Let's Talk About: Goldenrod

He is everywhere.

Waving at me from above the blue and purple chicory, teasing me, dancing behind the brown grasses drying in the autumn sun.

Goldenrod, Solidago, Golden Dagger!

Many people take one look at Goldenrod and run in the other direction, sneezing and coughing, but Goldenrod is NOT the source of your autumnal allergies.  Poor showy Goldenrod has the bright, obvious flowers and so gets blamed. The big yellow flowers do not have airborne pollen, so you'd have to put the flowers IN your nose to cause a reaction (watch out for hornets).

The plant to blame is Ragweed - this sneaky plant is small, green, and unassuming, but the pollen blown on the breeze irritates many, many people.  Ragweed and Goldenrod do tend to grow near each other in ditches and fields, hence the confusion.

The worst part is that Goldenrod is one of those cures that grows with the ailment, and it actually offers great relief for sinus allergy sufferers.

(Read more to see a recipe for Goldenrod Infused Honey...)
Read more »

Summertime Kitchen Projects

Howdy, folks!  I'm going to be out of town and away from the computer for about a week - so here's some things to keep you busy while I'm gone!

• I love this handy article from "Attainable Sustainable" called "Five Ways to Cut Food Waste."  I'm going to try their suggestion on Turning Funky Milk into Ricotta Cheese.

• Pesto doesn't have to be made with Basil...try mustard greens, radish tops, dandelion leaves, kale, chickweed, or other fresh herb and greens combos!  Throw some garlic, pine nuts (or sunflowers seeds, almonds, macadamias...), parmesan cheese, and some sea salt in a food processor.  Give it a whirl, then add a handful of greens.  Process until smooth and delicious!  

• Make your own "Magic Shell" chocolate for topping desserts from My Homespun Home!

• I love Little House in the Suburbs - not only are they clever folks, but the use SCIENCE!  Check out their recent research into making your own orange enzyme cleaner.

• Mountain Rose Herbs just posted this amazing looking No-Bake Herbal Cookie Nuggets! I will totally give these a try when I get back from my vacation. 

Recipe Box: Earl Grey Cordial

A bottle of cordial I gifted to a friend

I love hot tea.

When I was a child, my Nana would make herself a cup each day in her beautiful gilt-edged china cup with the matching saucer.  I would watch transfixed as she would tip a small spoonful of sugar into the dark liquid and stir gently, the spoon tinkling inside the mug.  The milk would be next, making a graceful spiral swirl until it blended with the rich tea.

While I tasted Irish Breakfast and other dark, bold tea with no great impression, I truly enjoyed my first taste of Earl Grey Tea.  The aromatic bergamot lit up my palate just as much as the caffeine lit up my little five year old brain!

I still love Earl Grey, and have it often.  I have both regular for daytime, and caffeine-free for evening cups...as well as a fine cordial for when-so-ever I choose!

You can make your own Earl Grey Cordial - it is easy, and makes a wonderful gift to give a tea aficionado!

Earl Grey Cordial Recipe

Get an 8oz canning jar (or pickle jar, or whatever you have around), and add the following:

• 2 whole teabags of Earl Grey (staples, strings, and tags removed) OR;
• 3-4 teaspoons of bulk Earl Grey Tea
• Dried orange peel (about a third of a tangerine-sized peel, around 2 inches or so square)
• Vodka (enough to fill the jar)

Let it sit at least one month, and try to get it strained before six weeks has gone.  Strain the lovely brown vodka into a cleaned bottle (squeeze out the tea bags as well).  You can taste it right now, but it won't be very good yet - unsweetened, strong, bitter, and full of tannins!

Mix up some simple syrup using the following guide:

Simple Syrup 

• Boil one cup of water. 
• Add two cups of sugar (or brown sugar, or 1.5 cup of honey, or agave, or whatever you prefer!) 
• Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved and remove from heat. Allow to cool. 

