Wild Violet Jelly ~ Garden Tidbits

My homestead has a somewhat good amount of wild violets.

I was itching to pick some wild purple violets, for my "new" jelly to try this year. I've never made it and we had a very busy weekend. So...I picked the violets....

...made my "tea", and let it set for 24 hours. I placed in the refrigerator for about 2-3 days, then took it out to make the jelly.

The final result is a very pretty pink. I used the recipe (1/4 inch head space in the jars) from Rebecca at Rebecca's Hearth and Home Blogspot. The jelly is delicious. Almost like grape, better. A sort of fruity flavor.

My kitchen smelled so good too. Even the kids came home and said, "what were you cooking that smells so good."

That's not all I got done yesterday. I got my carrots, turnips, two types of radishes, chard and collards planted. I worked on the asparagus patch too. The heat is drying up the ground though, so I am not sure I'll get anything weeded today either. I may have to wait for this next rain tomorrow (or whenever it shows up).

Apples and Tomatoes Oh My!

The early morning weather here has been downright chilly. One morning it was 42 degrees. Flower beds have been weeded. The herb garden is next in line, but I do need to figure out what to do with all the rosemary plants I planted in the actual vegetable garden. I have not mastered keeping them alive all winter indoors. They will not survive the winter if left outside. Did any of my blog writing followers locate a better "blog" platform online? Just curious if anyone is moving from blogger.

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Under the Weather ~ What's Growing?

I have not been around in blogland much, due to being under the weather after I pushed myself way to far one day. I have to remember we cannot do it all in one day. Thank goodness for teas and tinctures, and healing foods (and rest). We are feeling better. As for our blogs being used for advertising on many websites, and so forth (I can't see any other reason for the source of views: howstuffworks, dominospizza, mayoclinic {not the blog readers interested in my actual blog}) the numbers continue to climb. I have not found a way to "opt" out either. If any of you find a new way to avoid this, blog elsewhere, find a new platform etc, please be sure to share. If your blog has ads, you are are not going to complain, ha ha! You are probably making a bucko-bucks with all these visitors to your blog. Okay, back to the update post . . .

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16 Weeks Until Christmas

It's not hard to believe that we are traveling closer to the winter holidays. I'm trying to focus on enjoying every single day until then, but I am fitting in a few snippets of holiday preparing. Christmas is my favorite holiday of the year. It's hard to believe it's the last day of August. I have not yet gotten rid of the links to all the advertisers using my blog posts, but again, still working on it. However, my profile has gone from my blog, and while I am in settings, it is not able to add as a "gadget" to the blog. Weird things are happening. Google had a data breach recently as well, so gmail users were advised to change passwords. Not sure what else is going on, but just in case you are wondering why my "profile" is not on my blog any longer. Okay, back to the Christmas countdown post . . .

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Pioneer Woman at Heart

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