Happy Tuesday! I hope all is well with you and yours.

Summer has arrived – I think….lol! It was 80 yesterday, my back and arms are more sunkissed than the day prior…we didn’t get home from our walk until 9:30 last night, it’s definitely summer, it’s the grey clouds and chilly temperatures that have me confused.

I’ve discovered I’m super geeking out over this oil making and foraging situation, having a ton of fun so far. I think probably because most of the stuff I’ve started working with has been found things on the property and stuff I’ve grown.

I discovered we have a little patch of St. John’s Wort on the property, and a few plants along the roadside….! We also have something called Mullein. I’m still learning all about the different things, I do not remember exactly what that one in particular is used for, but I will figure it out.

It just so happened that my St. John’s Wort was ready to make infused oil out of, perfect timing for that book to arrive in my life – so I’ve started three jars so far. Since I’m making it for an ointment for lots of different people, I’m using Grapeseed oil. So far, it’s super pretty! It’s supposed to turn bright red, but I’m wondering if it won’t turn red because I filled up the jar with oil, it said only three inches of oil…maybe I’ve overdone it? There’s going to be a lot of learning happening, and maybe some loss of oil! Worse case — people will have some really nice grape seed oil to massage into their skin!? I left some St. John’s out in the patch to reseed itself for next year.

I’ve also discovered we have patches of Red Clover. Not a huge surprise with the 40 acres being in hay…there was bound to be clover hanging out! I was out picking it yesterday in my super geeky foraging bag I tied together, and realized I hadn’t read when it was best to harvest, so I checked on my phone (since I was out back a ways), and the net says to harvest them while there is morning dew on them….to keep them purple. ((insert eye roll here)). I stopped harvesting, and decided I’d do more walking and come back in the morning. Guess what….it’s morning, and there’s no dew today….and I’m still in my pj’s typing on my blog….so they just might have to wait until tomorrow morning! Or I’ll just accept the fact they are indeed going to be brown and not purple! I’m not entirely sure what I’m going to do with them yet.

Of course I have Lavender, one of my most favorites of herbs ever! So clique! I have several different kinds of Sages, in addition to Rosemary and a Lemon Balm. The leaves on my Lemon Balm are different than the ones in the book, my Bee Balm looks more like the picture in the book. There’s a lot to learn, and probably a lot of things that can go wrong if I pick the wrong herb. I really like that this book covers the benefits and the dangers of the different herbs.

My book talks a lot about syrups, tinctures, and teas, I’m not a huge fan of ingesting things of this nature – which seems super silly considering it’s all natural…but right now I’m mostly interested in oils and salves. Which also seems a bit backwards considering our skin is the bodies largest organ. Several years ago I was shopping with a friend in Arizona, she was going on and on about how she was trying to be all organic with her food, and how healthy she was being, but here she was – in to Bath & Body Works buying the most expensive chemical filled soap & lotion to slather all over her body….sounds like a great idea — let the largest organ in their body soak up the worst chemicals ever! I knew it seemed off back then, but didn’t know I’d start a journey to be making oils & salves!

And now here I am….learning more about all this natural stuff…! I’ve taken my love for growing, baking, exploring, and learning and steered my ship in a new direction. Always one for something new–I’m not planning on producing mass amounts to sell, it will be for gifts and personal use. With each hobby – there’s a certain cost in tooling up, Lord knows I could go all out and go completely overboard, but I’ll do my best to keep it down to a dull roar.

I’d like there to be an herb garden some day, possibly a raised bed to plant those things that come back year after year, to make more stuff. Right now I have my sights set on Calendula salve, St. John’s Wort oil, and Bath Tea – all for external use.

There’s are several expenses in all of this…..the carrier oil, the essential oils, and the containers, but it’s for gifts, personal enrichment and fun – is there a way to put a price tag on the benefits?! I had some fun shopping on Amazon for several things a few nights ago, they all arrive Thursday night – of course the oils will not be ready until mid-July, so now we wait and let things dry in the green house.

Another thing I’ve always wanted to try is paper making. It’s a messy hobby, and who in the world needs paper when you can just go buy it….but it’s something I’ve watched videos on for years, read about it, talked about it…but never have gotten to it-let’s just say in my previous life certain things weren’t really embraced as me learning, growing, and being passionate about-they were not viewed as positive things. The life I lead now, is so much different, so supportive and encouraging. So, I’m super excited that the second hand paper making kit we bought last summer has been brought out from the garage, and a big bucket of shredded paper filled up with water last night awaits me this morning! Things are going to be messy!! Time to do a little bit of playing and exploring! It so happened that my niece is here – she texted out of the blue yesterday and wanted to come over for a sleep over – she’s 16 – and she’s creative like me, so I thought today would make a good paper making day! I can play today…

My garden is all weeded–which sucked horribly, and I wish to NEVER — EVER have to weed again….weeding four foot wide rows under the “weed barrier” is not fun – next year we need to look at a different type of weed suppression – maybe one that actually works? I’ll weed between the glads & the Dahlia’s any day, but honestly….the rows under the landscaping cloth is horrible.

Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy your Tuesday, get out and enjoy something new today…indulge a bit and be free! Hugs to you….