Aug 7, 2009 Friday Faves - buzzzzz....

Each Friday, I hope to spotlight a couple of our advertisers and a couple other cool things I've come across. Since my last entry showed my fascination with the bees in the yard (after last evening, I am fervently hoping it doesn't turn into a snake thing), we are continuing with that - the buzz of bees!
First is The Original Soap Dish. The Bailey family succeeds in bringing their customers some of the finest ingredients available for soap and lotion making. Beeswax pastilles (SO nice to work with!) and honey powder are there, as well as sometimes hard-to-find Lye, colors, fragrances, packaging, extracts, things like strawberry pulp powder, and additives to add volume, shine, glide and shimmer.
Here in Lancaster, we have Dutch Gold Honey. For a long time, the plant was run on a residential street by the Gamber family. It wasn't even noticeable, and I know that because I lived a block down the street for years.The honey house was built on a vacant lot across from their home in the 50's. It is now a home, surrounded by other houses. The honey bear bottle that we've all come to recognize was Ralph Gamber's "baby", and Dutch Gold used it long before it became part of the PBJ of our collective childhoods. They have grown to now be using a very large warehouse, and they supply several interesting honeys in their shop - blueberry, eucalptus, tupelo, wildflower, orange blossom, and buckwheat come to mind. They have a page with honey recipes.
At Herbs from the Labyrinth, Sarah gives the bees plenty of pollen and nectar from the labyrinth garden she's been tending for several years in her backyard. Many of her fine balms and salves contain beeswax, and she uses local products whenever possible. Stop by her website to see pictures of the labyrinth and visit her shopping cart -OR- if you are in Lancaster for vacation (or if you live in the area) she has a delicious shop called Radiance at 9 W. Grant St., Lancaster PA. Sometimes you will even find me behind the counter. I like to put in a day here and there. She lets me play in the vast apothecary :-). Haagen-Daz ice cream has a website devoted to honey bees and their struggle against colony collapse, called Help the Honey Bees. There are ideas of ways that we can all help, and lots of information.

Edible Honeydust Powder :-)
1 C cornstarch
2 T Vanilla Powder
2 - 3 T honey powder
Mix in blender.

And, last but not least, I caught a few minutes of The Today Show this morning, and the author of this article was shown in a segment about the value of farmers markets. Check out these scrumptious recipes!!!
101 simple salads: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/22/dining/22mlist.html?_r=1
GO FARMERS!!!!

Celebrating a Year of Blogging!--Herbal Giveaway to USA Readers!!

A year has gone by and we had to bring out the noise makers to celebrate blogging about our wacky lives! I was inspired to start this journey from reading the blog by two of my favorite sisters (we aren't related) from The Rosemary House and Sweet Remembrances in Mechanicsburg, PA. They have a wonderful blog called Rosemary's Sampler. The Herbal Husband and I want to thank you for reading and commenting on our journey through our travels and gardens and day to day lives.

So to thank you we are going to give you a chance to win herbal napkins. For our USA readers, you have the chance to win a pack of 20 herbal luncheon (6-1/2" x 6-1/2") paper napkins. All you have to do is leave a comment with your contact e-mail information and USA in your comment. One comment per e-mail address please. You will have until Friday, August 14th at Midnight Eastern Daylight Time to enter. The winners will be announced after 10:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time on Friday, August 14th. Here are the napkins. Good Luck!

Celebrating A Year of Blogging!--Herbal Giveaway to Our International Readers!!

A year has gone by and we had to bring out the noise makers to celebrate blogging about our wacky lives! I was inspired to start this journey from reading the blog by two of my favorite sisters (we aren't related) from The Rosemary House and Sweet Remembrances in Mechanicsburg, PA. They have a wonderful blog called Rosemary's Sampler. The Herbal Husband and I want to thank you for reading and commenting on our journey through our travels and gardens and day to day lives.

So to thank you we are going to give you a chance to win herbal napkins. For our international readers, you have the chance to win a pack of 20 herbal cocktail (12.7 cm x 12.7 cm) paper napkins. All you have to do is leave a comment with your contact e-mail information and Inter. in your comment. One comment per e-mail address please. You will have until Friday, August 14th at Midnight Eastern Daylight Time to enter. The winners will be announced after 10:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time on Friday, August 14th. Here are the napkins. Good Luck!

It's Travel Thursday--A Home Town Adventure for the Family!

We are bird lovers in this house. I know for some of you who have kids, this time of year can be difficult to entertain them! It is almost school time! UGH! Sooo I have the perfect solution if you are in the Pittsburgh area, take them to the National Aviary! Here is The Herbal Husband feeding a dollar bill to Minni, the American crow. Smart bird! She takes it from you gently and puts it in the box for a good cause.

There are feedings for the lorikeets or lorries that will delight your kids and you. They are very noisy, but it is very interesting to feed them. For a nominal fee per cup, you and your kids can enjoy this activity.

This beautiful bird is the Victoria Crowned Pigeon. Named not for the car but for the Queen! It is from the country of New Guinea. I'm going to take my best friend's daughter there soon before she starts school. Hope you get a chance to go! It is a fun education for both you and them! Check back tomorrow for some exciting news!