If it is still too bitter, or the alcohol flavor a bit too strong even after you add the simple syrup, try adding a bit of water.  Mix well, taste again.  Sometimes you need to let the bottle sit and allow the flavors to meld.  Pick it up again in a week, taste, adjust to your preference with more simple syrup or water, and ta-da!

I haven't tried it yet, but I assume this procedure would work with any other kinds of tea bags, from herbal to green tea to beyond.  If you want to review different ways of cordial making, check out this post!

Let's Talk About: The No-Shampoo Method

Fresh Eggs, Image by Modern Scribe Photography

Every now and then, my sensitive skin gets the better of me, and I can't use scented soaps or store-bought shampoos without breaking out all over.  When my scalp feels this way, I revert back to my no-shampoo hair-washing method for a month or so.

I started toying with using no-shampoo hair-washing methods years ago, and have worked out the best routine for my hair and scalp.  Here's the basic procedure, and thenreview of the experience!

In Advance of Showertime

• If you wish to condition your hair with an herbal rinse, make that infusion up in advance by putting your choice of herb in a jar and pouring boiling water over it, capping it, and letting it sit for at least an hour or two. Overnight is best! If you aren't sure what to use, here's a couple of examples:

• Rosemary - good rinse for dark and curly hair, but strong! It can dry your hair. Use lightly, and rinse with plain water after applying.
• Lavender - good for any hair, could be drying to thin or fair hair.
• Chamomile - smells so good, and along with a touch of lemon juice, it helps blonde hair develop strong highlights!

• Beat up an egg in a dish, or jar, or cup; anything you want as long as you won't lose hold of it in the shower! Add just a smidge (less than 1/8 tsp) of baking soda to the egg and whip it until it is nice and light and frothy. 
• Set the frothed egg mixture, your strained herbal rinse from step one, and a bottle of apple cider vinegar outside your shower, but within reach.
• Light a candle in your bathroom, or do whatever you like to do to pamper yourself. You aren't just washing your hair...you are cleansing your head! Use it as a chance to really relax and enjoy the steps. I turn the ringer on my phone off, set up a good play list of music, and then...

Showertime

• Bathe yourself as usual. The hair washing is the last step of your shower.

• When you are ready to wash your hair, turn the water temperature down cooler, then cooler, then a little cooler...basically, you don't want a head full of scrambled egg, do you? Then you'd better turn it down a little more...plus, cold water is good for tightening your skin and cooling the inflammation from that hot shower!

• The last step of the egg-shampoo making process is to splash just a bit of that apple cider vinegar into the egg mixture - just a bit! A bloop! A splut! I don't know how else to measure it...sorry!

• Remember the old "exploding volcano" science project? Yeah. The egg-shampoo will foam! Give it a good stir, rinse your head once more in the cold water, and start to dribble the shampoo onto your head. Odds are, it will be cold, and you'll wrinkle your nose and screech like me! It's also awfully offsetting to pour egg onto your own head on purpose. But enjoy the experience! It is really fun!

• Alternately pour and dribble, working it into your scalp and through your hair with your fingertips. Don't use your nails...use your fingertips and give yourself an eggy scalp massage for a minute!

• Rinsing is easy for me because I have a removable shower head and can get a good strong water blast on my head! I hope the water was cold enough, or you might have little half-boiled eggy bits when you get out. If you do, they can be picked out...merely an inconvenience. The cold water is good for your pores, anyways. Repeat that as a mantra while you spray your head to get out all of the egg-shampoo.

• Here's where that herbal rinse comes in. Lean your head back and pour the yummy herbal tea over your head and hair. The fragrance of the infusion should take out the last of the egg-shampoo smell, if there is any left. I tend to rinse once more with cold water and then I'm done!

Me and my hair!
Image by Modern Scribe Photography

I know. It sounds like a lot to do. And honestly, when you are used to squirting this opalescent, flower-smelling goo out of a bottle as your only step, it IS a lot to do. But I went from having to wash my hair daily to only needing to wash once or twice a week, I had less dandruff, and overall, felt more pampered because of all the attention I was giving myself.  Pair this with a honey facial, and you will end up feeling decadent and nourished!

