Every year there is a window for about two weeks where I can look out onto my side yard and see pink (bleeding hearts, blue (forget me nots) and yellow (forsythia and daffodils) and I am in heaven. The blue and yellow were there before I bought my funky old farmhouse and I planted the bleeding hearts from a cut that a friend down the road gave me. I realized lately that I have been living in this house for 18 years which makes it the longest place I’ve ever lived. I lived in the VA home I was raised in for 17 years and I had a place in Manhattan for 13 years but this has been my home for a long time now. I enjoy watching the changes during the seasons and I love doing wild-crafting (making food and medicines from the plants) I have come to know so well on this lovely 9 acres.
You can’t really see the colors too well in the photo but they are all there! That is an old well pump you see on the left. And the jar is filled with violets. Each year I make my own violet vinegar because not only do I love the sweet taste, but I love watching the vinegar slowly turn violet over the weeks. Every year I treasure the time that I take out of my busy work schedule to make sure I do this. The violets are not around long. I also work with the dandelion, making dandelion wine or tincturing the roots, the stinging nettle, the pine needles, plantain, garlic mustard, St. Johns wort and Yarrow. If I wasn’t an artist I’d be an herbalist most likely but there isn’t time for both.
Thanks for stopping by. I’ve enjoyed sharing these few precious moments with you and now it’s back to work time.
Until next time, Melissa