Herbs

I don't know about anyone else, but I've been enjoying these beautiful, cool days that we have been having lately.  I love being outside anyway, but with weather like this it's almost impossible for me to stay inside and "on task."   Today I have been gathering herbs from my garden and getting them in the dehydrator.  I love the smell in my house as the herbs are drying.   My little herb garden has really done well this year and I have been able to get quite a bit dried and stored.  Today I'm working on peppermint, thyme, and sage.  

The more I learn about herbs the more fascinating they are to me.  Herbs are one of God's many awesome provisions for His creation.  We have been using herbs (on a small scale) medicinally for a few years now.   At first my children were a little skeptical, but it's becoming more and more common for them to come in and ask for one of my salves or teas.  As a matter of fact, my oldest son Heath had been battling bronchitis for about a week when his employer sent him to the doctor.  Now, Heath has always been my biggest skeptic where herbal remedies are concerned and I have never been able to really get him to drink any of the teas (although he has become a firm believer in the salves :).  After going to the doctor and being prescribed an antibiotic and a strong cough medicine Heath came home to recuperate.  After taking the meds for about three days and feeling worse and worse, he came and ASKED for a tea to make him feel better.  (For Heath, that is a really big deal).   I made him something relatively mild and not terribly yucky tasting to see if he would actually follow through with drinking it.  HE DID!  WOW!  I don't know if it actually made him feel better, but he drank it several times and did seem to rest better.   I've been told that a positive response to herbal remedies is all in my head, that they don't really work, but you know I've come to the conclusion that even if that's true, I'll take it.  As long as I feel better, it really doesn't matter if it's all in my head or not :)  And I have to agree that sometimes it's maybe just the comfort of sipping a hot cup of tea while snuggled under a warm blanket with a good book that makes the difference.  Either way, I'll take it!