Sunny weekend

I spent these past two days mostly outside:- doing some voluntary work at the reserve that is managed by the society I work for. I found out that I've been doing quite a lot of such work since I'm together with Ž. Sometimes I would rather stay at home but for some unknown reason I keep doing it anyway. It is good to meet people from time to time, and make fire outside on a meadow and fry sausages over it. Or cheese if you don't fancy sausages. This time many children joined us and there was less chatting about birds than usual. And my eyes were focused on those mountains far away most of the time.

- making some more lace. Practice makes perfect but the truth is that my lace is far from perfect. I will show you some pictures of what I do in one of my future posts.

- driving all the way to the coast (well, it's only about an hour drive away from my home, so not really far) to deliver about 100 kg of spelt (Triticum spelta) to my colleague. He will sow it together with some weeds/flowers that used to grow among cereals in times before pesticides & co. I keep thinking of growing my own cereals too, but I don't have any land where I could sow the seeds. Though, one can never know what future holds for him/her.

- picking fruits of Sorb Tree (Sorbus domestica); Google gives also names like Service Tree, Jerusalem Pear, Whitty Pear for this tree. Fruits are not ripe yet and they are still very bitter at the moment but when they become a bit soft and brown they will be eatable. I won't make jam out of the fruits although it is very tasty because we have to use all that jam from last year first.

- wondering how beautiful it must be in June at those places when all those Dog Roses (Rosa canina) are in bloom. We met many people who were, like us, picking rose hips. This year we will dry them for winter teas.

- gathering some Winter savory (Satureja montana) to dry too. I will grind it and use it to spice the food I cook. I use it a lot and this one smells nicer than that savory that I grow in my garden.

I had to wonder at this blooming shrub I came across. It should be blooming in spring and not now. And I smiled when I watched Ž among all those shrubs and trees. We were picking and gathering our own food for winter. It felt so good.

At home

The sky is dark today and it got a lot colder. I already miss the heat of the previous days. I love summer. People are whining over the heat but I enjoy in each hot day that there is. I hope there will be some more soon. Summer is so short, too short in my opinion. I try to spend some afternoon hours in my garden but this seems to be an impossible mission since there are so many mosquitoes and horseflies living in our "moorland". As the wind was blowing yesterday in the afternoon, it obviously blew away those little stingy animals, so that I could cut some echinacea blossoms. This is the essential plant for my winter herbal teas. They are hanging upside down to dry, then I will cut them into small pieces and store them for winter. The tomatoes that I grow in the pots are ripening, and I see my neighbors checking on them regularly. I wonder what's so special about them. So, lots is happening around the house these days, without much help from me. And I like it this way.

Herbs

It is time to gather herbs. I mentioned that I brought home some linden blossoms on Wednesday. I placed them on a clean white paper to dry. Ž brought home elderberry blossoms, and they are almost dry. We will use these dried herbs later from autumn until spring for herbal teas. Linden and elderberry teas are good when having cold because they stimulate sweating. Also good for health is honey. I received one glass of it yesterday, produced by bees and my dad, as the label says. Honey made with some help from lice, too.I have also become a keeper of the bees until a queen bee is hatched in this little beehive on the picture. One more wish on my list is to be a real beekeeper one day, like my dad is. Maybe that day when I live somewhere else, in a place with meadows, not only poisoned fields.

Karma for today: Keep a record of good things that happen.

Fragrances

The other day I received a whole bunch of peppermint leaves from my neighbor. I used to have it in my vegetable garden, too, but it slowly disappeared during the years. I left those leaves to dry, so now they are ready for use. I don't drink lots of peppermint tea, though.The other plant that I gathered yesterday was Purple Coneflower. Usually I received it from my grandmom, but as she cannot work in her garden this year, she will not be able to prepare the plants for tea. So, I gathered some of those that are growing in my backyard. They are so beautiful that it was not easy for me to cut them. But I know how healthy they are, so they are already hanging from the hook.

Without any doubt, summer will be over soon. We are eating the vegetables that have grown in our garden and gathering them for the long cold months. If we are not too lazy, we will be making elderberry jam next week. We always have plans to make jams, but sometimes there are years when there is no fruit on the branches.

Have you ever wondered where you will be in a year from now, who will be with you and what you will be doing? Will you have the same unfulfilled plans as this year and the same wishes and dreams?

Herbs

The upper room in my house has been full of fragrances lately. Elder blossoms, yarrow and camomile occupied every free space in it. There's the old belief that the camomile blossoms should be picked before 23 June. I won't use them for teas but for scenting my home during the cold months of a year. Tonight it is the Midsummer Night. If you walk through the woods and the fern seed incidentally falls into your shoe, you will be able to understand the animal language. In some places the bonfires will be lit tonight, and I am sure that some people will be able to see the beautiful fairies dancing their magical dance... :)

Enjoy your day, enjoy your night!

Elderblossom

That's how I do it.

I dry elderblossom for herbal tea. I pick the whole umbels (is that the correct word? This is what is written in my dictionary.), I clean them of rubbish and animals. I don't wash them. I put them on a clean paper (I never use newspaper as some do, it is a dirty paper), blossoms down, stems up. The ones on the photo are three days old. I dry them until they are crisp. I remove the hard stems when they are dry. Then I store them in a glass jar, paper or fabric bag. For tea I mix them with other herbs, like linden blossoms, peppermint or raspberry leaves, hops.

I will pick some today again. I drink lots of elder tea during the winter. It helps at cold or flu. Especially mixed with linden. I put in some lemon juice and honey. Delicious!