Finished Florence Fennel

Today I finished the illustration of Florence Fennel and started another for SESE, (but you don't get to see that one yet since it's just a very light sketch). here is the fennel:

I happen to be reading a really inspiring book called The Moneyless Man, by Mark Boyle. It's a true story about this man named Mark, (the author and narrator), who lives for a year without money at all. I definitely recommend it for anyone interested in living on less, foraging wild food, using less fossil fuels, or just anyone who wants to live outside of our capitalist, consumerist culture. I bring this book up because there is a paragraph in which he mentions his unique use of fennel, although it is not Florence fennel; it is wild fennel. I'm sure either one would work for this use. He uses it in/as his toothpaste. Here is what he says:
"I use a mixture of ground wild fennel seeds and cuttlefish bones (which wash up on British shores from time to time). Cuttlefish bones provide the abrasive needed to clean and get rid of plaque, while fennel seeds both leave your breath smelling incredibly fresh and kill bacteria and everything else which can lead to bad teeth or gums. Fennel is an ingredient in even the most conventional of toothpastes."
I never would have thought of using cuttlefish bones as a toothpaste!
And just in case anyone actually keeps up with my posts, I decided not to illustrate that children's book. I probably would have done it even without an advance, but after reading the manuscript I just wasn't really interested. Perhaps one day there will be another book. As for now, I just have more time to do whatever I find the inspiration to do.