oh, the things you'll see

A few years ago my daughter and I were going somewhere in the car when I gasped and pulled over to stop and look at some cloud formations over the sunset. We sat and watched for a few moments.
As we drove off, Molly thanked me for being the kind of mom who saw those things and made her aware of them. Her friends enjoy it now when she is the one showing them the natural world. It really never crossed my mind that other people forget to look, but since then I've watched and noticed that she was probably right. Of course, I should mention that there are lots of things that other people think that I miss. Fashion, for instance, is beyond me.
The other day we were at a local restored homestead that gets a decent amount of tourist traffic. While everyone took the tour, my sister and I spent our time wandering by ourselves, looking at the authentic plantings on the grounds and talking about why people needed them 200 years ago.
This year, trees have really been catching my attention. In the spring it was Linden, in the mid-summer it was mimosa and cherry, and now the nut trees are calling to me.
So as we walked past the fruit orchard, we started noticing the different nut trees lining the lane leading to the farm. The chestnut trees can not be the original American Chestnuts; 99.9% of those were killed by disease in the early to mid 1900's. It's a little unusual to see lots of English Walnut trees around here, but there they were. In fact most of the trees have probably been planted during the last 50 or 100 years, but it made me think about how valuable those trees would have been to homesteaders all those years ago. The food, the wood for building and burning, and also the fact that plantings would have been planned to bring in different wildlife for the supper table.
Mints grew along the side of the one barn, and hops grew up a rustic lattice on the side of the herb garden. The herb garden itself was surrounded by a 5 foot rough hewn stockade fence. I didn't see vegetable gardens, but they would have been large and orderly on a PA German homestead.
We'll probably tour the buildings sometime in the near future, but the grounds were fascinating and thought-provoking. It's easy to forget that most living took place outside not so very long ago.
Not too many years ago, I was at a gas station and looked up to see a bald-eagle perched on an electrical tower, looking down at us. For at least 10 minutes I stood transfixed, watching this magnificent, rare (in this area) bird. It was a busy place, and I am pretty sure that nobody else ever looked up. Be sure to look up every now and then.

Late July in Lancaster County

We are continuing with the early season here. Lots of surprises and oddities. Yesterday there was an immense storm that I watched from the basement, leaning on the banister - which I could feel moving because of the high winds.The Munstead lavender is already having a vigorous second bloom, something we don't see typically for another few weeks. There is a lot more than usual too.
Fuller's teasel is everywhere, and I'm starting to see more of the white blooms which used to only be in neighboring counties.
The hibiscus is full of pollen for the bees...
And the butterflies have FINALLY made it to my house!
The deliciously fragrant moonflowers are very early this year, and have climbed halfway up one of the living room windows, scenting the room in the darkness.

The main vegetable garden is holding its own against the weeds, but in fairness, this is a few days old and has quite a few more weeds. Tonight I will work on them.
Elderberries are already ripening.
The holy basil is on a mission to bloom. I am on a daily mission to keep it from doing so.

The book should be here within an hour or so, and we'll be just about ready to swap the books for the magazine file - so that will be ready in another week or so and another spectacular issue will go into the mail for Sept/Oct.
This is the first really moderate day we've had in weeks, with temps in the 80's and low humidity. What am I doing inside?

garden fence

I live in the middle of a field. Until this house was built 10 years ago, the land was part of the tree farm that surrounds it on 3 sides. The lawn has been seeded with grass, but in all honesty it is simply a uniformly trimmed selection of field weeds, which is fine with me!
Gardening in the middle of a tree field is a challenge. It is a wonderland for deer, rabbits, groundhogs, possums, skunks, and even foxes (and apparently now coyotes). From my hilltop deck, I can watch literal herds of rabbits running together through the rows of trees, and goofy groundhogs carelessly scooting along from weed to weed.
After years of frustration and disappointment, we put a fence up last year. What a difference it made!Instead of finding my heirloom beans nibbled down to pathetic nubs, they grow up the sides of the fence. The cucumbers are producing madly, also climbing the fence. Tomatoes use the fence for support, and most importantly, the holy basil is safe and sound.
I think we got it at Lowe's, and it was something like $150 with some stakes left over (15' x 40'). The corner stakes are metal and need to be driven in with a sledge-hammer. The side stakes are plastic, and have sharp spikes on the bottom that you just heel in. On the inside of the stakes, they have tabs that hold the grid of the fence snugly. Three of us got it up in a couple of hours.
I thought we'd have to take it down to roto-till this spring, but it wasn't necessary. Since there are some perennials planted along the sides, I just marked them carefully before setting my nephew loose with the machine.
This fall, I'll probably look for something similar but taller - like 6' - to go around the blueberry and currant patch. Then we could just drap it with bird netting.
Baby bunnies probably wouldn't have had much trouble getting in, but if they did they didn't cause much trouble.This has been a great solution to our garden nuisance problem. Although some of these animals can climb, I think the fencing doesn't feel sturdy enough to them.
Now, if I could just find a better solution for whatever makes the groundhogs want to build condos under my front porch steps, everything would be great.

