HerbnArts

A civilized cookie with a cup of tea       . ... Cookie Deficit... The psychological condition of a lack of cookies in one's diet or routine, causing one to not function well or up to usual operating mode...                                                                                                       ...March skipped in like a warm and sunny spring day.  What could be wrong with that?  But wait, if March should come in like a lion and out like a lamb, we are headed for trouble.  We would pay dearly for all that sunshine and balmy temperatures.  And so, we in Barberton did pay.  Icy winds and spits of snow followed those first warm days.  Eventually we experienced monsoons of rai...

HerbnArts: Year of the Rabbit... :      ...Though the day began a bit gray, eventually blue skies and glorious sunshine became the most appreciated gift of the day as it beam...

     ...Though the day began a bit gray, eventually blue skies and glorious sunshine became the most appreciated gift of the day as it beamed in through my windows.  I knew the temperature was mild when I saw the mail carrier making his rounds not wearing a coat or hat.  Another spring teaser was blowing through the area as the winds kicked up, stirring the naked tree branches of January in Barberton.  So far, everyone has been grateful not to have to shovel snow.  Murmurings of having to mow grass soon if it gets any warmer were sneaking into conversations everywhere.  This just isn't Ohio in January.  With so much sunshine flooding into my apartment, all I can think of is gardening.  The projects bouncing around in my brain have been keeping me up nights.  I so want to start getting e Petit Jardin up and ready for spring planting!  Realistically, I know it is just too early f...

HerbnArts: New Year Tea and Cookies :      ...Here we are I the new year.  Christmas weekend was a rough one this past season.  Barberton virtually disappeared in the blizzard t...

     ...Here we are i the new year.  Christmas weekend was a rough one this past season.  Barberton virtually disappeared in the blizzard that had the area.  For all the high winds of 40 to 60 mph, we eventually had only 3 inches of snow.  But the subzero temperatures were brutal.  Though many around me lost power for a time, I was blessed to have power through the storm.  It pays to pray!  Only now am I thinking about the garden for this spring.  I know it seems crazy, but we currently have spring rains and temperatures in the mid-60's.  At the moment, the snows are only a memory.  This being Ohio, that could change any moment.  But it is nice to have a respite from the extreme cold...     Sunshine happily beamed through my windows. letting me know that a bit of earl spring cleaning couldn't hurt.  Nose prints of my three kitties have graced the chosen window spots making the windows al...

PURPLR CONEFLOWER (echinecea)       ..... The air was heavy with the scent of lilac as the sweet purple blossoms burst forth in all their glory.  Childhood memories rushed through my mind in a frenzy of stories and pictures remembered. Images of the various herb farms I had visited gifted me with sweet memories from more recent times.  Birds were chirping joyfully after the spring rain as lilac perfume wafted through my window.  Oh, the green garden memories, and the simple tea and cookies that made one long for gentler times. Many of the herb farms I frequented no longer exist.  A sad time indeed...  But one can create one's own gentle memory with tea and cookies, journals, herbs in decorative pots, and flowers all around.   Le Petit Jardin has been a blessed spot of sanctuary for me in these tough times.  Just a few days ago I spotted the first bumble bees I have seen in a very long time.  They were checking Le Petit Jar...

            ...Stiff winds gusted through winter weary Barberton as the temperatures climbed from the teens to the seventies.  For two days we basked in the teaser to spring.  Mountains of ice and snow were disappearing as rain and warm air whisked away most of the nasty reminders of this harsh winter. All I could think of was pots of little green herbs and bowls of spring flowers everywhere.  But, alas, it is too soon for such joy.  Le Petiit Jardin will have to snooze a little while longer.  Our usual Ohio weather is still on its maddening roller coaster ride as the temperatures return to their cold downward spiral.  Mostly, it is soggy.  Between the ice mountains melting and the copious pre-spring rains saturating the grounds everywhere, it is more a time of rubber boots and pontoon boats than for spring gardening rituals.  I am just eager to get to the real gardening stuff.  For now, I will busy myself w...