Feel Good Sunday: 12 Badass Revolutionary War Women You’ve Never Heard Of

Feel Good Sunday …

R.T. Fitch's avatarStraight from the Horse's Heart

“With many folks already fully engaged in the holiday of 4th of July we turn towards the the revolutionary war and the reason we celebrate this most important American holiday.  But for today, let’s take a peek at some extraordinary people (ladies) who rarely are heard of in American history.  And being that the bulk of Equine advocates are caring and compassionate women I thought that ya’all might find this information to be both interesting and empowering.

We will simply kick this series off but please be sure to hit (CONTINUED) to view the rest of this most interesting story.

Thanks for all you do and have a peaceful day today, my friends.” ~ R.T.


By Leslie Maryann Neal as published on allthatisinteresting.com

The American Revolution was fought on the homefront, which means that women and children were often caught up in the fighting in one way or…

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6 Bug Repellent Patio Plants

Six Bug Repellent Patio Plants …

Crooked Bear Creek Organic Herbs's avatarCrooked Bear Creek Organic Herbs

We love to spend our summer days outside with family and friends, but pesky bugs are quick to drive a party indoors. For a chemical-free way to keep insects at bay this season, we asked the experts from our green goods team to recommend their favorite bug repellent plants. Planted near the doorway or transformed into essential oils, these six natural options deter mosquitoes, flies, and more uninvited guests in the summer garden.

1. Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis): Like many members of the mint family, this herb provides protection against summertime mosquitoes. To make a quick, all-natural bug repellent, crush a handful of lemon balm leaves and rub onto any exposed skin. If you’ve already suffered a bug bite, its soothing oils can limit itching as well. This easy-to-grow herb also has a number of additional applications, from infused teas and vinegar to green salads.

2. Ageratum ‘Artist…

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Wild Food Profile: Milkweed + Fried Milkweed Pod Recipe

Wild Food Profile …

Dana's avatarThe Druid's Garden

Monarch catepillar enjoying a milkweed feast--they know the good stuff when they see it! Monarch caterpillar enjoying a milkweed feast–they know the good stuff when they see it!

I love the summer months for foraging wild foods.  One of my very favorite wild foods is Common Milkweed (asclepias syriaca).  Around here, the pods are just beginning to form–and its a great time to explore this delightful wild food.  They have a light vegetable taste, maybe something like a sugar snap pea–very tasty and delicious.  In fact, this is one of the best wild foods, allowing you to have four different harvests from the plant at four different times during the spring, summer, and early fall.

Ethical Harvesting and Nurturing Practice

With the excitement of harvesting from common milkweed, however, comes a serious responsibility.  New farming techniques over the last 20 years have eliminated many of the hedges that used to be full of milkweed.  Because of this issue, the monarchs have been in serious…

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Tips For Growing and Preserving Herbs In The Low Desert

By Crooked Bear Organics

Crooked Bear Creek Organic Herbs's avatarCrooked Bear Creek Organic Herbs

Soil Preparation:

In low desert areas, growers are not blessed with the rich, organic soil we’d prefer to have. Most gardens will need some organic material, soil sulfur, ammonium phosphate, and gypsum. Every year, as a matter of fact, you may need to add organic matter and gypsum. Pay close attention to your garden soil. If you get a soil test, you’ll know what the pH and fertility are and can make any necessary adjustments. If the test indicates your soil needs it, add fertilizer during pre-plant soil preparation, when it is easier to amend the soil; you’ll also find the results more effective. Spade the soil deeply, to a depth of 18 inches, to loosen compact soils. Enrich the soil with plenty of compost and well-rotted manure. It greatly helps gardeners to spade as much as 6 inches of organic material into the top 12 inches of the planting…

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Southwest Gardening: Sacred Mesquite ~Recipes

By Crooked Bear Organics

Crooked Bear Creek Organic Herbs's avatarCrooked Bear Creek Organic Herbs

Mesquite grows well in desert areas from the southwestern United States to the Andean regions of South America. Traditionally, native peoples of the Southwest depended on mesquite. It provided food, fuel, shelter, weapons, medicine, and cosmetics. As times changed, and as refined sugar and wheat flour became staples, the role of mesquite was diminished.

mesquite flour

Mesquite meal was once made by hand-grinding the plant’s seeds and pods on stones. Now modern milling techniques speed up the process, grinding the entire mesquite pod at once, including the protein-rich seed. This produces a meal that is highly nutritious as well as very flavorful. The meal ground from the pod contains 11 to 17 percent protein. High lysine content makes it the perfect addition to other grains that are low in this amino acid.

mesquiteflourfinal400

http://www.mesquiteflour.com/

Although desert dwellers used mesquite pods as a source of food for centuries, when you order and use this product…

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Southwest Herb Gardening: What To Plant In June, and Watering In June

By Crooked Bear Organics

Crooked Bear Creek Organic Herbs's avatarCrooked Bear Creek Organic Herbs

We recommend most plants be planted in the fall or spring. However, if you must plant during the summer months watering may need to be more frequent and you must be diligent about observing your newly planted plants for signs of water stress. Follow the guidelines in the Watering section.

