Neck Coolers–for keeping cool…

These neck coolers are one of the easiest ways to keep cool in really hot weather when you need to be outside, or just need to cool down quickly.  We’ve used them at outdoor shows or in the garden, and the relief is pretty amazing. 
With the heat wave that has been going on in many parts of the country, and is now heading eastward, I thought I’d share this craft.  Now, understand that these can be found for sale – On our website.  But… it’s the kind of thing you can make a dozen of for just a little money and time (although not as nicely done), and throw into the cooler with the beverages during the upcoming holiday.  Having plenty of them will mean that they can be worn until they start to warm up, and then switched out with another, icy-cold one.
You’ll need some polyacrylamide crystals, marketed as root water crystals in the garden centers across the country, and some fairly closely woven cotton material.  Old sheets that have worn spots would be great for this purpose.

I’ve whipped one up by hand because I know not everyone has a sewing machine.  You will probably notice that I’m not terribly particular about measurements either.  The only measurements that really matter are that:
*the scarf is long enough to tie loosely about the neck
*the pocket that holds the crystals is only about 5 or 6 inches wide
*do not be tempted to use more crystals – you’ll burst the seams
Start with a strip of fabric 40” long X 5” wide.  Fold it in half lengthwise, and sew it into a tube.

Turn it inside out, and fold in half lengthwise.  From the fold, measure 2 1/2” to 3” on each side.

 
Sew ONE of those lines, widthwise.

Add one teaspoon full of the crystals.

Sew the other line, forming a packet that holds the crystals and reinforce the seam that runs lengthwise so that the crystals stay inside.

 

If you’re hand-sewing, these three seams are the most important to use very small stitches on.  The long initial seam isn’t too important, it just forms the tube.
You can then finish off the ends of the tube by turning them in and hemming.  Doing so at an angle is a nice touch. 
Submerge the neck cooler in cold water for about 15 minutes, and apply.  It will stay cool for quite a while, and when it starts to warm up, flip it over for further cooling.  Throw it back into the cold water and it’s ready to use again.  It will be about 3/4 – 1” thick in the pocket.

These are reusable until the cloth wears out!  Just allow them to dry naturally.  The crystals release the water and return to their tiny dry selves.  Until you need them again.

Fruit popsicles

We eat a wide variety of fruits here, but lately the addition of our own berries in the yard and those from our CSA share have challenged even us to keep up.  Today I found myself with a counter full of small containers of black raspberries and gooseberries, a couple of rapidly browning bananas, a couple of limes, and some frozen organic strawberries.  Our first real heat wave had me thinking of smoothies, but then I remembered the popsicle mold that came home a couple of months ago…

Years ago, working in a factory that had no air-conditioning, I discovered that fruit can make a huge difference in extreme heat.  Later when we worked long days in costume at a renaissance festival, strawberry and banana smoothies saved us on many afternoons. 

There have been a lot of pictures and recipes for fresh fruit popsicles showing up on the various social media sites lately, but the thought of whole chunks of frozen fruit molded into a solid form, while beautiful, in reality seems like it would be messy.  I got out the blender instead.

The basic “recipe” was 2 small bananas, a generous handful of frozen strawberries, an equally generous handful of mixed wild berries, and about 1/4 lime (rind and all).  About 1/4 cup of water was added to help the blender, but that probably wasn’t necessary.  It was good, though.

The resulting fruity goop was naturally sweet and thick.  It poured easily into the molds.  The part that didn’t fit into the mold was delicious, and the tiny chunks of lime rind were really a nice addition – as were the tiny fruit seeds.

Into the freezer for a few hours, and the popsicles were ready.  Delicious! 

This is definitely something I’ll be doing all summer, but the popsicle molds probably won’t be a part of it.  Reusable lidded cups would work much better for us.  We’re all adults, and it is murder getting those molds to let go without pulling the stick out.

Peaches will soon be ready, and all of the luscious summer fruits – melons, berries, nectarines, pineapple… I can’t think of a fruit that wouldn’t work.  Herbs could be added too, but for the most part concentrated infusions in place of the water used above seem that they’d be best.  Give it a try if you find you have leftover fruit.  The banana gives it a creamier texture without overwhelming the flavor of the other fruits.

