This and That

I decided to stop in for a chat, but my post ended up sort of long.  I apologize in advance, ha ha!

Hard to believe that we are nearing the very end of August.

The garden(s). . .

What happens when your barn cats have expired, and either field mice or chipmunks find your beans.  Good reason to have a solar electric fence if you don't have a good rodent control.  

First good haul, but not even close to last year's harvest.  I'm thrilled to get what we do get.  I brought in another 3# the other day too.

Bell peppers are rolling in, and they are about 1/4 inch thick.  I don't feel this particular pepper smells as good as the type we grew last year, so I will looking that up in my garden journal for reference.  Taste is important too.

Meals have been based on what I brought in from the garden.  It has been nice to have fresh canteloupe for breakfast.  We haven't grown fruit in the garden for several years (due to space).

We literally sliced our very first tomato August 27th.  The harvest has been that bad for the tomatoes, but only because the rabbits ate down the first planting (that garden is fenced now).

Canning?  Zero canned this year.  So far, anyway.

The chickens . . .

Due to my husband's other obligations, we have made zero progress on the new chicken coop. 

Handiwork . . .

Thanks to the free evenings by myself (due to my husband's obligations), and with little from the garden to can/freeze or dehydrate (combined with awfully hot weather), I have gotten my crochet hook out.  I just have not been in the "mood" to even crochet at all lately.

I crocheted us a new kitchen dish scrubbie, as my current one was wearing thin.  When I purchased the yellow netting, the clerk shorted me on yards, so thankfully I had netting scraps to stuff it with.

I have also finished another crocheted lap afghan, using a mix yarn in my yarn stash.

Home Repairs/Cleaning and Organizing . . .

-Master bathroom was completely finished.  Other than a few small things like replacing the broken toilet paper holder.  I do plan to install new "under the sink" mats and cabinet shelf liner.

-I have been purging the "office" room (slowly), so we can eventually rip out the old carpet.  It is a small room, but we have a lot of books and writing materials to purge.

-a little at a time, I am going thru stuff in my utility room.  I've purged this room and prepared it for new paint so many times, and it became the dump station for everything while working on other rooms.  I may be pushing this room to next year, or moving it on the to-do list for winter.

-garage clean up is still in limbo due to hot weather.

-purchased clothesline to install a new one,  as my old one is wearing down.

Herbs/Winter Prep . . . 

-dehydrated thyme for cooking, but it also comes in handy for a medicinal tea if anyone gets a bad cough or whatnot.

-started oregano oil for medicinal reasons, and for cooking.

-dehydrated sage for meals and for sage tea, and we have plenty of sage tincture for treating sore throats if needed.

-froze a batch of Thai basil pesto.  I have started a propagation of Thai basil to grow indoors.  Here's hoping I am successful.

....if you are still reading

Self-care. . .

We finally got back to hiking, and got two in the books.  There is still intentional exercise going on here as well, and of course healthy meals/snacks.

I'm looking into making a new homemade skincare (lotion) product.  I continue to make homemade hair detangler (with marshmallow root), homemade toner (with butterfly pea flower, and homemade face serum (using homemade rosehip seed oil).

The weather . . .

We recently had a heat wave come our way, and with no rain.  the temperatures soared up to 100°F.  There are reports of drought all over the area.  I've only been watering what I feel will produce more harvest.

The same evening of the hottest day, we had a severe, and unannounced storm roll in.  The wind was no joke!  Power outages, trees down, and debris everywhere.  Luckily, our power stayed on.  Many towns had destruction, and many people lost their gardens.  Oddly, what's left in our garden was not harmed.

This and That © August 2024 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

Yarrow ~ Tea

 Back in the June fo 2024, I waited patiently for my yarrow to spring forth flowers, so I could brew up a tincture. 

In the end, I ended up putting both catnip and yarrow in one tincture, for a experimental mix for bug repellant spray (for us).

I strained it and used it to make the every changing recipe that Mountain rose herbs keeps changing (on their website).

You can read about the bug/mosquito repellant here on my blog.  Original post is here, but their link no longer works.

(dried yarrow on a screen)

We have added powdered yarrow to our "medicine chest" of remedies.   We learn something new every year.  

We have already used macerated yarrow for a bleeding cut, and it is said to be great for wound healing.  If you haven't read up on yarrow, you really need to.  According to Learning  Herbs,  yarrow is also great for treating a fever.  In the past, we have grown and dried feverfew, but we now dry yarrow. 

Yarrow salve?  I may be making some if we get enough yarrow before fall ends.   I have also seen videos where a person simply removed yarrow leaves and rolled them up in his hands, and rubbed them all over his skin as a natural mosquito repellant.  I have not tried that, because I feel you get more from your plant making the tincture for your bug spray. 

Here is a video from Learning Herbs to give you more information.

I'm just now learning about yarrow tea and syrup.

Note:  I have mine growing in pots, as it spreads very easily, but we also have it growing wild near one of the pots (cut the flowers to prevent spreading).  Be sure to know what yarrow is, as other plants can look like it.

Speaking of teas, we found a new evening tea that we love!  It's by Bigelow teas - Sweet Dreams (Non-gmo).  It contains chamomile, hibiscus, peppermint leaves, rose blossoms, spearmint leaves, "spice" have no idea what this means, and orange blossoms.

It tastes better than the Traditional Medicinals Nighty Night Organic tea, and the Bigelow tea is much less expensive.

However, like everything right now, the price is higher now.  I plan to grow my own chamomile next year, and hopefully figure out a mixture to make a homemade evening tea.  The flavors are very nice together.  We do not like the taste of valerian nor a few other "sleepy time" teas.  

It's a gorgeous 54°F fall feeling morning today here, and it won't last.  I posted about how there always seems to be a "cool" few days in August, and we are now getting them.  The weather won't last however.  We heat back up to the 90's this weekend.

Yarrow ~ Tea  © August 2024 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart