Lehman's Country Life

With the price of gas so high, you’ve probably seen a few hundred articles on how to save it. The frugal among us have known for years that you don’t gun the engine just so you can slam on the brakes at the next stop light, and you don’t drive unnecessarily, and you don’t drive around with the car (or truck) loaded with things you’re not using or transporting from here to there. That just makes good sense.

But now it’s getting serious. The price of gas keeps… well, I was going to say “crawling,” but it’s more like leaping upwards. This upward bounding might slow down and even stop, (we can dream) but the chance of the price going back down, at least to any appreciable amount, is pretty small.

So… we’re stuck with high and higher gas prices. Is there any reasonable thing we can do to help our fuel budgets? “Reasonable” may be in the eye of the doer, but there are definitely things we can do to cut back how much we’re spending for transportation.

Try these out:
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“Dearest Father, if I may bother you for the briefest of moments, I believe this offensive insect to be a Rhipicephalus Sanguineus and I would be quite appreciative if you would remove it from my person.” At least that’s what she seems to remember saying to me at the time.
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There is a little hunter-gatherer in us all. Before humankind settled down and started to make gardens in settlements we were nomadic hunter-gatherers. And June is really the start of the foraging-for-free-food season.

I tend to think that hay fever is the sophisticate’s response to being alienated from this most ancient of activities. One herbalist told me that if you looked out in the countryside you would probably find something to heal whatever ails you within twenty yards of your doorstep.

Since most people go in for lawns these days you probably won’t prove her right if you live in the suburbs or exurbs. But if you can get out into the country in June, the flowering blossom of the elder may just help your hay fever!

Medical herbalists reckon that tea made from the elder flower, sweetened with some local honey, might just ease your hay fever symptoms. Elder is mildly antihistamine, while the pollen in local honey will help acclimatise your immune system so that it won’t be so irritated by pollen.

The blossoms are creamy umbrellas of tiny flowers and the scent is both sweet and slightly astringent. Wine makers prize the flower heads to make elderflower champagne. I use them to make a syrup that can be diluted with sparkling mineral water to make a refreshing soft drink.

The syrup (which includes some lemon juice) is also useful to add to gooseberry jam or jelly. The combination of elderflower with gooseberry is delightful.

June is also the time to start taking inventory of your preserving equipment. You can recycle jars for storing dried herbs like elderflower and meadowsweet for teas. But for making jams, jellies and pickles you really need to consider getting proper canning jars. You also need a really large preserving pan (or stockpot) and a selection of funnels to fit different sizes of jars or bottles.

While it is fashionable to eat ‘seasonally,’ if you don’t want to incur huge food miles it is well worth taking a leaf from our hunter-gatherer ancestors and storing for the winter months when in our cold northern climates there is a dearth of ‘seasonal’ food available. They are the real mentors for teaching us how to live a low impact lifestyle. So we need to make like the squirrels and get foraging and storing!

Editor’s Note: The information in this article is not professional medical advice. Lehman’s makes no claim to the above information. Consult with your physician or another professional healthcare provider before making decisions about natural therapies and/or remedies.

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Most people don’t realize that the honeybees zooming about in our gardens are some of the most important creatures on the planet. In their search for a meal of nectar and pollen, they play a critical role in helping plants set fruit and reproduce. It’s hard to believe, but an incredible 91% of the estimated 240,000 flowering plant species worldwide, require the help of these pollinators to survive. If there are no insects to pollinate the flowers, there will be no fruit or vegetables and no seed production for the next generation. Despite the important service these pollinators provide, they have been largely ignored and are now threatened by habitat loss, pesticide use and disease. Wild honeybee populations have dropped 25 percent since 1990. A continuing decline in pollinator activity puts most ornamental plants – as well as much of our food supply – into jeopardy. Here are four easy ways you can help – right in your own backyard:
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