Snippets ~ A Contrast: Cacao Then & Now

Mar 212012

In the year 1575, Italian adventurer Giralimo Benzoni writes in his Historia del Mondo Nuovo (History of the New World) , that “chocolate is more a drink for pigs than for humans”.
We see today how that opinion worked out.

230px-Title_page_Historia_del_Mondo_Nuovo

The Winged Seed

How Does Your Love Smell? February 14, 2014
“Why do bulls and horses turn up their nostrils when excited by love?” Darwin pondered deep in one of his unpublished notebooks. Scientists long ago documented a rich array of animal pheromones, everything from seal, fox and civet, various rodents, boars, beavers, musk deer . . . even the effluence discharged by whales. Discovering biochemical […]
Marcia
Herbalism and the Commons February 12, 2014
In this age of over-privatization, it is politically healthy to see an honest fight to keep something that belongs in the realm of the commons, to remind ourselves that not everything should be made to hoard for personal monetary profit. Most especially something made from the plants that grow abundantly in all of our gardens […]
Marcia
LEMON BALM: An Unheralded Aromatic Hero July 2, 2013
Lemon Balm, Balm mint, Blue balm, Garden balm, Honey plant, Sweet balm – these are all common names for Melissa officinalis, an aromatic plant in the mint (Lamiaceae) family having a long history as a delightful garden plant and medicinal aromatic herb. As far back as the Middle Ages, Lemon Balm was recognized as a […]
Marcia
Maintaining Healthy Immunity September 2, 2012
REST: Your body heals and repairs itself when you are in deep R.E.M. sleep. Simply falling into bed at night, exhausted, worried and restless, does not replenish and rebuild the human organism. Choose the tools that help you get maximum deep sleep so that your body can do its nightly work. Balance work and play […]
Marcia
Snippets ~ A Contrast: Cacao Then & Now March 22, 2012
In the year 1575, Italian adventurer Giralimo Benzoni writes in his Historia del Mondo Nuovo (History of the New World) , that “chocolate is more a drink for pigs than for humans”. We see today how that opinion worked out. The post Snippets ~ A Contrast: Cacao Then & Now appeared first on The […]
Marcia
Full Moon . . . by Tu Fu February 8, 2012
Above the tower — a lone, twice-sized moon. On the cold river passing night-filled homes, It scatters restless gold across the waves. On mats, it shines richer than silken gauze. Empty peaks, silence: among sparse stars, Not yet flawed, it drifts. Pine and cinnamon Spreading in my old garden . . . All light, All […]
Marcia
The Scented Imagination: Random Thoughts on Ambergris January 26, 2012
All natural aromatic substances that exist in Nature have a purpose other than to smell good in perfumes. In the case of ambergris, it is produced in the stomach of the sperm whale, where it serves to protect the intestinal lining against the tough, horned snout of cuttlefish, a kind of squid that the whale […]
Marcia
Déjà vu–It’s Still NO To SCA 2011 (HR 2359) July 7, 2011
The so called “Safe Cosmetics Act” has been rolled out again, with even more attendant shock and awe PR from the misguided zealots at the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics using misinformation on Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Database. If one were to rate the importance of this bill . . . what with a fragile […]
Marcia
Earth Day 2011 April 23, 2011
My reflection on Earth Day last year wasn’t very rosy. I’m not sure I have great news now that another one has rolled around. This year, with the passing of Representative Paul Ryan’s 2012 Republican Budget Plan in the House of Representatives, clearly that side of the aisle is bent on slowing any progress towards […]
Marcia
Coloring Easter Eggs Naturally, updated April 20, 2011
I wrote this blog post last year which you may also enjoy; it contains information about the history of dying eggs. I’ve updated the instructional portion with new pictures and additional tips. The other thing I love about this activity with children is foraging for the botanicals . . . it helps me teach them […]
Marcia

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