Delightful! I'm a Sassafras fan in all it's forms and stages. I don't consume an excessive amount but gumbo isn't the same without it and the tea is an extra special treat that brings back sweet memories of my grandmother who taught me to make this special tonic tea. 🌿💚
From teach011 via email: I love sassafras. We had a tree in my school yard when I lived in Pennsylvania. My aunt sent me a jar filled with it years ago. I keep it in a cupboard on the top shelf with all the serving dishes. When I get up there to take down a dish, I open it for a quick whiff. Still smells so good! Wish it was still used in root beer.
Thanks Susan, I did laugh about the cure for Syphilis, Sassafras was one of many - I don't know if any of them worked. Also thanks for the sponge recipe My youngest and family are coming to see us from Whitehorse next week so will make it then, My Gran used to make it every time we visited, Eggs from Sylvia Chicken and friends and home made strawberry jam. lovely memories.
I'd heard about syphilis, but Lyme disease being related (same bacteria, differently transmitted of course) was news to me. Enjoy the sponge. Beatrix Potter didn't do a lot of baking, but she once wrote that she was pleased with a sponge she'd just baked--no doubt with Hill Top Farm eggs. 😊
Thank you for the recipe for sponge cake and all the uses of sassafras. I remember making May Day baskets for my maternal grandma each year. She lived next door. We always added tea bags and chocolate for her voracious reading habit. On a trip through the Deep South in 1991 on way to DC for jobs, we found an old pharmacy and soda bar in Louisiana that still served root beer with sassafras. The soda clerk gave me a taste before making the root beer float. It was so refreshing that I didn’t have more root beer for a l-o-n-g time!
My grandma had sassafras trees on her property and we all drank Sassafras tea in the spring "to thin the blood." Does blood thicken in winter? She thought so. I love the taste of sassafras, and right now am imagining iced sassasfras tea. Yum.
Thank you for this collection, Susan! I may have heard in one of my classes that Sassafras may help Lyme's Disease (likely d/t similarities to syphilis.
I know we are past May Day, but I have always loved it. I have been making May Baskets since I was a little girl. ALso, If your sweet woodruff is blooming, make some Maywine.
I should have included May Day somehow, even though we're past it. May baskets are a lovely tradition, so perfect for spring. Thanks for the reminder, Marcia. I've made a note for next year.
Absolutely amazing work, Susan - all of your work is incredible, but I do love (what I think of as) "the Monthly Dates and Thyme" pieces. "Be Nice To Nettles Week" - I love it. THANK YOU SO MUCH.
Susan - I just got a strange request to complete my profile and then it said it sent me an email to login, but the email gave me a verification code that didn't seem to go anywhere. I'm in and still subscribed, but not sure what all this meant. Sigh...
Not sure, either. But I just checked your page and all appears normal. I know that Substack occasionally tries to figure out if people are "real," especially if they're absent for a period. But you have a record of consistent comments, so it's not that. Do let me know if you have any trouble getting on.
I used to like to find sassafras trees and get the leaves because there are three kinds on one tree, if I am correct. Left thumb, right thumb and both thumbs. And glad to know why root beer quit tasting so good many years ago. Thanks
Yes, it is! I love my e-reader, but struggle with double vision. Print books are hard to hold. Was it Bette Davis who said that growing old isn't for sissies? She got it right! I'll persevere right along with you! 🙄
I have to admit my "audio" learning has improved by necessity. When I read these nonfiction books I take notes as I go along. From my years as a student I have learned how to focus on blocks of information. Often I have to listen more than once.
Thanks for the delightful memories and poem(!) about sassafras. It brought me back to my 1940s childhood along the Mississippi Gulf Coast where gumbo was comfort food. I can still taste the sharp burst of flavor in sassafras stick candy, striped in an array of colors. There were only small grocery stores in our town, with owners kind to children, who sold sassafras stick candy in large glass jars on the counter. And what a great word sassafras is! Sounds like it tastes.
I drank sassafras tea in my late 20s. I can't remember where I bought it. Then someone ruined my experience by telling me that the tea was toxic and that I shouldn't drink it.
I could use a sassafras balm to heal some wounds. Don't you find it strange that herbs used by Indigenous people and others for probably centuries becomes suddenly harmful, yet modern pharma is sometimes deadly?
Yes, that's a conundrum. Especially when the only research available in 1960 was lab rats. The FDA totally disregarded the long human experiment with this plant. Meanwhile we are "a nation of lab rats" when it comes to genetically modified food. https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/2001-4-july-august/feature/nation-lab-rats Long, but worth reading when you have time.
Homeopathy has been under attack with the FDA as well. I listen to my gut when it comes to natural medicines and they work for me. I gave up conventional pharma in 1994 but unfortunately, this past week, I had to take an antiviral drug for shingles. While it worked, it had side effects. And I've been also taking herbs.
I made Mom some aloe vera and rosemary salve that helped make her shingles more comfortable. Whether we do pharma or plant-based, the important thing is to be mindful of what we're doing, understanding and assessing the possible consequences. Hope your shingles is over with quickly, Patricia, ❤️
Yes. Intention and respect for the plants is important too. The more powerful the medicine, the more likely it could have consequences if not done with respect. I learned that from Indigenous people, not directly but through research.
This reminds me of that saying, don't place a sword in the hands of a fool. Always be respectful no matter which type of medicine is being applied.
That you lay out all of the things to celebrate in a month's time -- but most especially plant-kin is such a pleasure to read. I don't remember Dad's Rootbeer, but I do remember A&W drive-ins, because that's where my grandpa would take me for a Rootbeer. Sassafras sounds like such an amazing plant, but it wound up getting a bad rap. Too much of anything is not a good thing. Always love these first of the month posts. I take delight in learning something from each one. Thank you, Susan.
It's interesting to look back and notice the way our lives have intersected with plants--when we didn't have a clue. Who knew about sassafras when we were drinking all those wonderful root beer floats?
Delightful! I'm a Sassafras fan in all it's forms and stages. I don't consume an excessive amount but gumbo isn't the same without it and the tea is an extra special treat that brings back sweet memories of my grandmother who taught me to make this special tonic tea. 🌿💚
From teach011 via email: I love sassafras. We had a tree in my school yard when I lived in Pennsylvania. My aunt sent me a jar filled with it years ago. I keep it in a cupboard on the top shelf with all the serving dishes. When I get up there to take down a dish, I open it for a quick whiff. Still smells so good! Wish it was still used in root beer.
Probably smells a lot like file powder (also sassafras). I'm sure it holds its fragrance for quite a while, especially in leaf form.
The poem was lots of fun, as was the sassafras history. I learned a lot more than I already knew. Thank you.
Thanks Susan, I did laugh about the cure for Syphilis, Sassafras was one of many - I don't know if any of them worked. Also thanks for the sponge recipe My youngest and family are coming to see us from Whitehorse next week so will make it then, My Gran used to make it every time we visited, Eggs from Sylvia Chicken and friends and home made strawberry jam. lovely memories.
I'd heard about syphilis, but Lyme disease being related (same bacteria, differently transmitted of course) was news to me. Enjoy the sponge. Beatrix Potter didn't do a lot of baking, but she once wrote that she was pleased with a sponge she'd just baked--no doubt with Hill Top Farm eggs. 😊
Thank you for the recipe for sponge cake and all the uses of sassafras. I remember making May Day baskets for my maternal grandma each year. She lived next door. We always added tea bags and chocolate for her voracious reading habit. On a trip through the Deep South in 1991 on way to DC for jobs, we found an old pharmacy and soda bar in Louisiana that still served root beer with sassafras. The soda clerk gave me a taste before making the root beer float. It was so refreshing that I didn’t have more root beer for a l-o-n-g time!
My grandma had sassafras trees on her property and we all drank Sassafras tea in the spring "to thin the blood." Does blood thicken in winter? She thought so. I love the taste of sassafras, and right now am imagining iced sassasfras tea. Yum.
Yes, it actually does, Sandra: https://thevascularcaregroup.com/about-us/news/how-cold-weather-affects-blood-flow-and-circulation/
And some herbs can "thin the blood" : https://www.healthline.com/health/high-blood-pressure/best-natural-blood-thinners#cayenne-peppers Sassafras isn't mentioned in that post, but I know it's been used for that purpose.
Thank you for this collection, Susan! I may have heard in one of my classes that Sassafras may help Lyme's Disease (likely d/t similarities to syphilis.
And yes, that poem was fun to read out loud 😆
I know we are past May Day, but I have always loved it. I have been making May Baskets since I was a little girl. ALso, If your sweet woodruff is blooming, make some Maywine.
I should have included May Day somehow, even though we're past it. May baskets are a lovely tradition, so perfect for spring. Thanks for the reminder, Marcia. I've made a note for next year.
Absolutely amazing work, Susan - all of your work is incredible, but I do love (what I think of as) "the Monthly Dates and Thyme" pieces. "Be Nice To Nettles Week" - I love it. THANK YOU SO MUCH.
You're welcome! Glad you're enjoying it. This post is always fun to do. I have a hard time keeping it short enough to fit into your inboxes. 😊
Susan - I just got a strange request to complete my profile and then it said it sent me an email to login, but the email gave me a verification code that didn't seem to go anywhere. I'm in and still subscribed, but not sure what all this meant. Sigh...
Not sure, either. But I just checked your page and all appears normal. I know that Substack occasionally tries to figure out if people are "real," especially if they're absent for a period. But you have a record of consistent comments, so it's not that. Do let me know if you have any trouble getting on.
It's never happened to me before and it was weird. Sigh... It's ok. Computers. I wonder if Substack is now incorporating AI with their software.
Yes, of course. It couldn't function without it. That's the way we live (and work) now. ❤️
It's a Brave New World...