Yarrow, Achillea millefolium

During the past week, we’ve been noticing the yarrow popping up and blooming.  It isn’t quite in full swing yet, so in preparation, I thought I’d post a past article on this deceptively diminutive flower.  We gather it throughout the summer to dry for use in teas, salves, tub teas and tincture.  Don’t pass up this sweet weed.
Yarrow - Useful, Beautiful and Easy
Susan Evans
The Essential Herbal May/June 2010

With a lot of gardeners, yarrow, Achillea millefolium, is a love it or hate it plant. Sure, it has Napoleonic tendencies, marauding through the garden, but its many admirable qualities override this small flaw. I find it to be a beautiful, durable garden plant that blooms happily away in neglected areas of the yard in full sun, poor soil and limited water.

We first heard of yarrow from Achilles,
Homer’s warrior from the Illiad, who learned of its healing qualities from the centaur Charon. Constantly fighting over one thing, or another he used it to heal the battle wounds of his warriors. Some of its common names include Soldier’s Woundwort, Knights Milfoil, Bloodwort, Staunchweed and Nosebleed.
The first time I witnessed the curative powers of yarrow was when I ran a landscaping company. One of the boys on my crew was prone to profuse nosebleeds, occasionally sending him to the emergency room. While we were working away one afternoon I heard the familiar exclamation as Cameron started spurting blood all over the shrubbery he was pruning at the time. Having recently read about yarrow’s styptic qualities, I instructed him to chew up some nearby leaves and stick them up his nose. The rest of the crew jeered and laughed but he did it. We were all amazed and repulsed when Cameron pulled out the bloody bolus and the bleeding did not resume. Since then I have used the chewed leaves of yarrow as one of my favorite trail medicines to stop bleeding and temporarily disinfect cuts and abrasions.

Yarrow has a surplus of healing qualities. It is used for the internal bleeding of heavy menses, bleeding ulcers and hemorrhoids. Native Americans used it for everything from bleeding to urinary disorders and digestive ailments. Yarrow has been used to reduce fevers, relieve chest colds and as a digestive and general tonic. The roots have been chewed for sore gums and teeth. I have used yarrow as a disinfectant tea to wash injuries and skin rashes. Yarrow contains salicylic acid, which is a pain reliever used in aspirin and has anti-inflammatory properties. I’ve also heard it makes a good hair rinse. I find a lot of herbals recommending yarrow as a tea. I guess, if you like bitter. I prefer to make a tincture or capsule of the dried plant, thereby missing out on the tongue curdling taste.
Yarrow seems to have a split personality when it comes to magical properties. On one hand it was thought to be a favorite of the devil, used in evil spells. Two of its numerous common names are Devils Plaything and Devils Nettle. On the other hand it was often used to protect against evil. Sprigs were tied to cradles to prevent witches from stealing a baby’s soul. It was also worn and strewn over thresholds to protect against evil. Try it the next time the in-laws visit. Yarrow was used in love spells and divination, the stalks are used in readings of the I Ching.
For a durable garden plant yarrow is hard to beat. A hardy perennial, it grows from 1-3 ft high, depending on the variety. It blooms from late spring through fall if you remove faded blooms. Flowers come in pink, red, yellow and the wild form, white. It has ferny leaves and straight stems. I often read that it makes a good companion plant, enhancing the health of plants around it. I don’t know where these authors live, but in my Colorado garden, I have to keep a close eye on yarrow as it likes to overrun my less assertive perennials, which hardly consider it a good companion, more like the neighborhood bully. I consider this it’s only drawback.
Cut and hang yarrow flowers upside down to preserve for beautiful dried flower arrangements.
Useful for so many things, easy to grow and beautiful to boot, what’s not to love about this plant?
Susan Evans is a Certified Clinical Herbalist and owner of Chrysalis Herbs.

The Essential Herbal July/August '12

The newest issue is on the way to subscribers - filled with all the summertime herbal goodness you've come to expect from The Essential Herbal.  Subscribe today for 6 luscious issues each year.  Choose from print or pdf format!

Field Notes
Musing on the harvested goodness of summer and how we obtain great food.

Druid Plant Quiz
Cover artist Suzan Scholl provided a quiz that takes the cover from being a picture into a learning opportunity.  You'll love it!

Druid Herbals, Suzan T Scholl
An ancient people, we still use many of the same herbs today.

Louisiana Lagniappe, Shrimp Pasta Salad,Sarah Liberta
A cool, delicious dish to serve family or friends in the heat of summer.

A Rose by Any Other Name, Rita Richardson 
Rose Geranium, to be precise!

