The Summer – Weeding and Watering

On August 14, 2018August 14, 2018 By Cynthia ThinnesIn Diary, Gardening, Seasons, Summer

Gardening is a lot of fun in the Spring. Everything is new, and we are making plans for the coming season. Seedlings are quite adorable, I think. All is lovely, happy, and hopeful. Then the problems start. Weeds grow, animals come and eat the plants, bugs come and eat the plants, the plants get diseases, there is too much rain, there is too little rain, and the list goes on and on.

This year, I got a late start on the garden. This was in part because of the weather and in part because I was incredibly busy. I continued to be busy through the Summer, and this year was unusually hot. I have been having trouble getting up early enough in the morning to avoid the heat, so my gardening has been limited to the evening when I can get to it.

Needless to say, I have not had much of a garden this year. The weeds are doing very well, though.

Weeds are an interesting dilemma, aren’t they? There are some plants that are considered weeds that are really quite useful, such as dandelions and violets. Usually, weeds are just plants that naturally grow in the area. Some weeds are quite lovely. There are some people who like and appreciate weeds for these reasons.

All that being said, if you want to have a garden, you really do need to decide the plants you want and the plants that you do not. It is a sad, cruel fact of life that there are limited resources. Most of the work of the summer is watering and caring for the plants you want and weeding out the plants that you do not.

In the Filianic Tradition, the Summer Solstice celebration is Rosa Mundi, or the Rose of the World. This is a fire festival, and in particular a festival for outside bonfires. One tradition of this holiday is to write down a trait or a fault that you wish to free yourself of and throw it into the fire. In a sense, this seems to me to be a weeding of one’s own heart.

The first year that I tried gardening, I weeded a little bit here and a little bit there, but I never seemed to accomplish anything. Last year, I realized that it was better to take a section at a time, no matter how small, and weed that area as completely as possible. With that in mind, I took on Maria-sama’s garden this evening, once it had cooled down a bit.

It is not perfect, but a whole lot better, I think. It actually did not take that long, and I have a nice sense of accomplishment.

Maybe that will inspire me to do another section tomorrow.

Garden Update

On May 28, 2018May 28, 2018 By Cynthia ThinnesIn Diary, Gardening, Seasons, Spring

日本語版　 Svensk version

This year, the spring was cold and so I got a late start with the garden. The garden will probably be small, but some things are growing. Most importantly, Ulla’s rose is doing well.

The little rose is also doing well.

The little apple tree we moved last year is growing big and strong.

There are baby apples on the big apple tree.

Potatoes and cucumbers are also growing.

We seem to have a new friend. His name is Romeo.

Fairy Tea – Tasty Springtime Allergy Relief

On May 9, 2018May 10, 2018 By Cynthia ThinnesIn Diary, Gardening, Herbal Remedies, Recipes4 Comments

I have an extremely cold and wet temperament, and every year around this time, early to mid May through late June, early July, I suffer from severe springtime allergies. The only over-the-counter medicine that ever really worked for me was Claritin. Actually, Benadryl also works, but it puts me right to sleep, so I can only take it at night. Last year, I discovered an interesting use for the wild violets that grow like weeds in the yard….well, I guess technically they are weeds.

It seems that violets can be used an expectorant and is often useful for congestion due to allergies. According to Culpepper’s Complete Herbal, they are cold and moist and of the nature of Venus. According Hildegard of Bingen’s Physica, as translated by Priscilla Throop, they are between hot and cold, or more specifically, “Although, [they are] cold, [they grow] from the [mild, gentle] air which after winter is beginning to warm up.”

I tried them last year along with Claritin, and they seemed to help. Last year, I did not learn of it until the violets were almost through flowering, so I mostly used the leaves. There are several poisonous lookalikes to violets, so to be safe, it is probably best to only harvest violets when they are in flower. I had seen the violets flowering, and I had been weeding them all along, so I was fairly confident I was using the right plant. I was also using the violets from my own garden, so I knew they had not been sprayed with insecticide or herbicide.

I used the violet leaves in an infusion, but I did not care for the flavor, I have to admit. It did not have a bad flavor, but to me, the violet leaf infusion tasted a little grassy by itself. So, I started to experiment with other plants and flowers, and every day it would be a little different, based on what was available when I was doing my gardening. When I told a friend about this, she said that it sounded like my ingredients came from fairies, and I agreed, so I began to call it my fairy tea.

Between my fairy tea and Claritin, I had little to no breakthrough allergy symptoms last year. So, this year, as my annual spring allergies have begun, I am trying it again. I have not started taking Claritin yet, so we will see how it goes over the next couple of weeks. Even if it does not completely control my allergies, it is nice cooling substitute for my second cup of coffee in the morning as the weather is getting warmer.

