November is a month for gratitude, for thankfulness.  I have more to be grateful for than I can even begin to enumerate in this newsletter, and I am sure you do, too.  Even our challenges help us to grow--whether to grow stronger, or wiser, or even just older!  It's all good, isn't it?  . Life is good, challenges and all.  Looking around at the beauty of the autumn, it is easy to be grateful for the senses that I wrote about last month--for sight, especially, but also for hearing, and for touch, and for taste.

     Here is a sense that we rarely take the time to appreciate, the olefactory sense.   The sense of smell.  The glorious world of herbs has introduced me to such a wide variety of scents that it boggles my mind--or my nose.  From the sweet earthiness of my favorite, lavender, to the muskiness of patchouli, from the fresh sweetness of bergamot to the piercing cleanness of peppermint, and from the soft perfume of rose to the heady sensuality of jasmine, there are more scents to be found in the natural world than I could ever have imagined.  One of the most recognizable herb scents is also one of the most pungent, Eucalyptus.  Even if you didn't know the name of it, you know it when you smell it.  It smells like what it is, a decongestant.  One sniff of this aromatic herb can clear your plugged air passages--just step inside the door of my shop while I am melting beeswax with Eucalyptus essential oil for Sinus Relief Ointment, and it is obvious how the product earned its name!  Oh, I do appreciate the sweet simplicity, the straight-forwardness of this seemingly uncomplicated herb--it smells like what it is, there is no doubt about what it does, case closed, right?

     Well, it turns out that there is more to Eucalyptus globulus than is evident at first smell.  It starts out as an Australian tree, with a long history of medicinal use by the Aborigines.  It has some similarities in chemical composition and medicinal properties to that other Australian herb (which I have already identified in a previous newsletter as my second most useful herb), Tea Tree. 

     Easily the best known usage for Eucalyptus is as a decongestant, a safe and effective way to open up your airway.  But did you know that it is also a very powerful antiviral and antibacterial?  Making it not just a good herb for your cold and flu symptoms, but a great one, because it can not only ease the nasal congestion, but also inhibit proliferation of the cold virus itself (to paraphrase herbalist Patricia Davis).  She states that "Eucalyptus used in airsprays during epidemics will give a good measure of protection from the flu and infectious illnesses.  In North Africa, groves of Eucalyptus trees have been planted in swampy areas to prevent the spread of malaria."  She goes on to mention that since it is also an insect repellent, it helps to prevent mosquitoes from breeding around the trees, another step in the battle against disease.

     But that's not all.  Colds and the flu are viruses, but Eucalyptus is also effective against bacteria.  Even used airborne , like the airspray mentioned above, Eucalyptus is capable of killing staphylococci.  So it serves more than one purpose, not only relieving the symptoms of the person suffering from the illness, but also protecting the people with whom he is in contact.

     There are other health benefits to this helpful herb, as well.  It is healing, antiseptic, analgesic, and makes a great massage oil for muscular aches.  I use Eucalyptus in several different Coyote Cove products.  Of course it is found in the Sinus Relief Oil and Ointment.  The Breathe Easily Room Spray combines Eucalyptus with peppermint for a refreshing spray that smells good and is healthy to spray in confined areas--think about the car, the work cubicle, the bedroom.  And finally, the Muscle Relief Oil in the bathtub or massaged into achy muscles helps ease your sore achy muscles.

     So, while Eucalyptus isn't the "prettiest" scent in the herb world, I am grateful for it.  And for the ability to smell it.  And for muscles that get sore, and for every day that I don't have a cold or flu!