February Blog Hop! See What's Green!

My Unique Women in Business Networking Group is sponsoring a February blog hop with the theme "Something Green." Green is my favorite color and I can't wait to check out everyone's items.

For this blog post I would like to show off my fresh batch of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon Pain Relief Balm. It's of lovely green, but you still might get a pinch if you wear only that on St. Patrick's Day. Whenever I make this salve I use herbs that are fresh from my garden, so depending on the time of year the base herbal infused will be different. The essential oils that I use in the salve are the same from batch to batch. This batch of salve was infused with Rosemary trimmings from my large potted Christmas tree, and the Rosemary is what gives this batch the lovely green color. Look how intense this Rosemary is up close under our microscope.

In addition to the fresh Rosemary, I also added whole cracked dry black pepper. With added essential oils of Eucalytpus, Lemongrass, Lavender, Myrrh, Ginger, Sweet Birch, and Frankincense, this warming balm gives fabulous relief for aches and pains, especially pains that are worse during cold weather.

You can find this salve for sale in my Etsy shop:

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon Warming Pain Relief Balm.

Be sure to check out the other blog participants in the Green Blog hop. Maybe you will find something there that will save you a pinch on St. Patrick's Day.

Participants
Karen Terry-McDuffie http://www.jmjcreations.blogspot.com
Robin Koehler http://www.nestlingsbyrobin.blogspot.com
Linda Reynolds http://bellalindadesigns.net/
Birgitte Hendricks http://SewDanish.blogspot.com
Judy Woodley http://www.WellspringCreations.blogspot.com
Rita Wetzel http://ritascreativenest.com
Audrey F http://AudreyGardenLady.blogspot.com
Robin Maria Pedrero http://www.pocketfullofcolors.blogspot.com
Ann Rinkenberger http://harvestmoonbyhand.blogspot.com
Trudy Miller http://mommagoddesstreasures.blogspot.com
Cory Trusty http://delicateadornments.blogspot.com
Nancy Pace http://nancyswildwirejewelry.blogspot.com
Wendy Kelly http://blog.vintageday.com/

You can find the Unique Women in Business Etsy Team also at:

http://www.etsy.com/teams/6263/unique-women-in-business-uwib

Frog photo by Brian Gratwicke.

Microscopic Fairy Fun: Violet, Lemon Balm, Lemon Verbena and Rosemary

I stayed up way to late last night playing with images from Moira's new digital microscope. It was a really great gift for only $20. I'm pretty sure this is the same unit. The photo above is of a violet leaf from my garden out front. I couldn't resist adding some fairy clip art from WebStarWest.

Lemon Balm (Melissa officionale) is pictured below. Don't you love the tiny prickly hairs? I had to add the mom and baby fairy, since Lemon Balm is such a wonderful herb for kids. I used a tincture of it that I made recently for Tessa when she had a stuffy nose.



The Lemon Verberena Fairy is my favorite from the collection. I made this image first. Such a beautiful green, and the scent could really make you want to dance.


A pensive Rosemary Fairy. I love being able to feel AND see just makes the tender tips of the Rosemary Leaves so stickly. I took the leaves from my potted Rosemary Christmas tree. This is another herb I've been using a lot this winter. This is an herb that I use all the time in oil based infusions. It mades a great base for a pain relief salve or a congested chest rub.



I have many more plant pictures to share, but I thought I would start out with these fun ones.

The Herb Spiral After a Week of Rain

Many of the plants in the herb spiral at Fair Share are loving all this rain we've been having. I spy a Neem tree, Poke weed with ripening berries, Mondara punctata, and Aloes. It's about time to harvest more of that Mondara for liniment. I made a 'Fair Share Liniment' with Mondara, Lemongrass, Mugwort and Rosemary. I must say I like how it turned out. It's in a nice spray bottle, which is quite convenient.