Marie McKinseyJun 6, 20143 min readClaire and the Fight Against Infectious DiseaseDiscouraging "germs" is a bit off- topic for a plant blog. But we are talking here about the Outlander books and Claire Fraser's pragmatic a
Marie McKinseyMay 26, 20142 min readIn Praise of LaudanumClaire wanted the laudanum to sedate Jamie while she treated his badly damaged hand. In the event, he insisted on substituting whiskey for t
Marie McKinseyMay 5, 20143 min readPotatoes: A Story of Feast, Famine - and PoisonAs a time-traveler, Claire knew what a calamity The Rising would be. She advised Jenny to plant potatoes so the residents of Lallybroch woul
Marie McKinseyApr 18, 20143 min readLavender BluesAs Tom Robbins, another of my favorite authors, says in his novel, JITTERBUG PERFUME, "with immediacy and intensity, smell activates the me
Marie McKinseyApr 14, 20141 min readA Gaelic BlessingThis fun little song was part of my community choir's 30th Anniversary concert. I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed sing
Marie McKinseyApr 13, 20143 min readRhododendron Hell"Roger didn't need to read it; he knew well enough the thoughts that were going through the other's mind. The same thoughts he'd wrestled...
Marie McKinseyApr 11, 20143 min readGarlic - a Food, a Medicine, an Aphrodisiac?!Claire might not have known how to grow garlic before Mrs. FitzGibbons handed her that basket of cloves and a digging stick, but she was und
Marie McKinseyApr 5, 20143 min readStinging NettlesIf you've ever encountered a stinging nettle, you have no trouble understanding how being flogged with a bunch of them would be an effective