Horseradish: An Unsung Everyday Hero.

When I think of horseradish, the thoughts of my dad, outside, grinding horseradish root in an olive green blender is what comes to mind. My dad used to go to the county barn and dig up horseradish roots, growing wildly, in upstate New York. He would come home with his bag of dirt-covered roots, wash them, and take the blender outside to begin preparation for ground horseradish. I imagine he did the blending outside because the one time he ground horseradish, my mother's eyes probably watered, and the smell lingered, and that was that. My dad and his horseradish roots were banished outside.

An extension cord ran from an outdoor outlet, and the blender would be set on top of a railroad tie wall bordering our driveway. The whir of the blades going round and round, the slight smell of burning small appliance motor, and in a flash, we had freshly-ground "organic" horseradish that was preserved in white vinegar. Yes, I put organic in quotation marks because it wasn't USDA organic or NYS organic. It was just wild horseradish root growing in a field, never sprayed, never doused with any sort of chemical.

Quick facts about horseradish? Don't mind if I do:

* It is in the same family as broccoli and cabbage. The next time you taste horseradish, broccoli, and cabbage, think about how they taste similar.
* Prior to being shredded or ground, horseradish doesn't have any sort of smell. It's just a simple, light beige root.
* The roots and leaves of horseradish has been used in holistic medicine for ages.
* Horseradish contains a wallop of vitamin C.

Horseradish truly is an unsung everyday hero. Normally when someone says horseradish, people think cocktail sauce. So sad that horseradish is pigeon-holed into this simple sauce. I use horseradish on anything I can get my hands on: potatoes, soup, sandwiches, salads, whatever I feel might benefit from a zing. I also started using more horseradish to replace salt in some of my meals.

Here in Georgia, I feel as though more laypeople don't appreciate horseradish. Sure you can find it in most 4-and5-star restaurants as some ingredient (horseradish mashed potatoes, horseradish sauce, etc.) but not everyday meals. I wonder if people knew the health benefits of the feisty plain-looking root if they would give it a second glance?

Pellet Bedding for Livestock

When most people think of a horse or livestock stall, the last thing they think of are pellets like those to the left. After all, those don't look at all comfortable, do they?

I will admit that I was a skeptic when it came to pellet bedding for horse stalls over shavings. I had been to several barns, and the one thing they all had in common was shavings in the stalls for bedding.

For those persons who stumbled upon this blog and aren't horse savvy, when you have a horse in a barn in a stall, the majority of the time, people use what's known as "shavings." Originally, folks were using cedar shavings or a mix of cedar and pine, but most people use pine shavings due to the fact that cedar shavings are known to cause respiratory problems in small animals, and pine shavings are relatively less expensive. If you go to a farm, and you see a large pile of wood shavings, it's what they use for bedding. And there is nothing wrong with that...at all.

My introducing to pelleted bedding came two-fold:

* a regular visit to Tractor Farm Supply showed me 50 lbs bags of these pellets all stacked on a pallet. I thought, "phooey - what a waste of money and time!" I really did say phooey...or maybe it was just a scoff and an eyeroll that translates to "phooey." Either way, I thought people had more money than sense.

* then I saw them in action at a local horse rescue. The rescue wanted to save room and prevent a fire hazard by using the pine bedding. During a volunteer orientation, they wheeled out two wheelbarrows, each with a 50 lbs bag of pellets in them. They turned their water on warm inside the barn, and they taught people how to go about mixing the pellets:

1. Stand the bag on its end in the wheelbarrow.
2. Cut open the top of the bag and let it fall/guide it so it lays flat with the open end at the farthest end of the wheelbarrow.
3. Place two fingers halfway down the bag, and lift up. This will dump out 1/2 the bag of pellets into the wheelbarrow.
4. Remove the bag with the remainder of the pellets.
5. Add some warm water to the wheelbarrow, and use your hand to spread the pellets around. This is sort of done on an eyeballing basis. There's no set # of pints or quarts or however much. You just watch.
6. Wait and watch magic happen.

It's not REALLY magic, but you'll see the pellets start to expand and then crumble into fine wood "dust." The best part is it's not REALLY dust. It's actually FAR less dusty than your average shavings (see why I like it?)

When most of the pellets are expanding, you add the rest of the bag (if you need an entire bag for the stall.)

It is OKAY if not all of the pellets have expanded, but most of them should. Just be sure you don't over-saturate the bedding or you'll have a sloppy mess on your hands. When it has expanded and is ready, it is just finely textured bedding. The non-expanded pellets will be broken down by the horses' hooves so that's fine. Some people don't add water at all in with it if they are in a colder climate.

