I LOVE it when my two favorite subjects compliment each other. Those would be Family History and Self-Reliance. I love learning from the past. I love the conveniences we have today (like the electric washer), but I love that if I HAD to live without it, I could. I love learning how my ancestors made the best of what they had....no Walmart existed then (or Costco...weep).
The past year or so, I have been learning about local plants that Native Americans and the pioneers used to stay healthy and restore health. I would like to highlight some of those plants periodically.
I have really enjoyed learning about desert plants and the gifts they are to us from our Heavenly Father! The plant I would like to put in the limelight today is ..... wait for it....
Ephedra Nevadensis~ This plant is also called "Brigham Tea"
They can actually grow pretty wide, and about 4 feet tall. I've never seen one taller than me, and that's not real hard to do :). It is actually the American form of the Chinese Ephedra. You can find these on the higher desert places. "Brigham" actually refers to Brigham Young. It is also known as Mormon Tea. I have heard of my ancestors using it for chronic cough (bronchitis) while crossing the plains. Some of them will get a white powdery film on them. This is actually yeast. They would put these yeast covered branches in their sugar water and make bread with it this way. ISN'T THAT AWESOME??? The powered herb can be sprinkled where someone is bleeding and it will help it to coagulate and stop it.
The tea is also good for:
UTI's
Allergies
and
Low blood pressure
Ephedra Nevadensis~ This plant is also called "Brigham Tea"
They can actually grow pretty wide, and about 4 feet tall. I've never seen one taller than me, and that's not real hard to do :). It is actually the American form of the Chinese Ephedra. You can find these on the higher desert places. "Brigham" actually refers to Brigham Young. It is also known as Mormon Tea. I have heard of my ancestors using it for chronic cough (bronchitis) while crossing the plains. Some of them will get a white powdery film on them. This is actually yeast. They would put these yeast covered branches in their sugar water and make bread with it this way. ISN'T THAT AWESOME??? The powered herb can be sprinkled where someone is bleeding and it will help it to coagulate and stop it.
The tea is also good for:
UTI's
Allergies
and
Low blood pressure
You can find Brigham Tea at the base of our mountain in ABUNDANCE!
I am SO thankful that herbs were ordained for our benefit and use! They are amazing gifts! It is like Christmas all year round!
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One of our readers - Sister Vicki from Pima -wrote to me about doing laundry the way her grandmother did, I love what she had to say.
"My grandma had a big pot that they filled with water and heated the water over an open fire. They filled it with clothes and put in washing powder. After they scrubbed the stubborn spots on a washboard, they boiled the clothes and then hung them out. This was an all day project. During the depression people didn't have outfits for every day of the week and they didn't wash the quantities of clothes that we wash today. Just a side note. God blesses us almost every day with free energy to dry our clothes. I hang my clothes about 95% of the time. It's a good time to think and pray undisturbed. The physical act of hanging clothes keeps older women limber by using a wide variety of muscles. Try hanging your clothes, it's good for you and good for the environment."
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A few weeks ago I spilled the beans that my dryer had bitten the dust...so I started hanging the laundry out. At first it was kind of a pain because it was still cold and it took FOREVER to dry. But!!! Now that it is warming up, I look forward to hanging them out because it gives me an excuse to be outside. There are birds and bees (now, now....I mean the animal and insect :) ). I agree with Sister Vicki, it is good for you!
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