Want to give it a try sometime? I can't guarantee that what works for me will work for you - my hair is curly and wavy and tends towards dry and frizzy. I can't brush it, only comb and fingerpick through the curls. If your hair is more oily or fair and thin, my method might cause more harm than good! It has taken me two decades to learn how to work with my hair.

To be honest, most days I use the plastic bottles of normal shampoo that most people use (though I refill them from the bulk section to save on waste).  Now that we don't have chickens, the cost of eggs is a factor, and the amount of time it takes to prepare for the routine can be overwhelming with a full time job.

In the meantime, give it a try! Tell me what you think! Do you have a similar routine or beauty tip?

August Wildflower Mead - A Success and Recipe of sorts

In August 2012, I took it upon myself to wander around the yard and gather some lovely flowers

Queen Anne's Lace
by Modern Scribe Photography

together to make a gallon of wildflower mead - affectionately referred to around my home as "yard-clippin booze."

Into a pot went just about 3/4 gallon of filtered water, and as it came up to boiling, I added in:

One handful each of Primrose flowers, Queen Anne's Lace flowers, Chicory flowers, Red Clover
Four dried Hibiscus flowers
1 small dried slice of Lime
Roughly 1/8 cup dried elder flowers
1 fingertip sized nubbin of ginger

Once boiling, I turned off the stove and to the hot water, I added 3 lbs of local honey (just about 4 cups).  I stirred it until mixed, and strained and poured the wort into a waiting sanitized gallon jug.  I added cold water to fill to the neck of the jug, and once it was cool enough, I added one packet of bread yeast and a fermentation cap.

It bubbled happily for a while, and then ceased.  I allowed to sit on a dark spot in my kitchen until early March.

I used a straw to taste the mead.  It was good, but I know that most people prefer a sweet mead, and the yeast had eaten all the sugars away, making it a nice dry mead with a hint of flowers and honey flavor.

I bottled just one swing-top wine bottle of the dry mead, as it will one day pair nicely with a fish dinner. YUM.

To the remainder, I added a simple sugar syrup.  I re-sanitized the fermenation cap and let it sit until this weekend, when I was sure that there was no more fermentation.  I bottled up the rest, and I must say, it is one of my most favorite meads so far!

My camera is broken, so no pics I'm afraid, but take my word for it when I tell you that it is the clearest, cleanest, most well-rounded mead I've made yet!

Next on the list?  A five gallon batch!

Friday Followup: Great Recipes and Resources

IHere are some awesome resources that I have come across in my internet perusals - I've not yet tried them, but I aim to, and soon!

Coffee Cajeta from InspireWild

Coffee Infused Goat Milk Caramel (Coffee Cajeta)

From the lovely blog, InspireWild, there is this delectable sounding recipe!  From the blogess Amy Wexler:

The precursor to Dulce Leche Caramel, Mexican Cajeta is made by simmering goats milk, stirring frequently, until it becomes very viscous due to evaporation of water, and caramelized. While goat milk is the most usual base, any kinds of milk may be used. Because of it’s hours of cooking time it can be infused with other ingredients like, cinnamon, coffee, peppers, vanilla and herbs.



Free Sewing Patterns:

Years of sewing simple block quilts by hand has taken its toll...I am still quite scared of using my sewing machine!  But its time to face my fears, and just in time, I stumbled across this whole site of free patterns.



Amazingly simple Wine Recipes from Mountain Rose Herbs!

What are you harvesting in your garden right now?  Whatever your answer, I bet you didn't realize that you can turn it into booze with a few simple steps.  It is easier than you think!

Let's Talk About: Tinctures, Elixirs, and Cordials

Tincture corner of my herb shelf, A. Shehan

I love herbs, and I also enjoy alcohol. You dedicated readers know for sure that I adore honey...so I generally do my best to combine those three ingredients in as many forms as possible.