snapshot in time

Every so often, if I step back and look at life from a distance, the big picture can be a huge surprise. We all go along doing what we do, rarely noticing the ebb and flow that makes up our days, weeks, months, years...My own life is so entwined with my business that it is impossible to see edges and borders. That's ok, I think most people who are self-employed doing something they really love would agree that there are very few divisions. Considering that The Essential Herbal is a magazine that focuses on seasons, it keeps me grounded (if slightly ahead of the current season).
If I look at this month the way I look at a snapshot, it would have to go into the category of "humorous candid shot".
First, with 15 days until the next magazine deadline, it looked like a good window to finally finish the Balms and Salves book. It needed some photography, editing, and of course, Maryanne's immeasurable lay-out skills.
In the meantime, my sister and nephew were after me to watch the first 3 seasons of Mad Men, so that when the series starts up again towards the end of the month I'd be up to speed. 39 hour long shows cut down to about 45 minutes each because the commercials were cut. If you ever want to get a clearer view of the time leading up to the women's movement, the civil rights marches, and how very far back in the closet gay people lived in the 60's, this is great social commentary! Really well done. I had forgotten how it was then.
The soap shelves of Maryanne's wholesale soap biz were well stocked, and most of the regular customers had ordered towards the end of June, so we were feeling well prepared.
So here is the past week: The book is beautiful and exactly what I'd imagined, at the printer and will be delivered Monday. The option for pre-ordering has gotten a fabulous response, and stacks of envelopes are addressed and waiting to be stuffed and shipped. I'm eagerly awaiting the next season of Mad Men. The file holding articles for the Sept/Oct issue of the magazine is full and ready for us to start. And then.... all hell broke loose on the soap front! Over the course of 2 days, orders - BIG orders - started flying in, and now we have 17 batches planned by Monday, just to restock the forlorn shelves.
Then we can put the magazine together - in plenty of time. Somewhere in there I'll write the article I've been planning, the field notes, and put together a crossword puzzle. I usually wait to see if there is space.
In between, we've been trying recipes to use the cucumber glut, gathered herbs for drying, cared for the house and gardens, and done all the things that life requires - oh, and there's that sleep thing.
I want to save this particular "snapshot" for those days when I feel like I'm just not doing anything with my life.

A New Book from The Essential Herbal!

It's been in the works for a l-o-o-o-n-g time. I can't even remember when we really started putting it together, but probably at least 2 years ago. Recipes and ideas were tucked away, waiting until life cleared the decks for us to get back to this.So I'm very excited to be getting ready to release this new book.
Balms & Salves - How to and Recipes is available for pre-order on or before July 18 at a discount. After that, it will go to the regular price, and also be available wholesale.
Over the last 20 or so years, we've created, concocted, or picked up recipes, played with them, changed them, and perfected them to our own liking. We standardized all the measurements so that they would be easy for everyone to make in small quantities - and they're easy enough to double (or more) if it turns out you love them.
Rosanne Tartaro contributed information on essential oils and base oils. Maryanne Schwartz wrote about butters. There is a section on infusing, and another on the herbs that are used in the recipes. We also have a section where our friends sent their instructions and recipes for their favorite concoctions.
Be sure to check it out. It's a great little book!

