Yarrow at the Colosseum?

We were just looking through our photos from our trip to Italy earlier this month and have decided that perhaps we’ve become a little obsessive about plants. There were about 10 shots of what we initially thought was yarrow (Achillea millefolium) growing in the remains of a Colosseum wall until closer inspection revealed it to be some variety of mustard. Not to mention that it was way too early in the season for yarrow…

Thanks to all of you who patiently waited for us to return to process your orders. This has been the second time we have closed sunstoneherbs.com since going online in 2000 (the first being during the week we moved from New York to New Mexico).

We had a wonderful, relaxing time - lots of good food and lots of art - and are now ready to jump into the growing season. Here are some parting shots.

Blue skies through the Colosseum.

The Roman Forum

Us posing in front of the Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence.

St John’s Wort Oil in New Mexico

St. John’s Wort (Hypericum perfolatum) is one of my favorite plants. I love its buttery yellow flowers and the way they magically produce a deep red ruby juice when crushed. I love how it pops up in unexpected places like craggy, dry slopes where one would think nothing could grow. And when it is infused in olive oil it makes one of the prettiest oils we offer at sunstoneherbs.com.

I’ve used this oil in the past to relieve pain from shingles (in a former life I worked 50 - 60 stressful hours per week as an IT project manager for a financial services company in NYC), but recently, I’ve been dipping into our stock for a new purpose.

As readers of this blog may know, we recently moved our homestead from upstate New York to New Mexico where the sun is more intense than I had previously imagined. I’ve gotten very good at wearing an enormous visor to protect my face, but occasionally I’ll run out to hay the goats without it, and then after 15 minutes (often more) of playing with them, I’ll end up with a patchy mild sunburn or, sometimes, a blotchy wind burn. Not pretty, uncomfortable, and not good for my skin. Gently applying a little bit of St J’s oil, however, relieves the dryness and soothes the burn until the next time I forget to wear my hat. -Tree