When Weeds Whisper

Spring Rain

I took a walk yesterday. All around the gardens, in between the raindrops, the first official spring assessment feels to me like visiting old friends you haven't seen in a while. The weather was so extreme this past winter, I was happy to see so much apparently has survived.

The crocuses, the hyacinths and the snowdrops are blooming. The silver willows have burst gold. In patches, the grass is turning emerald green, and the branches of the lilac are swelling with fat buds. The waterfall is foaming and Mr and Mrs Duck showed up exactly a month ago.

This spring has a particularly poignant edge to it. It's a week ago my father died. For years, my father wished he was well enough to travel, well enough to come and see the beautiful place where I live.

As I splashed through the puddles and inspected the beds and the bushes and the buds, I felt very strongly that this year, at last, he has.

It's Thyme

Thyme for this blog to wake up!

To the listeners, those that contribute to the posts here - it's springtime! And the green world is raising her voice and begs for her wisdom to be shared.

So, let's share.

Thyme

I brought my thyme plants inside for the winter. I have beautiful pots for them. I thought I could enjoy a little fresh herbs this winter. That is until Boo (our cat) discovered they were there. Apparently Boo finds the plants quite tasty.

Never Enough Garlic

The garlic harvesting has begun in my little corner of the world, and I'm delighted. The only downside is that I really didn't plant as much as past years. But then again, even when I plant more - much more - it's still not as much as I would like. I mean - really … can you ever have too much garlic?

I still have a half pint of garlic honey I made last year. I only used it once during the winter, when I thought a cold was taking hold. I think I only took one or two spoons full on a single day and promptly forgot about the suspicious symptoms - because they vanished. I made the garlic honey by crushing fresh garlic, placing it in a glass jar, covering with good, local honey and simply let it sit an macerate for a few weeks. Actually, I probably put it in my dehydrator on low heat for a few hours each day for several days … but I can't remember. In any event, either method is perfectly respectable.

And, for the record, it's good on toast too. That's how I used the other half pint!