getting there

This morning when I checked out what my friends have been up to on Facebook, and the first post was from Gail Faith Edwards. She talked about the solar eclipse that although not visible in our part of the world, is happening today. The suggestion was to write down our intentions for ourselves and our families.That struck me very deeply, and made me think about the paths we all follow, and whether or not we plan them or just let the wind blow us along. With a kid in college, this is a big topic in our house, but it usually focuses on those who are just beginning the journey. Sometimes we forget that no matter where we are in our travels, we still need to be headed in some direction.
Just last night I was wondering about this in a vague way. It was one of those moments when I was feeling unsettled and bored (it could have had a lot to do with the long, gray day), considering whether I was still moving along, or had just settled into a rut.
That may seem silly to someone on the outside looking in. The most recent book went to the printer last week and will go on sale tomorrow. We began work on the Sept/Oct issue of The Essential Herbal yesterday. The fall/winter compilation of the first 5 years (By the Hearth) is in the works for a September release, and all of the necessary parental paperwork for the next year of college is properly filed. But those things are all external.
So Gail gave me a shove to really think about the next bend in the road, and what I'd like to see when I get around it. Everything requires some planning and thought. Before we move a muscle we first think of it, even if we don't notice it anymore. Certainly we can allow the wind to take us where it will, but is that where we want to go?
I know some things that are on that path, now I just have to give them some thought and breathe them into life.
Thanks, Gail!

Drying Mints

My kitchen is filled with mimosa blossoms and St. Johnswort, and the mints were all threatening to bolt. I decided to try something new, and it worked out beautifully.
The second floor here is hot, so the guest bedrooms there serve as storage. I spread a sheet over the rug, and spread baskets full of mints in rows.
In a few days, they were perfectly dried.
Here you can see the stems half stripped into mason jars. After getting one side done, I moved to the other side and started from there. It was really nice because all the mess stays on the sheet, so all I need to do is take it outside and shake it before starting over.After all the leaves are taken off the stems, I put them in the food processor for a quick whirl. Normally I leave the leaves whole, but these are being dried specifically for a tea blend that I'm running very low on.It is really amazing how little finished herb there was, considering that each of these mints started out as fresh, overflowing, large gathering baskets.A long time ago when we were operating 2 shops, we decided to attempt to harvest and process our own catnip. It seemed silly to buy something that grew everywhere, and we were selling nearly a pound a week. The labor was intensive, the space it took up was insane, and we never tried that again. But now it is something I truly enjoy. The room smells heavenly.

Wow - I just noticed this is my 601st post. Sort of makes you wonder if I'll ever run out of things to say, doesn't it?

Poppy

Summer holidays remind me of Poppy. I can still see him out in the yard on a chaise lounge, with a radio on either side, listening to baseball games and dozing. My grandfather, Fred Mast, died 40 years ago. Yesterday my sister and I were talking about how much Poppy would have loved the farm here, and how much he would have enjoyed our kids. He and my brother in law Bob would have a menagerie, and the plantings those two would create together would be breath-taking (if somewhat unorthodox). It made me realize that even though he's been gone for so long, he is still very much in my heart.
The conversation started as a discussion of the weather, and Maryanne asked if I remembered how Poppy went to the farm auction one year and brought back a huge box of tomato plants which he then watered one-by-one with a coffee can. All summer long.
As children, Mom moved her brood of 5 into our grandparents' house for 7 or 8 years until she built her business enough to move us to a run-down farm 1/2 mile down the road. Poppy was a farm boy, and before we knew it, there were chickens, goats, and ponies in the barn and yard. He planted a quarter acre garden next to the old apple orchard, and attempted to get us to weed it. Every day, he'd come down and care for the animals and tend the garden. He loved it. It was only recently that it dawned on me that it also gave him a chance to get out of the house where he could chew tobacco with abandon. Our grandmother Mimi didn't approve, so they had an arrangement where they both pretended he didn't chew.
He was really just a big kid trying to fit into the adult world. Times were so different then. Yesterday I found myself watching "Andy of Mayberry". Looking at Aunt Bea, with her old lady hairdo and old lady clothes, I realized that she was probably only in her mid-50's. Back then, we all had very specific slots to fit into. If I look at my mother's high school yearbook, all the graduates look so... adult. The kids in mine look like kids. In my daughter's yearbook, the graduates all had very individualistic portraits taken. No more cookie-cutter people, and what a relief that is!
There are so many funny memories I have of Poppy. He used to sing little songs to us, or dance little jigs to crack us up. He hated to see us sad or crying, and would say, "oh now don't let those steers (tears) get out of the corral". He was shy and humble, so that as we grew into young teens in the turbulent 60's he didn't know what to say to us anymore, but he was there to help us or support our dreams. There was nothing he wouldn't do for us, but woe be unto the child or adult who had a mean word to say about his wife or family. He loved his family fiercely with no expectations. He was a good man all the way through. Not to say that he never did anything wrong, but he quietly lived his life in service to his loved ones, getting enormous satisfaction from that. My mom told me one day that she'd met someone Poppy worked with, and the man told her how proud he was of her, and it made her cry because he was not a talker. I found one of his old carpentry ledgers, and there was a whole page where he'd practiced writing my sister's name. His 8th grade education made it difficult to be married to my college educated grandmother, I'm sure. We took him for granted, and when he died suddenly, we were all completely devastated.
Whenever I imagine an afterlife, it is Poppy who is there, waiting to show me the ropes. Our dog Baby is playing at his feet. I see him in each of my siblings and even in our children who never had the chance to meet him.
He inspired each of us in different ways. For me, it was about plants and nature in general. He had an amazing relationship with the natural world, knowing all the plants and animals, what the clouds meant, rocks, how to build things, and how to survive and take care of people. He took us fishing (and had to remove more than one hook from a little hand), to the beach, to the mountains, and through meadows and streams. He was a tough act to follow for my brothers, and even tougher for the future men in my sister's and my lives, although I think we both found him in them eventually.
Looking back, we never gave him credit for how smart he was because if anyone noticed, his comment would be "gosh-a-monkeys", which basically means "don't be silly".
There's not really a point to this post. He's been on my mind, and I'm not sure I ever told him that I loved him.