This year, I have developed a recipe of a sort. Raspberry leaves have a nice flavor, a bit like black tea, but without the caffeine. The flavor of the raspberry leaves blends very nicely with the violet leaves, moderating the grassy flavor. They are best when they are bright green with a reddish tinge, before the plants begin to bloom. Early spring was quite cold here this year, so everything is blooming a little later, including the violets, and there are violet flowers available now, which have a lovely sweet flavor to them. Violet flowers also freeze nicely. A trick I have learned is to freeze them first separately on a flat surface before putting them together in a container. That makes it easy to take just a few from the container.

I also add a little peppermint for flavor. I planted some peppermint last year, and this year it is coming back and growing like a weed. Luckily I like the flavor of peppermint, so I hope I can keep up with it. Violets also have a bit of a laxative effect, and peppermint seems to moderate that.

Lastly, I add a few rose petals. Rose has a nice flavor, and according to St. Hildegard, increases the effectiveness of all plants used for medicinal purposes. From a metaphysical perspective, this makes a lot of sense, as roses are the archetypal flower, or the Queen of Flowers. The roses in my garden have not bloomed yet, but I still have some dried rose petals left over from last year.

Last year, I had planted a few chamomile plants, and chamomile is also a nice addition if you have it. I find that a little chamomile smooths and blends the flavors. I thought that chamomile was a perennial, but so far, I do not see any signs of it coming back this year. I have a little dried chamomile from last year, but it is almost gone.

So, we will see how my little experiment goes this year. I really do hope to avoid Claritin and Benedryl if I can. They always make me feel a little funny.

Spring is Finally Here…I Hope

On April 11, 2018 By Cynthia ThinnesIn Diary, Gardening, Seasons2 Comments

Spring has been slow in starting this year in Northern Illinois. It has been quite cold these last several weeks, and a few days ago, we even had a little snow.

But, today, at last, we are having a warm, sunny and beautiful day, and the weather forecast looks like it will be relatively nice all week. I was finally able to do a little work in the garden this afternoon.

But despite the difficult weather, the show must go on, and the early spring flowers and plants have been doing their job in the first act of the yearly performance.

The crocuses dutifully announced it was Spring, and they were quickly followed by the daffodils.

The new rose we planted last year does not look like much now.

But it looks like she has survived the winter and is starting to come back to life.

My aunt bought another rose for the other side of the front yard, but she does not look like much either yet. She is starting to come to life as well though.

However, the miniature rose that my grandmother left behind is starting to take off.

It looks like we will have rhubarb again this year.

As the perennial flowers and plants have been busy doing their jobs, I thought I ought to do mine. I have started the tomatoes and peppers indoors, and they are starting to sprout. Most of the sprouts are too small for a photo….except for this little precocious one, who started to sprout within a day or so of my planting the seeds.

Now, let’s hope the weather stays nice for a little longer.

Spring Reflections

On June 12, 2017July 30, 2018 By Cynthia ThinnesIn Diary, Gardening, Seasons

I have always loved Spring, and I always considered Spring to be my favorite season. Even so, this has been the first year that I feel I have truly participated in Spring.

Fall - The oishii season — Fall – The oishii season

In the last year of my grandmother’s life, she taught me about the Fall. I learned about the harvest, and I participated in the abundance of Fall. I now think of Fall as the oishii season. (Oishii is the Japanese word that roughly corresponds to delicious in English. For more information, you can read an article written by a dear friend of mine here).

My grandmother passed right before Winter, and I think I learned a lot about Winter that year. Last year, I was not able to even think about the garden until around this time. There were perennials left by my grandmother, and my aunt planted some peppers and tomatoes. Except for a failed attempt with a potato that had started to grow in my kitchen, I did not plant anything.

This year, I decided to plant my own garden. I thought about what I enjoyed eating, and I decided to try growing some popcorn. I did a test with my favorite brand of popcorn, which I think is Jolly-time from Walmart. To my delight, the popcorn seeds grew. I planted some tomato seeds, lettuce, radishes and carrots. I was given some baby cabbages by a friend.

My Swedish cousins came for a visit, and they pruned the raspberry and blackberry bushes, as well as the apple trees. They also decided that I need potatoes, so they planted some.

There was a baby apple tree that my grandmother was nurturing in obscurity in the strawberry plants by the garage. Last year, I had to rescue it from the grapevine nearby that tried to strangle it. (Who knew that plants could be so violent?) The apple tree could not be allowed to continue growing there for another year, so with the help of a dear, sweet neighbor, I transplanted it to a place where it could grow freely.

Before this year, I always thought Spring was simple. New life, new birth, a new start that would come into fullness in the Fall. What I never understood was how many mini life and death cycles occur during Spring.

