Grasping the nettle

I love ancient wisdom that is taught through idioms, rhymes and songs and was thinking about it this morning as I picked the nettles from the goat paddock.  

Grasping the Nettle has 2 meanings.  

It is both the instruction for how to handle a nettle without getting stung (unless you want to be as an alternative  therapy for rheumatism and arthritis ) and a metaphor for being brave. 

I have listed a few other idioms on bravery at the end of this post.

Nettles are a super weed, they are very nutritious, high in vitamin C and various minerals, including boron, they only grow in good soils and their roots accumulate minerals.  

In the 1653 Nicholas Culpepper wrote about nettles and another 285 plants in the The English Physitian which was later published as the Complete Herbal

"nettle-tops eaten in the spring consume the phlegmatic superfluities in the body of man, that the coldness and moistness of winter hath left behind. The roots or leaves boiled, or the juice of either of them, or both made into an electuary with honey and sugar, is a safe and sure medicine to open the pipes and passages of the lungs, which is the cause of wheezing and shortness of breath, and helps to expectorate tough phlegm"

Nettles are high in quercetin, vitamin c , calcium, magnesium, and zinc, all of which are recommended in early treatment protocols for viral infections.  Quercetin is a zinc ionophore which transports zinc cations through plasma membranes improving anti viral action of zinc... capers are very high in QCT too.

"Nettle is also high in flavonoids, including Quercetin and rutin, both of which help to improve the health of the blood and circulatory system.  In traditional Western herbal medicine nettle was considered specific for pale, tired, anaemic people and has been used by practitioners of Chinese medicine to treat what is called blood deficiency.   If you are vegetarian or vegan then nettle is one of the best things you can include in your diet to ensure your blood stays healthy and vital."

I always have some growing each year to use as a tonic, but I pull them out before they set seed, AND before the baby goats arrive.   

According to the People's Home Medical Book published in 1925, "a decoction of the plant using 1 ounce of plant to a pint of water, when strongly salted, will coagulate milk as readily as rennet without imparting to it any unpleasant flavour". I might have to try it out in my cheese making too.

On being Brave

I live by the motto my Irish Aunt told me: "If it's for ye, it'll no' go by ye."   In practice, it means embracing every opportunity that presents itself, even if you are uncertain or nervous about change.   

I had to move my stall at Origins Market to accommodate new vendors and was a bit nervous that my customers wouldn't find me after being near the front for 18 months.  But find me they did and I love my new spot, back in the heart of Artisan Alley with all the makers in the Crafted Co-op.

• Fear doesn't stop death; it stops life
• Grab the bull by the horns
• The longest journey starts with but a single step
• Ships are safe in the harbour, but that's not what you live for
• Those who don't move won't notice their chains
• People only see the decisions you made, not the choices you had.
• The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding
• Ambition without action turns into anxiety
• To live the life most people don't, you just need to do what most people won't