This morning's helper...

Such concentration...

I was stripping dried catnip leaves and buds from their branches this morning, when my houseguest of seven years old approached and asked if she could help.

The rest of the morning, we stood around in our jammies, pulled leaves and buds from "happy stinky" catnip stalks, stacked stems by size, talked about cats, medicine, tea, how awesome honey is, and other fine subjects.

Oh, and she is willing to be paid in pancakes and hours building pirate ships from Legos.  Can't beat that. 

I hope your day is beautiful, too!

Friday Followup

Hello, lovely people!

• This week, my article about Queen Anne's Lace Flower Jelly was posted online at the Herb Companion magazine - which features a coupon code for my shop on PoppySwap.com!  Go check it out.

• My dear one and I are rearranging our home as our housemates have moved out and onto new things!  When it was time for planting this spring, we were uncertain if we were staying in our little cove and so did not put in a garden.  We've been gifted excess squash and cucumbers from our friends, and the few tomato plants we have are starting to make little green fruits!  All of our herbs have returned, the native Yarrow, the huge Wormwood, and the mint that I can't harvest fast enough.

Solar Stone Studio's beautiful work

• FIRE.  I've had some dear friends lose their home and pottery workshop to fire.  The couple and their two kids have a place to stay for the moment, but they've lost everything!  If you have a dollar, or two, or any bits to spare, please consider sending a PayPal donation to Solarstonestudio@yahoo.com so they can get back on their feet.   You can check out their pottery work at Solar Stone Studios.  <3 Also, they are a Bele Chere vendor, for you local folks. 

• RAIN.  We've had a ton!  Which is good, until it isn't anymore.  Luckily, Asheville's only had a few minor floods, but some of our dear friends in Tennesee have waterfront property where there used to be an ankle-high gurgling creek.  Phew! 

This weekend I aim to start some beer, can some blackberry jam, and see what other mischief I can get into!

What are YOU doing this week?  What projects have you finished, or are about to begin?

Photo Post: Evenings at Home

Every evening when I get home, Eric and I open a beer and get the chicken scraps together and head down to give her a snack and check the lower lot berry brambles, catnip, mint, and wormwood. We'll take a minute to check the compost or clean out the coop if needed, and hang out until the mosquitoes are too much to bear.

Angel the Cashmere goat, who lives next door, begs for more honeysuckle.  She and her family merrily consume the tons of honeysuckle that I fling over their fence, which is handy.  That stuff is seriously invasive!

I was trying to get a picture of the tomato plant that Bawk is growing in her run, but she's a photo hog
(who also likes to peck cameras).

Catnip is in bloom.  I've been harvesting it like mad, and it grows to replace the cuttings within 24 hours, I swear it.  There was a little honey bee harvesting from the 'nip, and I went behind her to pick the stems that she'd already visited.

Rain on the tip of a blackberry.  Fairy wine in the making?

Pixie's Pocket Spotlight: Chelsea Farms Honey, Madison Co. NC

Lovely Madison Co, NC honey from
Chelsea Farms (2011 batch)

Limited Edition Honey!  
This 2011 batch is going quickly!

In the hills and winding roads of Madison County, North Carolina is a lovely little place known as Chelsea Farms.  The sweet folks who maintain their small organic fruit farm also nurture two happy, healthy bee hives!

This early winter, they approached me at the market and asked if I would be interested in distributing their excess honey from the 2011 harvest.

I was intrigued, since I've had customers request plain honey in the past, and I don't yet have my own hives...so I agreed.

My agreement hastened when I heard the Chelsea Farms folks tell me that this here honey tied for first place in the Madison County beekeepers association meeting Blind Taste Test!

The honey has layers of flavors, and even some rich tannins that give it a strong base for the high sweet notes of the fruit pollen and Western North Carolina wildflowers.   I was sold at the first taste!  

So, if you are as intrigued as I was, become a fan and get you some of this amazingly rich and flavorful honey before it's all gone!   I can't wait to see what they have next harvest...

Available for sale at:

Pixie's Pocket.com

or Pixie's Pocket on Etsy!