What to Do About a Sunburn, Cindy Jones
Herbal relief from summer's ravages on the skin.

Herbal Recipes for Well-Being, Heddy Johannesen
Learn to make a tincture, salve, body scrub - and more!

May Apples in Summer, Maryanne Schwartz
Often thought of as a spring flower, we rarely see the apples.  Time to look closer.
 
Wildharvest Adventure in Ohio, Jeni D Greenwood
Ready to grab your basket and go?  Jeni will have you itching to harvest some wildlings.

The Rose, Marita A Orr
Oodles of delicious and delightful culinary treats made from roses.  This article is one you'll want to keep for years to come.
 
Tomato Freezer Jam
Quick and easy?  You bet! 

Literary Seed Cake
Bake up a little history (and eat it too)
 
Summer Herb Sauces, Marcy Lautenan-Raleigh 
Lots of new and interesting ways to use herbs and bring new zest to the table.

The Humble Dandelion, Sandy Michelsen
Dandelions are still in the yard.  Use 'em up!

SouthRidge Treasures, Tansy, Mary Ellen Wilcox
"Today, it is used mainly as a decorative plant, but it does have an interesting past as a culinary and medicinal herb."  Lots to learn!

The Soap Pot, Yarrow Sunburn Suite, Alicia Grosso 
Full instructions for salve, lotion, soaps, and compresses for this wonderful, healing herb.

Salsa!, Tina Sams 
If you've only tried tomato based salsa, you may want to check out these colorful, flavorful fiestas for the tastebuds.

Women Herbalists, Maud Grieve,Susanna Reppert Brill
Susanna takes us for a visit with another fascinating historical woman herbalist.

Herbal Mothproofer Mix 
Gather those herbs and protect clothes and linens.

Change of pace - sigh...

 

I consider myself very fortunate for a lot of reasons.  Usually they are counted on this blog in measures of the ways I love the natural world and all the beauty that offers on a daily basis.  Sometimes though, it is because the man in my life thoroughly enjoys sharing some of the other delights the world has to offer.  Things that just don't happen here on this heavenly hill...

 Now that we have finally realized how much easier life is when we let a mailing house take care of shipping The Essential Herbal bulk mailing, that leaves a few days to breath after the completion of each issue, and he has been taking advantage of those windows.  This time however, my sister's soap business exploded with orders in my absence, but that was sort of fun to come home to anyhow.

 I suppose Atlantic City is the "sin city" of the East.  It's a fun change from the wholesome, good, clean fun we have at home on a daily basis.  At one point, I noticed someone lounging on a counter and thought to myself "that person appears to have very long legs", before noticing that in fact there were stilts involved.  The people watching is one of my favorite activities whenever I find myself surrounded by lots and lots of people.  NYC is a favorite place for that, but AC comes in a close second.

 We took a long ride down the boardwalk one sunny, breezy afternoon.  They've gotten rid of the trams, in favor of pushcarts.  The man we hired told us that it was done to provide more jobs.  What a concept, huh?
The view from our hotel windows allowed us to see all the way to the tip of the island along the beach, as well as the bay.  The skies blessed us with puffy clouds and beautiful nights.

 The food...  Where do I begin?  I'd LIKE to start with the individual meyer lemon cheesecakes smothered in fresh berries.  In fact, I'd like to start everyday with that particular morsel.  But we shared some of the best meals either of us can remember.  I guess it helps that we didn't need to cook them or clean up after ourselves.  In my opinion, that always makes everything taste better!

 The beach was really beautiful  This early in the season, there weren't too many people on them, so it was easy and comfortable to wander along in the morning sunshine, kicking at pebbles and poking at seaweeds to get a better look.
Might as well mention that the slot machines were fairly kind and let us go home with everything we took along, plus some change.

A change of pace is a wonderful thing.  Getting back into the usual groove is a little more challenging than I remember.  The stack of orders is almost finished and ready for shipment.  Most of the soaps have been wrapped and will be delivered over the next few days too.
I'll just hang onto this little bit of pure happy, and pull it out if I need it on cloudy days.

Happy Birthday Susanna Reppert Brill :-)

I have a friend who is having one of those landmark birthdays today.  I'm out of town and so....