July Subscribers' Contest

We're about ready to start the contest, and most of you have gotten the magazine with the insert explaining. If you're on the fence about a subscription, act quickly so you can participate too!

Here's how it works: Each time a new subscription comes in with "(your name) sent me" in the comments section of the shopping cart, we'll add an issue onto the end of your subscription, up to a full year of 6. AND each time that happens, we'll throw your name into the hat for prizes that we've begun collecting for a drawing at the end of the month. The person with the most referrals automatically wins an herbal treasure trove worth more than $100 in addition to the free issues added onto their subscription and chances to win other prizes.

You can take your copy of TEH to herb groups and talk about it, tell people on the groups and forums where you think they'd be interested, blog it, mention it in a newsletter, share it with them on Facebook and other social networking groups - or anything else you think of. Here is the link to the free sample issue
http://www.essentialherbal.com/documents/sample.pdf in case you would like to use that.

New subscribers who come on board during July will be eligible to participate too!

On the 15th (or thereabouts) I will post a blog of the prizes that we have lined up, and again at the time of the drawing.

Good luck everyone!

the sounds of silence

I was just standing out on the deck listening to the evening, and realized that it would be possible to determine the time by the sounds outside.
By the time I rise in the morning, the roosters are kicking up a fuss down the hill at my sister's. As the morning goes on, the guinea fowl are just learning to vocalize and they are practicing. The next sounds will be farm equipment or milk trucks out on the road, while the songbirds flit about calling to each other. Around 11, the chickens calm down.
Sometime between 1 and 2 in the afternoon, I will hear the mail delivery jeep.
A little bit later, people start to return home from work, and I'll hear their cars on the road. The folks across the road tinker on some antique farm equipment, with lots of hammering and ruckus. It's a good racket, though. Sometimes they mow instead.
The neighbors on one side work on their yard, while on the other side the dog welcomes hia people home.
As the sun goes down, the birds whoosh and swoosh through the branches, occasionally letting out a squawk, getting settled for the night. The bullfrogs down at the pond set up their chorus for the evening. The peafowl a couple of farms over start to call to each other. I honestly have no clue where they live, but can hear them very clearly.
Soon there will be the sound of the train whistle in the next town over every hour or so.
Then around 11:30, the cat bird outside my bedroom window will set up shop and sing me to sleep.
All of these sounds are pleasantly in the background and I barely notice them unless I listen for them. Even in what I think of as silence, there is a rhythm of people and animals living around me, and it is comforting.

The Essential Herbal - July/August 2010

Just getting around to posting the table of contents from the newest issue of The Essential Herbal. You can download a sample issue of the magazine by clicking on the link for that on the sidebar, but this current issue is just arriving in homes of subscribers now.
Table of Contents

Field Notes from the Editor

Doin’s here on the hill.

