Paisano Pete

I saw a roadrunner with a small snake dangling from its mouth on my morning walk today. I didn't have my camera so this isn't the actual photo (duh...there's no snake!). I just love roadrunners...they're super friendly and one of the most curious birds. And if that was one of our poisonous snakes he was about to dine on....then thanks Paisano Pete!

Don't you just love the way nature takes care of everything?

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Some of you may know that A Wild Soap Bar donates a portion of our profits each and every year to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center...but do you know why? The mission of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is to increase the sustainable use and conservation of native wildflowers, plants and landscapes. Native plants do much more than add beauty to the landscape. They help conserve water, reduce mowing costs, provide habitat for birds, butterflies and other wildlife, protect the soil and reduce the use of fertilizer and pesticides. They're also an important source of food and of traditional and new medicines and herbal remedies.

Lady Bird Johnson, our former first lady, and actress Helen Hayes founded an organization in 1982 to protect and preserve North America's native plants and natural landscapes. First as the National Wildflower Research Center and later as the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, this special place exists to introduce people to the beauty and diversity of wildflowers and other native plants. Every day, the Wildflower Center brings life to Mrs. Johnson's vision in its public gardens, its woodlands and sweeping meadows as well as in internationally influential research. In 2006, the Center became an Organized Research Unit of the University of Texas at Austin.

Decades ago, Mrs. Johnson recognized that our country was losing its natural landscapes and its natural beauty. As much as 30 percent of the world’s native flora is at risk of extinction now. The Wildflower Center was intended to help preserve and restore that beauty and the biological richness of North America. Since then, the Center has become one of the country’s most credible research institutions and effective advocates for native plants.

The Center’s gardens display the native plants of the Central Texas Hill Country, South and West Texas, while the Plant Conservation Program protects the ecological heritage of Texas by conserving its rare and endangered flora. The Native Plant Database contains information on more than 7,200 native species available online.

The Land Restoration Program applies knowledge of ecological processes to restoring damaged landscapes. The Center’s education programs for children and adults teach people about their natural surroundings and how to grow native plants in their own backyards.

We've been a member since they opened their doors in 1982 and we feel incredibly lucky that we can visit the world renowned Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center anytime. If you can donate $5, $10, $20 or more to this worthwhile cause, Mother Nature will thank you...and so will I.

Here's a brief video spotlight from Executive Director Susan Rieff.

Wild Grapes Anyone?

I gathered more wild grapes today to be used in our soaps. It reminded me that back when my kids were small, long before I became the soap bartender, I used to make fresh wild grape juice each summer. From my very first batch, I was amazed that it tasted so much like Welch's....only better! There was something distinctly satisfying about foraging organic wild grapes for my family, and what better way to spend the cooler morning hours than picking grapes with my kids. You had to watch out for rattlesnakes, but that was a given any time you ventured out during the warmer months.

Now... guess what? Our youngest son is planning to make wild mustang grape wine when he returns from his summer vacation in Colorado next week! I guess his tastes have matured just a bit over the years. But I'd like to think he got his inspiration from those early childhood memories. There's some things that just stand out in your mind, and fresh wild grape juice is one of them.

Here's a nice recipe for grape juice that uses California concord grapes, but I'm sure it'll work on any wild grapes in season. Drink up!

Lonesome Dove

I'm lucky enough to have a mini wildlife refuge of sorts right outside my office window. Besides the tangled underbrush, it consists of an old weathered bird feeder where a dozen or more species of birds fight all day over the right to gorge, a raised bed of cheery lantana flowers made from a sawed off palm oil drum where colorful butterflies flutter by...and a beautiful teal bird bath that my husband gave me for Mother's Day.

I've been watching this family of 4 inca doves for a few weeks now. They seemed inseparable, real birds of a feather. Every time I spotted them I'd get all warm and fuzzy inside. You know, peace and love and all that. But today....I noticed there were only 3! I scoured the surrounding brush to see if maybe one of them was just being shy, but sadly

numero quatro was nowhere to be found.

Since doves travel in pairs, I can't help but wonder which one of them is terribly lonesome now. My heart goes out to it. Life is indeed fragile. Be sure you hug the ones you love today.

Stalking the Wild Dayflower

Commelina species also provide delightful greens. Use the leaves, stems and flower parts of the tender young plants. The crisp plants have a pleasant distinctive flavor. Clip off the stems above ground. Chop them up, and add them raw to salads, soups, stews, and sauteed vegetable dishes. The greens need only about 10 minutes of cooking. Unlike most wild greens, these greens do not become bitter with age. On older plants the stems become tough, but the leaves usually remain tender. Commelina blooms in the fall as well as the spring and summer. Dayflowers grow in a variety of habitats. Look for them on stream banks, in rich woods, or as weeds in gardens and along roadsides. (excerpts taken from Edible and Useful Plants of Texas and the Southwest by Delena Tull)

Dayflower Do's & Don'ts

For as long as I've lived here in central Texas, I can remember these fragile blue blossoms popping up during the late spring and early summer. Commelina erecta is known as a dayflower because its blooms last for only a day so don't expect it to be around forever. I found this one growing next to the soap shop about a month ago and quickly snapped this pic with my iPhone, so forgive me if it's a little blurry. When I checked on it yesterday I found that it had succumbed to the stifling 111 degree heat and lack of rain, but because it's a hardy perennial, I trust it will be back next year when the conditions are right.

Starchy dayflower root tubers are edible when cooked, but supposedly have a fairly bland flavor. What I find most interesting is that plants of this genus are used as an anti-inflammatory balm by orangutans! Humans also grind it into a balm and apply it to their skin to treat muscular pain, sore bones, and swellings. The mucilaginous sap can be made into a salve and used to ease skin irritations. Modern research has shown Commelina extract to possess antibacterial properties as well.

Happiness is...

gazing upon one of the mammoth 12 inch sunflowers that grace the outer edges of our summer garden. Radiating joy and eternal sunshine, they seem to be smiling down upon all the vegetables...defying the intense Texas heat. Their usefulness and symmetrical beauty has been unsurpassed.

Native to the Americas, the prolific sunflower represented the image of the ancient Sun God. Its ability to grow in the direction of the sun is known as heliotropism. The sunflower's cheery presence and nutritious edible seeds have been enjoyed by humans for more than 4,000 years. Sunflower seeds have long been prized for their oil content and research is currently being carried out to refine the oil for use as a bio-diesel fuel.

The dried plant can be steeped and the tea added to bathwater for relief of arthritis. Sunflower tea has also been used as a diuretic and expectorant, and the leaves have been smoked like tobacco.

Rich in fatty acids, sunflower oil is loaded with vitamins A, D & E and has been used extensively in the cosmetic industry. It's light texture is easily absorbed by the skin making it useful for topical skin care applications. We use high oleic sunflower oil in our natural soaps from the wild for these same reasons.

All this aside, I just enjoy the incredibly happy feeling I get when I see a giant sunflower. Even the smaller native ones put a smile on my face and a song in my heart. Have you hugged your sunflower today? :o)