joyful enthusiasm

“Spring work is going on with joyful enthusiasm."

~John Muir

Even with the bout of cold weather that we’ve had, Spring is busy unfurling.

One of my favorite “weeds” is Mullein. It is a classic weed for your needs, used as a tea, a tincture, an oil,  and believe it or not, is smoked for respiratory issues! The soft furry leaves are said to make good toilet paper. It is a biennial and the first photo above is of a first year plant that I took today. And the second photo from a number of years ago is a 2nd year plant. It is a prolific self seeder, so each year as they come up, I need to pick and choose which plants I keep.

Mullein is a fantastic herbal helper and is used to treat issues related to the musculature, skeletal, circulatory, digestive and respiratory systems. I knew of its long history as a support for lung issues and was surprised to learn that it was also helpful for spinal issues… but the first time I stood next to a full grown plant in my garden, as above, I could absolutely feel my spine, taller and stronger! Pretty cool!