~ There's no Telling... ~

 Good Tuesday Morning to you Friends & Folk ~

another unbearably hot day in store for us here in our part of Virginia...

I've been getting up earlier and earlier these days,

to beat the heat, and just get some quiet time in before farm-wife chores and such ~

...these stolen moments are so good for my soul!

I drink tea every morning.

copious amounts of tea...like 4-5 cups.

sometimes double-bagging!

 Honey and tea make me happy, 

and I can always get lots accomplished with the buzzzzz of caffeine lol.

Usually green tea is my preferred choice, but occasionally 

I will treat myself to some loose tea 

made by my sweet Herbologist & Hedgewitch Friend, 

Miss Nancy B. 

🥄 🥄 🥄 🥄 🥄 🥄 🥄 🥄 🥄 🥄 🥄 🥄 🥄

When I was younger, ...middle school age perhaps,

I had a girlfriend named Eileen ~

and I would walk to her house each morning to meet her, 

so then we could walk to school together...

her sweet little Mom always had a cup of tea waiting for me, 

as she knew I loved tea and together we would sit at her dimly lit kitchen table 

and sip our beloved drink from her dainty little china teacups 

...while she told me about her childhood and growing up in Germany.

 

This woman would watch me sip my tea to the almost last drop, 

then take my teacup away from me and swirl my cup around and around...

she would peer into my almost-empty cup then proceed to tell me my 'fortune' for the day!

...how I would do in math class {always not good! lol}

how I might meet that special boy, and so on...

 

...between the detailed stories she told me of her past,

 and the fun and excitement of hearing her predictions for the day ~

I would usually end up running to Eileens' house every morning!

with each cup of tea I drink, I remember this kind, sweet woman who took the time to

listen to me, and share with me her secrets...

~ I learned that her grandmother and mother also read tea leaves, 

and I learned that art is called 

"Tasseography"

I have always wanted to find an antique tea-reading cup, or Gypsy fortune cup...

and searched on Amazon and found the one you see pictured here...

... it is a reproduction of one from the 1950's.

 🍃 🍃 🍃 🍃 🍃 🍃 🍃 🍃 🍃 🍃 🍃 🍃 🍃

I don't always use this cup when I take tea ~ 

nor do I always use loose leaf tea in it.

just occasionally, when I feel the need to connect to kinder, gentler days

that were sweetened with a bit of magic sprinkled in...

kindly forgive the farmwife hands, hangnails and crazy polish or lack there-of lol

Blessings from the Farm 

~ Lori

~ A Hedgewitch's Garden ~

What is a Hedge Witch?

A Hedge Witch is a solitary practitioner of the herbal arts - both, medicinal and spiritual. 

 She is the person you call when you develop a rash or get a toothache, 

and the doctor or dentist is unavailable. 

She is the person you consult when strange things go bump in the night, 

or you are certain that someone just gave you the evil eye.

Her {many} cupboards contains the remedy for what ails you - both physical and spiritual.

A Hedge Witch does not belong to a coven. 

She does not follow the tenets of any sect or organized religion. 

 Her craft is her own - 

usually handed down to her by family and honed by her own experience and research.

You will not find two Hedge Witches that are alike. 

... Each follows her own path. 

 The common thread that puts us under the heading of Hedge Witch

~ is our herbal remedies and our solitary spiritual practices.

The name, Hedge Witch, 

comes from days of old when villages were separated by forests.

 The edge of a village where the forest began was called the hedge. 

In most villages there was an herbal practitioner, 

who lived in the forest or near the edge of the forest.

This was the person the villagers appealed to when there was no doctor, 

or the doctor couldn't cure them. 

The practitioner who lived by the hedge and practiced herbal arts was called a Hedge Witch.

Today, 

a Hedge Witch may or may not live near the forest,

 but you likely will find her there at one time or another. 

Most Hedge Witches have a reverence for nature. 

They know the medicinal and spiritual properties of everything that grows, 

and they understand nature's balance. 

A wise Hedge Witch enlists nature to deal with natural problems. 

She harvests more weeds than she pulls. 

She invites wasps, spiders and other predators to kill unwanted bugs. 

She uses plants and animals to divert bunnies from the vegetable garden.

But the most definitive characteristic of a Hedge Witch 

is that she has a remedy for everything under the sun, 

...and much of it was prepared by the light of the moon.

