Yellow and Purple

Right now the fallow field is a sea of yellow dandelion and purple violet flowers! Oh what you miss when you mow. I picked a basket of dandelion and violet leaves for diner tonight and will saute them in oil with some onion and garlic. They are both highly nutritious and the only cost was the little bit of time it took to pick them. About 3 1/2 ounces of the fresh violet leaf has 264 mg of ascorbic acid and 20,000 I.U. of Vitamin A! The little flowers provide a little bit of Vitamin C and are very pretty in a salad. I filled a small jar with the flowers and covered them with oil. They'll sit for about 6 weeks and after straining it, I'll use as ear oil for tinnitus. When I came in with the harvest, I took a little of each out of the basket and set it in front of Little Mama Lucille. She's down with a hurt foot. She snatched those violet blossoms out of my hand before they hit her pillow! So I gave her more and she acted like I was giving her a piece of raw meat. She also loved the violet leaves.

Link to USDA bulletin Surface Bonding

The link to the "Construction with Surface Bonding" link is broken on the USDA page. I contacted them and they said they would fix. Meanwhile, they provided a link that works:

http://naldr.nal.usda.gov/exe/zynet.exe/document.txt?ZyActionD=ZyDocument&Client=National%20Agricultural%20Library%20Digital%20Repository&Index=AH|AH2|AIB|BIC|Books|Circ|ERS|FB|FVMNR|HGB|JAR|LFLT|MP|NFC|ROS|Rural|TB|TB1|TB2|USDA_Div_Bulletin|WPC|YOA1|YOA2&Query=&Time=&EndTime=&SearchMethod=1&TocRestrict=&Toc=&TocEntry=&QField=Accession^CAT87210094&QFieldYear=&QFieldMonth=&QFieldDay=&UseQField=Accession&IntQFieldOp=1&ExtQFieldOp=1&File=&User=anonymous&Password=anonymous&SortMethod=h|-&MaximumDocuments=15&FuzzyDegree=0&ImageQuality=r85g16/r85g16/x150y150g16/i500&Display=hpfrw&DefSeekPage=f&SearchBack=ZyActionL&Back=ZyActionS&BackDesc=Results%20page&MaximumPages=1&ZyEntry=1&SeekPage=f&Rank=1

With dial up I had trouble downloading this document, so she also emailed it to me as a PDF. If anyone else has this problem, email me and I will forward the PDF to you.

Eat your carrots

It's hard to make out in the photo, but this is the old logging road.

These last few days have been the first time we've been to Falcon since it's warmed up. I was glad to get down there, to be in the country air and think about my grandparents when they would go to their land every summer and we'd go to play. After working most of the day, I'd stand looking up at the trees and try to figure out the best place to put everything. I've been staring at the house drawings for so long now I can really see it in my head. This was the first time I've been able to see where everything can fit without taking out trees of size in most cases. The house site itself will loose just a few trees, but it's the spot with the least amount of trees, the medium sized ones are good and straight and can be used in building, and most of the growth is new. The land was logged some years ago and we're trying to use the spots that they hit the most. The places for the RV's, shed, herb garden, and main garden will loose no trees other than saplings. The driveway is an old logging road and as it continues past where we'll build the house, that will be the little yard for Rufus the pig. From Judy's bedroom window there will be a huge Sycamore and Juniper tree.

My sweet Grandfather, the Music Man

Maurice "Tim" Tyler
1921 - 2010

My grandfather died March 9, 2010. He was the strength and heart of our family. There is more to say about him than I could possibly put here and one day I will try. I still am not quite ready to get back on the computer too much. My mother had these lyrics printed and displayed at the service, they say it all. He taught us the love of music, how to dance and how important family is.

Portable Petroglyphs

My friend Steve is a wonderful artist/ teacher and is the type that reaches out, ready to help people as a mentor with his years of knowledge of natural things. That's why I wanted to share his fantastic artwork with you. Here is some information on his hand made pendants that I am proud to wear. Pendants range from $30.00 t0 $50.00 depending on what kind of stone it is and the complexity of the design. They are mailed in a flate rate envelope.

Steve Lee's Portable Petroglyphs.

All of my stone pendants are hand crafted without the use of power tools using either local river stones or various types of soft carvable stones such as catlinite, soapstone, wonderstone etc. I create the designs on the majority of my pieces using a combination of engraving and micro-pecking which provides a contrast of depth, tone and texture allowing the design to stand out. I'm always pleased when my pieces find a home with someone who will appreciate them, both for their beauty and the many hours of skill and labor which goes into the crafting. Thanks.

Shalama, Aloha

If you would like to inquire about one of his pendants, email him:
stevelee13@gmail.com

Link to "homeless" pendants:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2001940&id=1467825642&l=059a1826fe

Jewelweed and Poison Ivy

(photo from http://www.loudounwildlife.org/HHJewelweed.htm)

Earlier this fall I found a huge patch of Jewelweed in full bloom wrapping along the base of 3 small hills. It lays right along the path of a wet weather creek. Being already fall, I didn't think there was really need for poison ivy relief and the stalks were already a little tough. When I cut them open there wasn't much juice. There were so many flowers though, I decided to go ahead and make a broth.

With snipers and a grateful heart, I harvested a basket full by cutting the stalk at an easy to carry length, leaving on the leaves and flowers. I randomly cut a stalk here and there, because I don't like to harvest too much of anything from one spot. When inside, I chopped the stalks coarsely and put in a pot of water. The Jewelweed was brought to a boil and simmered till the liquid was a dark orange (about 30 min) and then left to cool. Then the whole brew was strained (I used a large cotton cloth that I use to strain large batches).

Dandelion woodstove enchiladas

This is a delicious way to eat dandelion greens. Pick the dandelion greens, wash and blanch for 5 minutes then discard the water.

Sautee peppers, onion, and garlic in olive oil. Add greens and a little broth and cook 5 more minutes or until most of the liquid is gone.