We've been friends for about 20 years, but I doubt if she knows how much I respect her or care about her.  It seems like on those landmark birthdays, you look back over your life and wonder how you're doing with life and whether you're accomplishing what you'd like to do.  Some people say that being a good friend is about all we can hope for in this life.  Some would say that being a loving person would be the goal.  Nobody really knows the answer, I guess, but she's got those two cornered.
I knew her as a single woman, watched her meet and marry her husband, rejoiced over her children's births, and mourned the passing of her parents.  She's been a reasonable ear/voice for some of my best and worst moments too and didn't remind me if/when I didn't heed her advice .  I watch her juggle her family, full-time shop, speaking engagements, full schedule of classes, and friendships with awe.  Like my own situation, she has a sister nearby who helps a lot and that cannot be underestimated, but she manages all of these things with grace and steadfast integrity.
She's one of those people who, when the chips are down, steps up.  Really steps up.
She says, "this is what I can do for you, and I want to do it, and it's no trouble."
She's the kind of friend who tells you when you're being an idiot.
When you say something snarky about someone you both know, she defends them without fail.
When you set up next to her at an herb faire, she'll start selling your products and setting you up with people who are looking for a speaker or a writer.
She has a dry wit that took me a while to peg, but now makes me laugh til I choke.
She's a fantastic writer, a brilliant and seasoned speaker, and knows more about herbs than just about anyone I know, besides being modest to a fault.
She's probably going to hate this post :-D
Sorry about that!
Happy Birthday Susanna Reppert.  Love you.

The Lazy Gardener

I've been whining about weeding a lot lately, but a new rechargeable battery powered (lightweight!) weed whacker has really solved that problem.
So here's the thing...
In my high school year book, someone or some group anonymously made a list of 10 year predictions about different people.  For me, the prediction was:  "Will still be trying to get out of work."
That stung.  I didn't even remind myself that I'd held paid jobs from the age of 14 or worked at our home business for many years before that.  No... it just made me feel lazy.  I was also well aware of how many times I'd rushed through my school work to knock off the afternoon and go swimming in the river with my friends, so accepted the slap and "owned it" for many years.
It took a long time to realize that doing less work while accomplishing the objective is most certainly one of my strengths, and employers over the years valued it.  That's sort of the point, isn't it?  Nobody every says, "let's make this as hard as we can", do they?
It should come as no surprise that when it comes to gardening, lazy is how I roll, too. 
Probably 95% of the plants we've put in are perennials that only require that we give them room to grow.  The only annuals we put in each year are holy basil, culinary herbs, some white sage for distilling, and rose geranium for drying.
The garden itself is mostly on either side of the split-rail fence that borders the tree farm that surrounds the house.  It is a long row, and each year we take out one of the conifers that originally lined the fence on the inside to provide more space and more light.  Usually, that tree goes home with someone to decorate at Christmas.
The first year, the ends of the fence were planted with elderberry bushes and the gate was flanked with a vitex and some mountain mint.  We put in a half dozen blueberry bushes that would eventually need to be replanted inside their own fence for their own protection.  I got a package of sunchokes at the grocery store, chopped them up, and raked them into a corner.  They've (of course) thrived behind the ever-spreading chamomile that I rescued that year from a construction site nearby.  The thyme, chives, and oregano that were planted that year have become enormous and the echinacea has multiplied extensively.
The next year, the fig tree came to join us, and it resides next to the wild black raspberries that I've decided to stop trying to bargain with.  They can have that side of the house if they want it so badly.  Valerian, balloon flowers, and a particular non-spreading variety of Japanese knotweed went in, and the butterfly bush started to spread.

This year, we beat the groundhogs!

Wild black raspberries are more stubborn than I.

Somewhere along the line, along came the gooseberries, currants, and serviceberry.  We also got some pawpaws, but that's never going to grow, I'm afraid.  It comes up each year, and doesn't do a thing.  The rows of different kinds of lavender are interspersed with St John's wort, comfrey, elecampane, sage, horehound, monarda, and anise hyssop.  There's also a hardy patch of goldenrod that was encouraged to stay.

Red currant is loaded this year.

Gooseberries will soon turn purple and delicious.

Persimmons this year?  Yes, I think so!

Serviceberry - if they ripen before the birds get enough of
the neighbor's cherries, I might get some of them.

