Dogs can actually catch your cold or flu. Who knew?? Like us, they can come down with a whole slew of respiratory bugs: cold viruses, flu viruses, bacterial respiratory infections such as kennel cough (Bordatella). Dogs even have a doggie-specific flu virus, “canine influenza virus” and the symptoms are similar to our own annual people version of the flu…achiness, fatigue, fever, runny nose, wet cough.
’Tis that time of year. You know… When all of your best intentions about not scarfing down mass quantities of holiday delectables go out the door. What to do when you’re at a holiday gathering and your belly is starting to bloat like a hot air balloon, but you forgot to wear stretchy pants? Well, if you planned ahead, you take out your little brown bottle of digestive herbs.
Wait, you might be thinking, mints can be bitter? Yup…not all mints have a lovely aroma and flavor. But this doesn’t mean they aren’t great medicine. Some of my favorite all-time herbs are bitter mints. In fact, I just processed pounds-worth of one of them, motherwort, yesterday with my herb-growing friend.
For those of us with cold winters, cold fingers and toes are often a problem when we’re outside playing or working. For lots of us, this can be downright painful, aside from the fact that our hands don’t seem to want to work properly when cold.
It doesn’t even have to be winter to notice poor circulation to the extremities. Some folks seem to always have cold hands and feet. I’ve even had elderly clients whose frigid feet kept them up at night.
Many do it yourself herbal beauty and health products start with herb-infused oils. From lip balms to massage oils, the backbone of any herbal, oil-based product is a well-infused oil. While essential oils add a particularly aromatherapeutic effect, herb-infused oils tend to add a more deeply healing quality to your herbal products.
Many people are familiar with growing chives, parsley, cilantro, and mint, but tea herbs can open up the world of gardening. This past year, I’ve pushed myself to go beyond the typical varieties and try growing my own herbal tea garden. The results? A delicious (and economical) way to increase my consumption of tea and reap the benefits that herbs can offer.
Arthritis can strike at any age—the condition doesn't reserve itself to the elderly. And the pain this condition causes can be considerable. Medications can help alleviate the suffering, but they tend to come with a host of unpleasant side effects, rendering the remedy worse than the cure.
The holidays are creeping up on us and now is a good time to get to work on some sweet herbal gifts for your loved ones…or for yourself. Homemade botanical gifts add a wonderful personal touch to holiday (or any time) gift-giving. Here are a handful of popular and easy-to-put-together projects.
It's that time of year. That’s right, I’m talking about the avalanche of everything pumpkin spice. Lattes, baked goods, protein shakes, hand soaps, room sprays and, yup, even toilet paper. Love it or hate it, pumpkin spice is here for the next couple months.
I woke up the morning before last and it felt like autumn. Sure, it’s still quite warm during the day here in Durango, but something about the light and the cool morning air signaled the imminent arrival of the colder months here at higher elevations.