sick this winter. Ainât nothing worse than seeinâ a child a-chokinâ.â Anna closed the journal and jumped to her feet. âIâm ready. Letâs go now.â âWell hold your horses, missy. I ainât as spry as I used to be.â She pointed toward the bedroom. âGo git your bonnet âfore we go. I donât want you to come back in with a freckled face âcause you been out in the sun too long.â Anna ran to do as Granny said and hurried back to the kitchen where Granny waited with two large baskets in her hands. She held one out. âTake this here basket. We gonna need both of âem.â Anna pushed the back door open and hopped down the steps to the yard. âHow far are we going?â Granny chuckled. âLook in front of you, darlinâ. We jest goinâ right behind the house.â Anna stared in wonder at the field that stretched from Grannyâs henhouse toward the mountains. Red clover blooms dotted the area and waved in the breeze. It looked like a sea of red covered the field all the way to the base of the mountains in the distance. Why had she not noticed this before? Maybe because it was hard to take in all the beauty that surrounded her in the Cove. Each day she saw something different she hadnât noticed before. The sight of the clover field and the mountains in the background took her breath away. âGranny, youâve got the makings of your cough syrup right in your backyard. I wouldnât have thought about it being so close.â Granny studied the field before her. âI learnt a long time ago God gives us lots of things we donât see âcause weâre too busy looking inthe wrong places. Sometimes Heâs got a real blessing right under our noses.â Granny pointed to the blooms. âCome on, darlinâ. Letâs us go pick us some clover.â The blossoms brushed against her legs as Anna stepped into the clover patch. Within minutes her basket was half full, and she straightened and stared into the distance. Sheâd often heard Uncle Charles speak of how the mountain folks used home remedies, but sheâd never given a lot of thought to where they came from. In just a few daysâ time sheâd come to understand that these vast forests, fields, and mountainsides were covered in wild plants just waiting to be turned into drugs for easing pain. âGranny, did you say your mother taught you all about herbs and how to use them?â Granny nodded. âI reckon we jist kinda handed it down from one generation to another. I got me those books that are on the table in the front room, and I studied them a lot too. You need to read âem while youâre here. They can tell you a lot.â âI will,â said Anna. Granny put her hands in the small of her back and stretched. âFor hundreds of years people have been taking care of each other with the plants that grow all around them. God provides for His people in lots of ways, and He shore took care of the mountain folks when He put yarbs in these here hills.â âI want to learn everything you can teach me, Granny. I have so many questions you may get tired of answering.â âNaw, I wonât. Glad to oblige.â Anna grabbed another handful of clover and tossed it into her basket. âFor instanceâcan you gather your herbs anytime in the year, or is there a special time for harvesting?â Granny shook her head but didnât look up from picking the blossoms. âOh, no, child. You gotta be careful âbout when you git yore roots. February and March be the best time, right âfore the sap begins to rise. Most of âem ainât no use after that. Some of âem like sassafras and poke turn poisonous as they git bigger. Have to watch out for that.â âIâll remember that if I can figure out what they look like.â Anna mulled over Grannyâs words for a