Swan – Totem Animal

Wednesday, February 8th was our wedding anniversary. We had big plans to go to Peoria to the Bass Pro Shop for dinner, then take a roll of quarters and play at the shooting gallery and do a bit of shopping. Yes, we are big kids and love to play at the shooting gallery! lol! We passed each other on the road, each of us going home from work/tending grandchildren, (Gerald work and me from being with Dylan). I saw Gerald throw on the brakes when he saw me and whip around into a parking lot, so I joined him there. He excitedly told me he had just seen the biggest group of swans, he had ever seen around these parts! We went and home and got my camera and enjoyed sitting in the truck just watching this wonderful bird show! Swans are dear to me and played a big part in our wedding with their likeness on our invitations, and incorporated in our decorations, so they are special and this was very appropriate for the day!

Swans are strong totem medicine. They live a very long life, are strong, and graceful. They can represent longevity, strength and grace and strong family bonds. Since they mate for life, they can show up to indicate the one you are with, or one soon to be met, is your soul mate. As an archetype, they start life as “the ugly duckling”, but grow into beauty. Like the children’s story, this can be about growing into inner beauty. Her message might be to look beyond the obvious. Swan can teach you to realize your own inner beauty and the inner beauty of others. She tells of the development of intuitive abilities. She tells of the time of altered states and foretelling. Swans figure prominently in all cultures myths, legends and lore. She soars through the air, nests on the ground and swims through the water, taking herself through the different elements with ease. She may be showing us to consider a change of mood or heart, with her movement through these different environs. In dreams, she could be telling us to spread our wings and take charge of our waking dreams.

As you can see in the picture and video, there were thousands of snow geese and some had on their blue color phase, also!

Thank you for visiting Comfrey Cottages xx

Herbs Gone Wild!

Another herbie resource for you! Herbs Gone Wild by Diane Kidman!

Description from Amazon: “Whether it's cold and flu viruses, high blood pressure, or arthritis, herbs have offered reliable relief for centuries. Herbs Gone Wild! (Volume 1 of the Herbs Gone Wild! Series) shares practical remedies in an entertaining and easy-to-read format so you can be your family's home herbalist. Learn what herbs to use for cold and flu symptoms, first aid, general aches and pains, and more. Medicinal teas and tinctures with proper dosages are laid out simply. You'll even learn how to make your own tinctures and salves, saving money and improving your family's health naturally. And with the help of the Herbal Medicine Chest guide at the end of the book, you'll be able to quickly reference over 70 herbs for home use.”

I don’t own a Kindle, but I did download the free Amazon app Whispernet, which is Amazon’s Kindle for the PC, Android, iPod, iPad, Mac, etc.

This book is a practical, easy, fun to read resource for dealing with the day to day stuff, foks. I know you will enjoy it as I do!

Downloading the app gives you the ability to read many ebooks for free or just a nominal charge. My computer is old and I was leery for a long time until I got the nudge from Anke at Herbology! Thanks Anke! It hasn’t bogged down my computer at all and loads quickly:)

Hugs to all who visit Comfrey Cottages xxx

Decorating with Rose and Comfrey

Rose and Comfrey are two of my allies I chose for my participation in the Springfield Sanctuary Apprentice program this year. Wanting to incorporate these lovelies in every way I could think of, in my life this year, I decided to redecorate the wall above my kitchen table.

The two rose prints I found at a yard sale many, many years ago. They were  just so beautiful, I had to buy them. They have travelled with me through my life’s journey for at least 25 years now.

I have been enamored with learning the history of roses, and in particular, how they have received their names. In the course of pursuing this, I have had to learn new terms, such as “sport”, which refers to when nature pulls a genetic surprise and creates a new rose from another! I explain this term as it comes up in this bit I could find out about the Alfred K. Williams rose. Seems A. K. Williams is the sport of a French rose named General Jacqueminot,  who was an offspring of Glories des Rosomanes and Geant des Batailles. From what I can figure out from different sources it was introduced in 1877! (1877 — Schwartz, France)

From The Garden: An Illustrated Weekly Journal of Horticulture and All Its Branches, March 24th, 1894:

A.K. Williams When this Rose was sent out in 1877 by Monsieur J. Schwartz it was considered to delicate a grower...However, now it has got over the strain of excessive propagation, I find it a fairly good grower and hardy....it has probably won the medal as bieng the best Hybrid Perpetual in the show oftener than any other Rose...it is one of the most perfect Roses of its type-imbricated...Deep carmine-red when first opening, changing to a more or less magenta hue with age, every flower bold and upright, with good lasting powers and exquisite fragrance...It is not so long-lived as many when grown upon the Manetti...the Brier stock gives a more lasting bloom, and is much the best for autumnal flowering. A.K. Williams is useful for forcing, making a near, compact plant, and carrying from three to twelve blooms at one time in a 6-inch or 8-inch pot.

and from the same magazines in 1882:

 

Rose (H.P.) Alfred K. Williams. This beautiful Rose was sent out by Schwartz, of Lyons, in the autumn of 1877, and flowered for the first time in my Rose garden the following summer. From the very first flower I...discovered that it was a Rose of great promise...A few complaints have been heard regarding its being a weak grower...misgivings to which I give no credit...I find it does well as a standard, and also on the Manetti, but I am inclined to think that the Brier is the best stock for it. Colchester. B. R. Cant...
In growth I should describe A.K. Williams as being between Duke of Wellington and Lord Macaulay....growth may be set down as moderate. The wood is thorny, the spines being what the rosarians call red. The form of the flower is perfect, being beautifully imbricated and of the brightest carmine-red...No Rose, if I omit Gloire de Dijon and La France, is more thoroughly perpetual....As regards constitution or durability, can it rank with Alfred Colomb...?I fear not...One great thing...is that it grows alike freely on Manetti, seedling Brier, and standard Brier.

(this information was found on this website)

Now the next one says Monsieurs  E.Y. Teas and Jean Liabaud, two different roses in one pictures. From the same source I find scant information on either rose.

E.Y. Teas

Hybrid Perpetual.  Pink.  Strong fragrance.  Blooms in flushes throughout the season.  USDA zone 6b through 9b (default).   Eugène Verdier fils aîne (1874)

Jean Liabaud:(1875 — Liabaud, France)

Hybrid Perpetual.  Crimson, darker shading.  Moderate fragrance.  Large, full (26-40 petals), borne mostly solitary, in small clusters, cupped, scalloped bloom form.  Occasional repeat later in the season.  USDA zone 6b through 9b (default).   Jean-Pierre Liabaud (1875).

The other picture I know exactly where it came from. A dear friend named Lucinda xx

Hugs to all who visit Comfrey Cottages xx