Benefits of using the pine pellets over shavings:

1. You can stack the bags on a pallet in a storage room. You don't have to have a designated area for shavings. You don't have to worry about the shavings getting wet.
2. Instead of shoveling several loads of shavings into a wheelbarrow and then taking it to a stall, you merely bring a bag, add water, and voila!
3. Low dust. This is a matter of contention. If you use the proper amount, use stall mats, and have a horse that uses its stall, it's great. If you put too much in, live in an arid climate, have dirt floors, and have a horse that does not use its stall often, it CAN get dusty. However, in my opinion, compared to overall dust, it's definitely much lower than regular shavings.
4. If I had a farm, I could throw a few bags in the trunk and back seat (and passenger seat) of my car to bring home whereas shavings I'd need a truck or would need to have it delivered.
5. Lower stinkiness. We've all been to the barn that has been mucked and cleaned, and it still stinks. I don't mean, "breathe in that horse smell!" I mean the "clearly someone did not clean out all of the wet spot!" smell. I've found most shavings, even stalls cleaned well, tend to retain stinkiness whereas the pellets don't. I can't stay this as a whole, but just what I've noticed.


Non-discounted price for A bag of pelleted bedding is around $5-$6. I don't know exactly how much, per cubic foot, that makes, but I've seen one bag work well for a 12 x 14 stall, and of course, when you clean the stall, you don't strip it every time. If you have one or two horses, and you're on a solid budget (that's funny when it comes to horses, isn't it?) I'd look into the pelletized bedding.

Daydream Believer...Barn Plans.

I've been around a variety of barns my entire life: lesson barns for horses, barns that housed hens and equipment, small horse barns, large horse barns, multi-animal barns (chickens, pigs, and rabbits.) I know what works and what doesn't work. Of course, right now all I can do is plan and write and sketch, and so that's what I did today.

This would be my ideal barn, but I will also address common hazards in barns like this design below which is a design I've seen work in the past as a horse barn with alterations. This is absolutely not to scale since I quickly drew it on a standard Paint program.

Feel free to click for a larger view of this sketch. (c) Purity & Simplicity, 2014.

Okay so here we go....the design. Here are some basics of the design:

* The left side of the aisle are stalls: basic 14' x 14' stalls. I chose 14' x 14' over standard 10' x 10' or 12' x 12' because...why not? I would also like to make one wall/partition between two of the stalls removable. When one partition is removed, it creates a 14' x 14' stall and a 14' x 28' stall. In two stalls there will be horses. In one stall will be dairy goats. On the left side, there will be dutch doors leading to a fenced area. The goats won't use these doors. (See below).

* The center aisle will be wide enough to allow a tractor down the center in case of cleanups or animal removal (Heaven forbid.)

* The right side of the barn would be feed/hay/bedding (pine pellets - I'll tell you why in another post) with a door leading to an outdoor covered area for rabbit hutches and a rabbit area.

* Under the feed/hay/bedding will be a grooming/vetting/milking area with a center floor drain and a double dutch door out of the back. The double dutch door in the back will be used for ventilation, and there will be a river rock area that leads out to a pasture for the goats. This makes it easy for goats to come in the evenings, get milked, and moved directly across to a stall (or to an end or wherever since all three stalls are the same size.) Then in the mornings, stall, stanchion, outdoors. Also in this grooming area, a sink and shelf for medicine prep, and a faucet for a horse for bathing. Cross-ties also installed.

* Below the grooming/vetting/milking area is another room: a heated tack/fridge room where the electrical box as well as the main water shut off will be located...as well as a couch. There will be another door leading outside to a covered area for the hen house and "indoor" coop. Of course, the coop won't really be indoors, just covered, and used in cases of severe weather, etc. while also letting the hens forage and scratch.

Drainage is important to consider. For the stalls, there will be a French drain system employed, and the entire barn will be built on a hill allowing run-off, while also surrounded by drainage rock and French drain systems as well.

Some hazards:

Hay being stored in the barn where animals are housed. One of the main reasons why barns are engulfed quickly in flames due to a fire is because of hay and shavings in a barn. I've attempted to thwart this (if a fire should happen) by having doors to stalls on the interior of the building and exterior all on one side (across from the hay/shavings.) If the animals need to be released from the barn, a quick flip of the exterior doors will release them into a fenced pasture. The same goes for the hens - a quick flip of their door to the outside can be opened, and the rabbits can be removed from their hutches.

Each animal will have halters and lead ropes outside of their stall doors and emergency halters available inside the home.

