https://3speak.tv/watch?v=calendulacraft/mrqxivsn
This weekend I had a few orders of candles to package and decided to capture the process in a video. I have seen small business owners do this before: film behind-the-scenes aspect of their business in order to show the how truly handmade their offerings are.

I guess the idea is that while some people are totally okay with AI-everything, others are longing for more handmade culture both in the products they buy and on their social media feed. I am adopting this philosophy too. So, here it is, a little peak at how I carefully package an order of 12 candles, plus a few extras too.

P.S. the context words are in Spanish because, my business is based in Argentina!

https://3speak.tv/watch?v=calendulacraft/tgpiumrbht

Once I heard someone describe fall as a "second spring" ... a time when we get another chance to sow seeds once the harsh summer sun has faded. As I slowly transition my garden into cold season crops I am really feeling the second spring vibes.

Some years the zinnia flowers last well into winter and bring needed color to the garden. Just in case a frost comes early I hae been collecting flowers to press into my journal and petals to dry. I like to keep a few jars of flowers from summer & spring on my desk to keep my spirits high in the depths of winter.

I have planted fava beens here, there isn't much else going on in the garden beds. This garden has been in use year after year for too long. I am transitioning to s bed much closer to home, just outside my front door in fact!

If you have gotten this far in my blog post, thank you for taking the time to read whatnI write. And, if you haven't already, please follow me to see more upcoming post and videos 🌼🌳

https://3speak.tv/watch?v=calendulacraft/whuvjquwft

🎶 "Golden Brown" by the Stranglers

📖 the zine features in the video was sent to me by Midnight Zines.

https://3speak.tv/watch?v=calendulacraft/wakawhtk
As summer turns to fall I am preparing for the cold months ahead. On a practical level this means collecting firewood and making broths at night. In the realm of natural crafts this means gathering up the last flowers from my summer garden to preserve as indoor decor for fall and winter.

Creating dry bouquets is much like putting together fresh ones with a few challenges as well as benefits. These bouquets can last many months, even up to two years, when properly kept. Fresh bouquets, however, last two weeks in the most ideal conditions.

Making these dried floral arrangements requires more plant material than fresh bouquets. Stems, leaves, and flowers tend to shrink as they dry. And not all flowers keep their original color — but many do and experimentation is part of the fun. So, let's go make some bouquets!

https://3speak.tv/watch?v=calendulacraft/bdlvazpt
Living in a rural area with very little access to health care I feel that growing herbs for medicine is totally an essential task. So many of the herbs that were scattered throughout this land I brought together just outside my kitchen door where they are on hand at any given moment.

Today I want to talk about THREE of these herbs that are particularly important to me during the fall: Catnip, Rosemary, and Echinacea.

There is so much conflicting information about when exactly to harvest echinacea. Here in Argentina I have heard of herbalists who harvest year old plants, using the leaves, and especially the flowers as the base of their tinctures. Most North American herbalists put an emphasis on harvesting the roots for medicine once they have reached three years maturity.

Anyone familiar with herbalism will have heard of echinacea's use in supporting the immune system. I love that echinacea has broken into mainstream culture and has a reputation for healing, even among those that don't tend towards herbal remedies for their illness.

According to Alma Hogan Snell - an herbalist steeped in the traditional her Crow ancestry as well as a life-long student of "western" herbalism - echinacea root is very helpful in the case of snake bites. In her book "Crow Indian Recipes and Herbal Medicine" I read of how she re-habilitated a man who had been bitten by a rattle snake but was unwilling to go to the hospital. She washed the wound with echinacea liniment (a topical tincture) as well as administered the tincture orally with frequency. He recovered but, she suggests, that taking echinacea regularly and avoiding snake bites all-together is the best course of action.

https://3speak.tv/watch?v=calendulacraft/rxnlnhnj
(Music: "It All Feels Right" by Washed Out)

The first time I ever came across Florida Water was in an esoteric store in the city of Oaxaca, Mexico. At that time I had only a vague interest in witchcraft but the draw of the incense filled store drew me in. On the shelves I saw tarot cards, bags of herbs, candles, and bottles of different potions. Personally I have never been one to buy ready made spells and so I stored away the idea of making my own Florida Water for a later day.

