A Quest for Cottonwood Buds – and How to Make Cottonwood Salve

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Today, we are on a quest for the cottonwood – Populus balsamifera – and more specifically, the cottonwood buds on windfall branches with which to make a healing salve. Cottonwood is powerful medicine – the bees make propolis out of it, so that should tell you something – and now is the best time to collect the buds for making what is commonly known as “Balm of Gilead.” Prepare for a sticky adventure. The scent will make you swoon….

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Garden Journal – Do You Have One? How to Make One – and Why?

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One of my main goals for the garden this year is to do a better job of tracking things. This post is about ideas for a garden journal, and I would be very interested in hearing from my readers as to what works for them.

It seems that garden journals fall into two categories: those that are more like Planners and serve as guidelines, schedules, and a means of recording results for production gardens and small farms – and those that are more like Art Journals that document not only observations but also a spiritual journey, sometimes with a bit of flair and whimsy thrown in for good measure.

In the past, I have been on the practical, production side of things – make that, borderline fanatic about recording stats on the garlic crops, but I have always fallen short on keeping track of other things. This year, I’d like to try something different and make something that will be fun to look back on.

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Permaculture Resolutions (and Where Do We Go from Here?)

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Happy New Year from Barbolian Fields! We live in “interesting times.” This year, we are incorporating Holmgren’s Permaculture Princples into our New Year’s Resolutions. Our goals, in general, focus on reaching out, buying local, being prepared for uncertainty, optimizing our backyard ecosystems, and keeping things in balance by also taking time to enjoy life. We hope you will join us in making a difference!

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Politics and PermacuIture: Is Permaculture a Political Act?

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Change brings opportunity! A return to the 3 Permaculture Ethics: Earth Care, People Care, Fair Share, provides solutions amidst political turmoil.

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Spring Equinox – a Discovery of Miracles!

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It is, at long last, the Spring Equinox. I love this time of year when each new bud is a discovery.

Cornelian and Nanking cherries, forsythia, daffodils, nettles and purple deadnettles, the first dandelions…

The first buds of the new season are such an inspiration! Everywhere you turn is another miracle…another bit of magic.

This is a somewhat wandering philosophical post, but full of pictures and a quick read.

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