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| Borage Flowers and Tincture |
Every day I wake up and long to make soap. I
should make soap to replace what is
flying off the shelves. Then I remember the strawberries, which are ripening faster
than I can pick, clean and freeze. The abundant rain has brought not only the
beautiful flowers, fruits, vegetable and herbs, but an aggressive lot of weeds.
(I use the term “weed” loosely, as these are the very plants I’m in the process
of wildcrafting for soaps and my medicine cabinet). A more accurate description
of a weed is any plant growing where I don’t want it! There’s a bunch of them
this year, as everything, and I mean everything, is germinating. On top of
that, it’s very hard for me to choose what to let grow and what to compost. I
allowed a big patch of volunteer borage to grow in the vegetable garden proper,
and now I remember the potatoes that were planted amongst them that I imagine
are having trouble seeing daylight.
Borage is one of the most beautiful plants around. It’s
great in salads and for a quick snack as I pass by; its furry leaves taste like
fresh cucumbers. It also makes a tincture that actually tastes good and is a
tonic for many ills.
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| June Berries |
I did get out one fine morning to pick burdock, which is the
bane of all farmers. Fortunately, it’s very hard to destroy and contains many
medicinal properties for tincture. I was feeling a little under the weather, so
I made some tea with it, which was energizing but really bitter tasting. Amongst
the flurry of weeding and wildcrafting, there are the strawberries, which wait
for no man (or woman!) They must be picked at least once a day, washed, stemmed
and frozen on cookie sheets before placing into freezer bags. I’ll be happy in
January when I eat them on my oatmeal or retrieve a bag for jam.
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| Berries in cake pan will be bagged and stored in freezer |
BUT…I did find time to make Tea Tree Soap. It was really an
excuse to experiment with botanicals for coloring. I used indigo for blue, a
wonderful natural coloring that has been used forever for denim dye.
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| Tea Tree Loaf with Indigo color |
Madder root makes a pretty red.
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| Tea Tree Soap Loaf with Madder Root |
Safflower makes a lovely yellow soap.
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| Tea Tree Loaf with Safflower powder |
Alkanet is supposed to create a purple color, but it looks
more gray to me.
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| Tea Tree Loaf with Alkanet Root |
All of these 1 pound loaves will
eventually be offered (uncut) for sale at a bargain price of $15 each. The
customer can cut it to whatever size bars they wish. Tea tree is a crisp, clean
scent and is a healing essential oil that has antiseptic, antibacterial,
antifungal and antiviral properties. Tea tree oil soap can help beat body odor,
clear up acne and other skin ailments by reducing bacteria and inflammation.
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| Clematis and Yellow Lilies by Swing |
Do I
have time to sit in the swing by the pond?
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| My Secret Place |
I
hear my secret place on the bench calling me to sit a spell and enjoy this
little paradise here in the Garden of Nemesis.
