Here's The Buzz On America's Forgotten Native 'Tea' Plant

Very interesting article below on making local tea.  I know Yaupon grows wild throughout the Southeastern U.S. and varieties of the plant are even used in landscaping.   The scientific name is Ilex vomitoria and you can find out more about this plant at http://plants.usda.gov/factsheet/pdf/fs_ilvo.pdf .  An interesting quote from this factsheet “ Native Americans in the southeastern United States used this plant extensively. They used the wood to build arrows, and roasted leaves and shoots to make a dark, tea like drink called “black drink”. This drink was used medicinally to induce vomiting and for ceremonies to purify the body. It was also used socially as a drink or offering to indicate friendly intentions to guest.”  

 

Besides the Texas company mentioned below, I found a Florida company that makes Yaupon Tea – Yaupon ASI Tea - http://www.yauponasitea.com/ .  Looks like they even have a bottled version.  I also found a site that describes how to make the tea - http://www.walterreeves.com/landscaping/yaupon-holly-make-tea-from-leaves/   -- Gene

 

 

 

What's On Your Plate

 

August 04, 2015

 

Yaupon growing in the wild in east Texas. This evergreen holly was once valuable to Native American tribes in the Southeastern U.S., which made a brew from its caffeinated leaves. Murray Carpenter for NPR

 

During a severe drought in 2011, JennaDee Detro noticed that many trees on the family cattle ranch in Cat Spring, Texas, withered, but a certain evergreen holly appeared vigorous. It's called a yaupon.

 

"The best we can tell is that they enjoy suffering," Detro says with a laugh. "So this kind of extreme weather in Texas — and the extreme soil conditions — are perfect for the yaupon."

 

Detro began researching yaupon — a tree abundant in its native range, from coastal North Carolina to East Texas — and discovered that the plant contains caffeine and has a remarkable history.

 

A thousand years ago, Native American traders dried, packed and shipped the leaves all the way to Cahokia, the ancient mound city near the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. Native Americans sometimes used it in purification rituals involving purging (this led to its Latin name, Ilex vomitoria — a misnomer, because yaupon is not an emetic). Traveling through North Carolina in 1775, the naturalist William Bartram said Cherokees called yaupon "the beloved tree." Early settlers even exported yaupon to Europe.

 

But yaupon was eventually elbowed aside by what purists call true tea — made from the leaves of the Asian shrub Camellia sinensis. (Technically, yaupon is an herbal infusion.) Because of yaupon's recent obscurity, Detro had to learn how to dry and prepare the leaves on her own.

 

"There is a lost art of preparing yaupon tea," says Detro, "because there are so many years between the Native American use of yaupon tea and our modern use of yaupon tea."

 

i

(Left) A box of Cat Spring Yaupon Tea, produced by JennaDee Detro and her sister, Abianne Falla. (Right) A glass of iced yaupon tea as served at Odd Duck, a farm-to-table restaurant in Austin, Texas. Murray Carpenter for NPR

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After Detro learned how to process the leaves, she told her sister, Abianne Falla, about her plans to sell the product at a farmers market or two. "At first, when she was telling me about it, I kind of had the same mentality of everyone around here, 'Well, let me taste it first,' " says Falla. "And as soon as I did, it was like, 'We might be onto something. I think we should make a run of it.' "

 

The sisters started selling their Cat Spring Yaupon Tea online two years ago, both a green tea and a roasted black tea. And Falla began getting the tea onto store shelves and into restaurants. Now the tea is being served at Austin restaurants like Dai Due and Odd Duck that focus on locally sourced food.

 

Odd Duck manager Jason James said he was surprised to learn about the tea. But he was pleased to find the taste familiar. "The flavor profile of it, I don't think it's too far off from a black tea," he says. "The tannin structures are a little bit different."

 

James says the lack of tannins can be a benefit, because it is harder to oversteep the tea. He recently started serving yaupon in lieu of black tea, and now the lunch crowd drinks 4 or 5 gallons daily. "Being that we had that ethic of sourcing local, and being sustainable, this just fit the bill," James says.

 

Detro and Falla have had some guidance along the way from Steve Talcott, a professor of food chemistry at Texas A&M University. Talcott says that yaupon, like coffee and tea, is rich in the antioxidants known as polyphenols.

 

And it's the only native North American plant he knows of that contains caffeine. He says the caffeine levels in yaupon vary, but are roughly comparable to green or black tea.

 

Talcott says he loves to watch people's reactions when he tells them that this common outdoor tree can be turned into a tasty, and buzz-delivering, brew.

 

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JennaDee Detro harvests yaupon. After it is harvested, she takes it to a drying barn. Only the dried leaves are used to make yaupon tea. Murray Carpenter for NPR

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"I'll walk out and pick some leaves off a plant and go, 'This is the only plant we know in North America that contains caffeine. I can make a wonderful tea out of this.' And they are just like, 'No, no way,' " says Talcott. "It's just amazing, until they actually try the tea. Until you try it for the first time, you'd just be blown away that it's an edible food."

 

Drinking iced tea at the corner store in Cat Spring in the heat of the day, construction worker David Avery is a bit skeptical. He says he has spent many hours on a bulldozer, tearing up yaupon, which encroaches on hay fields and pastures.

 

"Ahhh, yaupon. Shoot, if you're from around here, you just want to get rid of it," Avery says. "Most of the people, we don't do anything with it. First that I've heard that they're making tea."

 

But Avery says he'd like to try it. And he's not alone. Detro and Falla have sold enough yaupon to brew more than 100,000 cups of tea, to customers in 36 states. With other companies in Georgia and Florida now selling yaupon, it may be poised for a comeback that's long overdue.

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Tea Tuesdays is an occasional series exploring the science, history, culture and economics of this ancient brewed beverage.

Murray Carpenter is a journalist and author of Caffeinated: How Our Daily Habit Helps, Hurts And Hooks Us.

 

http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/08/04/429071993/heres-the-buzz-on-americas-forgotten-native-tea-plant

 

 

 

 

6 Surprising All-Natural Air Fresheners

 

Try these DIY deodorizers made from simple household ingredients.

By Emily Main April 1, 2015

 

Before you reach for that artificially scented bottle of "Hawaiian Aloha," which likely contains dozens of air pollutants, consider healthier air-freshening alternatives. Most of them are available in unexpected places, such as your liquor cabinet or your garbage can...or even on you. Here are six interesting ways to clean up.

 

1. Vodka
Ethyl alcohol, found in vodka and other spirits, is a main ingredient in most commercial air fresheners. Cleaning your air with vodka allows you to get rid of musty odors without saturating the air (or your lungs) with added chemicals, like petroleum-derived propellants and harmful synthetic fragrances. Vodka leaves no odor as it dries, so you can spray it straight into your air as is, or add 20 to 30 drops of your favorite essential oils for a pleasant scent.

 

2. Cat Litter
Have a smelly closet or musty basement? Set out a tray of cat litter, specifically, Jonny Cat Litter brand, recommends Joey Green of Joey Green's Cleaning Magic (Rodale, 2010). One primary reason that brand works so well has to do with the fact that the main ingredient is Diatomaceous earth, a naturally occurring mineral that, among its many wonders, absorbs odors (it also absorbs moisture in the air and kills pests that come in contact with it). So if you can't find any Jonny Cat Litter, buy a box of Diatomaceous earth and set a few bowls out in the corners of smelly rooms. You can find it online from garden supply stores, such as Planet Natural.

 

3. Coffee Grounds

Who doesn't love the smell of coffee? According to Green, it's another weird odor remover that helps cut the smell of winter mustiness. You can use fresh or used grounds, but if going with used, let them dry out a bit first. Place them in a bowl wherever you need an odor removed, or wrap them up in a coffee filter or old stocking and hang them in a closet or from a shelf. If you're not a coffee drinker, you can still benefit. Some Starbucks (and many small locally owned cafes) give their used coffee grounds away for free.

 

4. A Palm Tree
We're not talking about palm trees at the beach (though a beach vacation is a good way to get away from dirty indoor air). Palm trees used as houseplants are very effective air purifiers, known to remove formaldehyde, which lurks in paints, furniture finishes, and the glues used to hold pressed wood and particle board together. You'll get similar benefits from a variety of other houseplants, but palm trees are among the easiest to care for. Look for Dwarf date, bamboo, areca, lady, or parlor palm varieties.

 

5. Your Skin
Thanks to all the oils in your skin, dead skin flakes act like natural air purifiers, say researchers from Denmark. According to their study, published in Environmental Science & Technology, one of the most common oils in skin, squalene, reduces levels of the indoor air pollutant ozone, a respiratory irritant that can trigger asthma attacks. After comparing levels of ozone in a day-care center's indoor air with the amount of squalene from skin flakes in its dust, the researchers determined that dead skin flakes can reduce ozone levels anywhere from 2 to 15 percent. We're not quite sure how to make use of this information, but it's nice to know you're producing your very own natural air purifier.

 

6. Elbow Grease
Ultimately, the best way to deal with smelly or chemical-laden indoor air is to go straight to the source. It's easier to eliminate an odor's cause than to try to cover it up with coffee grinds or cat litter. And indoor air pollutants that collect in dust can be trapped by a good vacuum and weekly dusting with a damp cloth. To prevent further polluting your indoor air, make your own green cleaning kit with white vinegar, lemon juice, baking soda, and borax, all of which are also natural odor removers.

 

http://www.rodalesorganiclife.com/home/6-surprising-all-natural-air-fresheners?cid=socHome_20150403_43206646&adbid=10153287192314642&adbpl=fb&adbpr=165599879641

 

 

 

A Little Night Magic

 

After hearing a screech owl outside my house a week or so ago and a story on NPR about building a screech owl house, I thought I would provide some information to you about it.  I think I’m going to build one and see if I have any success on have some move in!   -Gene

 

 

Want to improve the after-hours scene in your neighborhood? Try hanging a screech owl box. 

By Kenn Kaufman

 

 

Night creatures go largely unseen, so people are often surprised to learn that they might have owls as neighbors. But it's true. Take screech owls, for example. Over much of this continent, from southern Canada south into Mexico, they can be common; in fact, studies have shown that screech owls can thrive in small towns, suburbs, even city parks.

 

Still, in America's tidy neighborhoods, as homeowners and townships trim away dead trees and large limbs and fill in natural cavities, good screech-owl nesting sites can be hard to find. Human-made nest boxes can make up for any shortage of natural nesting cavities, enabling these petite owls to live in places where they might otherwise be absent. This can help stabilize their populations.

 

There are two widespread species of screech owls, eastern and western, differing most obviously in voice. Neither actually screeches, except when agitated; most of their calls consist of mellow whistles and trills. Screech owls may spend their days sleeping in dense foliage or sitting next to tree trunks (where their mottled pattern provides camouflage), but more often they will be inside a cavity of some sort--a hollow limb, for instance, or a large woodpecker hole--hidden away from the sharp eyes of small songbirds, which will fuss about in a most irritating way when they find an owl sitting on its day roost. While a good cavity can help the owl avoid the annoying attentions of songbirds, it becomes essential during the nesting season.

 

Screech owl boxes have not inspired as much design experimentation as those for bluebirds or purple martins, but we do have some idea of what works. Fred Gehlbach of Baylor University, the world's leading authority on screech owl behavior, tried some variations on nest boxes as part of his studies on nesting habits. Gehlbach started by measuring natural cavities favored by the owls. He found the birds tended to use deeper cavities, more than 10 inches deep, with entrance holes not much larger than the minimum needed for their own entry. He also found that while the owls would use cavities with floors only six inches across, young owls were apt to fledge too early from such crowded nests. He had better success using boxes with floors that were eight inches square.

 

Although many experts recommend cleaning out nest boxes yearly, preferably in early spring, there's some disagreement on this point when it comes to screech owls. One reason for this is that the debris you'll find in screech owl boxes may have a life of its own.

 

Perhaps the oddest part of screech owls' behavior is their association with blind snakes, which have been found in the owls' nests. These odd snakes, which resemble large earthworms, normally appear only at night. Gehlbach and others have observed that the owls bring these small snakes to their nests and release them. The snakes feed on the larval and pupal stages of ants and flies that live in the nest debris, reducing the number of insects competing for the headless mice, dead beetles, and other tidbits cached by the owls. Gehlbach's studies suggest that the snakes actually contribute to the owls' breeding success.

