Tuesday, November 10, 2020

A Which? A What? A Witch Bottle

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Ohh, I love to learn something new.  Have you ever heard of witch bottles? I hadn’t.  Not until the fab Judy Penz Sheluk gave me the scoop.


Where There’s a Witch Bottle

Judy Penz Sheluk

 

Thanks to the generosity of the Reds, I’ve been a guest here a few times, but something you may not about me is that I was the Senior Editor for New England Antiques Journal from October 2007 through to its demise in November 2018. During that time, I was fortunate to work with a terrific team led by Editor-in-Chief John Fiske, a man whose knowledge is legendary in the world of antiques.


It was a great gig, and I still miss it, but despite job offers from competing publications, I decided it was time to concentrate my efforts on writing novels and editing anthologies. John, on the other hand, decided it was time to produce a bi-monthly online publication, Digital Antiques Journal. https://antiquesjournal.com.


Since then, DAJ has gone on to feature a number of great articles, but it was John’s post on Witch Bottles in the December 2018 issue, and my subsequent research on them, that came flooding back to me when I was writing Where There’s A Will, the third and final book in my Glass Dolphin cozy mystery series.



The book opens with Glass Dolphin antiques shop owner Arabella Carpenter hosting the store’s first Appraisal Day in an effort to drum up business. After a long day sorely lacking in Antiques Roadshow moments, all the customers have gone, save one, a mysterious red-haired woman who has been watching the appraisals since late morning. 


She introduces herself as Faye Everett and hands Arabella a stoneware jug with a wonky neck, an object from her late-aunt’s estate that she’s always admired. According to Faye, the jug used to contain some pins, but her aunt tossed them out. Arabella resisted the urge to tell Faye that her late-aunt’s ignorance bordered on vandalism. But why? 



Because…you guessed it…it’s not just a jug, it’s a witch bottle, and they are far from common. 


While more than 200 English examples are known, less than a dozen American witch bottles have been recorded. But that’s not the reason Arabella was so incensed. 


Witch bottles, which date back at least to the Middle Ages, were designed to protect people from the wicked power of a local witch and were usually buried deeply behind or underneath the hearth to capture any evil that happened to get into the house. Inside, the bottle would have contained handmade pins, rosemary, and…urine (nicer households sometimes used wine, but urine was the liquid of choice). The idea was that the witch would be impaled on the pins, drowned in the liquid, and sent away on the rosemary.



Why Rosemary? Used by the Greeks and Romans, rosemary was believed to grow only in the gardens of the righteous, and was thought to have exorcising qualities that could cleanse people and places of evil spirits. It would be planted around houses to ward off witches, though many believed that if rosemary flourished outdoors it was a sign the woman was boss. There are reports of Colonial husbands sneaking out at night and cutting off the plant’s roots so that it would wither and die. 


Apparently the thought of witches in the house was preferable to a woman ruling the roost. I don’t know about you, but the thought of that amuses me greatly.


What about you, Readers? Do you have anything buried or planted to ward off witches or evil spirits? I’d love to hear about them. You never know. It just may make it into one of my books one day.


HANK: So fascinating! ANd I am still laughing. Which is worse:  A woman in charge, or a witch? That is such a softball.  (And our rosemary is flourishing, I must add.)


But what a fun question--do you all have anything in your house that wards off anything? Again, I am tempted to comment about current events but I will refrain. 





A former journalist and magazine editor, Judy Penz Sheluk is the author of two mystery series: the Glass Dolphin Mysteries and the Marketville Mysteries. Her short crime fiction appears in several collections, including The Best Laid Plans and Heartbreaks & Half-truths, which she also edited.


Judy is a member of Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, the Short Mystery Fiction Society, and Crime Writers of Canada, where she serves as Chair on the Board of Directors. Find her at www.judypenzsheluk.com.





Where There’s A Will



Emily Garland is getting married and looking for the perfect forever home. When the old, and some say haunted, Hadley house comes up for sale, she’s convinced it’s “the one.” The house is also perfect for reality TV star Miles Pemberton and his new series, House Haunters. Emily will fight for her dream home, but Pemberton’s pockets are deeper than Emily’s, and he’ll stretch the rules to get what he wants.




