The Healing Woods

The Healing Woods

  The Healing Woods by Blanche Day Manos Long, long ago in the forest, in quiet and shadowy hills, The Cherokee used roots and berries and leaves to cure their ills. There was blackberry tea for the stomach, and yellow dock for a cut toe, Sumac would soothe poison ivy, and wild rose would make […]

Frustrations and the Herb Garden

Frustrations and the Herb Garden

We’ve had so much rain lately, that I hadn’t been able to stick the last of my little herbs into the ground. I didn’t want to dash out between lightning flashes and plant them in the mud. But, finally, a sunny day. I pulled up the grass and weeds that had dared to poke up […]

Idling Into Thursday

Idling Into Thursday

A person’s thoughts are never really idle–disconnected, maybe, scattered here and there. That’s what mine are this morning. I look out at my wet, soggy ground and wonder if I’ll have a chance to get the last of my herbs planted today. Yesterday was a wild weather day. Wind lashed the trees and rain poured […]

Dirt on My Hands, Sunshine in My Heart

Why is digging in the dirt therapeutic? Maybe it isn’t for everyone, but for me, it is. Yesterday, I finally got out to the herb garden, dug out grass and weeds, and planted a few herbs, veggies, a hollyhock, and some peppers. When the sun is on my back and my hands are in the […]

And Then Came the Reward

And Then Came the Reward

Work is often its own reward. A person can lose herself in work and troubles all just disappear, or at least, grow smaller. Yesterday was a day perfect for losing troubles and worries. It was a day to be glad just to be alive. Neither hot nor cold, but somewhere in a comfortable in between, […]

The Lovely Feeling of Being Home

The Lovely Feeling of Being Home

The older I grow, the more convinced I am that there’s absolutely no feeling that can beat the feeling of being home. Home…where you can just be yourself, relax, put on old shoes or go without shoes, eat if you’re hungry, go to sleep when you want, clean house until it sparkles or not. Home! […]