My cabinets are full of jars, and those jars are full of strange floating bits in colored liquid. It makes me feel my most witchy to open that cabinet and bring out strange brews to share with friends.  I have many jars that are medicine, and jars that are for fun, and jars that are a bit of both.

Tinctures are medicinal extracts of herbs in alcohol. Some folks use moonshine and other high-test likkers for their tinctures, but I tend to use a medium-brand, triple-distilled vodka so I don't have to dilute the tincture until it's ingested.  If you aren't into vodka, a nice brandy is a good alternative.

The process for making a tincture is simple:

Get an herb, fresh or dried.
Put said herb into a jar.
Pour alcohol to cover the herb.
Put a lid on it, and give it a good shake every now and again
Strain after 3-6 weeks and label clearly.

Now, tinctures are potent!  When you take tinctures, please do a lot of research if you are dosing yourself, or find a practiced herbalist to give you guidance.  Some tinctures, such as poke root or teasel, only need a couple of drops per day to be effective and more than that can cause you harm.

Elixirs are the sweetened version of those alcohol-expressed medicines.  I tend to make "sipping" elixirs out of the more tasty herb tinctures.  These can almost cross the line into cordials, which while they may have medicinal benefits, are mostly just for pleasure.  The sharp tang of elderberry cordial is lovely, but I try to save it for when I'm feeling sick.  To use an elixir, just pour a bit into your hot tea, or into a brandy snifter to sip on for a while.

Then there are the less-than-tasty herbal medicines...adding sweetener to the more bitter or astringent herb tinctures can make ingesting them a more palatable experience, especially with kids.  Valerian and Horehound are good examples of herbs that can use a splash of honey to cut their bitter strength!

Elixirs are easy to make:

You can start out with a tincture and add a simple syrup (recipe below).  Add the cooled syrup to tincture in small bits, then shake the mix to blend it, and then taste.  If it isn't right, add more and taste again!  Be careful, these are meant to be sipped as they are still potent medicine, and this sweetening and tasting process can get you loopy.

Simple Syrup:
Boil one cup of water.
Add two cups of sugar (or 1.5 cup of honey, or agave, or whatever you prefer!)
Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved and remove from heat.
Allow to cool.

Otherwise, you can use the lazy method. Pour a dollop of honey into a strained tincture and give it a shake.  It works, but it ends up being super sticky and thick compared to the simple syrup process described above.

I hope that helps to demystify some of the process and allow you to play around with your Junior Alchemist kit in your kitchen, and have another way to use your herb harvest before the final frost takes it from you!

Cordials and Tinctures, 2011, Amber Shehan

Here are some cordials and tinctures that I have in the works.  All of these are in 40% vodka.

In the back, we have Cranberry cordial.  I buy cranberries when they go on sale every holiday season, and freeze them if I don't use them immediately.  This jar has been full for close to a year, and will remain there until the berries have lost a bit more color to the alcohol.  Then there will be a sugar syrup added (perhaps brown sugar this year) and it will sit and settle until Thanksgiving or Christmas.  

Clockwise, we next have goldenrod tincture.  Goldenrod will have his own post soon, so I'll move on to the next little jar.

Yarrow was a strong sister plant for me this year.  She sprang up tall and magnificent from the patch I prepared and transplanted her the first year I lived here.  The fronds on this plant were humongous, and her flowers plentiful! Yarrow tincture is good for keeping insects at bay when applied externally, and is an amazing wound cleaner as well.  She'll be handy to keep around for next spring.

Lemon Balm, Sweet Melissa, fills out the next jar with her flat, wide leaves.  I crushed them with my fingers as I put them in the jar, to release her lemony, sharp oils.  This plant is excellent for anxiety, depression, any emotional rollercoasters and overwhelming dizziness can be slowed down by a couple drops in water and a couple of deep breaths.

