Winter in Tasmania – photos at the farm

A day at Gould’s farm is always a joy. I particularly love watching the changes through the seasons, and the steady rhythm of the different activities that occur at the various times of the year. And of course to have the chance to hang out with Greg, one of my oldest friends.

On this visit, maritime pine was being prepared, using some bark from the trunk and some from the branch. It had been dried, so after being put through the hammermill it was ready to be packed into the percolators.

With my old friend Greg Whitten. The herbal conversations have been going on for decades now

Calendula in July

.July is midwinter so the garden looks relatively bare -but these marigold flowers reminded me of the origin of the name. The Romans observed that the plant produced flowers every month of the year, and called it calendula, after calends – Latin for month.

Echinacea seedhead

I tasted the tincture which had echinacea seedheads added – whoa! it packs a punch. That characteristic tingle on the tongue was amplified dramatically.I’m thinking that perhaps I have taken too much echinacea over my lifetime – I really can’t handle it as well as I used to, and have been actively looking for substitutes. I’m lucky enough to remember when we didn’t use echinacea, so I’m using my memories of that time.

The root crops have been harvested. This year, there has been a great crop of marshmallow, which will be dried and ground. It will be used like slippery elm, for inflammation of the digestive tract.

Pasque flower seedhead

But no matter the time of year, it  is a joy to spend time at the farm.