Let's garden a bit today, shall we?

Geez folks, I know I haven't done a very good job with my moon gardening updates on here, but there honestly isn't much to do beside weed and water until it is harvest time.

We have started to get some berries off of the raspberry plants I planted this year, I have tomatoes coming, lots and lots of little chili peppers...and my squash are all blooming. One of the things about this year, everything is about 3-4 weeks ahead. We had that strange warm spell in March and then it never really got cold again, and things have suffered just as some things have flourished.
Things that had suffered were my blooming lilacs...they budded out too quickly, and when we had a frost roll through, froze all the blooms...there was not a single bush in the area that bloomed. My blazing stars are all about 4 weeks early, as are my mountain lilies. My irises have already bloomed and are done.

Speaking of my vegetables, I will be canning in the next month already...it won't even be August and I will be canning. I dont' think I am ready for that, but it is what it is...and I will have to get my stuff going when it ripens.

Anyway, the point of this post this morning. I like to plant two round of peas. They are my toddlers favorite snacks to grab while out working with me. Last year, as she discovered the joy of helping Mom harvest, she would sit her little hinder down next to the peas and just pull them off the plant and eat them, pod and all while I harvested other things. Well, our first round of peas are up and going to be blooming soon, so I decided it was time to see when I could plant my next round...and low and behold...we are close.

As a re-cap, peas like to be planted in a 2nd quarter Moon phase under the Moon signs of Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces or Libra. Well, we are in the 2nd quarter, and today is a Libra, and tomorrow and Friday are Scorpio...guess what I am going to be doing today later...you got it, planting my second round of peas. =)

Now, in Moon gardening, you can even harvest by the Moon as well. As there are certain days that are more favorable than not. I do that as well, but not as much...when the vegetable is ripe and ready, I am not going to wait another 3 days for the phase to be right...I am going to pick the little thing and get it used or at least stored so it don't go bad. Anyone who cans and preserves their own home grown food knows, you deal with it as it comes. Which is what I will be doing.

As I stated above...there isn't much to do right now, beside weed. There is a separate section in my almanac for weeding...and the optimal times for that coming up are as follows:(all times are in EST)

July 4th (8:26pm) to July 7th (12:29am) - 3rd quarter
July 9th (8:14am) to July 11th (7:30pm) - 3rd quarter/4th quarter
July 14th (8:26am) to July 16th (8:31pm) - 4th quarter

On July 10th at 9:48pm...the Moon goes from 3rd quarter to 4th quarter...just so you know. Have a most wonderful and blessed day! )O(

Delicious Milkweed

Happy Solstice to everyone. I hope you are enjoying this new season we have just jumped into.

My daughter and I went out today and connected with nature after the bout of storms we had yesterday. We got another 1 1/2" of rain...my garden is doing wonderful. Unfortunately, the rain barrel I put out has a slow leak...so my entire barrel of water is now gone and out. I should have checked the seals before I put it out yesterday, oh well. Nothing that can't be fixed.

Anyway, my daughter and I went venturing today, and today I was on the look for the common milkweed flower bud clusters...and did we ever find a gold mine. There are milkweed plants everywhere, if you know what and where to look.

 Here is the Common Milkweed my daughter and I were hunting today. We were picking the clusters of flower buds off the plant. I ate a big serving of these for lunch. I cook the bud clusters by boiling them for 5-7 minutes, then draining the water and adding just a hint of butter and salt. The flavor reminds me of broccoli. Very delicious.

Here is a large section of milkweed plants growing. When I see this, I see a bounty of food.Some of the plants were in full bloom, but a lot were just starting to get the clusters. A week or so, those that are in full bloom with offer up a large bounty of edible pods, while I should still be able to get some bud clusters as well.  