Last year, I put in a sour cherry tree and a persimmon tree.  A wee patch of stinging nettles went in, but needs to find a better permanent home.  Horseradish and witch hazel came to live here, along with some butterfly weed and bottle gentian.  The volunteer mimosa that sprouted the year before was guarded and will probably bloom shortly.
This year, the side yard was planted with daylilies so that we can eat the buds in spring and early summer.  New additions with be some perennial poppies and hyssop.
Down below on the farm, dozens of bayberry bushes, rugosa roses, and hazelnut trees were put in.  Part of their purpose is to provide food for the once common pheasants and partridges that my brother-in-law often raises from chicks to release back into the wild, which is a hobby of his, although they don't seem to stick around too much.  I'm hoping  some wild turkeys will stumble across our place and decide to stay.

Grosso lavender is almost ready to be woven into wands

There is still the mowing, hand-weeding and occasional watering (although with perennials, they get over that requirement the second year.
So... in the end, I'm okay with the prediction.  Little by little, I've completely surrounded myself with food producing plants that require almost no work.  Mostly likely someone has coined a phrase for this kind of gardening.  I just do my own thing and follow my own tune.  Works for me, but you know... I'm lazy :-)

Poison Ivy Remedy–Easy!

In the early 90’s we listened to Bertha Reppert, founder of The Rosemary House talking about some simple home remedies, and within a few days, several of the actors at the Renaissance Festival where we had an herb shop showed up covered with poison ivy.  Bertha had talked about steeping sage in apple cider vinegar, and we’d gone home and started a batch.  It was very effective for the poor sweaty, suffering actors, and we were impressed.  This couldn’t be simpler, and is just wonderful as is.  Just fill a jar with sage from the garden (or grocery store) and cover with vinegar.  If you’re in a hurry, heat the vinegar and steep the sage in it as you would an herbal tea.
The following year we added plantain and jewelweed to the original brew, to add even more healing properties to the vinegar.  We’ve used it ever since.
I just made a quart up today.
The ingredients are shown below.
If you don’t have or know how to identify jewelweed, her cousin – garden impatiens is a good stand-in.  We like to harvest jewelweed in the spring while the stems are succulent and full of juice.  After it flowers, the stems get woody and aren’t worth much.  Some people like to harvest the leaves and flowers after it blooms, but this is how we do it.
The sage we grow here is Bergarten, which has a very high essential oil content.  That’s really what we want to come through in the vinegar, so any garden sage is fine, but we like this one.  In a pinch, you can even use the dried stuff in the spice aisle at the grocery store, but fresh will have more punch.
Even city dwellers most likely have plantain in their midst.  Plantain is exceptional for skin irritations, bug bites and stings, and all kinds of rashes.  We have both types here, the long strappy lanceolata, and the large major, and use them interchangeably.
All of the plants are chopped up and placed into the jar.  Cutting them up (or even placing them into a blender with a little vinegar to get it going) helps release their properties into the vinegar.

After all the plant matter is chopped and placed into the jar, it is covered with vinegar.  I reserved some large plantain leaves and some jewelweed stems.  The plant matter is carefully covered with the leaves, and then the stems are inserted in such a way as to hold everything below the surface.  Be careful not to enclose air pockets under the leaves, though.
All ready to sit and age for a couple of weeks.  It is perfectly fine to leave everything as it is until needed.
 
Then, just strain it out and apply to any area that has been exposed to poison ivy (preferably before a rash appears!).  It stings slightly when applied, but will really help dry up a rash in a hurry.
The other best remedy is to learn how to identify poison ivy and avoid it. 
We make a soap with jewelweed, plantain, and the essential oils of lavender and tea tree that works well after exposure = Happy Camper Soap
and also have the vinegar spray on our website, but we’re very happy to encourage you to make it yourself.  Or go all out and get the Outdoor Trio

Who is The Essential Herbal?

If you’ve been reading this blog, you might be a subscriber to The Essential Herbal Magazine (thank you), but there’s a good chance that you aren’t aware that there is a magazine attached to the blog. 
Over the past year or so, I’ve been inundated with offers to write for “your website” or requests for me to highlight products on “your website”.  There is a website, but this is not it.  Here on the blog we publish past articles and highlight our advertisers on occasion.  That’s the whole point, isn’t it? 

