Happy Halloween!

Some holidays we don't mess with too much.  If it's not broke, we don't fix it!  Sooo here is a picture of last year's gate into the front door!  Some of you enjoy all of the festivities!  I have been enjoying them with you!  So Happy Halloween!  Hope if you have kids or grandkids or great grandkids, they have a fun and safe night!  Talk to you later!  I'm going to cross stitch!

We had 43 kids tonight!  Haven't had that many for a few years.  I had two candy bars left!  Whew!  My favorite comment of the night was "I love your maze!"  I can't make this stuff up!

I Renewed My Vampire Protection Today!

I got my jelly done today!  Whoo hoo!  I've got a lot of vampire protection for the year as well, a whole box of  rosemary garlic jelly.  Here is a closeup of a jar.

Trust me there is rosemary in it!  It seems to float to the top no matter what I do!   Well, hope you had a great day wherever you may be!  Can't believe it's Halloween tomorrow!  Where did the year go?  I must be getting old!  Also I just passed 700 posts!  Wow!  That has flown by as well!  Talk to you later!

folk herbalism and astrology

Two evenings this past week, Farm at Coventry hosted Phyllis Light, who talked about folk herbalism and astrology.Susan Hess and Phyllis Light in the herb kitchen of Farm at Coventry
Somewhere here in the house, there is a stack of 100+ year old copies of Baer's Agricultural Almanac that I picked up somewhere along the line. In each copy, there is an astrological chart accompanied by a line drawing of a man with the corresponding body parts labeled. I always understood the simple things, like planting with the waxing moon and weeding with the waning moon, but Phyllis pointed out that the different signs correspond with the elements - being dry, wet, fertile or infertile, and it was like a lightbulb turning on.The almanac shows astrological signs for each day of the month
She went on to talk about root doctors, Tommie Bass (who I'd heard of some years back after meeting Darryl Patton who wrote a book about Tommie), who was her teacher for a long time, and the way Appalachian folk herbalism has worked and how it came together from factions all over the world.
Both evenings were fascinating, and I was struck by Phyllis' comfortable speaking style. Both nights during the drive home, we discussed what we'd heard and it just kept unfolding. It reminded me of the class I'd taken earlier this month at The Rosemary House with Pam Montgomery. In both cases, it was in thinking about them later that the information was really digested. We car-pooled both nights to Farm at Coventry, so that allowed for more input on the ride home.
Another thing that I really love is that even though both of these great herbal teachers presented at venues that were an hour distant from my home - in different directions - walking in, I was greeted by herbies that I know either in person or have met on-line. The kitchen table was laden with refreshments to enjoy before and after the presentations.
That is an added bonus that is hard to describe. Perhaps it is because places like The Rosemary House and Farm at Coventry host these wonderful herbalists on a pretty regular basis as well as having other good herbal classes, that makes this area rich with herbal learning and enthusiasm.
I hear from herbies all the time who tell me that there is nothing herbal going on in their local area. Some can't find even a single person nearby to talk to or go into the woods or fields with, and here we are with this incredible wealth of learning opportunities. I'm very grateful to these herb businesses for bringing so much interest and knowledge to our area, and wonder if they know how much good they are doing.
So often, we go along in what we do without ever knowing if we make a difference. I can say without hesitation that these two - The Rosemary House and Farm at Coventry - are responsible for many, many people taking an interest in herbs and learning how to use them properly. I appreciate it.

An Herbal Reminder!

The Herbal Husband Cut This German Chamomile to Dry!

Cut Marjoram for Drying!

We are getting to the end of the growing season.  We haven't had a hard frost yet, but I think it may happen this evening or maybe tomorrow evening.  Maybe you haven't had a frost yet either.  Maybe you already have had one.  If you haven't, get out and see what can be cut and dried.  What needs to be frozen in bags or containers and what you can put in vinegar to preserve it.  I always have some parsley that can easily be frozen in a bag or container.  Tarragon in vinegar is a favorite way to preserve it and then use the pickled tarragon like you would use it fresh.  I always have to have marjoram dried to be used through the winter.  I just put it between two paper towels to dry.  Very easy, but effective!  I will just stick the dried chamomile flowers in my paper tea bags and seal them.  Finished making the rose geranium jelly today.  Only one flavor left, garlic rosemary!  Hope you are having a great day wherever you may be.  Talk to you later.

