Herbalist
In addition to being an Herb Gardner and using fresh herbs, I have also, with my wife Diana, harvested, dried, ground, and used herbs for cooking. (In the photos I am processing sage.) I have also made herbal teas, researched and used mint for mixed drinks (see my book, The Kentucky Mint Julep), made pokeberry ink, used madder root to make rose madder pigment (found on the medieval artwork known as the Holy Shroud of Turin), and experimented with herbal remedies (e.g., a "tonic" from sassafras root). My great, great grandmother Martha Baker Murphy (1849-1917), was an Appalachian folk healer and "herb doctor." I have written about her—and such herbs as asafetida, licorice, spearmint, and sorghum—in my "Historical Sketches" column for my hometown newspaper, The Licking Valley Courier.
