This afternoon our temperature has climbed back up into the
late 20s so I am glad I did my shopping earlier in the day.
Down the road I was thrilled to see Californian Quail
feeding on the roadside. We have heard
them calling but this is the first time I have seen them in this area.
My first stop was at the Herbal Dispensary. There are not many of these shops around, and
we are fortunate to have one located in Hamilton.
I bought some dried oatstraw to make a tisane with, as well
as a bottle of Echinacea Root tincture.
They make this tincture themselves and only use two year old roots, so I
know it is one of the best around.
Echinacea purpurea
is sometimes known as Purple Coneflower and can be used as a medicinal herb to
help strengthen the immune system, the roots being the most effective parts of
the plant.
It can be used in the treatment of many infections, its
action on the body being generally classed as anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal,
anti-viral and anti-bacterial. The tincture tastes disgusting and leaves an unpleasant tingling in the mouth – but when
my body is fighting something, I’ve found this tincture will help me rapidly
overcome it.
 |
| Echinacea purpurea (purple coneflower) |
From the Dispensary I travelled to the garden centre and
bought a dahlia, some spring bulbs (anemone, ranunculus, Dutch iris and
hyacinths) and several annuals to plant out in the garden. The dahlia is in flower but I am hoping it
will transplant alright. It seems these
days that plants do not sell unless they are flowering.
A visit to the supermarket was my last stop, and then home
again to find that the mail had brought me a book I ordered recently – Look Younger Live Longer by Gayelord
Hauser (published 1960). He was a
popular nutritionist in his day and this book deals with how to remain healthy
(and beautiful!) as one ages in years. I
used to own it and another of his books many years ago, but they had long since
become victims of one of my major book decluttering sessions.
I have had a quick peek through the pages and most of the
information still seems reasonably up-to-date, although the “super foods” he
talks about have changed a bit with fashion.
I find I have so many gorgeous sky photos that I thought I would start a weekly posting of them, to link up with Skywatch Friday
* * * * * * *
SPECTACULAR SKIES
This week’s Spectacular Skies photo is of a sunrise, photographed
at 6am from the beach at Papamoa in 2010. I love the way the sunlight is spilling forth
from the gap in the clouds.
Have a great day,
Margaret.
I'm quite sure at one time I read that book Look Younger, Live Longer.
ReplyDeleteAren't California Quail just so cute? When we'd drive to the fruit growing area of B.C. in past summers we'd see entire families of Quail scurrying through the orchards. The chicks are adorable. I've often wondered if they did any damage to the fruit at all.
Lovely assortment of Spring bulbs you bought. What colour Dahlia did you buy?
The dahlia is a deep blood-red colour, just an older style flower (not cactus or double etc.) - I quite like the old fashioned blooms.
DeleteI've never heard of quail damaging fruit, but I suppose it is possible. I love their little head plumes. Definitely cute :)
I've added a photo of the dahlia - don't know why I didn't do it before :)
DeleteThat's a pretty red one. I have 2 tubers tucked away in sawdust waiting for Spring. I hope they made it through the winter. I lost most of mine a few years back when I decided to leave them in the ground and see if they'd make it. They didn't.
DeleteThat last shot is spectacular!
ReplyDeleteThose Califirnia quail are so pretty. I have not heard of the book...I might see if the library has it.
ReplyDeleteIh, that is a gorgeous sky.
Wow, talk about memories. My grandmother, Nana, lived by that book. She preached Gayelord Hauser. And lived into her nineties.
ReplyDeleteAnd the quail. Where we lived we used to see almost tame quail and pheasants but they seem to have disappeared in the last few years. Such a pity. It was wonderful seeing them in the fields and on the side of the road.
I'm not up early enough to see the sunrises but maybe I should. They seem to be almost as colourful as the sunsets
Awesome to hear that your grandmother followed these teachings and lived to a grand old age.
DeleteLove the sunrise photo and the dahlia. Also interested in the Echinacea Root tincture, must look for it. We used to have Californian Quail going across our lawn in single file in our property near Awanui.
ReplyDeleteThe dispensary is called The Herbal Shop. I'm fairly sure they don't have an online shop, but I used to get them to courier me things when we lived in Tauranga. It can be hard to find tincture made of root only.
DeleteI use 5-10 ml (amount according to severity of case) three times, two hours apart each time, and then use 1-2ml three times daily for a couple of days. I always dilute it in a little water to take it.
Hello,
ReplyDeleteLOve the pretty Quail. The coneflowers and dahlia are pretty. I am looking forward to spring blooms.
The last sky and beach scene is beautiful. Enjoy your day, wishing you a happy weekend!
Seems odd to see California Quail in NZ, although I know there are many introduced species to compete with native wildlife. Far too many in fact.
ReplyDeleteYou really need to get out into, or close to, native bush to see more native birds. Any present in urban areas are usually quite elusive. Some self-introduced species are classified as natives as well, such as the spur-winged plover (the Australian masked lapwing) and the silvereye (flying over from Australia in the 1850s).
DeleteI will try to locate the book and take a peek at it. Love the suggestion. I do that too, get rid of books and then wish I had them back or order them again from Amazon or the library. Sunrise is amazing! To me, it looks like an egg being held in the sky. Awesome! I have never seen a sky look like this in my lifetime. I'm in my late 70s. So thank you for seeing it, taking a picture early in the morning and posting that image. Take care. See you next week.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I will search for ages looking for a particular book that I am SURE I would not have got rid of, only to arrive at the conclusion that I had at some stage decided I no longer needed it. I have "re-bought" several books!
DeleteWe see quail here a fair bit, they quite often run in front of cars on the road. The echinacea is always handy for us when we are sick, we always keep a bottle of tablets in the pantry.
ReplyDeleteWow, that sky is unique and very beautiful! I enjoy seeing our desert quail. Such fun birds! Have a nice weekend.
ReplyDeleteThat is a beautiful sky.
ReplyDeleteAll the best Jan