About a year ago I began making my own florida water after a friend urged me to do so. I looked around online and found many, many recipes. I also learned a bit about the history of this formula. From natural skin care to ritual tool, florida water has been with us for centuries, literally! Over the hundreds of years the recipe has changed but some things stay the same like citrus peel, aromatic herbs, and a couple of spices that are always a part of the mix. When I recorded this short I used orange and lemon peel, fresh rosemary, mint, dried lavender, powdered cinnamon, cloves, and grain alcohol. In a month I will also add the distilled water and put this into spray bottles.

If you are interested in a more traditional florida water recipe, made a full-length video with the entire recipe which you can find here:

These days florida water is most well known as an element of Santeria and ritual cleansing. I have found it to be very effective as a spiritual cleanser and also use it to wash my counters and sprinkle over the threshold of my house ~ a bit of spiritual cleansing mixed with physical cleaning.

https://3speak.tv/watch?v=calendulacraft/vxafcnrq
Making tinctures is a big part of my seasonal journey as an herbalist. When I first started out, however, I felt a bit overwhelmed by all the possibilities. There are literally hundreds of herbs to chose from, how was I to know which were best as tinctures and which should be used in tea.

So, now that I have been working with herbs for close to a decade, I have gained the confidence to share my knowledge in this video format. Of course, I am not an expert and never have studied medicine formally. Still, I feel like there aren't many videos here on 3speak about herbalism and natural medicine. So, I humbly present my addition to this wonderful platform. I hope you enjoy!

https://3speak.tv/watch?v=calendulacraft/bmtcgmfp
Hello herbalists!

Do you ever feel overwhelmed by the never ending tasks before you?

I certainly do! Often.

Harvesting herbs and formulating teas is the most fun a homesteading herbalist like myself can have. Back when I was selling my products in town I was really on top of the organization and cleanliness of my herbal apothecary. In the past year or so I have scaled back and focused on my own health and making remedies for my family & close friends. As a result my apothecary has been a bit neglected. Still, that is no reason to let my apothecary go from sacred to messy. Time for a change!

In this video, I take you along in the journey of cleaning up my apothecary, bottling tinctures, making herbal lotion, and brewing a cup of ginkgo tea.

Speaking of herbal lotion, here is my preferred lavender lotion recipe:

Because there are no preservatives and the lotion is mostly water, this should last 6 months in a cool, dark cupboard.

https://3speak.tv/watch?v=calendulacraft/ddqardpdry

Outside the weather is super hot, above 40 Celsius, around 100 degrees Fahrenheit. In other words, much to hot to do anything during the middle of the day. So, after a rapid round of outdoor chores I hauled up inside and began organizing!

🎶 background music is "Ten Thousand Smokes" by Nym

First; do you remember a few days ago I published a story about my celebration of St. Brigid?

Well, I took that opportunity to bless a piece of fabric that I wanted to use in my herbal apothecary.

If you watch the video carefully you will see that I used this cloth as a surface on which to sort herbs from their drying baskests and into their jars. I love the whimsical element it adds to the otherwise utilitarian shelving.

Mostly I focused on cleaning up any dust on the shelves and moving out empty jars or those full of herbs that are over a year or two old. There is still SO much to do. I haven't even gotten to the shelf full of macerating herbs in vodka and oil!! Making this short "TikTok style" video inspired me to do just one herbal chore per day and film the more aesthetically pleasing aspects. Next I will indeed tackle that shelf of herbs in oil & alcohol ... one jar at a time.

https://3speak.tv/watch?v=calendulacraft/kzlxcbhy
Everymorning I drink my coffee and gaze out the window. Beyond my kitchen I can see a patch of grass surrounded by a hedgerow. This is our front yard, where all kinds of herbs are growing. And lately, a few horses can be seen, roaming the front yard during my morning coffee time.

These aren't my horses. They live here by chance, just like me!

Tila was the first. She showed up during the winter of 2021 across the creek. I have no idea what her backstory is, though I would love to know. My partner and I started to call her Tila and bring grass over every day. Eventually we gained her trust and since then she has lived on our side of the creek full time.

And as of December, there is another mare and her foal living on the homestead too. The three get along quite well. Tila even plays with the foal when his mama is tired. They may be here a few weeks or a few more months, who knows? Whatever happens I know that we've done the best we can for them during their stay on this land. And they have helped us immensely too!