Herb Channeler, Part Five and Cheep Rooms on Thursdays!

A lot of them!  This is a dual post.  One of my favorite herb shops in Pennsylvania is The Rosemary House!  This is a building covered with birdhouses in the back of their herb garden.  I know you have heard of The Rosemary House because I'm always talking about one of my favorite herbal authors and founder of The Rosemary House, Bertha Reppert.  Now it is owned and operated by Susanna Reppert-Brill and her husband, David.  They have a lot of holiday events coming along with Nancy Reppert's, Sweet Remembrances Tearoom.  So check out their events schedules.  They have lots of fun events during the holidays for the whole family!  The Herbal Husband and I are going to be stopping by in the next couple weeks.  Can't wait!  Only getting colder here and very windy.  Just out walking and was almost blown over a couple of times!  Hope you are having a great day wherever you may be!  Talk to you later!

Settle in, grab a mug and a book...

We aren't finished adding prizes to the pot for our drawing to celebrate the release of "By the Hearth" yet!
Susan Hess from Farm at Coventry has added an 8oz bag of her famous brew. Faux' Joe is a roasted grain, root and bark beverage & delicious, caffeine-free alternative to coffee! Not an instant, this granulated brew-able blend works well in a standard coffee maker, cappuccino machine or French press.

Faux’ Joe is a rich, dark, healthful blend of:

• malted barley blend
• chicory root
• dandelion root
• with just a hint of carob, coconut & cinnamon.

Enjoy your Faux’ Joe straight up or serve with warm, frothy milk for a yummy “Faux’-cuccino!” Fantastic chilled and served with ice & Cream ! The possibilities are endless…Brew up a cup! 8 oz. bag Makes approx. 40 cups.

There are still a few prizes to add, and they are still coming in - so get your order for "By the Hearth" in before Nov. 7th to be in the running!

Having Afternoon Tea at Claridges, London, England!

In the Mayfair neighborhood:  Claridges

Harpist Played Music During Tea!

Tea Table Set with Limoges Galerie Royale Porcelain!

An Arrangement with Twelve Dozen Roses!

Apple and Raisin Scones Served with Marco Polo Tea infused Jelly, Clotted Cream and French Pastries!

A Tin of English Breakfast Tea Comes with the Bill!

An Afternoon Tea Menu!

Can you believe it!  I forgot to take a picture of our tea sandwiches and we were little piggies!  We had a second round of sandwiches!  The Claridges known for its art deco interiors serves tea in the foyer and reading room.    We even stayed so long that they started the cocktail hour!  Claridges has been famous for afternoon tea for more than 100 years and hopefully, it will be around for at least 100 more!  I raise my tea cup to Claridges!  Hope you are having a wonderful afternoon wherever you may be.  I think we have squeezed out one more great day here in the 'Burgh!  Talk to you later.

Persimmon Sandies - Gluten Free

This morning I posted a picture of persimmons on The Essential Herbal Facebook page, and a couple of people asked what they tasted like. I had some pulp in the freezer, so I got it out and thawed it to really be able to describe it (sweet tea with fruit).
Once it was thawed, I had to use it. There's no need to have a whole bunch of cookies in the house, and we're going to the Farm at Coventry tonight so.... But there will be people there who can't have gluten.
There was a good cup of rice flour in the cupboard. Hmmmm...

Here's the recipe I threw together:

1 C rice flour
1 C sugar
3/4 C persimmon pulp
1 T finely chopped ginger root
1/4 C chopped walnuts
1/2 t cream of tartar
1 t vanilla
1/2 t cinnamon

Mixed it up good, dropped small spoonfuls onto parchment, and baked them at 350 degrees for 13 minutes. Parchment was VERY important.. They still needed to be lifted from the parchment with a knife.

