Reindeer are Eating my Lettuce

My daughter Moira took these fun pictures of her handmade cork reindeer in my garden yesterday. This is her own design she made with some wine corks that I won from The Wooden Bee blog, hot glue and pipe cleaners.   

I think she did a great job.  The first two pictures are of the reindeer in my Romaine lettuce bed. Looks like I have a little bit of weeding to do in there.  I see some chickweed hiding in there.

Looks like Santa tried to keep them contained to the flower bed with the young Amaranth plants.

But I can't blame those reindeer for wanting to eat up this yummy purple pak choi.

It was very kind of them not to trample my baby Chamomile plants.  They also left my brocolli and Siberian Kale undisturbed.

Hope you like them!

Cory and Moira

July Classes in Ormond Beach: Lip Balm and Herbal Salve Making

I am pleased to announce that I have a new venue for classes and workshops in Ormond Beach.  Debra Brooks is the owner of the brand new Craftbugg's Cottage in Ormond Beach off Granada Blvd.  She and I have worked out a few classes for her July schedule.  She will have a calender of available classes available on a monthly basis.  Debra's grand opening is June 25th, so check it out if you are local and have the opportunity.


We are starting out simple with Lip Balm and Salve making classes and we will go from there.  You have your choice of 2 different dates for the lip balm making class.

Saturday July 17 4:30-7:30 Natural Lip Balms making with Essential oils and Herb-infused oils
Learn to make all natural lip balms with natural herbal infused vegetable oils and essential oils for flavoring. You will learn to make lip balms with beeswax and vegan candelilla wax. Fee $30. Call to register 386.299.4273

Thursday July 22 1:30- 4:30 Natural Lip Balms making with Essential oils and Herb-infused oils
Learn to make all natural lip balms with natural herbal infused vegetable oils and essential oils for flavoring. You will learn to make lip balms with beeswax and vegan candelilla wax. Fee $30. Call to register 386.299.4273

Sunday July 25 2:30-5:30 Herbal Salve and Balm Making
Learn to make your infused herbal oils, salves and balms. We will use organically grown herbs for making two types of a salves including a clay drawing salve. Learn about oil bases appropriate for balm and salve making and a variety of herbs that can be used in salves and infused oils. Fee $35. Call to register 386.299.4273

I also have updated my Fall events schedule with classes in St. Augustine and events where I will be vending.  You can check in at that page any time for current happenings.

Fair Trade Items and Crafts at Fair Share Saturday in Daytona

Daytona Beach shoppers! We have another opportunity for those of you looking for Valentine's Gifts. Find Fair Trade Arts & Crafts this Saturday at the Fair Share Garden. Join us during our regularly scheduled meetup time: Saturday morning from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. We will have a selection of Fair Trade Arts & Crafts, Bath & Body products from AquarianBath.com and Jewelry from garden volunteer Kim Seamans of Anenome Seas. I am currently taking Bath & Body product pre-orders for Saturday as I will likely not have my full inventory set up. Please feel welcome to contact me (aquarianbath@gmail.com) or leave a comment if you have specific items that you would like to pick up from me at the garden on Saturday.

The Fair Share Garden is located behind the Lions Club at the corner of White St. and Willis.


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~Herbal Aesthetics~ Decemeber Blog Party

We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures that we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open. ~ Jawaharlal Nehru


Welcome to the Herbal Aesthetics Blogparty! I hope you are feeling creative, because we have many herbal activities for you to try. I'm sure you will find something fun to make. All of these wonderful posts have to do with herbs for adornment, decoration or beautifcation.

Tina Sams of the Essential Herbal made a lovely post which includes a compilation of former blog posts related to herbal aesthetics. It includes topics such as wreath making, making leaf printed t-shirts, and lavender wand making.

November's herbal blog party hostess, Kristine Brown of Field of Tansy shared a delightfully illustrated how-to for dying silk with herbs such as Elderberry and Black Walnut.

Cheryl Dolby of Healing Woman Art shared her post on Herb Stamps. This is something fun that my daughter and I love to do also. Thanks for reminding me Cheryl! Thanks also to Cheryl for sharing the Madame Thyme photograph at the beginning of this blog post.


Cindy Jones of Sagescript shared a very clever way to make enchanting holiday tree ornaments with dried herbs such as lavender and rose. Cindy also included links to her archived posts on herbs for weddings and making scented valentines.

If you would like to learn how to make fresh herbal ornaments, corsages or boutineers then scroll down to see my new Herbal how-to blog post.



What would an herbal blog party on aesthetics be with out a recipe for personal beautification? Janine of Athena's Armory shares her experience making her Rosemary Gladstar's Miracle Grains facial cleanser recipe for personal beauty care.


Many thanks to all the contributors for the sharing your lovely herbal projects.

Arts & Crafts in the Fair Share Garden Saturday December 5th

Join us on the first Saturday of December 5th for a morning of Arts & Crafts at the Fair Share Garden in Daytona Beach. This event is being hosted by the Fair Share Garden in conjunction with the Art Consortium of Volusia County.

Activities:
~ Community mural creation with public participation.
~ Plein Air painting and informal plein air demonstration by Ruth Vines at 10 a.m.
~ Holiday Decorating with Herb Demonstration at 11 a.m.
~ Arts & Crafts for Sale including fine art paintings, functional art pottery, fair trade Peruvian & Nicaraguan pottery, fair trade African baskets, fair trade Haitian crafts, handmade jewelry, artisan soaps and balms, natural perfumes, wine glass accessories, and framed art photography

This is a fund raising event for the Fair Share Garden. Nominal cash donations are appreciated, but not required for entry. Donations of used gardening equipment are also appreciated.

Please RSVP with us on Facebook and invite your friends!

Kingston Farmer's Market

I had the honor to participate at the Kingston Farmer's market last Saturday among a great group of vendors. The Kingston Farmers market is open May through mid October 9 am to 2pm every Saturday, right next to the ferry terminal.

Here I am getting set up. I will be back again this Saturday May, 16th.


On my table here is the current issue of The Essential Herbal Magazine, which features my Herbal Chemistry article. Also here are some of my balms and soaps which are also available online.


I had a nice waterfront view of the bay from my table.


Wonderful live bluegrass music was played the whole time. I got to take a peek towards the end of the day, and this mom and daughter were dancing away.


There was a wide variety of vendors offering fresh produce, plants, cut flowers, hand spun wool and clothing, jewelry, worm farms, 50 gallon drums, tapestry bags, whimsical furniture and toys, art prints and cards, hand made picnic tables and chairs, and more. I went home with a large slab of smoked salmon from one of the nice vendors. My mom picked up a nice bracelet for a mother's day gift for my sister. This is Cindy from Terrapin Farm of Port Gamble. I got some tasty radishes from her and Ken.



This is Nancy Rekow who was my neighbor on Saturday. I took home Nancy's book "Recipe for Raising Chickens" which she edited and published. This book was out of print until recently when she make a 3rd printing at NW Trillium Press. This book has fabulous illustrations and the lettering was actually done by Nancy's hand. This book is great for people who would like to learn how to take care of brooding hens and chicks. The author was Minnie Rose Lovgreen who was born in 1888 on a 200 acre farm in Norfolk County, England. Minnie recorded the book for Nancy to write down. Minnie's story was quite amazing; in 1912 she booked passage on the Titanic with her brother, but boarded a different ship when they found the sailing time was delayed. Minnie and Nancy were neighbors on Bainbridge Island for a number of years where Minnie taught Nancy to raise chickens. Nancy's book is $13.00 and can be ordered from her directly by calling (206) 824-6908.