I have also made the electric box on the opposite end from the hay storage, but.... hay can also be stored in a separate building altogether if need be. There will not be dried bedding, like shavings, in the barn. Instead, we will use pine pelleted bedding.

I also made the main water valve in the heated tack room area so that the pipes stay insulated during the Winter freezes.

As you can see from the very-amateur barn design, there is cross ventilation provided at either end of the barn as well as between the double dutch doors of the stalls and the door in the hay/feed area, the wash area, and the tack room.......all of which can be left open. The average size of the barn structure (excluding rabbit and hen area) is approximately, 42' x 42'.

Essential Oils: "Safety, Education, and Sustainability."

Three of the main concerns in the EO/Aromatherapy/Herbalist communities are safety, education, and sustainability of Essential Oils. As I discussed in an earlier post, there are at least two main independent representative-type EO sales programs, MLMs: doTerra and Young Living.

Recently, Jade Shutes, Director of Education for East-West School for Herbal and Aromatic Studies and President of the NAHA, reached out to one of the two largest MLMs, doTerra, to discuss this triad of concern. Here is what Ms. Shutes posted on the East-West School for Herbal and Aromatic Studies' Facebook page on 13 December 2014. It is a valid read for anyone considering EOs/Herbalism/Aromatherapy or even just selling EOs under one of the MLMs (side note: I left the original formatting and highlighting of this text as I copied and pasted the direct statement:)

Photo from 13 December 2014: https://www.facebook.com/AromatherapySchool

Building Bridges: Taking Action

One of the things I touched upon during NAHA’s conference Beyond Aromatics, was the need to begin building bridges of understanding and communication within the world of aromatherapy, including with mlm’s. Upon returning home from the conference and generally tired of the ongoing ‘war’ between different individuals on both sides of the coin, so to speak, I thought it would be of service to reach out and connect with one of the leading ‘mlm’s’ - doTerra. My goal was to open up dialogue on three main issues: Safety, Education and Sustainability.

I, as both Director of Education for the East-West School for Herbal and Aromatic Studies as well as the current President of NAHA, contacted doTerra and they too expressed interest in discussing these matters. A meeting date was set for December 11th. I felt it was important and crucial to also bring Annette Davis, NAHA’s current Vice president and soon to be President, as she is incredibly knowledgeable about the internal use of essential oils and safety concerns. So on Thursday, December 11th a landmark meeting between the traditional aromatherapy community (if I can call it that for lack of a better word) and one of the largest ‘mlm’ companies in the United States took place. We met with doTerra Chief Executive Officer/President, Mr. David Stirling, Executive Vice President/Chief Medical Officer, Dr. David Hill, Executive Vice President, Emily Wright, and International Executive Vice President, Gregory Cook.

Throughout the meeting we discussed various safety concerns and educational needs and I believe we were very much in agreement about the vast majority and most pressing of these issues. I shall be writing more about this as time allows and things unfold but I did want to share that doTerra is already implementing recommendations for doTerra Wellness Advocates to dilute their essential oils prior to using them on the skin and doTerra has a solid commitment to sustainability issues through what they call Co-impact sourcing.

I am incredibly thankful to doTerra for their willingness and openness to come together and discuss these important matters with us. I was deeply impressed by doTerra’s facility, their staff, their call center, their land, and the Executive Board members. I do believe that doTerra’s actions over the next year or two shall inspire other ‘mlm’ companies to follow their lead with safety, education and sustainability. There is still much work to be done, but I am confident that a bridge has been built and one that will address the core concerns of the traditional aromatherapy community thus cultivating a more productive and professional relationship within the worldwide and diverse aromatherapy community.

Attacks against mlm’s: How we could be more productive
During NAHA’s AGM, I spoke about how one of the strengths of mlm’s is that each company has a unified message that is carried throughout all their work, whereas in the aromatherapy world, often there are so many messages that it is hard for individuals to know what is true and what is opinion. For some, this is so disheartening that they question whether they should use essential oils at all or they simply become afraid of using them. We need to find a common message: a positive unifying message. That will be part of work in the new year and beyond...

I also used an analogy that we can either continue trying to push against the wave or we can go along with the wave. By riding the wave I mean joining in dialogue rather than attack (pushing against the wave). I would like to acknowledge the forum: Ethical Aromatherapy for being the bold leaders in supporting this type of dialogue and understanding. For sure, there are individuals out there, regardless of specific company affiliation, who make outrageous and unsafe statements with regards to utilizing essential oils. And sometimes we are able to enter dialogue with these individuals and sometimes we are not. But regardless, we have at least attempted to enter kind and intelligent dialogue rather than attack. I am seeing such dialogue occur on this forum. A healthy dialogue and one born out of respect for each other as humans and for the plants and their essential oils.

