~ Blackberry Tincture Making ~

Blackberry ( Rubus fructicous )

Blackberry roots should be dug in the Fall , be sure to wear gloves (heavy duty leather ) while digging and cutting roots from the stems. I took the water hose and jet sprayed the roots to get the dirt off. I also washed them again , brushed with a dish washing brush and rinsed again before cutting them up.

I used kitchen shears to cut the roots into 2 or 3 inch pieces.




I cut them down through the middle , as shown above.





Then I snipped them into smaller pieces , packed the baby food jars 3/4 full of root and added vodka to fill jar. I use 100 proof vodka for my tinctures.

Cheap vodka is fine for making tinctures , you can use vinegar if you prefer. Make sure the roots are completely covered with vodka or vinegar.


Be sure to label with type of tincture , date started and I put the end of six weeks date. Store in a cool dark place for six to eight weeks.

After six/eight weeks , strain , bottle and add label. Tincture should be stored in a cool , dark place and used within two years.

Blackberry tincture is a great herbal treatment for diarrhea. The tannins have a astringent effect on the intestinal lining. Take a teaspoon of tincture in a cup of water every two to four hours.

~ Green Blessings ~
JoyceAnn

~ Happy Thanksgiving ~

May your day be Blessed with Happiness , May You be surrounded with Family and Friends whom make You Smile.

Be Thankful ........ Be Blessed my Friends !

Peace & Love

JoyceAnn

~ Little Man's Birthday ~

Yesterday was Little Man's birthday , he loved those balloons. We had a celebration for him late Sunday evening .

Today I've been busy cleaning house and making blackberry tincture. Tomorrow I have to go to the grocery store and start getting ready for Thanksgiving. I plan to go to my Mom's for Thanksgiving , then I will cook Thanksgiving dinner for hubby's family on Sunday.

I plan to do a post about the blackberry tincture sometime this week. I will be making echinacea tincture tomorrow.

~ Doing Not Thinking Challenge Update ~ I did get a few things taken to the building and got the dining room table decluttered.

~ Green Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

~ Little Missy's Birthday ~

I've had two busy days , just getting a chance to post about Little Missy's birthday. I kept both Grands and my niece yesterday , boy did they keep me busy !

Yesterday was Little Missy's first birthday , we had her party here last night. I can't believe she's a year old already , time sure does fly.

Anyway , thought I would share a pic of the birthday girl , she wasn't the least bit shy about digging into her cake (LOL).

So , it's one down and one to go ................ getting prepared for another birthday party Sunday , Little Man will turn a year old too.

~ Sweet Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

~ Scenes from Monday ~

Monday I worked outside most of the day , raked more grass clippings and finished mulching the garlic. I had a couple of boxes of stuff in the building that will soon be the chicken coop , so I moved those boxes to another building.

Washed a couple loads of clothes and hung them out to dry. I worked on the grapevine wreaths , finished the small one. Hope to get it decorated sometime this week.Dug some blackberry roots and my echinacea , plan to make tinctures from the roots this week.

Shadow Bug ( Curious J has given the pup a new name ) and I took a hike through the woods , down to the small branch that runs through our homestead. He enjoyed exploring new territory and I had fun watching him. It was a beautiful day , I feel so Blessed to be able to enjoy these simple pleasures.

Hope you're enjoying some simple pleasures ...........

~ Many Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

~ Guinea Fowl ~

Dh worked on the chicken coop Saturday , he added the boards around the top. He has to build the nesting boxes and add a couple of doors. He's also going to cover the run with chicken wire. Hopefully he'll have it finished in a month.

I found some guinea keets for sale last week , picked them up yesterday afternoon. They are 2 weeks old , I plan to keep them in the basement for about a month , then move them to the coop. Back in the Spring we were invaded with those small deer ticks , that carry Lyme disease. I've heard that guinea will take care of the tick problem.

I've came to a halt on my decluttering , busy getting the garlic planted and mulched. I've also been cleaning and putting away outdoor furniture and stuff. I hope to get my dining room table decluttered tomorrow. It's been cluttered all summer , canned goods , veggies , garlic , mail , books and alot of other stuff. It seems to be our drop it there place , really need to get it cleaned.

~ Green Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

~ White Pine / Pinus Strobus ~

Healing Properties of White Pine / Pinus Strobus

Antiseptic qualities , anti-inflammatory ~ used to combat fatigue , coldness , asthma , pneumonia , head congestion , colds. Used to build strength , helps stimulate adrenals and restore the liver and stomach. It also prevents infection , promotes tissue repair and relieves pain.

White Pine is used as an expectorant and in teas for relief of colds , cough , croup , flu and bronchitis.White Pine is rich in vitamin A and C , it has 5 times as much vitamin C as lemons have per serving.

Pine Needle Tea

1 pint of water

1 oz of pine needle

sugar and lemon

( to taste )

Boil water , remove from heat and add pine needles , let it infuse for 10 minutes or more , strain pine needles , add sugar and lemon (optional ) , enjoy.

( Do Not Use While Pregnant )

I made some pine oil last January , my intention was to use it as a furniture polish. I started using it a couple of months ago , it does a great job on furniture. I blogged awhile back about my Mom cutting her finger http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=27347180&postID=7114224729713829534 , we applied some of the pine oil and it healed beautifully. Since then , I have used it on cuts , puppy dog scratches and a burn. I brunt my finger a couple of weeks ago , touched a red hot burner accidentally , I put aloe on it first , then I thought about the pine oil . I took a cotton cloth and applied some oil on my finger and put a band aid over it. The band aid stayed on overnight and most of the next day , when I removed it , I couldn't believe my eyes. It didn't blister , wasn't burning and looked like it had healed overnight. I will definitely keep pine oil on hand from now on , there will be some in the medicine cabinet and the kitchen at all times.