The crocuses, tulips, and daffodils all bloomed and died in turn.

The apple tree blossomed beautifully for about a week or so. Then the blossoms fell and tiny apples began to grow in their place.

A veritable marching band of irises bloomed brilliantly, and then they too passed on, leaving the chore of cleaning the dead blossoms in their wake.

I also learned just how much of a fresh start Spring really is. The mistakes of the previous year are long passed, although, there may still be a bit of cleaning that needs to be done before new things can grow. Decisions about what to grow are re-made. Even perennials may be dug up and discarded. I have enough dried tarragon from the previous year than I will ever use, so I decided to dig up the tarragon left by my grandmother, and plant lavender instead. The rhubarbs were being smothered by violets and strawberries, and I lost the first harvest from it. I freed the rhubarb from them, and now it is growing well.

I also learned about many hidden blessings. For example, I have suffered from Spring allergies since I was about 16. It turns out that violets have medicinal properties, one of which is remedying Spring allergies. I started making what I have been calling “fairy tea,” using violet leaves, raspberry leaves, and whatever else I happen to harvest from my garden that day, such as rose petals, chamomile leaves, and peppermint. I have had the least trouble with Spring allergies than I have had since I was a teenager, and I think that it is thanks to my fairy tea.

In previous years, I have always felt a little sad at the end of Spring, heading into the Summer. I do not this year. I am a bit tired now, and I am ready to settle into Summer.

My garden is growing.

I have added some beauty and some magic to it.

Now, I can relax and enjoy some of the fruits of my labors.

2017-06-12 10.07.10 — First raspberry harvest

Long Live the Rose

On May 26, 2017 By Cynthia ThinnesIn Diary, Gardening, Seasons, Spring

In the last year of my grandmother’s life, she planted a rose.

Mormor's Rose There was a pole in front of the house that we shared with her. Apparently, the pole was for a gas light, which had long ceased to be functional. My grandmother thought that the pole was ugly, but getting rid of it would be an expensive and dangerous process if it was even possible at all.

So, my grandmother dealt with this in the way she dealt with most things. She decided to plant a rose to wind around and cover the pole.

By her ninetieth birthday in October, it had grown to quite an impressive and magnificent rose, and it did indeed cover the ugly pole.

The rose bloomed until the day that my grandmother passed, which was the same day as the first snow of that year.

2015-11-23 07.40.27

The next Spring, the rose bloomed again, but I think that I did not know what to do with it. My grandmother also left behind a wonderful garden, but all I could do was to make a feeble attempt to tend to the perennials. I completely lost the battle with the weeds.

2016-03-28 10.51.58 This Spring, I am not sure why or how, but I seem to have found the energy and the inspiration to start my own garden. I bought seeds for the vegetables and herbs I liked and cooked with. I never had any talent or inclination for gardening in the past. I was never even able to keep houseplants alive. Indeed, once my spouse and I had a cactus that lived for years until I took an interest in it, and it died shortly after.

Despite my newly found interest, the rose did not come back to life this Spring. I am guessing that I did not prune it well enough or did something else wrong. I tried everything to bring it back to life, including giving it banana peels, which was my grandmother’s method of feeding her roses.

My Swedish relatives came for a visit a few weeks ago. In consulting with a family relationship chart, it seems that they are my first cousins, once removed…by blood and by marriage. Or I could use my spouse’s grandmother’s rule. “We do not remove any of our cousins, we keep them all,” and just say that they are my cousins.

In any case, the rest of my family came for a gathering as well, and during the gathering both my Swedish cousins and my uncle declared that the rose was past hope.

We had a bonfire at this family gathering, and I cut down and burned the remains of the rose in the bonfire. It seemed fitting to do this when the family was gathered.

The next day, my Swedish cousins brought me to the store and they purchased a new rose. They also helped me to plant it around the pole.

The rose was then christened Ulla’s rose. Ulla was the name of my grandmother, as well as the name of one of the Swedish cousins who bought and helped plant the rose. Cousin Ulla then told us about a Swedish tradition concerning the passing of a King. Everyone would declare, “the King has died, long live the King.” In that spirit she declared, “the Rose has died, long live the Rose.”

Returning to Life

On March 28, 2016 By Cynthia ThinnesIn Diary, Gardening, Ponderings and Reflections, Seasons

It is Spring again. The Filianic and astrological new year has begun. This year began with a Lunar Eclipse, which on a personal level feels a bit appropriate. My usual joy at the beginning of Spring is dampened by the sadness of the passing of my grandmother last fall.

