A few things that I’ve learned about care:

• If the humidity in the room goes below 50% misting the tree is necessary…I’ve been doing that upon rising and when I go to bed, twice a day.
• It doesn’t need direct sunlight, but should be in a bright room.  Ours is under a skylight and seems to be happy so far.
• If the branches and leaves/fronds  and fall off, they won’t come back, so the branch will have to be trimmed off…I have trimmed one branch off so far, but it actually made it look more even as it was on a “bushier” side of the tree.
• Water well when soil is dry a couple inches down, but do not let the pot sit in standing water.  I’m planning to put some stones under the pot at some point, haven’t done that yet so try to control the amount of water that I use, and empty the dish after all water has drained into it after watering.
• I have more instructions here.

We were challenged this week to write something on Squidoo related to pumpkins.  I wrote on how to make Pumpkin Spice Tea…in fact there is quite a nice compilation of pages on Pumpkins if you visit this link.

Have a safe and Happy Halloween!

I have a post I did a few years ago that is still relevant today about the gifts that the wise men brought to the Christ child…two are herbs, and one is not, but has health benefits. Please visit for the first time, or revisit The Herbs of Christmas, Gold, Frankinscense and Myrrh .

You may also want to visit the following related lenses:

Myrrh, Gift of the Wise Men

Cranberries and the Cranberry Bog

This is a stop that we made during a trip to Maine a couple of years ago…a wonderful picture of antique equipment used to sort cranberries at County Road Cranberry Bogs in Columbia Falls, Maine.  In our travels (which were wherever the road may take us) we came upon this cranberry bog and the husband and wife who work their cranberry farm.

Since I already have some of the health benefits of Cranberries posted on my website, I thought you’d enjoy seeing pictures of the bog which has already been harvested, and the beautiful antique hand-operated machine they use to sort and clean the leaves and residue off the berries.

The berries we brought home stored well in the freezer, and provided delicious cranberry sauce for our Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners for 2 years.  They were sweetened with raw honey that we brought home from a farm in Lancaster, PA last spring.

Frankincense is a resin that is very aromatic, taken from a tree with the botanical name Boswellia carterii. Frankincense has been used since ancient times and is associated with spiritual things and meditation, which may be why the wise men thought it an appropriate gift to give to Jesus and his family. I have Frankincense essential oil on hand.

Myrrh, and is a medicinal herb we have discussed already on this blog, you can find a link to the post in the listing to the upper right of this blog, I list all single herbs alphabetically as they are posted so that they are easy for you to find.

Gold, the final precious gift of the wise men, also has medicinal properties. Here is an article I just found on Gold provided by The Whole Food Farmacy, a wonderful source of medicinal grade Gold in their “Joule” and “Heart of Gold”:

The earliest records of the use of gold for medicinal and healing purposes come from Alexandria, Egypt. Over 5,000 years ago, the Egyptians ingested gold for mental, bodily and spiritual purification. The ancients believed that gold in the body worked by stimulating the life force and raising the level of vibration on all levels.

The Alchemists of Alexandria developed an “elixir” made of liquid gold. They believed that gold was a mystical metal that represented the perfection of matter, and that its presence in the body would enliven, rejuvenate, and cure a multitude of diseases as well as restore youth and perfect health.

As many as 4,500 years ago, the Egyptians used gold in dentistry. Remarkable examples of its early use have been found by modern archaeologists. Still in favor today as an ideal material for dental work, approximately 13 tons of gold are used each year for crowns, bridges, inlays and dentures. Gold is ideal for these purposes because it is non-toxic, can be shaped easily, and never wears, corrodes or tarnishes.

Historically, medicinal gold has had a reputation as a “nervine,” a therapy for nervous disorders. A review of the historical literature shows gold in use during the 19^th century for conditions including depression, epilepsy, migraine, and glandular problems including amenorrhea and impotence.

The most notable use of gold was in a treatment for alcoholism developed by Leslie E. Keeley, M.D. Gold has been used for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases for more than 75 years, but until now, the way that gold worked has remained a mystery.

Harvard Medical researchers report in the February 27^th, 2006 issue of Nature Chemical Biology that gold, platinum, and other classes of medicinal metals work by stripping bacteria and virus particles from the grasp of a key immune system protein. “We were searching for a new drug to treat autoimmune diseases,” says Brian DeDecker, PhD, “but instead we discovered a biochemical mechanism that may help explain how an old drug works.”

Once again, modern science has confirmed what the ancients seem to have known all along – that gold is indeed a very precious metal. At The Wholefood Farmacy, we are proud to offer two exclusive products which offer an easy and delicious way to bring this ancient wisdom into your life today, “Joule” & “Heart of Gold”.

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and offer my best wishes for the coming New Year.

If you would like a fact sheet about any of the items marked in red, please send me an email. Thanks!

Myrrh is available in essential oil form and is associated with inspiration, strength and endurance, something Jesus Christ needed and inspired during his physical life on earth. Perhaps this was the symbolism behind this gift brought to Jesus by the Wise Men. I use a combination of herbs that is good for the upper respiratory system that contains myrrh, especially when I have a sore throat, as it has an affinity for the throat. I tried using the exact same combination that contained Golden Seal in place of Myrrh, and it did not work nearly as well in my case for an upper respiratory infection that involved the throat.  Though it is good to be very careful with a case of strep throat, it has been known to remedy this as well, but please, don’t use it for this unless you know what you’re doing…and especially in the case of children, take them to your health care provider if you suspect strep.

Please contact me through a comment if you would like fact sheets about any items marked in red…I moderate comments and will not post a personal request if you prefer.

The name “Shamrock” is actually taken from the Irish word seamrog which means little clover. Legend states that St. Patrick used the shamrock as a visual when explaining the trinity…the 3 leaves joined by one stalk, like the Father, Son and Holy Spirit being the one true God. Whether it is a legend or not, it is a wonderful illustration of a great spiritual truth.