As some of you may already be aware from the little snipets in our newsletters, I have a strong interest and passion for animals big and small and can't help but share with our readers their wonderful nature and the work I do with them.
I have focused over the last few months on training my alpacas. These camelids originally from South America have a strong wild instinct which makes it really hard for us, Humans, to care for them without using restraint. After years of frustration, trials and mostly errors, i can finally say that i have made progress in gaining the trust of my little herd.
Below is a link to a shearing session with Topaz

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66jrJPC1lv0

(Picture of Topaz having a nose to nose with our toy poodle Cassie)

If you look in your kitchen cupboard, the chances are that a jar of thyme is nestled amongst your herb collection. The roots of this humble garden herb, long favoured by cooks, stretch way back through history.

Which thyme is which?
Bataglia tells us that there are over 300 varities of thyme, with Thymus vulgaris being the commonest. As with any aromatic plant, the chemistry, aroma and recommended uses of its essential oils are not the same as that of the whole plant. However the variations do not stop there, as T. vulgaris has 6 known chemotypes and the essential oils of several are commonly used in aromatherapy. You may be aware that when aromatic plants produce different chemotypes they can vary widely between each other in terms of chemistry, recommended therapeutic uses and safety issues. Therefore aromatherapists and essential oil lovers should be familiar with each essential oil chemotype you use.