Elderberry syrup

Ingredients for Elderberry Syrup

• 2/3 cup dried elderberries (I buy these—a package lasts ages)
• 3 1/2 cups of water
• 2-in. nub of fresh ginger-root, roughly chopped
• 3 cinnamon sticks
• 1/2 tsp. whole cloves
• Rind of one orange
• 1 cup raw honey

Step 1: Cook the elderberry mixture

Add all ingredients EXCEPT  the HONEY to a medium saucepan. Bring it to a boil on high heat. Once it starts to boil, reduce heat. Let the elderberry mixture simmer for 45-60 minutes until the liquid is reduced by half.

Remove from heat and let cool for about 30 minutes. Pour the mixture over a mesh strainer, into a GLASS measuring cup. Let the mixture cool until it is lukewarm. 

Step 2: Let it cool

Step 3: Finish the elderberry syrup recipe

Add honey and stir until it’s well incorporated. Behold, your own homemade elderberry syrup! Then pour the contents into jars or bottles and store them in the refrigerator for up to 3 months.

My Takeaways on Homemade Elderberry Syrup

Now, when cool weather rolls around, my son and I take “Immunity Booster” every morning—a teaspoon for him, a tablespoon for me. If we’re actively battling illness, we have it two or three times a day.

This elderberry syrup recipe tastes like what you’d expect: a sweetly spiced berry syrup.

Elderberry Syrup Benefits

The fruit of the Sambucus nigra plant, elderberries are high in vitamins A and C and anthocyanins (antioxidants that give the berries their bluish-purple hue), among other nutritional goodies. It turns out that our ancestors discovered their medicinal value long ago, and like a lot of other long-loved natural remedies—like turmeric—elderberries are bursting into the mainstream. 

Wall Christmas Trees

                                                                                          

The Buzzard, bat and bumblebee

THE BUZZARD:

If you put a buzzard in a pen that is 6 ft x 8 ft and it entirely open at the top, the bird, in spite of its ability to fly, will be an absolute prisoner.  The reason is that a buzzard always begins a flight from the group with a run of 10 tp 12 feet.  Without space to run, as is its habit, it will not even attempt to fly, but will remain a prisoner for life in a small jail with no top.  

THE BAT:

The ordinary bat that flies around at night, a remarkable nimble creature in the air, cannot take off from a level place.  If it is placed on the floor or flat ground, all it can do is shuffle about helplessly and, no doubt, painfully, until it reaches some slight elevation from which it can throw itself into the air.  Then at once, it takes off like a flash. 

THE BUMBLEBEE:

A bumblebee, if dropped into an open tumbler, will be there until it dies, unless it is taken out.  It never sees the means of escape at the top, but persists in trying to find some way out through the sides near the bottom.  It will seek a way where none exits, util it completely destroys itself.  

PEOPLE:

In many ways, we are like the buzzard, the bat, and the bumblebee. We struggle about with all our problems and frustrations, never realizing that all we have to do it look up!!  That’s the answer, the escape route and the solution to any problem! Just look up!!  

Sorrow looks back. Worry looks around. But faith looks up!

Live simply, love generously, care deeply, speak kindly and trust in our Creator who loves us! 

How to whistle with your fingers - Doug Williams

How to whistle with your fingers, by Doug Williams

The lost art of whistling loudly with your fingers – if stranded it could save your life

By Doug Williams

Publish Date: Oct 23, 2018 

When most people think about loud whistling, they often think about trying to get someone’s attention or perhaps even using it as a survival skill in the woods.

Although humans have used loud whistling for hundreds, and perhaps thousands of years, it is a dying art. Here’s how you can learn to do it, and the history behind your newest survival skill.

video

https://www.outdoorrevival.com/news/whistling-loudly.html?fbclid=IwAR3TkO1TVnV5LS3r2f6piKTPNVngsQ9buILeqIJV6qXT6jAD2qOvvbFnD_U 

There are many different ways to achieve a loud whistle with your fingers. According to the Art of Manliness, regardless of which finger placement you choose, the next steps are all identical; it is simply a matter of finding what works for you.

Slot Canyon or Antelope

Slot Canyon or Antelope, another MUST see!!  April 2019.   Ask me questions, I'll be happy to answer you. 

Grand Canyon

Grand Canyon.  Chester and I did Bright Angel to Phantom Ranch, spent the night, then hiked up Kaibab trail. This is a MUST do on your bucket list.   April 2019.   Ask me questions, I'll be happy to answer