Lastly, we have valerian and mint.  Some folks can't stand the smell of Valerian, but I'm quite fond of it.  The mint is there to make it palatable, sure, but it also has it's own benefits in the realm of gas relief and relaxation.  In a couple of weeks, I'll strain that jar and add some honey to the tincture and shake it together for a tonic cordial.  My delicate-tummied love sometimes ends up unable to sleep at night with gut pains keeping him awake...but after one good slug of valerian and mint cordial, there's a couple of burps and then a symphony of snores!

This is my last fresh-harvest hurrah for the season.  This week, I'll be making tasty treats using the elixir method with rum instead of vodka, and leftover apple peels that would otherwise be discarded.  Winter is nigh, and I'm set on having plenty of tasty, warming medicines to get me and my loved ones through!

Rambling About Recycled Candles

Candles and Image by Amber Shehan

Making candles is fun, but candle-remaking is cathartic.

Bit by bit, I drop memories in the form of wax drippings into a pot resting over boiling water. As the bits of colors swirl and mesh, I remember when and for what purpose that candle was burned. This was a blessing for our new home - and this, this next stripe of yellow is from the candle that burned during our anniversary dinner...

My fingers and clothing are rough and speckled with wax, for I am a clumsy and hasty girl. I get myself wound up tight and I start to spin, swirling and melting into my craft like the flecks and flickers of candles from last years journeys now pooling before me.

I pour the wax into waiting jars, layers of my memories building tacky rainbows with which to light my nights.

If you are a packrat like I am and you save your candle stubs, send them in to me and I will create recycled candles. I use milk cartons, so they are rougher than a brand new candle, but they will burn longer since they have been melted once before. The cost depends on the amount of wax and cost of shipping.

Recipe Box: Peach Butter

Peach Butter:  Image by Amber Shehan

Here's what my household accomplished in an afternoon...

Peach Butter
(Small batch, makes about 12 ounces or so)


1 lb. of diced, peeled peaches (4-5 med. fruit)
1/2 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Seasonings:  Whatever you want! 

First, peel and dice your peaches.  Try not to eat them all, and leave a pound or so for the recipe.

Add the peaches to a cooking pot, add the splash of lemon juice, and let it come up to a boil on low to medium heat. 

When it's simmering nicely, you can throw it into a blender if you aren't fond of chunky bits, but that's up to personal preference. 

Return to the pot, and pour in the sugar and stir. Add your desired seasonings...we went for a dash or three of cardamom and a tiny dash of cinnamon.  Let it simmer on low for 25 minutes!

All that's left to do is store it or use it.  We filled an 8 ounce jelly jar to the brim and put it away in the freezer once it was photographed, cooled, and labeled.  The rest was also jarred, but put into the fridge for using as soon as earthly possible.

It's already appeared in a subtle but effective role as an ice cream topping, and will soon be starring as the sauce to be served on top of hot creamed corn fritters for dinner tonight!

Recipe inspired by:  Andrea'sRecipes.com

Recipe Box: Queen Anne's Lace Flower Jelly

Queen Anne's Lace by Modern Scribe

As I've discussed before, sometimes I think my neighbors must hate me for harboring a yard of unwanted pests and dingy weeds.  We encourage our yard to be an eco-system, rife with native plants and insects...which in our neighbor's world means "unmowed and disgusting!"

The truth is that we DO mow around the house to ensure that the native insects are at a decent radius from our doors and windows, but that we leave the edges of the yard a lunatic fringe of tall grasses, red clover, chicory, burdock, happy daisies, the tall, bobbing heads of Queen Annes Lace. 

I've only recently come to know Queen Annes Lace as a plant with uses other than being homes for many tiny crab spiders and aphid-farming ants.  I have read of her seeds' efficiency as an alternative birth control method, learned that her tubers are edible in early spring, and that infusions of her leaves can be taken for kidney and liver assistance, but none of these have been tried and tested in my home as of yet.