If there had been more flour, it would have been better to add some butter and an egg. I think I'll make an orange glaze to top them with.

Today's Catch, a bar and a balm

We've got another prize to add to the pot for the drawing for those pre-ordering By the Hearth. This is so much fun!

Our friend Diane at Brushwood Farm makes these luscious products (and raises the bees, grows the herbs...) and offered one of each to one lucky winner:
"A big 4 1/2 oz bar of our bestselling Gardener's Hand Soap with pumice. Gardener's Hand Soap is made from olive oil infused with Calendula & Plantain, organic palm oil, fair trade shea butter and a refreshing green blend of essential oils. Works fabulously for getting the last bits of dirt off of your hardworking hands, without drying." and then there's....
"The Gardener's Hand Balm is a tube of comfort for your garden weary hands. Made from calendula infused oil, virgin coconut oil, shea butter and our own beeswax, it's scented with a blend of essential oils known for kindness to ravaged skin. We love this for wintertime dry skin too!"
We've had the great pleasure of trying some of Diane's soap and balms - they're the real deal!

I'm starting to think I may have to buy one of these books myself - just to get in on the drawing.

More Late Bloomers!

An Everblooming Climbing 'Cecile Brunner'

The Nasturtiums Look More Like a Turtle!

The 'Munstead' Lavender In Rebloom!

The Grape Vine Showing Some Autumn Color!

Thought I would make up for the little post yesterday with a multiple photo post today!  Hope you are having a great day wherever you may be.  It is going to be warm today in the 70's and rainy later!  Really in the home stretch jelly wise.  Rose geranium gets done this week and rosemary garlic this weekend for Halloween!  Talk to you later!

quote

Calm and deep peace in this wide air,

These leaves that redden to the fall,

And in my heart, if calm at all,

If any calm, a calm despair."

Alfred Lord Tennyson

Maple Leaf Rag

This weekend - oops, no, that's not until November 7 (!!!) the clocks will turn back an hour. By 6pm, it will be dark, so for people who work during the day, whether we have frost or not, the gardens will be over unless they're willing to toil by firelight.I'm hearing from friends who are so glad to be finished for the season. Growing and gathering our own herbs means that we need to always be thinking about when different things will be ready to find. Is it too late for another batch of jewelweed? Are the persimmons starting to drop? Did I miss the spicebush berries (again)? The garden is relatively easy to keep after, but the wild herbs are always in the back of the mind.
This particular summer was a hard one to keep up with! It started 6 weeks early because we never got a frost after late March, and then mid-summer turned into a solar oven that had me cowering inside. There are plants that will signal when it is time to harvest others if you've been wild-crafting long enough. A good example is the highly visible Joe Pye weed, that always blooms in conjunction with blue vervain. Sweet violets in the spring tell me that if I haven't gotten into the woods, I'd better hurry if I don't want to miss the ramps, trout lilies, and blooms of skunk cabbage that hug the earth.
Now herbies can relax a little bit. Maryanne and Kathy (from Cloverleaf Herb Farm) chat, in no rush, while I wandered the gardens checking out the display plantings.
If we didn't get what we wanted this year, we'll just have to come up with alternatives. We can play in the kitchen and whip up concoctions and blends.
Unless you happen to live in the hive that is Frog Hollow, that is. Well, in honesty, most of the herbies I know have just switched to another, quieter form of busy. Here we are gearing up for the tree farm activities. Here, we are buzzing!
I woke up this morning with the feeling of waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Yesterday we delivered all but one (ok...two - lol) of the soap orders that rained down this month. There are surfaces!!! Work tables are clear and ready for more.
We had a chance to visit Sharon Magee (of Herbal Pottery) and see her gardens lit with candles and twinkling lights.
By the Hearth is at the printer, and all of the pre-orders that have arrived so far are organized and the envelopes are ready to be labeled, stuffed, and shipped.
We're putting some thought into the little holiday shop we put in for the months of November and December, and are actually in a good place to be ready for the first time in several years.
We have 2 weeks before the next deadline for The Essential Herbal.
Seriously.... I must be missing something. Could we actually be caught up?

