Windows are very important to me, as my heart constantly draws me to the outdoors.
From the windows of our home, I like to see trees and sky.
I like to look out at something that is bigger than myself.
In the Garden - comfrey
A few months ago, I was regularly boiling beef bones for soup broth. I thought it was a shame to put the bones in the bin, so I buried them deeply and planted a small comfrey plant on top. I think the comfrey roots are already getting some nutrients from those bones! I learned to value comfrey after reading about this wonderful plant in Isabell Shipard's book How Can I Use Herbs in my Daily Life. Click on Isabell's links below to learn a little more about comfrey. When our comfrey is growing well, I will buy a few chickens, and will give them the leaves to eat. Hubby and I have eaten comfrey several times, after making sure that I wash the leaves well. I don't feel comfortable about eating it raw, but am very happy to cook it.
https://herbsarespecial.com.au/isabells_blog/comfrey-potential-to-knit-broken-bones.html
https://herbsarespecial.com.au/isabells_blog/comfrey-healing-remedy.html
In the Bushland - nettles
I knew from the stings on my legs that I had passed through some stinging nettles during an early evening stroll in the bush! I looked for these stinging nettles when I went back in daylight, and it is such an expanse of nettles, that I will return wearing gloves to pick a big bunch to make nettle soup. I was growing nettles in our last garden, just a few small plants, but this is the real thing!
 Just imagine how much nettle tea and nettle soup I will be able to make! This ready supply is in our nearby bushland at Picnic Point, Toowoomba! |
Nettle provides one of the richest sources of chlorophyll and is a valuable blood builder. It is one of the most powerful iron sources in the vegetable kingdom. Therefore, it is a valuable aid for anemia, during menstruation to build up iron, for fatigue or whenever you feel run down or tired & think of nettles. As nettle is high in iodine it is beneficial for the thyroid gland.
Leaves are a source of histamine, which helps to reduce the symptoms in any allergic response, including hay fever, asthma and sinus. Also, serotonin, which acts as a neuro-transmitter to the central nervous system and is helpful for relieving stress, fear, nervousness, depression, insomnia, and eating disorders; and melatonin, an antioxidant sometimes referred to as an anti-ageing hormone , that may give relief from chronic fatigue syndrome, seasonal effect disorder, depression and sleeplessness.
Drink nettle as a tea to stimulate the digestive system and encourage weight-loss, to stop haemorrhaging (including excess menstruation); to treat ulcers, kidney, bladder and liver ailments; and to promote milk flow for nursing mothers. Nettle is valuable for strengthening the adrenals. Eating nettles or drinking the tea has been a folk custom to make hair brighter, thicker and shinier and the skin clearer and healthier. A healing ointment is prepared by steeping cut nettle leaves in oil.
Use nettle tea for its metal chelating action to remove heavy metals and to detox the body. Sip nettle tea for its benefits as a mild diuretic to relieve fluid retention, and to stimulate the lymphatic system. It is also known to eliminate bad breath. Nettles increase excretion of uric acid through the kidneys, making them an excellent remedy for gout and all other arthritic conditions. The herb is used to reduce blood sugar, and a tincture of the seed is found to raise thyroid function and reduce goiter.
Use nettle and get the nutrient-rich benefits: protein 21%, polysaccharides, vitamins A, B complex, C, D, E and K; and minerals, iron (41.8mg per 100 g), calcium (2,900mg), magnesium (860mg), potassium (1,750mg); chromium, iodine, silica, silicon, selenium and sulphur.
This wonderful "nettle info" is from Queensland herbalist - Isabell Shipard. https://herbsarespecial.com.au/isabells_blog/nettle-many-uses-many-benefits.html
The following link will take you to an earlier blog entry
which I wrote on the value and uses of nettles.
Things that sting or hurt us in life can at times be of great value!
from Robyn
painting of robin by Brenda, Robyn's mum