So I was terribly intrigued when I learned that you can make a delightful jelly from the flower heads of Queen Annes Lace, and I decided that I would make it as soon as I could.

I chose a lovely day, and after playing in the yard and tweaking the recipe to suit my mood and limited canning equipment, I made myself some lovely jars of pinkish flower jelly!  I have already thought of many potential adaptations for this simple, citrusy, floral jelly the next time I prepare it. Maybe a couple of pink peppercorns thrown into the mix, or perhaps grapefruit, grated carrot or ginger.

The following guide assumes you have at least some knowledge or experience of canning with a hot water bath method.

Queen Annes Lace Jelly

First, find you a good patch of flowers.  Make sure it is really Queen Annes Lace, and not her cousin, Poisonous Water Hemlock.  Queen Annes Lace has a hairy stem, and the distinct, piney scent associated with aromatics in the carrot family.  Poison Hemlock is smooth, and smells gross when you rub the leaf.

You'll likely be competing with many insect friends whilst gathering the blossoms, so be prepared!  You'll need at least 20 flower heads to make 2 packed cups of Queen Anne's Lace Flower heads.

Give the flowers a good rinse (or soak for five minutes, if you need to) to ensure all of the buggies are no longer in residence.

Boil four cups of water in a medium to large pot.  While the water is heating, trim the stems of the rinsed flowers all of the way to the base of the flower head. Breathe in deeply and enjoy...but note that the finished product is not as pungent as the fresh sap smells.

Toss in the flowers when the water is at a boil, stir, cover with a lid, and remove from heat. Allow the flowers to steep for as long as you wish.  I left mine for over an hour while I had lunch and a cold beer.

Strain the infusion.  I used a layer of cheesecloth in a standard colander to make sure the little bits of petal and bug were all out.  Toss out the spent flower heads.

Sterilize your jars! At this point, I placed my six 8 ounce jelly jars and their lids in a boiling water bath to sterilize while I prepared the lovely jelly.

Prepare the following ingredients so that all is at hand:

3 cups of the strained Queen Anne's Lace Flower infusion
3 1/2 cups of sugar

Juice of 1 lemon, or 1/4 cup of bottled lemon juice
1 packet of pectin (I used standard Sure Jell)

Pour the infusion into a medium sized cooking pot, and turn it up to a medium-high heat.

Add the lemon juice and the packet of pectin to the pot.  Stir the mixture well, and often.

Pull out your jars, lids, and rings to dry while you allow the pot to come to a full, rolling boil.

Add the sugar and stir constantly until it returns to a rolling boil.  Let it boil for one minute, and remove from heat.

Pour or ladle the very hot jelly into the jars carefully.

Wipe the rim with a clean cloth, and top each one with a sterilized lid.

Process your jars as you wish.  I use a hot water bath using the instructions given in the pectin box.  Make sure to follow instructions carefully, including adding extra time due to your altitude!  My jars were in for ten minutes instead of five.


Let the jelly rest for 24 hours before you pick them up and wiggle them around!  After that, it's open game on flower jelly.  It tastes like a light floral lemonade, or grapefruit juice!  It is excellent with a cup of tea and a toasted English muffin.

Recipe adapted from:
Foraging Foodie: http://www.foragingfoodie.net/index.html
The Wild Carrot - Queen Annes Lace: http://www.carrotmuseum.co.uk/queen.html

A quick and dirty guide to Mosaic art

Storm Sigil Mosaic by Amber Shehan

So...mosaic is an awesome, awesome medium to work with! It has everything: construction, deconstruction, fumes, sharp things, cement...what more could you want?

