Oh the Lilacs are in bloom in my Mom's Backyard.

Planted tomatoes,calendula,sunflowers, peas,cabbages, cosmos,lupines, corn.

This spot of mugwort amidst the cherry blossoms comes back every year in the middle of downtown Columbus. It is just like the mugwort that grows everywhere in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California.

Mugwort is one of my very favorite plants. Artemesia vulgaris I believe.

Happy Blooming Spring Y'all.

Viva Dandelions!!!

Americans spend millions upon millions to rid their lawns of this very medicinal and edible plant. This is an excerpt from http://www.botanical.com/ about Dandelions:

"In Berkshire and Worcestershire, the flowers are used in the preparation of a beverage known as Dandelion Wine. This is made by pouring a gallon of boiling water over a gallon of the flowers. After being well stirred, it is covered with a blanket and allowed to stand for three days, being stirred again at intervals, after which it is strained and the liquor boiled for 30 minutes, with the addition of 3 1/2 lb. of loaf sugar, a little ginger sliced, the rind of 1 orange and 1 lemon sliced. When cold, a little yeast is placed in it on a piece of toast, producing fermentation. It is then covered over and allowed to stand two days until it has ceased 'working,' when it is placed in a cask, well bunged down for two months before bottling. This wine is suggestive of sherry slightly flat, and has the deserved reputation of being an excellent tonic, extremely good for the blood.

The roasted roots are largely used to form Dandelion Coffee, being first thoroughly cleaned, then dried by artificial heat, and slightly roasted till they are the tint of coffee, when they are ground ready for use. The roots are taken up in the autumn, being then most fitted for this purpose. The prepared powder is said to be almost indistinguishable from real coffee, and is claimed to be an improvement to inferior coffee, which is often an adulterated product. Of late years, Dandelion Coffee has come more into use in this country, being obtainable at most vegetarian restaurants and stores. Formerly it used occasionally to be given for medicinal purposes, generally mixed with true coffee to give it a better flavour. The ground root was sometimes mixed with chocolate for a similar purpose. Dandelion Coffee is a natural beverage without any of the injurious effects that ordinary tea and coffee have on the nerves and digestive organs. It exercises a stimulating influence over the whole system, helping the liver and kidneys to do their work and keeping the bowels in a healthy condition, so that it offers great advantages to dyspeptics and does not cause wakefulness. "

Happy Earth Day!

"The Bus" Trailer from Damon Ristau on Vimeo.

Gillian Welch
Everything is Free

Happy April Fool's Day Y'all!