Many cacti and warm-season succulents can still be planted in the summer. When transplanting cacti and succulents, mark either the south or west side and plant facing the orientation you marked to avoid the burning of tender tissues. Most nurseries will mark the side of the container to help you determine proper planting orientation. However, if the original orientation is not known, newly planted cacti and succulents need to be covered with shade cloth if the plant surface appears to yellow or pale suddenly. Use a shade cloth rated between 30-60% as anything higher will block most of the sunlight and…

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Southwest Herb Gardening: June In The Low Desert

By Crooked Bear Organics

Crooked Bear Creek Organic Herbs's avatarCrooked Bear Creek Organic Herbs

June in the low desert is generally the driest and hottest month. Desert gardeners often must begin their garden activities in the early morning or at sunset to avoid the intense sunlight. Plants must endure the intense heat throughout the day. Many native and desert-adapted plants have numerous adaptations that enable them to live successfully in the desert, such as succulence, drought-deciduousness, and small leaves, to name a few examples. Even with these numerous adaptations, desert plants sometimes need a little help to keep them healthy and thriving in your garden. Native and desert-adapted plants that were newly planted and those that are not established in the landscape need to be watered until they become established in the landscape and can then survive with natural rainfall. Even established plantings will need an occasional supplemental watering during long periods of drought to keep them healthy and stress-free.

Summer is the prime…

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Crypto And Then Some … June 27th

By Paula Cas

Join us Wednesday, June 27, at 8:00 pm EDT …

Crypto And Then Some … Catch the Wave with hosts Oro Cas and Paula Cas. Call in at 845-277-9146 to talk about your questions or experiences in the world of Crypto. We’ll talk about the news of the week. Information about new coins, programs, exchanges, affiliate programs, and the technologies arising from cryptocurrencies and their uses in today’s world. Everything from ATM’s that accept Bitcoin to Blockchain inventory control. Join us to talk about Bitcoin, cloud mining, charts and the markets, alt-coins, and what the future holds for crypto currency.

Find us on Facebook

Check out our website at:  Oro Cas Blockchain

The Spice Pantry: Queen of the Spices, Cardamon

By Crooked Bear Organics

Crooked Bear Creek Organic Herbs's avatarCrooked Bear Creek Organic Herbs

Cardamom – The Queen of Spices

My favorite spice in the house!

Cardamom is the Queen of Spices and has grown lavishly under the tropical canopy on hillsides in the Ghat Mountains on the Malabar Coast of southern India to be harvested by hand and shipped around the world.  The cardamom familiar to India and the western world is called green cardamom and it, along with several other types such as giant cardamom, black cardamom, and bastard cardamom, have been used for cooking, perfumery, incense, and medicine since very early in history.

cardamon flowers

Ancient Egyptians used it frequently for perfume along with frankincense, myrrh, cinnamon, and cassia, and had a recipe for an ointment called “Oil of Lilies” that included the scent from 1000 lilies. It is often mentioned as one of the ingredients of the ancient incense kyphi. Cardamom essential oil is one of the oldest essential oils known in perfumery…

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The Spice Pantry: Black Pepper

By Crooked Bear Creek Organics

Crooked Bear Creek Organic Herbs's avatarCrooked Bear Creek Organic Herbs

Piper nigrum

Also, Known As:

  • Black Pepper

The common herbal product known as the black pepper is a well-known spice around the world and is used in almost every home, this herb is native to southern India, though it is now cultivated widely in many tropical countries of the world. The plant itself is a perennial woody climbing vine which can reach a height of about 15 ft or 5 meters climbing on trees and along man-made wooden trellises. The herb bears characteristic and large oval-shaped leaves, it also has spikes of many small and white colored flowers, the commercial pepper itself is made from the many clusters of small round fruits borne on the plant, these small fruits are the pepper of common use, and these fruits ripen from a green to red coloration as they mature on the vine.

The black pepper vine is not only economically interesting…

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