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Monthly Archives: June 2017
Pond Pictures – Relax and Enjoy
I know what it’s like, too often life gets crazy and busy and we just don’t have time to enjoy the simple beauty that nature has to offer. I try to take a least a few minutes each day to just walk and observe our farm. Today I invite you to join me for some views of our pond. If you were with me these are some of the things I would point out to you.
The honey bees have discovered that the lavender is blossoming. Honey bees and bumble bees love lavender.
My husband and I agree that dragon flies are the coolest insects. We see them in various shapes and sizes and many amazingly beautiful colors. After reading more about dragon flies on this website http://www.dragonfly-site.com/ I’m not surprised at our fascination with them.
This website about dragon flies mating was also very interesting, but definitely left me with questions. https://www.thoughtco.com/how-dragonflies-mate-1968255 My questions were mainly who studied this? and how did they study this?
The dragon flies are not only fascinating to watch, they seem friendly, at times, as they rest on a finger or hitch a ride on a shoulder. They don’t bite or sting and they apparently dine on a lot of less desirable insects.
The above photo, which my husband and I had been referring to as a dragon fly, is actually a damsel fly. Closely related to the dragon fly the damsel flies are also welcomed and admired on our farm.
The honey bees are drinking from the pond. This one is coming in for a landing.
Honey bees are our second favorite insect. We have put a lot of money, time and effort into beekeeping and we are happy to know that our bees have a clean water source.
This year the bees are choosing to drink from an area on the edge of the pond, where we placed rocks last fall. In past years I have seen honey bees drinking on the beach and other areas along the shore.
Turtles, if you were with me you would see more. We have turtles of various sizes and ages who live in the pond, and I saw at least three of them on this day. Apparently turtles are camera shy because as soon as they saw me point the camera in their direction they would submerge and swim away.
Not at all camera shy, this handsome frog was the perfect model. No need to turn him into a prince; we love this little bug eater just the way he is.
This is but a glimpse of the things we would see and the things we would talk about as we spent some time enjoying the beauty of our pond. Thanks for taking a few minutes to relax and enjoy.
The Perfect Place For Lunch
Garlic Scapes at Nino Salvaggio International Marketplace
In case you missed my previous post about garlic scapes and are scratching your head thinking garlic what?
Garlic scapes are the seed heads produced by hardneck garlic varieties. They appear in the spring, and if left to grow they will flower and produce dozens of tiny garlic bubils (seeds). Most growers cut the scape off the garlic plant in order to allow the garlic to put more energy into growing a bigger bulb. If cut early the scapes are tender and delicious. They are said to have the same nutritional value as garlic bulbs, and although they possess a milder flavor when cooked, they are a culinary delight. They are great roasted, grilled, stir fried or used raw in dips, salads and pesto. To discover great garlic scape recipes simply do an internet search for garlic scape recipes. They are only available for a short time in the spring but can be preserved by freezing or pickling.
Yesterday I spent many hours cutting and bundling more than 1500 garlic scapes.
This morning my worked paid off as we delivered the garlic scapes to the Nino Salvaggio Saint Clair Shores, Michigan store. http://www.ninosalvaggio.com/
The scapes were set out for sale immediately. It was encouraging that the employees at Nino Salvaggio were eager to learn what the scapes were and how they can be used, and they can now share this information with their customers.
We would like to send out a big thank you to Nino Salvaggio for helping us get our garlic scapes into the hands of those who will use them. If you shop at Nino Salvaggio you, too, might want to let them know that you appreciate their efforts to support local farmers while making quality products available to the customers.
Two New Soap Recipes- The Results Are In
In April I posted about the two new soap recipes that I had made. One was made with dandelions infused in the water and oil. Honey was also added. The second was made with maple sap and maple sugar sand. https://donteatitsoap.com/2017/04/29/two-new-soap-recipes/?iframe=true&theme_preview=true
My husband and I have now sampled both of these soaps and we are extremely happy with the results.
The dandelion soap, which I am now calling Sweet Dandelion, has a deep golden color to it. I used this soap before my husband and fell in love with it. “Silky” was the term I thought of when I felt the lather on my skin and though it rinses off well it leaves my skin feeling soft. I did not share my thoughts with my husband before he used it. Once he had showered with it I asked what he though. “Good lather, smooth, and rinses off well, I like it!” were his comments. I then shared my thoughts and we agreed my description “silky” translated to his use of the word smooth.
A few days later one of my sisters (J.B.) stopped by so I gave her a sample bar. I told her what it was and asked for her opinion. She said she would try it the following morning. Around 9:00 a.m. the following morning J.B. called me. She loved this soap. She agreed with our descriptions of silky and smooth and told me she would like two more bars.
After my husband mentioned several times that he wished I could make another batch of the dandelion soap I found myself walking our back field in search of dandelions. By this time the dandelions which had blanketed our property a few weeks earlier were now few and far between. I was able to collect a couple cups of dandelion blossoms. I used half to make a tea-type infusion, which I put in the freezer, and the other half are infusing in oil as I write. I will be able to make one more batch of Sweet Dandelion soap between now and next spring.
We were also pleased with the maple soap which I have decided to call MMMaple Soap. I am not surprised that maple sugar sand which is made up mostly of calcium salts and malic acid seems to have dissolved, nor am I surprised that this soap has incredible lather since sugars added to soap have that effect. I do have some of the sap that we saved for this recipe in the freezer yet so I will also be able to make this recipe one more time before next spring.
Anyone interested in purchasing either of these soaps may contact me by email at ruth20012001@yahoo.com and put soap in the subject line.
Don't Eat It! Soap and Skin Care 