Earlier this week, we had the fourth, and likely last, calf of the season. Little Mugwort was the first calf of our Jersey heifer, Dolly. I wrote in the chat of some of the special considerations we take with a dairy heifer having her first calf. It’s more work at the busiest time of the year, but it’s well worth it. I use the first colostrum milkings to set aside that precious elixer for any possible calving problems in the future. The rest of the colostrum goes into our freeze dryer. I will add that nutrient rich powder to my pemmican bars and ice cream.
I’ve been picking the yellow roses to make an amazing syrup, simply honey or sugar infused with rose petals, that tastes like nirvana mixed with some bubbly mineral water and, if you’re down for it, a little tip of good gin. Yes, it’s a treat best suited for a moment of time relaxing on your porch, listening to the loons on the lake calling in the night.
Along with the syrup, I’ve been making an infused organic sugar that I will pull out come Christmas time, some oxymels, and dried petals for teas and desserts with the yellow roses. I dry great big batches of them in the solar dehydrator. In the following video, you can see me putting on a fresh batch and how much it shrinks (seen via the previous dried batch in the corner near the end of the video). Note: Don’t be alarmed by the poor little Goldfinch in the solar dehydrator. We found him dead on the road and put him in there to desiccate so we could keep him like taxidermy. You can do that with small birds. We’ve done it with a bluebird that got trapped in our wood cookstove and wasn’t found until later in the summer when we cleaned it. He lives forevermore on a mountain of dried peony heads in an antique glass cloche. That’s where this little bird is going, too. My house is full of bones and dead things and rocks and dried flowers and wasp’s nests and bird’s nests and that’s just how I like it.
Along with the yellow roses come the peonies. I’m such a sucker for peonies. I’ve ordered bulbs from all over the place over the years. They last but a week before drooping under their own bountiful beauty, but I prolong their pleasure by eating them. We use peonies in tea after drying. I find them best mixed with other herbs in a lively blend that seems to work better chilled - think sumac and lemon balm and or wintergreen. Those lighter, spriggy, bright type plants. Maybe a few sprigs of mountain oregano or hyssop.
We also like peonies made into jelly and syrup. I won’t be making those until later this weekend or early next week. I will take some pictures when I do and share them. We don’t eat bread so jelly might sound like an odd thing to make, but when you consider how I like to use my preserves, as bases for sauces and as a sweetener in pies, with savoury meats or other treats, it makes sense. Also, peony preserves are delicious on ice cream or pavlova as well as on terrine and as a side on a good charcuterie board.
The bedroom renovations continue along nicely. I bought a pair of antique linen/cotton curtains from Hungary that came in this week. They’ll be used on the back side of the bathroom French doors we installed, after I paint said doors. Speaking of paint, I’m agonizing over the paint colours for our bedroom. I’m going to paint the beadboard with the Pure and Original lime paint. For the top portion of the wall, I’ll be using their lime plaster paint. I’ve used this paint throughout my house and love it. That, along with the linseed oil paint, are my favourite. I’ll use linseed for the doors as it seems more durable. I’ve given up on the bathtub for now. The one I want, just a plain jane enamel over steel, is $11,000. I’m not paying that. Our tub will stay while I await the universe to catch up with my desires.
Our fruit trees are all growing their sweet little fruits and nuts. I just find these baby fruits so adorable. Everything from the saskatoons, black raspberries, black caps, currants, pears, apples, cherries, and strawberries have been born. How in the world does that happen? A tree with a leaf and then, suddenly… a round little fruit. Like the tree just goes into labour over night and voila, there it is - a sweet, round babe growing in the sunlight! What a marvel!
Three or four years ago, in an attempt to diversify from the mono-offerings of strawberry plants out there, we decided to try growing strawberries from seed. I’ve mentioned before that I am not someone that starts seeds inside. I find that whole deal monotonous and wholly uninspiring. If you do it, my hats off to you. So, with the strawberries, we just direct seeded like everything else around here. That first year, it looked like they might just grow. The second year, those berries were so miserable - pasty and small, that I was going to rip everything out. I’m glad I didn’t. It’s been four years now and they’re tasty and plump and juicy - everything a strawberry should be. We’re going to sow a few new strips of strawberry seeds in our orchard this year. The choices and varieties are so much broader when you leave the strawberry plant monoculture behind. It takes more patience, but I think it’s worth it.
And with that, I bid you adieu. I leave with this short little video of Harold and Maude and their lovely goslings, all seven, round and plump.
Enjoy this beautiful day,
Tara❤️