Lotions & Cremes, Liz Johnson

Try your hand at lotion and crème with these easy to follow instructions and recipes.

Gardening by the Moon, Jackie Johnson

Ever wonder when the best time is to plant or mow? Check it out here!

Hands on How to: Make Your Own Herbal Tea Blend, Sue-Ryn Burns

Sue-Ryn put together demos and classes for her faire shop, and shares them with us.

The Global Herbal – The Arctic Region, Marita K. Orr

Did you know there are herbs that grow in the Arctic?

Red Clover – Herb of Good Fortune, Mary Hammond

“Fairy lore states that unicorns particularly like to lie in fields of red clover.”

Plantain, Cindy Jones

Nearly everyone has it growing nearby. Learn what to do with it.

Historic Herbal Ð Dental Hygiene, Kathleen Setzer

Dental Care through the centuries.

Lavender Lovelies, Marci Tsohonis

Try your hand at some fun lavender projects.

Herbs of the Zodiac: Leo, Susanna Reppert/Bertha Reppert

Some herbs to bring the roar out of the lion!

Herbal Pregnancy Journal – Part 2, Cory Trusty

Cory is getting close to delivery, and shares her Birth Kit and Maternity Soup Stock.

SouthRidge Treasures – Summertime Coolers, Mary Ellen Wilcox

Cool, crisp beverages for those hot, steamy summer days and nights. Ades, Ales, and Switchels!

Cook Up an Herbal Summer, Marcy Lautenen-Raleigh

A mélange of wonderful summertime concoctions for the table!

Crossword Puzzle, Tina Sams

A little of this and that, simple summer daydreams

Spoonful of Sugar – Making Herbal Candy, Tina Sams

Complete instructions and recipes for the candies we were making all last year.

All Purpose, A Natural Healing Salve, Twyla DiGangi

Make a sumptuous salve for all those bumps and bruises, aches and pains.

Summer Soups and Salads, Susan Evans

10 of Susan’s great summertime treats from the garden.

Strawberry Cream Pie, Marci Tsohonis

Mmmm... What could be more delicious?

20 Ways to Enjoy Shallots, Rita Richardson

You won’t run out of ways to use up those beauties!

Louisiana Lagniappe – Sweet Herb Roasted Chicken, Sarah Liberta

Decidedly different way to delight the whole family.

Sour Cherry Infused Vodka

Yesterday Maryanne and I were planning to finally get back to making cheese. We took a class at The Rosemary House a few years ago, but then family situations came up that made us put away our cultures and cheesecloth. So a couple of friends came over to help. One of them, Mary, said, "You have some interesting project going every day!" I never really thought about it, but it does seem that most days there is something fun to do. Today it was the sour cherries.
Last year I stumbled across some sour cherries at the Lancaster Central Market, and having recently read about the possible effects of sour cherry juice on arthritis and achy joints, I decided to make a tincture. So began my journey into the joys of fruit infused vodka (or alcohol of your choice).It was just going to be a tincture - pure and simple - but then things took a turn. I purchased 2 pounds of the cherries and pitted them before putting them into a large jar and covering them with vodka. 6 months later, it was about ready but my sister suggested adding a vanilla bean for another month or so. There was only about a quart when it was all said and done, and we've sipped it on occasion, wishing there was more.
This year I got 5 pounds of cherries, and may go back.
In the meantime, I've really been enjoying this form of "tincturing" . The other day someone on a forum suggested lavender liqueur, so I infused 2 heaping tablespoons of fresh Hidcote blossoms in a pint of vodka overnight. Into that pint, I also added a couple of tablespoons of sugar. The next afternoon, I tasted it, and the lavender flavor was distinct, but not overpowering. Time to strain it out. I zested a lemon into the jar and gave the lemon a healthy squeeze, and returned the lavender infused vodka to the jar. The hope is that it will taste something like lavender lemonade when it is finished in a couple of months. By the way, these infusions REALLY get mellow the longer you can manage to let them sit.
There are several pints of strawberry infused vodka out there, and one of blueberry. I'm going to be going into the woods for wild black raspberries in the next couple of days :-).
You don't need to use vodka, necessarily. Rum would be great, and some people prefer whiskey. I have a couple of things soaking in brandy, too.
Last year I spent a lot of time making herbal tinctures. I suppose this is the year of the fruit infused vodka!

