HerbnArts

...Gray and dreary, the day became a lot colder here in Ohio. Every time the wind dares to blow a bit, the trees rustle sending a torrent of suddenly colorful leaves raining down everywhere.  These are the days that make me think about seasonal goodies.  I know that I often mention having a cookie with my tea.  Actually, this is more of a wish than an action for me.  If I gave in to the cookie dream, I would be the size of a small barn by now.  And tea for me is still unsweetened.  I like tea, and I want to actually taste the particular tea I am drinking at the time.  Maybe that is a Japanese mindset, but it works for me.  And yes, I am a bit of a tea snob.  Whenever I visit friends I take my own tea.  Of course I share my tea with them if they are so inclined, but I drink what I like and refuse to suffer nasty tasting "rot-gut" tea.  There, I said it...tea snob I am.  As for the rare cookie accompaniment, I am a snob there, too.  At this time of year I fondly remember the de

Four Pumpkins       ...October already!  The days are warm and the nights are definitely chilly.  But it isn't quite time for Halloween.  Mid-October only now is beginning to hint at the ghoulish haunting season.  The full moon had light gray clouds slowly moving across its pale face as it stared from an inky sky. As folks settled down for the evening, resting before the next work day prods them along, the town grew quiet except for the crickets' nightly concert.  I am holding onto that quietude.  It is one of the reasons I so love autumn.  Such a short season as each moment, each sound, and each aroma on the air must be savored.  Earlier today I was shopping for scented candles with the hope of capturing the perfumes of fall.  Already the holiday scents had taken overtaken the fall fragrances from the store shelves.  Everything smelled so artificial. Returning home empty-handed, I harvested some of the last handfuls of aromatic herbs from Le Petit Jardin.  Freshly cut fenn

Herb Vinegar      ...For nearly two weeks I have been hearing locusts humming as we have entered the really hot days of summer here in Ohio.  Usually we don't hear those guys until August.  Once it quit raining so much that we were flooding, the rain turned off enough so that we could actually use a bit of rain here and there.  Though I planted my sunflowers late, they were coming along fine until a local groundhog ate the tops off of them.  It was his intention to move into that area of Le Petit Jardin, but I think I have effectively blocked him.  Placing everything I had available, I covered the area surrounding the sunflower stocks.  Some alternate green buds are forming, so just maybe they will manage some flower heads yet.  If spider webs are any indication of an early winter, it is probably too late to start any more sunflower seeds.  I only have one lonely stock of Sweet Annie.  The groundhog dug up the area killing off the other stocks I had growing.  So far I have prot