There seem to be those that go out ‘hunting’ each day to find one of these outrageous claims and then there is the inevitable outrage and horror expressed in various groups and direct attacks on specific companies. This seems to be most unproductive as neither party really benefits. Those who are tied up in their horror lose energy and those tied up in their ‘unsafe’ beliefs lose out on the opportunity to deepen their understanding of essential oils. The ‘war’ has been ongoing for so many years now that I wonder how much is real and how much has become a type of propaganda perpetuated out of fear and (for me this has been true for sure) the lack of really exploring in more depth what individual companies are actually doing. The ‘mlm’ community represents over 2+ million individuals throughout the world. In many ways their growth has spurred the growth of the worldwide traditional aromatherapy community. I am sure, for that, we are thankful.

So to conclude this rather long note......I honestly believe that good will evolve from all of this. Already I see on various social media forums and individual pages that the tide is turning more towards a larger community of individuals from all walks of the ‘industry’, we are seeing more individuals discuss the internal use of essential oils for the purpose of understanding rather than dismissal or to flame the fire of fear or disempowerment. For sure, as I said above, there is still much work to do in developing safe yet effective frameworks for different methods of application for both home use and in professional or clinical practice. But for now, I am happy the bridge has been created and truly hope others will join me (and NAHA) to elevate our field, our dignity and our professionalism within it. Through kind, honest, open, and sincere dialogue, much can be achieved. Here is to 2015.....


Reference:

Shutes, J. (13 December 2014). Building bridges: Taking action. [Facebook photo text]. Retrieved
             from https://www.facebook.com/AromatherapySchool/

Tiny Home to Tiny Cabin to.....Ka-ching.

So We Did Some Math and Research

While our blog posts on “tiny homes” was informative, and we do highly recommend AmishMadeCabins.com for “tiny cabins” that are basically turn-key, we also did some research on site prep costs, land purchase, and then compared that to purchasing already-established homesteads.

Things to consider when you’re buying a tiny cabin (with or without modern utilities:)

1) Electrical set up
2) Well set up: is there an existing dug well? Do you know who to hire and what permits you need for a well pump and water being ran to your home?
3) Septic tank – no septic tank – you still need to figure out where that waste will go.
4) Land purchase: surveying, soil testing, grading, excavating, site prep, permits.

For us, we were able to find farms in the area where we will be living for under $175,000. Some of these were older farmhouses or cabins that had already been renovated, nice land, mostly pasture and some wooded, and some of them had existing outbuildings such as barns, coops, and sheds. To get the same amount of land and everything to set it up plus the tiny cabin we want, it was sort of like a cartoon – ka-ching! Ka-ching! Ka-ching! Land…. $100,000, Prep….$20,000……Tiny Cabin….. $43,000…..Tiny Cabin delivery outside of the delivery area…..$2000…Mowing, seeding, liming, fertilizing property…… $5000 (not including needing to drop any trees and grind stumps, construction of barn……$8000. Ka-ching, ka-ching, ka-ching….$178,000….minimum. 

Of course you’ll want to inspect whatever property you plan on purchasing including the insulation, roof, wiring, plumbing, etc. BUT as we said we would keep our readers updated on things and changes, here you go. We are more than likely going to purchase an existing homestead or homestead potential rather than building from the ground up. Of course, this could be like the wind and change again.  

Essential Oils: Part 2 - How Are Essential Oils Used?

How Are Essential Oils Used?

Okay so this question is a bit controversial depending on what Essential Oil circles you ask. Some of the independent consultant type of Essential Oil businesses will tell you EOs are okay to apply topically, inhale, and ingest. Herbalists will tell you EOs should only be used as aromatherapy / inhalation (steam, diffuser, etc.) or topically, but not ingested unless you have specific training to do so, and then you can also add EOs to various products to use around your home (cleaning, air freshener, etc.)

For inhalation or aromatherapy purposes, the use of EO can be as simple as adding a few drops to a bowl of steaming water, such as boiled water (I prefer filtered or Spring water for this.) You’ve seen people throw a towel over their head and sit over a bowl when they’re sick. I don’t necessarily advise this. Take a breath between breathing in your EO concoction. I will say that eucalyptus and peppermint oils help me with headaches or when I’m feeling stuffy.

