Stinging Nettle Tea

I have lots of stinging nettle plants in my yard.  I like eating it as a vegetable.  I've also steeped the leaves to make a tea.  Apparently, stinging nettle has been used as a natural remedy to help alleviate allergies, among other things.  Today my seasonal allergies are finally acting up, so I thought to make some tea.

Making stinging nettle tea is very simple if you have the plants or leaves at home.  To make the tea: wash a handful of leaves (or as many as you want to use), put it in a pot on the stove and add enough water to just cover the leaves.  Bring the water to a boil, then turn it off.  You can drink the tea right away or continue to let the leaves steep in the water.  The leaves are edible.  Neither the tea or the cooked leaves will sting you.

How do you alleviate your seasonal allergies?

Genus: Tulipa

[Learn more about scientific names at this website.]

Worms

Worms are the unsung heroes of a garden.  They aerate the soil, help decompose organic materials, their excretions add to create healthy soil, and that is only a little of the many beneficial qualities they add to gardens. I believe that the more worms there are in a garden, the healthier the soil, and the better the bounty (e.g. bigger and better fruits, vegetables, flowers, etc.).

How many worms do you see in this picture?  I count at least seven.

Since moving to my house, I've noticed that the area near my maple trees are chock full of worms.  I think much of it has to do with the fact that the fallen leaves help to provide food for the worms, which the worms turn into compost and create healthy soil.  When I first started gardening, the soil near my raised beds was lean and didn't have that many worms.  With all the soil amendments I've made over the last several years (in addition to just not raking the fallen leaves in autumn), the soil looks a lot darker and is full of worms (as can be seen in the picture above).

Adding compost to the lean soil, which is located next to the garage.

My other gardening area is next to my garage, in which I only started my garden beds there around spring 2013.  Grapes once grew in that spot, but I removed the grape vines, wanting to use the land to grow more vegetables.  The soil is also lean, sandy, and I have only seen a couple of worms during the entire time I worked the soil.  I add compost and more organic materials to the soil each year (notice how dark the compost looks as compared to the sandy-looking soil) and I'm noticing more worms now, but the soil still needs more work.  The fruits and vegetables I get from that area is decent, but I know it could be better.  Slowly but surely, that area will be much more bountiful once the soil and the worms, are restored to that area.

What are your thoughts about worms?

Spring, Spring, Spring

Apricot blossoms already blooming.

Mother Nature loves teasing us Minnesotans during the spring season.  One minute it's winter, then it's spring, then it's winter again.  Some years, it's winter, then summer.  There's still some hesitancy inside of me, stopping me from believing that spring is here.  But I'm so tired and so over winter, that I'm declaring it spring.

The lake has thawed out.  The spring flowers are blooming, or are about to bloom.  I don't care if we get another freak snow storm.  It is officially spring here in my neck of the woods.

My flowering almond bush is blooming.

Spring cleaning has also started at my home (more work done on the outside than inside).  Seeing all of the new growth, the blooming blossoms, and the little buds ready to unfurl make me so happy.  I hope spring is already in your neck of the woods.

I'm going to get tulips!

Share your pictures with me if you can of what's growing in your neck of the woods.  Take care and go enjoy Mother Nature.

Blessings

Tuesday's Tune: See You Again

I barely just saw Furious 7 this past weekend, when it was in its third weekend at the box office.  It was supposed to be an outing for my co-workers and me, but that didn't happen soon enough and I could only stall for a certain amount of time because my Mr. Man wanted to see the movie so badly. So, we finally saw it. Before seeing this movie, I also tried my best to not listen to this song or watch the video.  I know I'm behind, but I wanted to see the movie first before fully immersing myself into this song.

So, my friends, I'd like to share this song with you. Even though this song is generally a tribute to the late actor Paul Walker, I think the song and lyrics itself can take on a broader meaning.  I really love the hook and the lines, "We've come a long way, from where we began.  I'll tell you about it, when I see you again."  It makes me think of all the people I love, regardless if they've passed or not.  I can't wait to see you again and share all of my stories with you.  I also can't wait to hear all of your stories and the adventures you've had.  I'm sure we're going to have a storyfest and I can't wait to see you again.

Let me know what you think of this song.

Between the Cracks

First Plantings

Today is my first day of planting.  There are many more planting days to come and today I decided to just go ahead and start planting for this year.  I planted three different types of carrot seeds, red cipollini onion seeds, and potato seeds.

I'm concerned that I may have planted a bit too early, influenced by this weekend's windy and mild temperatures.  Still, the weather makes me nervous for the following reasons:  Earlier in the week, the rain turned into snow and sleet, even though it melted by the end of the day; and then there are my memories of last April.  I guess I'm going to have to be more diligent about checking on the weather.

Have you started planting for the season?

Tuesday's Tune: Living for Love

Madonna's newest album, Rebel Heart, has been getting rave reviews.  Some liken the music to some of her earlier albums, before the disco and dance, where the music is just pop.  I find that there's a reflective aspect to the songs in this album.  So today, I want to share her song, "Living for Love."

Like I've blogged in the past, don't forget to love and remember that love is always there.  May it be love for or from another person, love for or from an animal, or even love for yourself.  Love is always present, and live for love.

Let me know what you think of this song.

Tulips (I Hope)

I think all the green shoots, in the picture above, are tulips.  I'm crossing my fingers and hoping they are.  In fall 2013 I planted tulip bulbs, which bloomed in spring of 2014.   Those tulips brought me so much happiness that I wanted to plant more bulbs in fall 2014 to have tulips this spring. Unfortunately, despite my good intentions, I got so busy last fall that I forgot.  I remembered only when the ground was frozen solid.  I resigned to just admire tulip blooms at the florists and wait until this fall to plant bulbs.

Imagine my surprise today when I saw the shoots above.  My understanding is that tulip bulbs usually don't bloom a second time, although it is possible (that's why I wanted to plant bulbs this past spring). I'm really hoping that not only are those tulips but that they will also bloom.  I'm also wondering if these might be bulbs planted in 2013 that didn't bloom in 2014, but are finally blooming this year (I know not all of the bulbs I planted in 2013 bloomed).

Of course, I'll keep you posted.  Have anything surprised you in your garden this spring?

Hot Pink Blossoms

[Peach blossoms, although they do look like cherry blossoms.]