Winemaking and Jelly: Possum Grapes

And just like that Elderberry season is gone! It’s time to move onward in our winemaking extravaganza, for it’s now the season for Possum Grapes. These tiny, buckshot-sized, purple grapes are mostly seed. They grow wild and can engulf entire trees in a season. Most people will cut them back before they have the chance […]

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Winemaking and Jam: Elderberry

Now that blackberries are done for most of us, Elderberries are the next wild fruit in season. I can’t just sit by and watch good food go to waste, so of course I must climb through the remaining rose and blackberry brambles to reach the tiny purple fruits of the Elderberry. Poke berries are also […]

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Winemaking: Dandelion

If you’re like me, you enjoy seeing the happy yellow flowers of dandelions blooming in your yard. They bring back memories of childhood games, of rubbing pollen on my chin and nose. I’ve also come to adore dandelion greens in my salad and still believe that wishes will come true when dandelion seeds float through the […]

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Winemaking: Plum

When we moved into our house on 4th of July four years ago we had three cultivated plum trees and two peach. That first spring living there we had a late winter freeze followed that summer with a severe drought. Our trees were badly damaged and we actually lost one of the peach trees. The […]

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Winemaking: Blackberry

If you’ve read some of my previous posts you’ve probably gathered that I enjoy a glass of wine every now and then (read: “now” as 4:30 and “then” as 5:00 pm). I really can’t think of a much better way to keep my wine guzzling sipping experience as local as possible other than making it myself. […]

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Loss

One of my best friends died at the end of August. I found out I have a (non-life threatening) medical condition that means I pretty much have to give up baked goods, chocolate, and alcohol, which followers of this blog know are pretty much what got me through the last six years. There are rats […]

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January: Waiting

2. January 2017 Planted: A Year of Gardening The series starts here When I was a young mother I used to wait for my children to sleep so I could get…something…done. Then I waited for them to start school so I could get back to work. I waited for my husband’s career to take off […]

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Memories – Dad

My dad passed away the weekend before Thanksgiving 25 years ago. For many, many years, Thanksgiving was a hard time for me. He left us way too early.It would have been my dad’s birthday last week, so this time of year he is on my mind a lot. He would have been 83 this week. It […]

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Sunday Photos: White

White is the color of purity. White means kindness.  White is Monday’s color (ok, so we are 1 day off there.) White daisies are a symbol of loyal love. While white isn’t a true color, it is the manifestation of the presence of all color and is the complete energy of light.  It can stand […]

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On Berry-Picking:

Sitting here this morning I’m realizing that we have a few short weeks here at Tanglewood before fruit season is in full swing. The wild berries are blooming in abundance, and the cultivars are only slightly behind them (and I’ve begrudgingly noticed that the pollinators all appear to prefer those wild to my cultivated berries). […]

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