A Final Visit from the Queen!

At the moment you will just have to take my word for it!  My computer is not cooperating!  Have I mentioned that I alternately love and hate computers?  Well, I hope you are having a better day than I am!  Hopefully I will be able to upload or download or get the photo on the computer later today!  Talk to you later!

Ooops!  Sorta of sideways!  Here she is the Queen, 'Queen Elizabeth' rose that is!  Saw her as I opened the bathroom window and knew I had to clip her before the rains came!  Hope you had a great day!  We saw Hereafter with Matt Damon.  It was very good.  Talk to you later!

more? hydrosols from SunRose Aromatics!!!

We are having such a blast with the pre-release of "By the Hearth" as gifts for the prize drawing come in! Handmade pottery and jewelry, wild plant field guide and cookbook, earth-friendly containers... and now this from SunRose Aromatics: This Sampler of Hydrosols for one lucky winner!
Set of 5 - 1oz spray bottles includes:
- Frankincense WC Somalia
- Geranium WC India
- Lavender Org USA
- Rose Alba Organic Bulgaria
- Tea Tree Australia
Be sure to visit all of our contest sponsors to see all the wonderful things they offer :-).

Herb Channeler, Part Four!

Continuing toward an herbal Christmas, we are headed to the west coast and an herb farm called Edgehill Herb Farm owned and operated by Karen England.  These two cook booklets are chock full of good ideas and recipes.  She also writes a blog called Karen England's www.edgehillherbfarm.com blog that has a lot of good herbal information as well.  So hopefully if you are out on the west coast, you can stop by or order products from Karen and Edgehill Herb Farm.  I'll have my very favorite choices next time!  So please stay tuned!

Made two batches of hot pepper jelly today.  In the herbal jelly home stretch, only two kinds to go!  Hopefully I will get it done this week!  Hope you had a great day wherever you may be!  Talk to you later.

Prize - God's Wild Herbs

Just as we were formulating the plan for the prize drawing for the pre-release sales of By the Hearth, my friend Dennis Ellingson wrote to offer several copies of his newest book!This full-color field guide and cook-book will be a useful addition to the reference shelves of many readers of The Essential Herbal. It will also be released any day now, and is otherwise available at www.cladach.com along with his previous book, God's Healing Herbs.

The list of prizes just keeps growing, but the By the Hearth is a prize all on its own! We know that you'll spend many cozy days reading and then trying the crafts, recipes, and herbal preparations and remedies included.

Order today!

Prize - Eco Push Tubes

If you've ever wanted to try different and earth-friendly containers for your balms and lotion bars, Rebekah at thesoapdish.com has added 10 of these push tubes to the bevy of prizes that are amassing for those entering the contest by purchasing a copy of By the Hearth.These will be perfect for those holiday gifts you're planning to make, perhaps with recipes from Balms & Salves, Recipes and How-to, or in By the Hearth! Lots of great recipes and remedies, and these tubes are made especially for oil-based preparations.

the quality of October sunlight

There is something so different about the way the sun plays in October. The color of the light is more yellow and rich, as if we were living in semi-sepia. The sky takes on a deeper, more tangible blue. Everything feels (or appears) more solid and tactile. Intellectually, I know it has to do with the angle of the sun and the earth, but in my heart it is about a mellowing. Everything is deeper, earthier, more solid than it had been just a few weeks ago.There is a melancholy edge to it, and walking through the woods feels a bit like saying goodbye to a beloved friend who never stays quite long enough. The seedheads and bedraggled leaves are reminders of those moments when there were bright blossoms, berries, and birdsong. Now there is quiet, with the occasional plunk of a falling black walnut or the skittering of a squirrel in the fallen leaves.
In a way, autumn helps us to learn to live in the moment more than any other season. Spring and summer offer us such abundant displays of color that sometimes we don't stop to notice the single blossom, the leaves in their singular appearance, or the "personality" of each specific plant. In the fall, we can scarcely help but notice each bit that glows and offers us a glimpse into their cycle and habit.
The harvest is even more solid, with root vegetables, apples, and pumpkins taking the stage - all substantial and thick.And so I crunch along, back to work... into the cozy workshop that will soon be wearing long crystalline stalactites of ice that will nearly touch the ground.We're closing in on a hard frost. It won't be much longer. Into the stark gray light of winter, we'll go.

sonnet time

"That time of year thou mayest in me behold,

When yellow leaves, or none, or few do hang,

Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,

Bare ruin'd choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.

