Shopping for Mullein & Peppermint

Margaret taking a Peppermint bath outdoors

Today Margaret joined me to shop in the wild and to make herbal preparations. We spent the morning foraging God’s stores, creating and eating a wild lunch and making lip balm. It is always delightful to share in nature’s bounty with kindred spirits!

Mullein Madness!

Our first shoppe was an amazing Mullein patch where the first year rosettes literally blanketed the hillside. Unfortunately, the hail storm had shredded the beautiful downy leaves but there was still much in tact to harvest for medicine. I told Margaret about the doctrine of signatures and how God places little hints in his gifts to clue us in to possible uses for our health and well being. Mullein’s tall straight stalk reminds us of tall straight spines and indeed a decoction of the roots make powerful medicine to alleviate back pain. Upon close examination of the hairy leaves we compared them to the tiny hairs that line the lungs and I told her of Mullein’s legendary helpfulness with lung ailments and dry coughs (taken as a tea or as a tincture). The beautiful yellow flowers that march up the stalk throughout the Summer are not out yet but their gift is to soothe ear infections. (infused in olive oil). The practical gifts of Mullein are endless: wicks for oil lamps, stalks to coat with wax and light as torches, hiker’s TP, an herbal bandaid to cover a wound with to aid in the healing and protective process, shoe liners, and the seeds have rotenone in them which is a natural insect repellant (perhaps one reason why lighting the stalks for torch light was extra helpful in keeping away pesky insects).

Then onto the llama farm where Skipper greeted his friends and we checked out the Peppermint patch, harvested some Knotweed (to keep it at bay and to make something yummy to eat), identified Poison Hemlock and dug up some Solomon Seal root. We met a new friend, Sarah as well.

Sarah is an ASU student working four days a week at Diane’s llama farm. She and her dog Leon muck stalls and are planting a vegetable garden at Mollie’s Branch.

Back home we cooked up a wild lunch of Milkweed stalks, Lambsquarter, marinated Burdock roots, and Violet tea. YUM! Finally we made a lip balm with infused Cottonwood Bud oil, Coconut oil and Lemon. Turned out great and will be so healing to chapped lips.

Feeling blessed again!