 { an except from www.hedgewitchforest.com }

so we'll go on a little wander about my farmyard, fields and gardens... 

I am never alone, for my friends tag along wherever I roam:

her name is Frizzle, and she's as big as a minute. {breed: Silkie}

 my very dear & sweet friend Nancy is a Master Gardener 

~ and we turn to her for her knowledge of all things herb-y ~

{she is our very own little hedgewitch ~ LOVE You Nancy}

♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️

she has taught us so much about our own yards and the plants growing in them....

taught us to look at 'weeds' differently ~

here are a few that thrive here at Notforgotten Farm:

Mugwort ~ tea for sleep, aids in digestion

Hydrangea ~ urinary problems, kidney {stones} and liver

Mullein ~ taken as a tea, helps reduce mucus

my wild gardens & fire pit

Bee Balm ~ aids digestion, treats cold & flu

St. John's Wort ~ aids in depression, anxiety moods and meopause

Marsh Thistle ~ rheumatatic/rheumatoid arthritis {RA}

Apothecary Rosehip ~ High in vitamin C, metabolism, joint pain

Red Bud ~ cough suppressant, aids in Flu/fever

Lemon Balm ~ promotes sleep/improves appetite ~ tea/indesgestion

{can you see me?}

Orange Daylily ~ bowel/anti-nausea, promotes sleep

another part of one of my wild gardens ~ Chocolate mint {digestive/tea} and Egyptian Onion {tumors, earaches/congestion}

Rudbeckia {Black Eyed Susan ~ earaches} & Queen Anne's Lace {digestive/kidney/bladder}

 And, 

while looking at the black eyed susans, I found this one:

a strange mutation, like a triple flowerhead on a thick, measuring-tape-like stem!

and then noticed that one of my flowering hosta's has the same mutation!?!

 

 wild, wonderful Nature...

always inspiring and educating ~

teaching us to slow down and look ~ listen.

Blessings from the Farm 

~ Lori

~ "Sunny Days Sunflower" - Color-tint Embroidery Class and other things ~

 Good Morning Friends & Folk!

I am happy to announce another FUN class here in the Studio at Notforgotten Farm ~

"Sunny Days - Sunflower"

Color-Tint Embroidery Class ~ with our special guest instructor

🌻  Nancy Bauer  🌻

When: Saturday July 27th 2019 ~ 10:30 til 3:30

Where: the Studio at Notforgotten Farm

3530 Tye River Road

Amherst, VA 24521

Class Fee: $35.00 per student

includes: fabric, pigma pen & embroidery floss

Class Size Limited to 12 Students, and Students will need to bring ~

scissors, embroidery needle, 10: embroidery hoop AND

a box of the Original 64 count Crayola™ Crayons {NO SUBSTITUTES}

{{ crayons can be found inexpensively at Target }}

 Sign Up: email ~ Notforgottenfarmwitch@gmail.com 

~ or ~ phone: 434-263-6508

this class will fill up quick!

 

I have been enjoying this long weekend, 

embroidering and working with my punch needle ~

I finished the little Strawberry Moon Witch that I was embroidering:

turned her into a small round pincushion...

have a bit more to go on the punch needle project, 

{this is a class model so I can't show you until it is finished}

 

 the laundry is hung, {so now it should rain for us, hahaha}

~ going to enjoy the rest of the day before getting back in the swing of things tomorrow.

hoping you all enjoy the day!

Blessings from the Farm

 ~ Lori

~ In Stitches Needlework Shop, Alexandria VA ~

Good Morning Friends & Folk ~
Here is a new Video for you!
Crafty Saturday episode #6 to be exact...

Joan & I talking about the 'stuff' we purchased at
In Stitches Needlework in Alexandria, VA last week ~
and In the Studio guests show & tell with Nancy & Anita...

after you watch the video,
kindly scroll down on this post to see the photos of this trip-worthy needlework shop!

Isn't it beautiful? .... told you!

**Please Note**
*Shop/Studio will be OPEN tomorrow, Friday May 17th from 10:00 - 4:00
*Shop is Open Saturday, May 18th 10:00 - 4:00,
but NO Open Studio as we are holding a Private Class.

 

Blessings from the Farm 

~ Lori