52 WEEKS::Red Clover

For my final week of this year's 52 WEEKS project, I wanted to paint clover as it brings back so many wonderful childhood memories of weaving them together to create crowns and watching the bees land on them to gather nectar.  I still love the fragrance and the idea that they can be used as food in so many different ways, both raw and cooked...the leaves and flowers in salads and soups, the roots cooked, the plants dried and ground into flower or sprinkled on other foods, as a tea, and the dried leaves add a vanilla-like flavor to cakes.

It was commonly used to treat skin conditions, menopause, and as a diuretic, expectorant, sedative and tonic.  It was also believed to be able to treat breast cancer, degenerative diseases, gout and whooping cough.  It is currently being studied for possibility of treating diabetes and AIDS.

And now, another year has finished...it has been a wonderful 52 WEEKS and I'm already looking forward to the next.  Wishing you all a lovely holiday season and a very happy year ahead.

P.S. To view the previous 52 WEEKS projects visit Totem Animals and Gratitude in my online portfolio.  Click on the image for links to each blog post.