Aromatherapy is sort of a broad spectrum of things. It can be something like inhalation, massage oil, baths, and diffusers. We’ll try to cover a whole post on aromatherapy though.

For topical use, EOs can be added to your bath water (with a carrier oil,) or can be applied to various “butters” for lotions (cocoa butter, shea butter, etc.,) lotions, and more. Again, use a carrier oil. Don’t use them straight on your skin. 

My sister-in-law will tell a story how she made an Essential Oil face moisturizer for her mom. She didn’t use a carrier oil. She used straight Essential Oils: no one had ever told her about carrier oils. She read things online about the benefits of Essential Oils, but no one ever put any information about precautions or carrier oils or anything. She made her mom a frankincense-based “moisturizer,” but what she ended up doing was creating a caustic blend of Essential Oils that irritated her mom’s sensitive skin. So please please be careful when working with Essential Oils. 

WARNING: Just because Essential Oils are "natural" doesn't mean they are always safe. Always use caution when working with Essential Oils. Remember chemistry sets as a kid? Yeah, treat EOs like THAT until you are well-versed in the EOs you use. ALWAYS research the EO you are using or are interested in and watch for precautions, potency levels, etc. The information contained in my blog posts are meant to inform and for entertainment and in no way should be used as a guidebook nor to treat or diagnose any illnesses. 

Photo from rsc.org 

Essential Oils: Part 1 - What are Essential Oils?

What are Essential Oils? 

I'm sure many of you are like me, and you only know Essential Oils based on their fragrances and just a small snippet of additional information. For example, I know I like certain natural fragrances created by the use of Essential Oils: peppermint and lavender are two of my favorites.

Essential Oils are liquids that are generally distilled from the leaves, stems, flowers, bark, roots, or other elements of a plant (AromaWeb.com, 2014). Essential oils aren't usually oily to feel though. The oily nature of essential oils is usually when a carrier oil is used. Carrier oils are vegetable-based oils derived from plants, usually seeds, kernels, or nuts, that are paired with essential oils for safe absorption and use on the body (AromaWeb.com, 2014). Some essential oils are so strong that when applied directly to your skin, it can actually burn it or cause a rash or another reaction.

I should note Essential Oils are NATURAL oils as opposed to some oils sold in stores for fragrances. Fragrance oils are usually not naturally-based. They are generally artificial fragrances blended with an oil. Unless it is an essential oil, it is artificial. Examples of fragrance oils that aren't essential oil based (though some CAN be) are potpourri oils and lightbulb warmer oils.

Essential Oils can be used on their own (with a carrier oil,) blended, or mixed with other ingredients such as cocoa butter or shea butter.

After doing much research on Essential Oils as well as discussing them with friends, our friend Reagan recommended a company called Mountain Rose Herbs based out of Oregon, USA. I realize there are several suppliers and even sales representative opportunities out there (doTerra, YoungLiving, etc.) but let me tell you why I gave the thumbs up for Mountain Rose Herbs:

1) "Dedicated to organics." Mountain Rose Herbs is certified Organic. They don't just use the "O" word as a buzzword.
2) "Healthy soil; organic farming." Organic farming produces healthy soil with less toll on the environment which also prevents watershed pollution.
3) "Anti-GMO." Regardless of what your thoughts are on GMOs, Mountain Rose Herbs is anti-GMO.
4) "Pesticide-free." That's pretty self-explanatory.
5) "OTCO and USDA Organic." OTCO = Oregon Tilth Certified Organic
6) "Earth Kosher."
7) "Earthshare Oregon member."
8) "Fair for Life program."
9) "CarbonFund."
10) "Salmon-safe."
11) Their prices are great.

For example, I have priced peppermint essential oil before. For 1/2 ounce from some retailers, it is $15.00. For 1/2 ounce from Mountain Rose Herbs (at the time of this blog post,) the price was $2.75. $2.75, and you know the source of the product, and the quality of the product is just as high, if not higher than the other retailer.

The next few parts will include what Essential Oils do, popular "recipes" for various EOs and blends, and more. I just thought everyone should be able to dip their toes into the pool of knowledge when it comes to Essential Oils.


References:

AromaWeb.com (2014). What are essential oils? Accessed 12 December 2014
            at http://www.aromaweb.com/articles/whatare.asp

MountainRoseHerbs.com (2014). About us: Certifications. Accessed 12 December 2014
            at https://www.mountainroseherbs.com/about/certified-organic

MountainRoseHerbs.com (2014). Dedicated to organics. Accessed 12 December 2014
            at https://www.mountainroseherbs.com/principles/organic-agriculture