Another wonderful edition of All About Thyme! Thank you, on this rainy May morning!
Oh, maybe rain coming in our direction? Lovely! So good to hear from you, Helen. Do you and Alice have a 10th book in the works?
Ah, a root beer float in the sun!
Sassafras. yum
Thanks for that quick snatch of poetry, Christy!
I used to like to find sassafras trees and get the leaves because there are three kinds on one tree, if I am correct. Left thumb, right thumb and both thumbs. And glad to know why root beer quit tasting so good many years ago. Thanks
You're right about the mittens, Toni. More about that here: https://wildlifeleadershipacademy.org/sassafras-tree-of-teas-leaves-and-mysteries/ Scroll down to "And what about the mysteries?"
And yes, that great taste only lives in our memories, I'm afraid. 😢
Susan - somehow I missed the announcement that we are not discussing Barbara McQuade's book, Attach from Within.
My email address is GaHendrick@aol.com if you can send me the update.
Georgeann
Georgeann, the schedule is always here: https://susanwittigalbert.substack.com/p/about-guerrilla-readers. This is the top post on the Guerrilla Reads page (on the tab on my home page: https://susanwittigalbert.substack.com/ The page is more accessible than emailed updates, which do get missed. (Also emailing this, in case you don't see it online.)
Thanks. Some of this is a challenge due to deteriorating vision as well.
But I persevere.
Yes, it is! I love my e-reader, but struggle with double vision. Print books are hard to hold. Was it Bette Davis who said that growing old isn't for sissies? She got it right! I'll persevere right along with you! 🙄
I can only "read" my books now by using audible. Since I am definitely not an auditory learner, this has been quite a challenge.
I can manage light fiction in audio but nonfiction is a huge problem for me. I need to *see* text, not just hear it.
I have to admit my "audio" learning has improved by necessity. When I read these nonfiction books I take notes as I go along. From my years as a student I have learned how to focus on blocks of information. Often I have to listen more than once.
Thanks for the delightful memories and poem(!) about sassafras. It brought me back to my 1940s childhood along the Mississippi Gulf Coast where gumbo was comfort food. I can still taste the sharp burst of flavor in sassafras stick candy, striped in an array of colors. There were only small grocery stores in our town, with owners kind to children, who sold sassafras stick candy in large glass jars on the counter. And what a great word sassafras is! Sounds like it tastes.
My goodness, hadn't thought of that candy in decades! We can still indulge ourselves, Kate, although I suspect that the recipe changed after 1960: https://www.benfranklinonline.com/sassafras-stick-candy/?srsltid=AfmBOorVvRpwiW3nVnJkSn-xeB0JvUtUyczxfQzGBtZ1ByPf1EEs5s0r
Thanks for the link, Susan. No tariffs on sassafras! :)
I drank sassafras tea in my late 20s. I can't remember where I bought it. Then someone ruined my experience by telling me that the tea was toxic and that I shouldn't drink it.
I could use a sassafras balm to heal some wounds. Don't you find it strange that herbs used by Indigenous people and others for probably centuries becomes suddenly harmful, yet modern pharma is sometimes deadly?
Yes, that's a conundrum. Especially when the only research available in 1960 was lab rats. The FDA totally disregarded the long human experiment with this plant. Meanwhile we are "a nation of lab rats" when it comes to genetically modified food. https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/2001-4-july-august/feature/nation-lab-rats Long, but worth reading when you have time.
Homeopathy has been under attack with the FDA as well. I listen to my gut when it comes to natural medicines and they work for me. I gave up conventional pharma in 1994 but unfortunately, this past week, I had to take an antiviral drug for shingles. While it worked, it had side effects. And I've been also taking herbs.
I made Mom some aloe vera and rosemary salve that helped make her shingles more comfortable. Whether we do pharma or plant-based, the important thing is to be mindful of what we're doing, understanding and assessing the possible consequences. Hope your shingles is over with quickly, Patricia, ❤️
Yes. Intention and respect for the plants is important too. The more powerful the medicine, the more likely it could have consequences if not done with respect. I learned that from Indigenous people, not directly but through research.
This reminds me of that saying, don't place a sword in the hands of a fool. Always be respectful no matter which type of medicine is being applied.
Exactly. And today, the weapons are unimaginably more powerful than swords. And the fools . . . Yes, well. There we have it.
I get it. My hope is that Gaia is more powerful and wise than those fools.
That you lay out all of the things to celebrate in a month's time -- but most especially plant-kin is such a pleasure to read. I don't remember Dad's Rootbeer, but I do remember A&W drive-ins, because that's where my grandpa would take me for a Rootbeer. Sassafras sounds like such an amazing plant, but it wound up getting a bad rap. Too much of anything is not a good thing. Always love these first of the month posts. I take delight in learning something from each one. Thank you, Susan.
It's interesting to look back and notice the way our lives have intersected with plants--when we didn't have a clue. Who knew about sassafras when we were drinking all those wonderful root beer floats?