While Pemberton racks up enemies all around Lount’s Landing, Arabella Carpenter, Emily’s partner at the Glass Dolphin antiques shop, has been hired to appraise the contents of the estate, along with her ex-husband, Levon. Could the feuding beneficiaries decide there’s a conflict of interest? Could Pemberton?

Things get even more complicated when Arabella and Levon discover another will hidden inside the house, and with it, a decades-old secret. Can the property stay on the market? And if so, who will make the winning offer: Emily or Miles Pemberton?


Purchase links

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08KFLQ6KH

 

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/where-theres-a-will-judy-penz-sheluk/1137780682?ean=2940162992455

 

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/where-there-s-a-will-87

 

Apple: https://books.apple.com/us/book/where-theres-a-will/id1533844283?ls=1

 


84 comments:

  1. This is fascinating, Judy . . . I’ve never heard of [nor seen] witch bottles before . . . .

    I can’t say that I have anything in my house to ward off anything, at least not as far as I know . . . but I do have rosemary growing in my herb garden [and I’m chuckling over the rosemary/woman in charge story]. . . .

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    1. Well, I guess we never know. There might be something, right ?

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    2. I found the story fascinating too, Joan. And too good to resist not putting into a book.

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  2. Ha! I’ve got rosemary growing too. I have a bottle tree which is supposed to be for good luck and to repel evil. Our porch ceilings are also painted a light blue for the same effect. Keep the haints away.

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    1. Oh, good grief! Our porch ceiling is painted pale pink. They told me that was the color. I am looking that up.
      In our bedroom, though, The ceiling is pale blue.

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    2. I don't have rosemary growing, but I did smudge the house before moving in, Pat!

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    3. Hank, our porch ceiling is pale blue. At least here in the south, it's the mud daubers nests you want to keep away, rather than the haints. It works, too!

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  3. I am completely fascinated by this witch bottle. I love unique objects with a history. I guess that’s why I enjoy the antiques I have. Some of them, furniture and other, are a bit unique, and they all have family history.

    The only thing I have that is supposed to ward off anything is a couple of my father’s buckeyes he used to carry (one at a time). He carried them to ward off rheumatism. You might be skeptical, but my father got around great until he was 95. He died at 96.

    Judy, your job at the New England Antiques Journal sounds so interesting. And, the Glass Dolphins series is one I intend to read.

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    1. Oh Edith, your question sounds so bizarre to this Ohio girl! A buckeye is an inedible nut that grows on the Buckeye tree, the state tree of Ohio. That nut is the official mascot of Ohio State University, including their football team, with which every native Ohioan is required to be obsessed. There is also a tasty peanut butter and chocolate candy made to look like the nut, also called a Buckeye.

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    2. That's so funny, Kathy. I just ran across a buckeye I've had for decades. Yesterday.

      Edith, I've planted five buckeyes at our new house, so far: three bottlebrush buckeyes, and two red buckeyes. We have a huge grove of the regular one along the creek at the farm, too. They have massive blooms in the spring, just gorgeous.

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    3. Thanks Kathy, if you like antiques, you'll enjoy the Glass Dolphin series. It was blurbed by the late, great Lea Waite, as well as Jane Cleland.

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    4. The buckeyes I've seen are about the size of a large marble--smaller than a golfball--and people carry them in their pockets like you would a worry stone. I grew up in Missouri, and I'm not sure buckeye trees grow that far south, but the nuts came home with friends who visited relatives up in Ohio. Buckeyes are dark glossy brown with a light spot on one side, very hard, and seem to last forever.

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    5. I've never seen a buckeye. Fascinating!

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    6. We have them in Calufirnia, I’ve seen them in parts of Missouri too.

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  4. Judy, welcome to JRW. I love antiques and have many things in my home that were my mother's and grandmother's. I have never heard of a witch bottle and am intrigued by its placement and its purpose.

    I suppose that in the broadest sense a mezzuzah, which is on the door pots and contains a biblical prayer, could be considered to be in that realm. Of course, religious items always have an aura of mystery and protection.

