So much happened this summer! The University of Wisconsin installed a WISCONET weather station behind the house (Check it out for free. We’re the Clear Lake station). Visitors enjoyed Herbal Safaris (guided herb discovery walks) and remedy-making classes. And Dave and I chatted face-to-face with distant relatives and familiar herbs in Norway and Iceland.
Now, it’s October – sweater weather. My favorite season, when the quality of the sunlight shifts and the air smells earthier. (Is that a word?)
Nearby, combines are kicking up dirt as they move through the field corn. Goldenrod’s flowers have gone from bright yellow to mellow gold. Sumac leaves are turning red, and the hummingbird feeder hangs lonely. Despite recent heat and humidity, the days are getting shorter and the nights much cooler.
It’s time to plant garlic and mulch it deep. Time to chop hot peppers into fire cider, and add a good dose of brandy to the elderberry syrup. We’ll need these to ward off the chills and colds that threaten with the arrival of … No, I won’t even write it down. For now, let’s enjoy the fall colors, and the sounds of geese overhead and dry leaves underfoot.
We’ve usually had a frost by now, so I’m harvesting herbs on borrowed time. (Some herbs, such as creeping charlie/ground ivy, can become harmful after they’ve been hit by frost.) I got in the last of the basil this afternoon, but have yet to cut spearmint, lemon balm, plantain and wild mallow. I spotted some new stinging nettle along the south fence, so I’ll see if I can get those yet today. I looks like it’ll be a week or two before the rose hips will be a ripe red. I’ll use them all in cooking, teas, and remedies.
Well, I’d best get to it. What are you harvesting? Let me know.
Sylvia (sylvia@herbalsafari.com)