~~ Pine Oil Infusion ~~

White Pine Needles

And Olive Oil

Cut pine needles and the small limbs they're attached to into 1/2 or 1 inch pieces , fill pint jar full , add olive oil to cover. Place in dark , cool place to infuse for 6-8 weeks or longer. Strain and bottle.

I also read that the pine oil makes a great massage oil , good for sore and aching muscles. I haven't tried it yet , but will in the future.

Hope you're having a great weekend , doing something you love. I plan to do some root digging.

~ Green Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

~ Mr. Scare Crow gets a Remake ~

I bought this decorative hanging half moon a few years ago at CVS. The faux berries had started splitting and looking awful , so yesterday I decided to do a remake , spruce him up a bit. I removed the faux berry/nut items and added some acorns , pine cones , sweet gum balls and natural leaves to it. I think it looks better than it did when I bought it , I prefer the natural look and Mr. Scare Crow gets to hang around a little longer.

So before you throw it out , take a good look and decide if it can be renewed or remade , you may be surprised with the results.

Hope you're having a great week !

~ Enjoy your Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

~ Sooo Tired ~

I spent most of the day in the garden and I'm so tired. Hauled compost and dumped it , planted almost two rows of garlic and mulched most of it. Shadow tried to help but was more of a hinder than help , every once in a while he would grab a garlic clove and run wildly. He would get in the compost bin each time I went to get grass clippings , silly pup ( lol ).

I actually got sidetracked during a break and decided to make some grapevine wreaths. I've always wanted to make one and now I have three in the making. I forgot to take pics , but maybe I'll wait until I finish them. I'm thinking I'll decorate them with natural elements.

~ Natural Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

~ Fun At the Park ~

~ Red -Tailed Hawks ~

~ Great Horned Owl ~


~ Barred Owl ~


~ Just a Swinging ~



~ Nana & the Grands ~



My youngest daughter and I took the grands to San-Lee Park yesterday afternoon. It was a beautiful day , the leaves are simply glorious right now. This park does wildlife rehabilitation , they have hawks , owls and vultures that have been rescued , but aren't able to be released because of wing damage or other problems. The great horned owl and barred owl are beautiful. That great horned owl had one eye shut when I took a photo , I told Curious J he was winking at me (lol). The park is something like a nature center also , they have snakes , turtles , squirrels and frogs. I'm not sure if all these animals have been rescued. I was talking to Curious J about the spotted turtle , I asked him why he thought it was called a spotted turtle , he told me it was because it had dots. When his Mom came over to see the turtle , I told him to tell her what this turtle was called , he looked up and proudly exclaimed it was a "polka dotted turtle" ....... sooo cute (lol). Little Missy and Little Froggy enjoyed the baby swings and the geese on the lake , they got really excited about them.

We came back to my house to roast hotdogs and marshmallows over an open fire. It was a fun day for the kids and a much needed break from routine for me. How was your weekend , did you do anything fun?


~ Blessings ~
JoyceAnn

~ Chicken Coop ~

Dh and Son-in-law have started working on the chicken coop , they have the fencing almost done. They are putting boarding around the bottom and top today. We plan to fence in the top too , we have many predators around here.

I'm trying to decide if I want to get chickens right now or just wait until spring. I'm thinking that I might get a few guinea , we really need some tick control. I might get a few to house in the coop until spring , then I'll let them free range. I would like to get something now , so the puppy will be use to them.

Dh has the garden ready for planting our garlic , today I'll be dividing the cloves and grading them. What are you doing this weekend ?

~ Many Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

Late Evening Stroll with Shadow

~ Autumn Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

~ Fall Gardening ~

Yesterday I dug up a blueberry bush and replanted it. I planted the bush 2 or 3 years ago and it hasn't grown much , so I decided to move it to a new area and see what happens. I moved it to the area were I planted the other blueberry bushes back in the spring. I didn't think those bushes would live , it was late spring when I planted them and the summer heat came right after I got them in the ground. I was looking at them yesterday and I believe one of them might live , so I'll watch it closely next spring. I also cleaned around the pear tree that I planted back in the spring and

mulched it.

DH mowed the field last week , I raked the grass clippings and put them in the compost bin. I had to empty the compost bin first , shovelled all that wonderful smelling dark dirt into the wheelbarrow and buckets , love the smell of the rich dark compost. I hope to get my garlic planted this weekend or the first of next week. I gathered more pine needles and have them infusing in oil.

It was a very productive day and I really enjoyed being outside. The leaves have changed colors , it's beautiful around here. Shadow stayed under my feet , pulling and tugging on everything I picked up. He played in the grass clippings and chased leaves , it was so cute. I actually managed to get a pic of him with a leaf in his mouth.

~ Autumn Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

* Doing Not Thinking Challenge Update *

I started decluttering my art room last week , managed to get the closet decluttered. I'm planning to use it as a pantry for my canned goods and other items I plan to stock.

I hope to do more decluttering in that room tomorrow , today I have things I need to do outside before it rains.

Please say a Prayer for Kathie ( organizer of this challenge ) over at http://twofroghome.com/ , her Grandfather passed away last week. Kathie , you're in my thoughts and Prayers.

~ Blessings to You All ~

JoyceAnn

~~~ Trick or Treaters ~~~

All the Grands came for treats lastnight , they all looked sooo........ cute. Curious J was Batman , Little Man was Spiderman and Little Missy was a chicken. We did have 1 trick or treater besides the Grands , he was a glow in the dark skeleton. We don't have many trick or treaters , so it was exciting to see that little fellow.

~ Feeling Blessed , Hope You are too ~

JoyceAnn