    Where There's a Will sounds like a fun read and The Glass Dolphin series is going on my TBR list today.

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    1. Door posts. Darn autocorrect.

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    2. Thanks Judy! Hope you check the series out. It's rec'd great reviews and so much of what I learned in NEAJ is in there. I love facts in fiction!

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  5. Oh, Judy, I love folklore like this. And didn't I hear something a year or so ago about someone (an archaeology team?) finding a witch bottle here in the States? I can't remember, but the superstition has floated across my brain before. I do have a couple of contemporary blown glass witch balls, but I can't swear they've ever kept witches away from my home. As a long-time pagan, keeping the witches away would exclude some of my favorite people. (Is this why my rosemary never seems to thrive?)

    Like Pat D, my porch ceiling is Haint Blue. It does a pretty good job of deterring the wasps.

    All good wishes for success with your new book!

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    1. It’s amazing that there is really a paint color called that!

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    2. Thanks Gigi. And you know, I never knew about the paint color before...

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    3. I think the actual name of the color I painted my porch/carport roof was "Skylark" but I suspect any light blue will do. Here's more info: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/haint-blue-porch-ceilings

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  6. Congratulations on the new book, Judy! Am off to order it - I loved the two ones.

    I'd never heard of witch bottles before. As soon as I read "pins" I thought of Louisiana and all the spells that go on there. I'm not and never have been a Catholic, but lore has it burying a small St. Joseph (I think that's the right saint) statue outside a house you are trying to sell will bring a buyer. I found a three-inch plastic one and it worked twice for me. Go figure...

    I have a thriving rosemary bush and am glad to hear that puts me in charge - confirming what I already knew!

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    1. He didn't do squat for selling our house, Edith.

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    2. Thanks Edith for all your support. I hadn't heard that about St. Joseph (but also not Catholic). Good to know!

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    3. I sometimes petition St. Anthony when I need to find something I've lost.

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    4. So funny, when I was a realtor, many realtors of all religions buried St Joseph statues. That's where religion and superstition cross paths.

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  7. Congratulations on your latest book, Judy. I wonder how it feels to know it's the final book in your series...

    Nothing in this house to ward off evil, just two women, both of whom likely think they're in charge!

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    1. Hi Amanda, it feels good and it feels sad at the same time. I knew from day 1 it would be a 3-book series, and I'm happy with where the characters are in their lives, but I'll miss them !

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  8. I don't have anything in the house, but I had a rosemary bush for years. I should say it was a different rosemary bush every year and they always did well. They don't winter at all here in Pittsburgh. I love the smell of fresh rosemary.

    I am, however, a firm believer in praying to St. Anthony when something is lost. Never fails!

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    1. Interesting Liz. I must look into the saints a bit more!

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  9. I'd never heard of witch bottles before but now I am wondering. I've got an old medicine bottle with an off kilter neck that I found when the water level was very low in Sacandaga Lake. Could it be a witch bottle? I'm not aware of any evil spirits around but it would be best to ward them off I'm thinking. I have grown rosemary, but not this year. It doesn't winter in the garden and I've never had luck bringing it inside. On the other hand since I live alone I am definitely the boss here.

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    1. Judi, I don't know -- it could be. Email me a jsheluk at rogers dot com with a photo and I'll put you in touch with John Fiske, the expert.

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  10. Never heard of witch bottles - what a fabulous tradition. I wonder that reproductions aren't available at Colonial Williamsburg - sounds like a natural. I remember the glass witch balls that were popular a few years ago. I just looked them up and they are still available, and as beautiful as ever.

    Yes to St. Anthony! San Dima is the Cuban version and having lived in Florida for so long, I'm apt to cover all the bases. St. Joseph - I'm waiting for him to help with my Florida house. Anyone looking for a home in an airpark complete with private pool and tiki bar? :)

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    1. Edith, it is the second time today that you ask a question for which I would like an answer too.

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    2. You never know when you may need a place to park your airplane, right?

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    3. Thanks Kait and good luck with the house. Here in Southern Ontario, we always bake an apple pie (the smell wafts through the house) when there are prospective buyers coming through...