Linden - Tilia cordata

Yesterday's travels took us to the Hans Herr House in Willow Street, PA. The homestead was built in the mid 1700's and has been well preserved. We were delivering soap to the giftshop, and also wanted to talk about the possibility of photographing the working walk-in fireplace for our upcoming book - By the Hearth.
As we drove in, we were greeted by a beautiful 80 year old Linden tree that was in full bloom. The tree was alive with bees. Wide and welcoming, walking under the shade of the tree was a
fragrant experience. Linden flowers have a luscious scent.
My gathering basket was in the car, so I asked if it would be okay to take some of the flowers. Linden is said to have sedative properties, and is both relaxing and helpful for anxiety. Used as a tea, it is also diaphoretic, slightly raising the body temperature and encouraging perspiration. This is useful for helping hurry viruses on their way out of the body. It is used for coughs and colds, is expectorant, helpful for digestion, and good for headaches - among other things.
I've been looking for linden this year and it is very commonly planted along streets in our little town and also in Lancaster. Those trees are not suitable for harvesting because of their location. This one was perfect.
The flowers and leaves can also be used in bathing herb blends or alone. They are also used in various skin care recipes, and the scent (available typically as a synthetic) is used in all sorts of preparations and products.

simple life

Life has seemed very simple lately.That's a good thing.Maybe it comes from the passage of time, and realizing that time is not a resource to be wasted. We only get so much.Life is good here on the hill. My nephew jokingly (I think...) calls me a hermit, but at this moment there is nothing more interesting than the gardens, or wandering through the fields looking at the weeds, watching the sun set or a storm roll in, or stretched out flat on my back looking at the stars.Our days are filled with making things - tinctures, infused oils, salves, soaps - writing, and watching things grow.
Right now, that seems just about perfect. Next month, who knows what crazy turn I will wholeheartedly embrace? Right now, it's a fine life. Time to think, dream, care, and clear out the cobwebs.

our little bayberries are growing up!

It has probably been almost a decade since the first time I came across enough bayberries to harvest and "render". We were spending a few days along the shore in Delaware, and the large bushes were everywhere, heavily laden with bunches of the tiny berries hidden close to the wood. They were so fragrant, and the cup or so of berries that came home with me yielded a few ounces of wax. The process filled our home with heavenly scent for days.
I was hooked.The following spring we found a large stand of bushes during a local herb festival, and talked to the groundskeeper about gathering them in the fall. From then on, we've been using it in the bayberry soap made at my sister's soap company.
The following year, her husband got 25 bushes in (he doesn't do things in a small way), and they had a few berries last year. They are reaching maturity now, and this year there are many berries. We will use our own wax this fall.
Bayberry is also known as Candleberry, Sweet Gale, and Wax Myrtle, among several other names. Historically the root bark is used medicinally, and is an astringent.
The leaves are wonderfully aromatic and can be used in place of bay leaves. The berries mature to a deep, almost black blue, and become covered with tiny balls of wax that makes them appear white.
When they are boiled, the wax releases from the berries and floats to the surface. It is extremely dense, and takes on a deep pea-green color.
It is often used in candle-making, and it adds a hardness to soap that helps make it long lasting.

I blame Patty

My friend Patty was over the other day. She was showing me the note cards that she's made with some of her photos, and then we went outside so she could look at my beautiful weeds. When I saw her camera, I said, "hey... do you think my camera could do that?" She said that all digitals have "macros".Well now. You know how the Charlie Brown cartoons always portray the teacher's voice as, "waaa waaa waaa"? That's the sound I hear as soon as anyone tries to explain anything vaguely technological. Somehow she managed to get through. Patty and I go back to 7th grade, so she's been around when I learned a LOT of things I didn't want to learn.A cell phone is completely beyond me. Once I start pushing buttons, I'm lucky if it doesn't dial 911. Or the most recent wrong number (again). So for the past 5 years, I've just been taking really big pictures and cropping the snot out of them.
I'll just go ahead and apologize right now for what I'm about to do. It's beyond my control. All of the sudden, I can't stop thinking about flowers, buds, seedpods, weeds, grasses - and whether or not they can be captured. AND the camera can see better than I can! Give me a week or so to pull myself together and get over this crazed mania. In the meantime, the daylily buds are starting to look a lot like dinner...