I think one of the difficult things about life in the modern West is that we have lost the notion of mourning periods. There was a time when there was a proper amount of time to be “in mourning,” and rituals for coming out of mourning, with periods of “half mourning” and “light mourning.” When reading modern wisdom about grieving, we are told that it is individual and different for every person and every relationship. Yet, I think that mourning is not really the same thing as grieving. I think that mourning is the pause we take in our lives out of respect for the person who has passed, and the ending of mourning is when it is right to “come back to life.”

With that in mind, with no modern conventions to fall back on, I decided that Winter would be my period of “mourning” and that I would try to “come back to life” in the Spring. I am still quite sad, particularly as my grandmother loved Spring, but I will always be sad from time to time. My grandmother was an important person in my life. It is funny, because she never really taught me (or her own children) much. She tried, but she had no patience. She would hastily explain things, and if you did not get it the first time, she would give up with a disgusted “Ach!” and take what you were doing and do it herself. Yet, despite this, I learned so much from her. There is very little that I do that I do not still hear her voice telling me stories or giving wise counsel.

Even now, in my front yard, I see a lesson that she left.

Spring Rose For the past several years, Mormor (“grandmother” in Swedish) and I lived in the same two flat, which was owned by my aunt. In the front of the house, there was a lamp post, which used to be a working gas lamp. Mormor thought it was ugly. She researched, and she found that it would be costly and perhaps dangerous to remove it, so she devised a way to make it beautiful. Last spring, she planted roses around it with the plan that they would climb and cover the post.

Throughout the Summer, she carefully tended the roses, and she made sure that they did not stray too far away from the post. This was an interesting lesson in itself. It seems in order for roses to climb, they have to be held close to their source.

By the time that Autumn came, the roses had covered the post and bloomed gloriously for Mormor’s ninetieth birthday.

Mormor's Rose

Mormor passed a little over a month after that, right before the first snowfall.

The roses bloomed until that very day. They became covered with snow, and they left an almost magical image, as the petals could be seen on the snow.

2015-11-23 07.40.27

Yet, time passes, and now it is Spring. As if the roses were left to teach another lesson, they are starting to grow back again.

2016-03-28 10.51.58

I guess it is time to come back to life, as well as to honor and care for what Mormor planted and left behind.

Autumn Blessings

On November 14, 2015 By Cynthia ThinnesIn Cooking, Diary, Fall, Gardening, Seasons

I have a confession to make. Autumn has always been my least favorite season. I know that all seasons have their own beauty, but I have always had some trouble appreciating Autumn. I have never been all that fond of Winter either, but in Autumn, the days get colder and darker and the coming season is Winter. Even through the cold of Winter, the days are at least getting longer and brighter, and Spring is on its way. I often start to feel a little sad as Summer winds down and by November, I am often battling deepening depression.

Yet, this year, for the first time, I experienced one of the main blessings of the Autumn season…the Harvest.

I hope that the reader will indulge me a little in boasting about my grandmother. My grandmother has always been an amazing gardener. She is going to be ninety this fall, and she loves to garden. Even when she lived in the North Side of Chicago, she managed a substantial vegetable garden in a tiny backyard.

To be honest, I never had all that much interest in gardening. I have never even been able to keep houseplants alive. It may be because now we live in the same building as my grandmother, so I see the garden every day. It may be that reading the Little House on the Prairie series in Japanese inspired me. By the way, I have just finished 大草原の小さな家, “Daisougen no chiisana ie,” “Little House on the Prairie,” and I have just started プラム川の土手で, “Puramu kawa no dote de,” “On the Banks of Plum Creek.” I also recently read Farmer Boy in English. In any case, whatever the reason, this year I participated in the Harvest for the first time.

I learned how to make tomato sauce, barbeque sauce, apple sauce, and apple butter. I learned how to blanch and freeze fruits and vegetables for the winter. I baked several rhubarb, raspberry, and apple deserts. It was quite a busy time.

The abundance of food turned out to be quite the blessing. This October, we celebrated my grandmother’s 90th birthday, and relatives from Sweden came to stay with us to celebrate. My mother also came in from California and stayed with us for about a month. The abundance of food was really useful in feeding all of the extra people.

Today, I started feeling my usual Autumn depression. I felt sad as I raked the leaves and watched the sun go down before it was even 5 o’clock. Yet, then I went back inside, and I cooked taco salad using the last of the green peppers and tomatoes that my grandmother had dried over the summer. Now I am making apple sauce using the remaining apples that were stored in the refrigerator.

The garden is now gone. Our full freezer has emptied out. We still have green beans, green pepper, sliced apples and rhubarb in the freezer though, as well as a couple of containers of apple butter. We also have dried herbs and tomatoes that were carefully preserved by my grandmother.

I still feel a little sad, but I am also feeling intense gratitude to Our Mother, who provides for us every year. It was a good Autumn, I think.

Mormor's Backporch

Category: Gardening