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    4. Hi all, Edith and Danielle - an airpark is a neighborhood with its own airstrip. My husband is a pilot and so we have a plane. It's a small plane, a Cherokee 6, but a fun one with club seating for four in the back. Life in an airpark is great fun, especially during COVID. Your plane is in the big garage, your car in the little one. You fly in and out at will without the need of airport terminals or worrying about who is in the next seat. We decided to return to Maine - no airparks, but that's fine, too.

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    5. The cinnamon and apples make the entire house smell delicious, Judy. Thanks for the good wishes. Our realtor is in charge as we have relocated to our Maine home while the Florida one is on the market. Not sure if she will bake for us. It would be a fabulous idea if she would.

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    6. Thanks, Kait Just warming a cinnamon stick in the oven has the same effect as baking a pie. You might tell your agent!

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  11. Welcome Judy. What an interesting post. I'm looking forward to read your new book but will begin with the first one in the series.
    As a firm believer that every day you learn something new, you don't die, I'm safe for today, thanks to you.

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  12. Laughing at how some men want it both ways. Don't tell my husband about this, my rosemary is actually blooming right now.

    When we were building the house it was really important to me to have the front walk, which is straight, lead to the driveway, which crosses it and curves onto the road. In feng shui front walkways that lead directly to the street without obstruction are said to allow the family's luck and money to drain away.

    Thanks, Judy! The Glass Dolphin sounds like a great place to center mysteries.

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    1. Hi Karen, the house we have now, you can see the patio door from the front door, also not good feng shui -- it's a raised bungalow, so it's not street level, but I will say the house has cost us some money!

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    2. Oh, man! My house has both those problems!

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    3. Judy, I worked very closely with the architect for our home, and made sure the doors did not align that way.

      I'm not really a believer, but why tempt fate, right?

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  13. Thank you so much Judy, the book sounds fascinating. I am a great believer in lavender and have a large bush inside, as we live in Maine. I keep bunches of lavender around the house as an aid to calm. Certainly needed them this year. I do believe in smudging with sage and smudged our new house before we moved in. Working with clients I have found that fire is a great cleanser and have used it to help get rid of negativity both for personal and work lives. Nothing like burning old letters etc. to clear the air.

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    1. Celia, lavender is my favorite smell. And did you know that if you are having an outdoor fire pit and you add some lavender (dried is best, doesn't even still need the buds on it just the twigs) it will keep mosquitos away? They hate the smell of lavender. I use lavender spray around my neck etc. when I'm walking in the bush at our camp. Works quite well.

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    2. OMG Celia. That is a very interesting side of you that I did not know about..

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  14. Oddly enough I have heard of witch bottles. In her mystery, The Charm Stone, Lillian Stewart Carl makes a witch bottle a prime mover in the mystery. She usually sets her series in Scotland but this one is set in Williamsburg in Virginia where the colonial setting comes to life.
    I look forward to reading another witch bottle book.
    I have a rosemary plant too, but I just use it for cooking.

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    1. I didn't know that about The Charm Stone. Must look into that one!

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  15. So interesting! I'd never heard of a witch bottle. Does it always have that particular shape, with a twisted neck? All of this reminds me of feng shui, about which I know nothing. Smudge?? I had to look it up.

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    1. Hi Hallie, No, they don't all have a twisted neck. Check out the post on DAJ (link above) as there are more pix and info.

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  16. Happy book birthday and welcome to Jungle Reds!

    Methinks Emily will win the bid when they discover that Pemberton lied about having money. Em is honest and people know she will keep her word. Pemberton is a fraud, right?

    Speaking of witches or warding off evil spirits, I was reminded of an anthropology class. Some cultures are afraid of the "evil eye" or "evil spirits".

    There was a story about Egypt? A British visitor complimented on how beautiful this baby was and the Egyptian family insisted that the visitor spit on the baby because they were afraid of the evil spirits taking away the beautiful baby. It seemed that in the Egyptian culture ? you Never praise or compliment babies / children because if you do that, the evil spirits will come?