This delphinium has been attempting to grow and blossom for 3 years now. No kidding! The resident groundhog (oh, don't get me started....) has nibbled it to the ground repeatedly each year, denying me this beauty. This year I put flexible drainpipe around it, and he didn't notice until it was too late. It was worth the wait.
The echinacea out in the front garden is preparing to bloom. Already you can see the pattern in the center that will become the rusty cone. Down by the pond the jewelweed is about optimum for harvesting. Those succulent stems are between 1/2" and 3/4", filled with juice, and still soft and pliable. It has not yet begun to bloom. Perfect.The Munstead lavender is already past the budding stage, blowing out flowers.The blush pink roses climbing up the front of the soap workshop are about mid-way through their bloom. They are one of my favorite colors, although looking over these pictures, I notice a lot of deep blues and purples....
An ornamental sage is spreading across the front walk, but it's so pretty I don't have the heart to tear any of it out yet. However, it does seem to provide my arch nemesis the groundhog with excellent cover, so you never know.In the field, the thistles are already flowering. The patterns in the buds and base of the flowers are perfect for copying in embroidery.Even the bursting heads on the top of the wild onions are so pretty to look at. I think I might have a problem. Again.... sorry. It is Patty's fault for showing me how to do this.

Sauteed Beet Greens

I stopped at the Mount Joy market the other day, and stopped at the Creekside Farm stand to chat with Josh. My eyes fell upon some beautiful baby beets, and I picked up a couple of bunches. Josh said, "You're going to eat those greens, aren't you?"
It hadn't really dawned on me, to be honest, so I asked him if he had any suggestions on cooking them. He told me I was going to be back next week for more - and he might be right.
His suggestion:
Cook a couple of strips of bacon and some spring onions (which he just happened to have - this boy is no fool), and then toss in the chopped greens. A little salt and pepper, and that's it!
Around here we just don't use a lot of bacon, preferring ham hocks for the traditional regional dishes that we grew up with, so bacon is more of a ... ahem... condiment. Because of that, I generally have some of the crappy pre-cooked stuff in the fridge.
Using that meant 2 things - this dish took less than 10 minutes to whip up, and also it required a splash of olive oil.
After the gastronomical excesses of yesterday, this was a perfect meal.
That's the thing about farm markets. You talk to the person who grew the food, and they can usually suggest ways to cook it. In fact, the first time I roasted beets was at the urging of another farmer.
One note - Next time I will use red onions, because they pick up red from the beets. I know in my brain that it doesn't make one bit of difference, but have a "thing" about onions taking on odd colors from other ingredients. Well.. mostly reds and purples.
Try this if you get the chance - it is delicious!

turn the page, a new chapter

Waking up yesterday morning, I realized something was different and it would never not be different again.
My sister and I have always thought that it was pretty cool that we got to have kids that got along like siblings. They are each our onlies; she has a son, I have a daughter. They know each other's friends well, and we have found great pleasure in the kids' friends too. Yesterday, the first of this group was married. We'd managed to escape this particular trauma for longer than most parents, but the day had finally arrived.Sonny has been part of the extended family since he and Rob became friends in 7th grade. He met Andrea a few years ago when the kids all took jobs at the Renaissance Faire nearby, and the rest is as they say, history.

The wedding was beautiful, planned down to the finest detail, and the food was absolutely amazing. Still, I couldn't at first shake the feeling that the walls were closing in. And then, as I looked over at Maryanne and saw her tearing up it hit me - they weren't ever going to be a gang of kids anymore. Our children had moved up a step on the ladder. They are adults, and we can't deny it.

Somewhere between the crab cake table and the 4th or 5th waiter bearing tasty morsels - or maybe it was the wine - I surrendered. I watched the kids dance together, and I watched Molly converse with the adults without a care in the world. I watched her move through the whole thing full of confidence and excitement, and realized that she is fully prepared for the world.

Sonny and Andrea (now known as "the Harmans") beamed as their day went on, and they both looked like they were clear on their course, sure of each other - and sure of themselves.
The antics on the dance floor were hilarious.

Our friend Val was there, and that was just a bonus. We haven't had a chance to sit and talk for years, and that was wonderful. Here she is with Maryanne and Bob.



And so, another chapter begins. I hope this book never ends.