Brujas de Escazu

A touch of Tigre Magic: A basketful of YELLOW LEMONS! We have three varieties of Yellow Lemons growing at Tigre. Most sour lemons available in Costa Rica come in green or even orange colors – rarely the classic yellow lemon, like you can find in the States.


Gerald often introduces me to people as, “a Pharmacist, turned Botanist, turned Witch”…
Well the truth is, I studied Botany, worked as a Licensed Pharmacist and now…
…play as a Witch. I play with herbs to work magic - healing, culinary, fly-repellents.
And in my quest to find a more effective horse-fly repellent for my beloved horses, I decided to review the whole area of ‘essential oils’. So, a few weeks ago, I attended an all-day Aromatherapy Workshop (“Aromaterapia: Exploracion a traves de los Sentidos”), led by Maria Fernandez - www.aromaflor.com . Maria conducted her Aromatherapy Taller in Escazu - a city known for Witches!
Locals know lots of legends about the Brujas de Escazu. Rosemary Rein gives talks on all the Costa Rican Legends - including the Brujas.

So I showed up for Maria’s Taller, and the first order of business was to meet everyone else in the group that day. We came from very different worlds: architect, life coach, accountant, physical/massage therapists, business people and others - all of them beautiful both inside and out, and all united in aromatherapy. I felt honored to find myself with such fascinating people. Maria described it as synchronicity - a group of women (and one man - a farmer, like me) coming together to learn a few of the ancient ways, by using our senses and, particularly, the primitive sense of smell.

Maria guided us through the Fragrance World in every sense/scent of the term. She helped us shift and center to Mind-Heart-Spirit, while also providing a review on distillation and compounding of essential oils extracted from plants. The Workshop then shifted from the spiritual/technical to the practical and, soon thereafter, we all got caught up in producing our own personal fragrances: for example, to energize, to relax, to entice or, in my case at least, to repel blood-sucking insects…

Everyone got involved, using all our senses to help each other: experimenting, suggesting, sharing, improving, synergizing, melding. At one point, as aromas filled the air all around us - Frankincense, Lavender, Conifer, Cedar wood, Citrus, Ylang Ylang, Eucalyptus, Patchouli - exotic fragrances all blending together in the air - it just caught us up and we all connected, concocting magic potions - like a coven of Witches in Escazu!

Thank you Maria Fernandez and, also, your charming Treasurer, General Helper, and daughter, Kristine, for a special day of filling up all the senses, centering, chakras…
…and for helping me concoct a wonderful new fly-repellent formula for the horses. I am conducting experiments right now - always on myself first. You very rightly reminded us of the first principle of Hippocrates -
- do no harm.

In other news,
Eddie the Beagle now has an official Novia. Her name is Chispa - a tiny zaguate less than half his size. Eddie loves to maul his girl, Chispa, all lovey-dovey, paws all over her. Chispa somehow puts up with her brutish boy and they sleep together, sometimes with Lula, all together in Eddie’s dog house outside on the terrace.
The stork has made the rounds again this year at El Tigre and environs. Jose’s wife, Marcia, is expecting her second child next April, and Armando’s daughter, Elena, is also expecting, all to the great joy of the Quiros-Parra clans here in Rodeo.
Armando has found the female Mora tree (Maclura tinctoria). Botanists - remember to ask him when you visit. It’s not easy to find and no longer fruiting. And yes, we have ONE plant sprouting from the last attempt to plant seeds.
Trees in El Tigre Gardens Now Fruiting: A slew of citrus of all sorts, sour and sweet; bananas as usual; and, also, Guayabas(Psidiums), Jocotes (Spondias purpura), and Jobos (S. mombin)
And in the Forest: Randia sps., Byrsonima crassifolia, Miconia sps., Bursera simarouba, Albizia niopoides, Acosmium panamense, Cassia and Senna sps., Inga sps., Siparuma sp. (f. Monimiac.), Thevetia sp., Godmanii sp.
High season for Higueron fruit expected mid-October... Plan your bird outings!