It didn't take us long to get quite a supply of clusters, and I have enough for me to have a least 3 servings of 1 cup. My husband doesn't eat my wild edibles, for he thinks I am crazy and going to poison myself...and he won't let me feed our tot any of the wild stuff until "she counts her age on two hands". So as of right now, it is just me eating the wild stuff, but I think I will be able to get him on the wild edible bandwagon eventually....LOL

Hello again my friends....

I have been in hiding on my blogger page for the last couple of weeks. Life is getting hectic again...how does that happen? It seems as if I have all time time in the world in the winter months to get stuff done, but now that the warm summer is just about upon us...I am running out of time...sigh...

Anyway, I have some updates on my Moon Gardening...my garden is looking awesome! Point blank...awesome. I am going to have a wonderful harvest this year. I am super excited! By the way things are growing, I will be able to start canning in little over a month. I am happy about that, as I don't want to have to can everything all at once. I will get burnt out, but as of right now...I can see a staggering bit of growth, which will be good for me!

Something else that I started doing is foraging for wild edibles. I recently was introduced to the "wild edibles" that are around and starting incorporating them into my diet. I have to say, so far, I like what I have tried. I am in awe that some of the food that I was told as a child that was poisonous is really edible and quite good I might add. My favorite right now is wild leeks and cattail shoots sauteed in butter with rice. I would like to try and harvest wild rice, but the more I read into that...I realize that is something I will be trying in years down the road. I don't have the time to deal with that work at this point in time. Having a toddler is going to be a huge burden on that project.

Right now, though, I am getting ready to try cattail spikes, and later rhizomes and laterals. I am ready to try the milkweed that is growing in my yard, I am told the pods are delicious, and the sumac shrubs are starting to get the signature berries so I can make some sumac-ade. It will be an interesting year. My husband isn't totally on the "wild edible" train with me yet...and won't let me feed our tot any of it. Not until I know more and have experienced more myself. I agreed to his request...as he just has the safety of his child in mind...and I respect that.
What else have I been doing...oh that is right...I got into geocaching as well. I have turned into a geocaching nut...and enjoy the search for objects with my most wonderful GPS unit. It is really an interesting hobby...using multi-million dollar satellites to look for little Tupperware containers....LOL

Anyway, on that note, that is where I have been and the reason I have not been posting on my blog here. I hope you are having a great warm weather season..and will be enjoying the Solstice this week...

)O(

It's June...

June 1st.

June is the official start of Summer for most of us. Kids are out of school for the summer vacation, weather gets hotter, days are longer. The growing season is in full swing and we find ourselves outside more and more each day, knowing that (especially where I live) the summer is fleeting, so we pack as much into it as humanly possible, then wonder why it seemed to go so fast.

I am guilty of that just as much as anyone. Warmer months for us around here also means it gets busier. More rituals are planned outdoors, other celebrations as well. Graduations, cook outs, camping, religious festivities, carnivals, fairs…you name it, before long our weekends are booked, and we feel as if a weekend “off” would be nice. Sound familiar?

Full Moon for June falls early this month…on Monday the 4th at around 7am (CDT). This moon has the feel of humor with a bit of itchy feet as well. You may be drawn to move, travel, do something to just “get away”. I know I am feeling it already…the draw of the full moon is having an effect on me, and it isn’t even here yet.

I am craving freedom, I just want to go….that has a lot to do with the fact that this is my Full Moon….a Sagittarius Full Moon. Sagittarians are philosophical people, yet being members of the Fire element, we are also outgoing, energetic, very action orientated. We crave long journeys and the never ending search for higher knowledge. We are in our element with this moon this month. It will feel like it is all coming together…and I can say with personal affirmation…I can feel it already.

As I leave you all this morning with the upcoming Full Moon only days away; take time to reflect on your own internal feelings. What have you got going on in your life and how is that being influenced by our Moon? How is she pulling your emotions, actions, feelings of every kind? If you can, meditate on these things. Get a bearing of where you are truly at and where you are going. You may find this will help you slow down a bit where you have been thinking that things were spiraling out of control! Many blessings to you and yours….

)O( Rev. EagleBear