Barefoot Handmaiden

I never would have thought growing up that those little fuzzy things on trees were anything that I would ever diligently search for. They were so common we didn't even see them. But I guess that's part of the experience of growing up in Appalachia. Blessings are abundant here. When I first started researching Usnea, or Old Man's Beard, it seemed that they were considered a little bit rare, so imagine my surprise when I walked outside and found the yard literally full of them from a rainstorm the night before. I scooped up a bunch and brought them in.  I'm not gonna lie to you, Usnea is a pain to prepare.  It needs heat, but it also needs alcohol to bring out the best medicinal properties.  I don't like boiling anything, to be honest, because it seems way too harsh for God's beautiful creation, so I always opt for the slower method.  I put my usnea in a crock pot for three days and tend it like a baby so it won't burn.  Then I dump the goop into a ja...

Barberry Root after outer bark is removed. A few days ago, both hubby and I woke up with stomach bloating, pain, and burning, along with severe flank (kidney) pain. Both of us were in quite a bit of pain. Nobody else in the family seems to be affected. I am torn between two possible causes of the illness.  We either caught a bug while we were out looking at land last week, or we possibly let a bottle of spring water go bad. I am leaning toward the latter, being as it seems to have affected both our GI tracts and our urinary tracts, where contaminated water would have to pass to be eliminated from the body. We collected spring water a couple of weeks ago and since then it has sat outside on the porch, quite possibly incubating any bacteria that might be present in the water. Yes, spring water can contain bacteria, and the spring where we collected this water is known to contain small amounts of bacteria. Most of the time this isn't a problem. In fact, I believe it helps...