    This is the first time I have heard of a witch bottle.

    Diana

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    1. "Never praise or compliment babies / children because if you do that, the evil spirits will come" is a widely spread belief across cultures, Diana.

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    2. Hi Diana, I didn't know that about babies (though Edith seems to know all about it!). As far as who wins the house, you'd have to read the book. No spoilers here but suffice it to say there are a few twists and turns.

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    3. Edith, thanks! I thought that was widespread through many cultures.

      Judy, I look forward to reading your book :).

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  17. Hi Judy. So interesting to hear about the witch bottle, and yet another intriguing bit of lore to keep me busy doing anything but What I Should Be Doing. :^))

    My pre-ordered Kindle copy arrived this morning, so again, more diversions.

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    1. Hope you enjoy the read, Susan. Hey, shouldn't you be working on a short story for Moonlight & Misadventure?

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  18. Fascinating stuff, Judy. Thanks for sharing the info. We do have large rosemary bushes in front of our house. I wonder how my son-in-law feels about that. He's already in a household of women--his wife and his MIL (me). I don't think I'll bring the subject up. But I see plot ideas there!

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  19. This is fascinating! What a fabulous story to round out a series. I am a bit concerned that my rosemary died recently. Must go have a chat with the Hub...

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  20. Judy, I am fascinated by the witch bottles! I'd never heard of them. You really do learn something new every day here. Nor did I know the folklore about rosemary. I have rosemary in pots on the front porch and the back deck, so hopefully am safe from witches! Now off to check our your series!

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    1. Thanks Deborah. I love trivia and folk lore. Can never resist popping it into a book or story.

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  21. Such a fascinating story, Judy! I wonder if any potters are still making these things. What a hoot it would be to have one in the house! Best of luck on the addition to your series. I want to read the series. Best of luck with it.

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  22. A witch bottle? Never heard of that but a lot of rosemary in my yard, my neighbor’s yard and my daughter’s yard. I do use it for cooking and I guess it works, I’ve never seen a witch!

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  23. I have never heard of a witch bottle so I found this post fascinating! The things you must have come upon while working at the New England Antiques Journal and learning the world of antiques! I love Rosemary because it's beautiful fragrant and an evergreen. With the Rosemary story I can see why the husbands back then would root it out, they wouldn't want anyone to think them henpecked. Loved hearing this folklore and about your wonderful new book. Checking it out now!!

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    1. Thank you Sharon. And yes, I learned so much working at NEAJ. It was a great gig, a gift more than a job.

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  24. Like many others here, I've never heard of a witch bottle but I have seen bottles with bent necks. I'll have to keep an eye out for them. I love mysteries involving antiques, and yours sounds like a very good one.

    I keep a pot of rosemary in the kitchen along with a few other herbs to use throughout the winter. I used to have a large plant in the back yard but a harsh winter a few years back killed it. Now I think I'll replant some in the front garden.

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    1. Hi Susan, they are super rare -- doubtful you'll find one, but you never know! Maybe the witch got your rosemary :-) Thanks for checking out my series.

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  25. Heh. My rosemary is doing fine and has been for more years than I care to think about. However, it was planted by a man (my son-in-law with the green thumb). Does that matter? If I had planted it, it would surely have died long since. And I don't think I rule anything...

    I think I would rather befriend a witch than ward her off! Fun post, Judy. :)

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    1. Thanks Barbara, and your SIL is obviously not intimidated by strong women!

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  26. I loved Judy's last book "A hole in one" became a fan after reading it. Can't wait to get this new one with the fascinating inclusion of a witches "bottle". Thanks to Judy, I know more about antiques now than I have ever knew previously! I plant rosemary in my garden every spring and it just thrives all summer. My family will say that I am an extremely strong minded woman and so now I know it is so!! I have always been more Pagan in my beliefs though I was raised Catholic. I speak with Mother Earth, adore trees - talk to ones ones surrounding my yard and protect any creature that seeks to live in my yard. Also howl at the full moon on a summer's night....

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    1. Ha! Thanks Gadget...knowing you as I do, I would not be surprised if you howled at the full moon.

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