In me thou seest the twilight of such day."

- William Shakespeare

Guest Blogging for The Herb Companion Magazine and Other Links!

The 'Fairy' Rose is Still Blooming!

Always looking for the last blooms in the garden before the first frost!  Here is a link to my latest guest post for The Herb Companion magazine, Discover Fall Flowers in Season.  I also forgot to mention that my guest post from last November was written up in the October-November 2010 issue.  On newsstands now!  It is entitled Recipe for Thanksgiving Leftovers-Turkey Tetrazzini.  Finally, the herb editor-in-chief blogged about her encounter with The Lemon Verbena Lady.  Here is that post entitled Herbs at The Mother Earth News Fair.  The final link is from Jim Long's Garden blog.  It was titled Mother Earth.  Hopefully, Jim, we will get to talk a little more in the coming year!  Well, that should give you a little reading with your cup of joe or tea or glass of wine!  Got to go walk!  Talk to you later!

bracelet prize for pre-release drawing

I changed my mind on the bracelet prize when I laid eyes on "Winter White." It's so much fun gathering prizes for the pre-release of By the Hearth :-). The glass beads are lampworked by Maryanne Schwartz of Torchsong Studio, with rich shades of fall and winter, highlighted with speckles of silver glass. She strung them with black crystals and silver accent beads, and hand wrought Sterling silver closures. Perfect to celebrate the release of By the Hearth!
Order by November 7th to have your name in the drawing for this beautiful piece of handmade jewelry!

Herb Channeler, Part Three!

This next possible herbal Christmas gift is from the southern part of the country.  It comes from Ann McCormick from Texas.  She does it all in the herb world.  She has a twice monthly newsletter, a column for The Herb Quarterly magazine (She took over Jim Long's column.), an article for a local nursery, among other ventures.  The book on the left is the perfect gift for a beginner herb gardener, including some recipes for each of the ten herbs.  The book on the right is The Herb 'n Cowgirl Bakes.  I'm looking forward to using this book this winter.  Love to smell herbal baked goods in the oven!  So check out the link above.  It may be just what you need to do your Christmas shopping this season.  Off to make lemon verbena jelly.  Hope you have a great day wherever you may be.  Talk to you later.

herbal pottery prize

Last night I picked up a sweet little prize for the drawing we're holding to celebrate the release of By the Hearth.This cheese plate is hand built, pressed with fresh herbs, and then hand painted by Sharon Magee of Herbal Pottery. Sharon doesn't have a website, so it is just luck that I happen to know her and have access to this amazing artistry.
All you have to do to enter the contest is purchase By the Hearth in the pre-release special (you already win by getting a 20% discount!), and we'll put your name in the jar.
Cool, huh?

The Herbal Jungle!

This was the scene last night as we scrambled to get the herbal containers moved into the house.  We had our first frost advisory.  Officially I think we were 35 degrees last night so some plants in the back of our property where there is a low area might have gotten it.  I just looked out the bathroom window and it still looks pretty good!

The Herbal Husband's report says everything is good outside!  If we hadn't moved them inside though, something would have been frosted and then the Spanish starts!  Fortunately I know when the bad words start, I leave the premises!

Well, all of the kids (herbs) in the herbal containers this season grew like weeds!  Ha!  So now we have to take everything out and trim things back and place them semi-permanently for winter.  The herbal work never ends which is a good herbal thing.  Hope you are having a great day wherever you may be.  Got to go walk!  Talk to you later!