Pioneer Woman at Heart

      On the positive side (after the hot pepper debacle). . .                                                We are looking forward to creative healthy meals, derived from the garden and whatever is in abundance, or available.  The chickens helped supply this meal last year and was delicious. Beets roasted with onions and rosemary from the herb garden.  Also, a picture from previous garden years.  Oh, we put thyme on these too, and also from the herb garden. Not to forget those tomatoes and all the sauces made over the years.  That dish included asparagus from the garden, as well as oregano from the herb garden. Sometimes a roll down memory lane gives us the spark to keep gardening and planting.  Maybe.   Reminders?   ©  June 2026 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

  After spending the hottest days here planting over 80 different hot pepper plants a few weeks ago, I went out to hoe the tomatoes and my heart sank.   To be honest, I wanted to throw up.  Gardeners would understand. Something got thru, or over the fence, and chewed the tops off of all the hot pepper plants.   Just chewed off the top and left it lay. I could sit and wonder all day (in anger, despair and frustration), but we don't know if it was a very small baby rabbit (never had this happen with the fence), or a squirrel or even rats (according to our google search inquiry).  Our fence on that garden is meant to keep rabbits and squirrels out.  However, our property butts up to woods that surround a tributary to a river, so it could be anything coming out of that area as well.  It's not deer.  We even have solar alarms around it, but not every single section is covered with an alarm. We now have two rolls of bendable  (very small ...

  A "first" time experience for us this year.  Cold infusion with our homegrown spearmint.  I have always brewed teas with fresh spearmint, and never even thought about a cold infusion.   I read, according to the Herbal Academy, that a cold infusion brings out a more crisp, cleaner, and sweeter mint tea.  Heating it brings out more bitterness.  Who knew?  I love learning new things. Spearmint Cold Infusion  ©  June 2026 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

  The rain brought me some dandelions.  Flowers were picked and are drying.   Once dry, I will be infusing an oil with them. The rain brought us more asparagus.  So happy about this.  You can see the fencing that someone mangled while mowing.  Grr. I need to get that fixed, and I need to weed it. New recipe tried.  I had one last box of organic pasta to use, and made a salad with arugula.  We have never (believe it or not), had arugula before.  The only change I made, was that I added a drained and rinsed can of chickpeas to the pasta water and cooled them with the pasta.  Oh, I used olive oil vs. avocado oil in the dressing too.  Recipe is is a Mediterranean pasta with arugula and feta, from Peas and Crayons (online). We liked this recipe.  I have a small bit of organic arugula planted this year.  We will see if it grows well here. Garden work is keeping me fit this summer. I have discovered the scuttle hoe and love ...

  I am still getting a few stalks of asparagus, and now a few dandelions each day.  I picked one stalk of asparagus on June 8th, and so far that was the last.  Best year for it yet.  I continue to collect dandelion flowers. The heat is here now.  It was in the upper 90's yesterday and we finally got a good downpour to give the gardens a good dose of Mother Nature.   The heat will heat up even more over the next two days, so I am praying all the new plants and flowers/seeds will be handling it well.  Not sure it will happen, but the forecast is to be in the lower 100's over the next two days. Soon to be back on the crochet hook . . . I have had another request for these hand crocheted baby washcloths.  I was actually ready to retire the yarn, finish the current crochet project request, but will keep the yarn. It will be a nice all-summer project, that is light weight to work on, during hot days.  The yarn is cotton, 2 ply, and a discontin...

  Our yarrow is going to flower, so it is next in line for the dehydrator.   We have used our homemade yarrow salve many times, and it's definitely a keeper salve.   I've saved some to dry for tea, and other uses. I think it was last year, or the year before, where I found out that yarrow deters mosquitoes.  I added it to our homemade but spray. Speaking of bug bites, I went out one day while gardening, and forgot to use our bug spray.  I was got bitten by something that I never saw before.  Sort of like a fly, but different colors.  It left a bad red spot that was large.  My homemade plantain salve worked very well to treat the redness and swelling (works as a drawing salve).  Much easier to apply and re-apply than a poultice, but a poultice would work much faster. We planted more in the herb garden, but the rain has not arrived.  Yet.  Hopefully soon.  My green onions could use a good ol' dose of Mother Nature. Dehy...