So then, perhaps it might be a good idea to re-introduce ourselves to our blog readers.  It’s been over 7 years for the blog and 10 for the magazine, after all.
The Essential Herbal Magazine started out as a 16 page newsletter full of all kinds of ways to use and get to know herbs. We now stick to 32 pages, and they contain so much usable information for the typical individual wishing to learn about herbs, that it seems like much more.  It is written by herbalists, herb enthusiasts, and those who are deeply in love with the world of plants.  We all share our knowledge, experience, recipes, ideas, and sometimes our mistakes.  The pages of the magazine are often described as feeling like a long letter from old friends, talking about the things we all enjoy.  It’s an honest-to-goodness print magazine that mails out 6 times a year. At the start of 2012, we began to offer a PDF version to our customers who requested that option (and that is the only version available outside the US now), but that is exactly the same as the print version. No gimmicks, come-ons, or secret content, just the magazine. The entire staff is comprised of 1.5 people, so our main goal is to continue doing what we do as well as possible.

From all over the country (and sometimes the world), we receive articles that are filled with the joy of discovery.  Along the way, our readers learn to identify plants that they can use for first-aid, disease prevention, and self-limiting illness.  They learn to make all kinds of herbal preparations like tinctures, balms and salves, blended herbal teas, soaps, bath crafts, and scrumptious herbal dishes,  We’ve published books in segments, carried a full series of herbs of the zodiac, and are currently covering a historic woman herbalist in each issue.  We have subscribers who have been with us the entire 10+ years of publication, and some writers who never fail to come up with something fascinating for each issue.  We never know how an issue will shake out until the deadline arrives.  It is thrilling work, and our readers tell us it is just as much fun for them.  I’m pretty sure you’d enjoy it.

Me?  I’m Tina Sams, the founder, editor, and head nag (just ask our writers).  After 10 years of co-owning an herb shop and retail/wholesale handmade soap company, my sister and I got tired.  We sold the shop, she continued the wholesale soap business, and I thought it would be fun to start an herbal newsletter.  After years behind the sales counter at the shop, I wanted to answer all the questions that people asked everyday.  It felt like people were far too intimidated and distanced from the plants growing around them, and it would become my new vocation to attempt to lift that veil and share the intense satisfaction that one gets from knowing how to work with herbs.

There is rarely an issue without a typo or two.  The inside pages are all black and white.  No frills, just great articles that will encourage you to try something you’ve never tried in each issue. 
If you enjoy the blog, I bet you’d love the magazine.  On our website, we have the covers and tables of contents posted for the last few year.  There are also a lot of other interesting herbal books and products.  Check us out!

Chive Blossom Vinegar

 This year the chive blossoms have been unusually spectacular.  The single little pot that was planted 1/2 a decade ago has now scattered seeds, expanding to an area of several feet in diameter, popping up between mint plants (who can take care of themselves, thankyouverymuch).  Each spring, the greens show up before most anything else is awake, and soon the flowers are waving from the tips, sparkling with a color that is unlike that of most spring flowers.  All of the alliums are good for us.  Garlic gets all the press, but they all have the same health benefits to varying degrees.

The long spring this year must have had some effect on the color of the blooms.  They are almost magenta, rather than the usual soft pink (top picture is from last year).  This called for some chive vinegar.
 To make any herb or flower vinegar, all that is required is some good quality vinegar suited to the intended infusion, a jar, and the herb.  For chive blossoms, we want to see the color and taste the fresh garlicky flavor, so we choose a white wine or rice vinegar.  For this batch, it was white wine vinegar.

 Fill the jar with chive blossoms.  Just pop them off the stems, rinse to remove any inhabitants, and dry them on a tea towel for a few minutes, and then put them in the jar.  Cover them with the vinegar.  My own tip (which I use with vinegars and tincture making) is to break up wooden skewers to the correct size, and then make an "x" across the top, just before the jar narrows.  That keeps the plant matter submerged, which is necessary to avoid spoilage.

Within a few days, the color transfers from the flowers to the vinegar.  For flavor, you'll want to taste the vinegar after about a week, and then decide whether to let it continue steeping or not.  This vinegar was the right flavor for me in about 10 days.  Some vinegars you can just allow to sit until you're ready to use them - entirely up to you!

After it was strained, I picked a few fresh blossoms and put them into the bottles I'd be using.  The color will stay on the fresh blossoms, since the vinegar is saturated with color now.

The finished vinegar must be stored out of sunlight to retain the jewel toned brilliant pink color.  Visions of luscious salads dressed with this vinegar and a little oil dance in my head.