First, you get to experience great enjoyment from smashing your chosen glassy victim (in a safe and cautious manner, of course).Then you get to glue the resulting razor-sharp shards to your medium (in this case, MORE GLASS). Safety First! Don't forget to provide for proper ventilation - that heavy duty glue is 'super-fun happy-fume time whee' up close and personal! TRUST me. Read the label, ok? (hack cough wheeze)

Mosaic and Image by Amber Shehan

The next day, bandaged and breathing a little labored, you get to use your gloved hands to smear your chosen grout (proven to be carcinogenic in the state of California) all over the beautiful art you just made, sit there and fret for about 15 minutes, and carefully begin to wipe it away (smear it everywhere) after a couple of minutes. Soon, your art is cemented and after a little elbow grease and buffing, ta da! A completed mosaic - and it only took days and burned a couple of brain cells!

I'm prone to exaggeration, you realize. Mosaics are fun! It really isn't all that bad of an experience. I honestly do love to mosaic...but let's face it! When you prepare for the worst, your results can only go uphill from there!

I Love Spring!! An April To-Do List

Photo by Modern Scribe Photography

April is here, and the Pisgah Forest is verdant and buzzing with life. The grass is growing, the earth is warming, and the mockingbirds and cardinals are waging war with one another in the berry brambles and honeysuckle! I'm just plain 'et up with loving the green haze of life everywhere and the droning hum of the bees on the breeze. We've been watching the ants, birds, frogs...all building, nesting, mating...GO TIME is here!!

We've been busy, too! Besides putting in volunteer and intern hours at the Western North Carolina Nature Center, Eric has been doing a great job of building us a cute little chicken coop out of pallets and spare lumber and bits of fencing that we reclaimed while driving around town. This picture is from about a week or so ago; the coop now has a wall for the front of it with a wee door cut in, and we have just acquired hinges for the back of the coop. It will swing open so we can have easy access to collect eggs and clean up the chicken poo.  We can't wait to get our hens!

Here's reprise of my To-Do list for March, updated now that we are moving into April!

• Build Chicken Coop (scrounged lumber, fence panels, pallets)  - MOSTLY DONE, just the hinges, a gangplank, and set it in the yard securely...there's birds of prey that live here so we have to get good bird netting as well.

• Set up rain barrel - We need a new barrel...our freebie-find barrel has small holes in it, on closer inspection. It may; however, turn into a compost barrel. 

• Modify pallets into Raised Beds - One down, three to go! Since we are gardening in the front yard now rather than the back lot, I might do more containers than planted beds. Got to stay flexible; plans always change. 

• Feed and work the compost pile - happy earthworms, scraps turning to dirt, all is well there. I fed it with some moo-nure and mushroom compost to help kick it up a notch.

• Herbal First Aid Class (March 15, 6-9pm @ AB Tech, Madison campus, Free!) 
• Healing From the Hive, Apitherapy Class (March 22, 6-9pm @ AB Tech, Madison campus, Free!)  I missed these two classes because of SNOW, and then SICK. BUT they are running again in May.

• Spring Garden School (March 20, 8:30-3:30 @ AB Tech, Ferguson Center, $10)  This class was awesome! I kept writing notes, paying attention, and waiting to get bored, but it didn't happen. I loved the presentation on the basics of growing in this zone, details on how to grow tomatoes effectively, container gardening, pest management, and edible landscaping. I also finally met Ashley English of "Design Sponge" and "Small Measures" fame! Yay!

• Continue to invest time in building and promoting my Etsy shop - sales are steady, and I'm progressing with making this REAL. Pixie's Pocket™ is in the process of becoming a legitimate legal business within North Carolina. I'm now advertising with Project Wonderful on awesome sites like Octopus Pie, and gaining followers on Twitter. I'm also proud to be a sponsor of the 2010 Think Green Fair in Rochester, MN!

• Invest time in my local community by joining farm markets and supplying local shops with my products - this is still in progress, and ever will be. Markets start soon and I am pretty sure I'll be helping Shannon Houn at House of Herbs with the Earthfare vendor market. 

• Gopher/Vole/Groundhog proof the garden beds & varmint-proof the Coop

• GET CHICKENS! 