 

It's important to place the box correctly. The natural cavities that screech owls choose are typically 12 to 20 feet above the ground and in deep shade. As the female incubates the eggs, the male is apt to spend the day roosting in dense foliage within about 20 feet of the nest. After you've placed an inch or so of dried leaves in the bottom of the nest, hang it at least 10 feet up on the trunk of a large tree. Try to place it away from sidewalks or doors, since the owls vigorously defend their nests against perceived threats. In fact, when the young are near fledging, some unusually spunky adults may swoop down at people or pets who wander too close, even raking them with their claws. So while placing the box in as secluded a spot as possible is good for the owls, it might be better for us, too.

Kenn Kaufman is the author of Birds of North America (Houghton Mifflin).

 

 

For plans on how to build a screech owl house, go to http://archive.audubonmagazine.org/backyard/backyard0201.html

 

 

 

 

How To Make A Stand Cast Birdbath in Leaf Shape

I meant to send this out yesterday for Wildlife Wednesday.  Oh, well – just one day late!  J

 

 

If you’re looking on ways to improve your garden design, we have just the thing to achieve that. This interesting looking bird bath will attract not only birds but people alike. Make sure you impress every visitor to your garden from now on by making the DIY Sand Cast Birdbath in Leaf Shape. Like the name says it, this birdbath is made in the shape of a leaf, in order to blend in with the rest of a natural environment. And thus, the birds will feel safer to take a bath in your lovely piece of decoration.

 

 

Here is the list of necessary items for this DIY project:

Materials
• Large leaf ( rhubarb leaf)
• 1 bag of sand
• 2 bags of concrete
• Water
• Plastic wrap
• Tubular concrete form
• Paint or concrete dye (optional)
• Concrete sealer

Tools
• Bucket or mixing Tray for concrete
• Hoe for mixing
• Scrub brush
• Paintbrush
• Foam brush
• 2 containers for paint and sealer

Begin with pouring the sand over a paper-covered surface and lay your leaf on top of it. Make sure you made a mound of sand in the center so the resulting birdbath will be a proper basin filled with water. When your concrete is all mixed in the bucket, pour it over the leaf. Leave it to harden and then apply the paint and sealer. You could choose to place the birdbath at a certain height, in which case you must also make a tall foot out of concrete. Fill your DIY work it with water in the end and watch how your garden will enrich itself with some birds and a brand new ornament.

 

3

 

http://ourdailyideas.com/how-to-make-a-stand-cast-birdbath-in-leaf-shape/

 

 

 

 

 

Natural Wood Casket

I know death is not something that most of us like to think about but planning for it makes life so much better for those we leave behind.  As this article states in the beginning, more people are thinking about continuing to protect the environment even in the way they are buried. 

Natural Wood Casket

Author or Source: Elizabeth Fournier

People are returning to traditional burial practices in order to protect our environment and to honor lives that have been lived with care for the planet. Many talented wood workers are joining them in taking an environmentally conscious, long-term view and working to make natural burial a real option.
Wood is the oldest material known to man makes it a natural and environmentally sound choice when selecting a casket. The warmth and textures insures each piece is unique, and being a renewable resource assures a legacy tor the next generation
Wood is also strong, beautiful, and shock-resistant. And just as no two pieces of wood are exactly the same, handcrafted timber has its own, warming identity. Choosing a wood casket also leaves a legacy for the next generation because wood is a renewable resource.
By building caskets in harmony with the natural order through responsible stewardship of the earth's resources, many wood crafters are also fulfilling a person need of finding peace.
When Richard Clarke starts to build a casket it is work. Then after time and energy it starts to come alive, and the joy of creating truly comes alive. This process goes on. Sometimes for quite a while then it stops and the piece is complete. There is joy and sadness in that moment for him.

For more information on Richard and how to build your own casket (yes, there’s information about that) see - http://www.naturallysavvy.com/naturally-green/diy-natural-wood-casket-yes-casket

Think before you print!