Spring 2012 so far

This has been a long, long spring, and we've had lots more time to play in the gentle sun than we usually get in a typical spring.  This morning I was thinking about how the 15th was the safe date to plant out things that can't handle frost, but we haven't had a hard frost here on the hill since mid-February.  The constant winds up here helped with that on the rare nights when frost threatened, but mostly we've had a surreal winter and spring.
At the same time, as I was thinking about what odds and ends need to be done before the Jul/Aug issue of The Essential Herbal Magazine can be put together for print, I was feeling a little sorry for myself.  A couple of weeks ago I had some needed surgery, and was fretting about missing out on spring.  Then I gave myself a little kick in the pants!  4 months of spectacular spring, and I'm whining about missing a few weeks.
The best way to get over any residual self-pity is to count blessings.  It may sound trite, but it really is a valuable life skill.
So I started thinking about all the fun things we made during classes in the early spring, some of the talks we gave that turned into catalysts for projects at home, the swap I jumped into at the last second, the test batches of elderberry candy for an article I'm submitting to another publication, the sheets upstairs that are already covered with anise hyssop and violets to dry, and the syrups and vinegars I got to make already.  I got to distill some white sage, play around with bear grease and cottonwood buds, and make a wild mushroom tincture.  Watching the plants burst from the earth, send out leaves, blossom and begin to fruit has been a rare joy.
Seriously, a typical spring filled with faires, classes, and talks to groups never gives me the kind of time to play that landed in my lap this year.  This has been a spring filled with all sorts of fascinating herb work.
Big deal, the weeds get another week to grow before I'm allowed to do battle with them.  I'll be too busy on the magazine anyhow.
Counting blessings put me back on track today.  And that's another blessing.

Just when you think you haven't made a difference...

This poppy languished in the shade for three years before I moved it last year, and it is rewarding me for the effort by blooming repeatedly with lush, gorgeous blooms.  Maybe next year it will spread!

 When I moved to this house 6 years ago, there was already lots of good stuff growing all around me.  Plenty of lovely wild herbs, trees, and some beautiful plants that my mother and sister had put in close to the house.
Gradually I've added much more than I realized.  Rows of lavender and sage, mint patches, chamomile, and trees are now part of the landscape, and I take them for granted.  Some of the things that have gone in struggled for years because they needed more light or less groundhogs.  It's been rainy, and I've been on an enforced vacation for a while, so today I got out for a few minutes to see what is going on.  What a marvelous surprise!  Everything has returned.  Nothing was lost - not even the passionflower that I was sure had gone forever!  The horseradish is tall among the weeds, the witch hazel is bushing out, and the persimmon is about to bloom.  The sour cherry is covered with lush leaves.  It is very rewarding to see all of the plants that I've tucked in and nurtured have survived and thrived - as well as the volunteer (and most desired) mimosa tree.  Lots of fruits and herbs in the near future.

Bluets were purchased as a tiny, almost invisible bunch of upright threads atop a few miniature leaves.  They are simply a sentimental flower for me, reminding me of a miraculous morning.

Finally the blueberry patch is filled with many, many bunches of unripe berries.  Half a dozen plants went in the first year, and they've been whittled down each spring by varmints.  This year with the help of a fence, we'll have fresh blueberries to harvest.

I've never bothered to grow my own comfrey before, but last year my sister and I dried our own for soapmaking, and found it to be so superior that we will always grow and dry it ourselves from now on.  The flowers are exquisite.

The red currants have been carefree from the first year, and have produced since the second.  They are one of those plants that keep you going, keep you trying new things.

Elder blow is already covering the "auria" bush in the corner.  Always early, but never in the first week of May before.  The bush is now 8 feet across and at least as tall.  Standing next to it, the scent is intoxicating.

My friend Roe sent me some elecampane roots last year, and I was afraid to look, since their location is especially weed-ridden and rocky.  Both of the plantings took root, and they look pretty happy!

I expect that there will be ripe figs to eat by mid-June.  Another gift from a friend, this has been another one of the plants that gave me courage to try others.  It has been happy here from the day it was planted.

Gooseberries.  We lost some to frost, as last week when I tweeked the branches, tiny yellowed fruit fell to the ground, but it looks like there will still be plenty to eat.

Each year we participate in a conference and receive small packages of iris bulbs.  Last fall I finally planted several years worth - and today they peeped out above the weeds to thank me.

Last year the birds got all the serviceberries, and shortly thereafter, tent caterpillars took over the small tree.  I was worried about how it would survive the winter, but it looks just fine.  Maybe I'll even get to eat some this year!