• Buy local, heirloom veggies that will thrive here (zone 7b) - So far, I have hybrid bush cherry tomato and an heirloom "Mortgage Lifter" tomato seeds starting to sprout! Also, I will have basil coming out of my EARS...it's taking off like crazy! We will be waiting until May to put out summer veggies. I'll be direct-sowing lettuces and spinach tomorrow.

• Take other classes that come up that can help me with chickens, bees, gardens!! This list includes joining the WNC Beekeepers Association and the Asheville City Chickens Group. Also more free classes at AB Tech and other local presenters...more TBA!

So that's about it. Back to work scrubbing the kitchen floor and vacuuming up a winter's worth of slack...it sure does feel good to MOVE and STRETCH and wake up with the earth!

What is Spring encouraging you to do?  Or for you on the opposite end of the globe - what fall projects are keeping you busy?

Oh, March...you are going to be busy!

Modern Scribe Photography

So far, March has been a damn sight better than February!

Now, mind you, we woke on Tuesday to snow that didn't stop falling until it was 6 inches! So we did the logical thing; played dress-up, went outside, and had Sarah direct a photo shoot of me mincing around in the tumbling snow! It was a great way to spend a cold, gray day - cause I can tell you, the fascination of just staring at the snowflakes gracefully falling went away about mid-December...

But this evening, as I gaze around, I see more green on the ground than the frosty white and muddy red clay. The birds are out thick everywhere, singing and fussing and picking the ground for the insects that are rousing. It has certainly been warm enough to imagine their reemergence - we were just at 60 degrees on both Saturday and this fine Sunday afternoon.

I left myself sleep in until 11am on Saturday...it's been a long week, after all! Post-coffee, I  set myself busy to making some Chai Honey. I have to fill the abundance of Etsy orders that poured in last week! Then I get the call that I have empty shelves at the local shop, the Candler, NC "House of Herbs."  I put three jars of honey in just about a week ago, and two of them have already sold!

Feeling motivated and accomplished, I put on jeans and boots and ambled down to the lower lot to poke around the future garden plot.  I turned the compost and found a couple fat and wriggling earthworms living in there. I welcomed them, thanked them for their hard work, and set off to work with Eric.  He has been checking our scrounged lumber, pulling apart pallets, and measuring out designs for the chicken coop.  As he worked away at our free lumber supply, I got busy picking up trash out of the dirt. It's something I do every time I visit the lower lot, yet I've only barely made a dent.

You see, whoever lived here before us wasn't as conscientious as we are with the disposal of trash...there's was a burn barrel that got dumped regularly. We are forever picking up bits of plastic and glass, metal cans, aluminum foil remnants - it seems like an inexhaustible supply of tiny trash bits that have malevolent intent and really want to stick in your finger when you pick it up!


Until we get the yard clean, raised beds are one of the garden projects that we'll be using the pallets for.  As we develop our plans, I'll be sure to post the progress...for now, here's our To-Do list for March:

• Build Chicken Coop (scrounged lumber, fence panels, pallets)
• Set up rain barrell
• Modify pallets into Raised Beds
• Gopher/Vole/Groundhog proof the garden beds
• Varmint-proof the Coop
• Feed and work the compost pile
• GET CHICKENS! 
• Buy local, heirloom veggies that will thrive here (zone 7b)
• Herbal First Aid Class (March 15, 6-9pm @ AB Tech, Madison campus, Free!)
• Spring Garden School (March 20, 8:30-3:30 @ AB Tech, Ferguson Center, $10)
• Healing From the Hive, Apitherapy Class (March 22, 6-9pm @ AB Tech, Madison campus, Free!)
• Continue to invest time in building and promoting my Etsy shop 
• Invest time in my local community by joining farm markets and supplying local shops with my products
• Take other classes that come up that can help me with chickens, bees, gardens!!

Phew! All that, and it isn't even technically SPRING yet...what do you all have planned for your March?

Visit "The Pixie's Pocket" on Etsy!

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