Every year around April or May I've come to expect a warm weather snow storm...courtesy of the local Cottonwood trees. There's nothing cold, wet or flaky about it, and I guess it's best described using words like silky, airy, o r fluffy. In past years I've complained about what a nuisance it can be to control or clean up. Open the door and these puffy intruders drift in, uninvited! The cats love it, and the fairy like fibers defy attempts to gather them up. However, if

Spring has a way of announcing itself in different ways, depending on where you live and if you're paying attention. In the UK, there's the appearance of Snowdrops while in parts of the US, it's the Crocus that has been known to pop up even if there is still snow covering the ground. In my part of the country (north central Arizona zone 7b) there are Daffodils, and since we recently had an unusually warm spell, I've already seen a few Irises blooming in mid March. But this

As you might guess, this post is not going to be about the delights of chocolate! I freely admit to being among those who consider themselves to be chocoholics, but perhaps there is something more deeply satisfying about the Cacao plant that helps to keep so many of us captivated and happily addicted. Costa Rica herbalist Adriana Ayales explains that various Mesoamerican cultures, the Mayans and the Aztecs in particular, understood the spiritual as well as physically nurturi