)

Cold busting ~

My Man had sneezing fits all day Sunday. He has allergies, so sneezing is fairly normal, but when they went on for so long, we decided he must have a cold. We had noticed many people coughing and spluttering in town last week, so he most likely picked up the vicious little virus then.

I have loved herbal medicine since I was a young teenager, so home remedies have always been my first choice. One of my favourite things to do is make my own infusions, decoctions, tinctures, creams, syrups and lotions, with our kitchen often being transformed into a working apothecary.

Sunday evening, and again today, I made my cold busting concoction. I have evolved it over the years to include:

:: A decoction made with fresh root ginger, cinnamon sticks and dried liquorice root.

:: Tinctures of Echinacea purpurea, elderberries, (this is one I make myself), and myrrh (we only need a few drops of this one - it's POWERFUL!), with mullein leaf if there is a cough present.

:: Freshly squeezed lemon juice, cider vinegar, honey and a small pinch of cayenne.

We find it potent, warming, comforting and it works so well. My Man's sneezing had gone by Monday evening and his sore throat had cleared by Tuesday evening.

It satisfies something old and deep in me to be able to help my family and our sweet little dog using our herb and essential oil friends. We control MM's high blood pressure with a lovely herbal tea mix that I make up, as well as acupressure and the yogic alternate nostril breathing.....oh! and I give him craniosacral treatments too! 

Four of my favourite books to refer to are:

Bartram's Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine

Acupressure for Health: a Complete Self-Care Manual

The Fragrant Pharmacy

Aromatherapy an A-Z