Nasturtiums in Bloom! Finally!

This is a clump of nasturtiums that we grew from seeds we bought in Holland several years ago. It is finally blooming wildly. I harvested 18 flowers from this clump yesterday to eat with The Herbal Husband's guacamole. Delicious! Remember you can eat both leaves and flowers that give a salad a peppery taste. This flower and variegated leaf below is a variety called 'Alaska'. A book called Edible Flowers: From Garden to Palate by Cathy Wilkinson Barash is my favorite book on edible flowers. You also need to remember that not all flowers are edible and Ms. Barash addresses both edible and non-edible flowers in her book. That's why it's my favorite. You can find it at Book Finder or favorite used book search engine.

Surprising Roses!

When I went out into the front garden this morning, I spied my favorite rose blooming. My 'Graham Thomas' is blooming again despite its location. One of the things I'm going to work on this winter is learning all I can about roses. I take enough photos of them. I don't always get it right when growing them. There are three more buds I can see so I will have 'Graham' in the garden for a little while longer this season!

Lots of Phlox!

Everyone who came through our garden on Sunday commented on the wonderful smell and how we grew such large phlox without powdery mildew. I don't know! I wish I did understand it! To be truthful I think I planted three phlox total in the front and this is what it has produced! I would recommend against planting 'Mt Fuji'. It is struggling in the back garden to bloom. It has reproduced itself and the reproductions don't have powdery mildew as much. Next year I will spray the 'Mt. Fuji' early in the season or try to give it more air circulation. Although as you can see in the front garden, air circulation is not a problem!

what's that buzzing sound?

Some of these pictures will be fuzzy. Some of them were snapped as I dipped and dove, trying not to alarm any of the creatures dining on the vitex and mountain mint in the yard.
It astounds me looking at the shots, that there aren't more of them in there. The bushes are humming, buzzing, and appear to actually be moving. It is a humbling experience to stand near one of the bushes.
I'm not going to even pretend to know what varieties of bees these are, but do find it incredible that they are so happy to dine together.
There was no bullying that I could see. No crowding, pushing, or butting in line. Just everyone working away, gathering nectar and pollen.
I have taken off my glasses to type this. My vision is pretty bad. Still, looking out at the vitex I can still see the bees and butterflies dancing around. Wow.

I didn't begin to capture the variety of bees out there. There are multicolored wasps, lots and lots of honeybee's and all kinds of bumblies.
Only a small percentage is shown here, but it gets kind of creepy when all you can hear is the buzz and they move all around you... and then a piece of grass falls across your foot...

I think my favorites are the big, slow bumble bees. They amble along like the Teddy Bear of bees. Some of them here have lots of yellow, and some are mostly black. They were most prevalent on the vitex, leaving the mountain mint for the many, many others.

Do you even think this one is real? Look at the color on those wings. That's a fairy in disquise, I think.

This banded one reminds me of a breed of cattle that we often see around here. There is another variety of bees - I think more waspy - with smaller bands, and about three on each bee.

What can I say? Party time on the mountain mint!

And finally, one brave little beauty stayed close to the ground, away from the bustle.

That garden is one wild and crazy place. There were no yellow jackets and no hornets (at least what we called hornets when I was a kid). They are as lovely as the flowers.
I started thinking about this entry last night, and then we had a little storm. Afterward, I went outside to find the bees. They were all hiding under leaves to stay dry. Some of them were bigger than the leaves. That was something I didn't know - where bees go when it rains.

Be Careful What You Wish For! Part Two!

Yesterday I thought I was minding my own business, deadheading and pruning my herbs in my garden and containers. Then I heard a whistle from the back of the yard. The Herbal Husband was back in the way back (really not that far) pruning the old canes out of the raspberries. At least that's what I thought was happening! When I got to the way back, here were the branches of a mulberry tree that has been shading out some of our raspberries with more to come!

To make a long story short, we worked on pruning branches out of the trees and then the Herbal Husband worked on pruning out the old canes and making paths in and around the remaining canes. You see we don't have the Penn State prescribed trellising system for our raspberries! That would be too easy! We have to have a structure to it! Similar to a maze that adds character and the possibility of getting your arms and legs scraped by the canes as you pick the berries! I really can't make this up! We did accomplish a lot yesterday and The Herbal Husband said he couldn't have finished without me! Teamwork! Think twice though when you hear that whistle!

Yikes! Thyme Flies!

The Herbal Husband got the rest of the garlic pulled the other day. Good thing because we have had over an inch of rain since then! I called this posting Yikes because we are getting rain. Good we needed it, but now I need to harvest some herbs in the garden and wet doesn't cut it! As you get older in life, time (or thyme) flies by. I always heard that and thought what are they talking about? Now I know! I also wanted my herb garden to look nice for the master gardeners and the garden tour. Well, it did. Now the work really begins.

We also harvested more beets, fingerling potatoes, carrots and stray garlics that didn't get pulled last year. I love this time of year, but I need to be efficient now and cut when I can! I have to quit admiring the view!