Pilgrim Botanist---My Blog

I must've triggered something going back and reading my old post about strawberries because I have something new to say. When I was young, I had the experience of being transplanted. At the time it was horrible, worst experience of my life! And, I truly felt that God had ripped me up, moved me, and then said: "You now have room to grow!" And, of course, I was like "but...but...but, that wasn't what I wanted! I wanted to stay where I was and now?" Yeah, about that...we can fig

I have been thinking about plants and God and how God compared us to a seed in good soil, crowded with weeds, and hard soil. I have been weeding and thinning my strawberry beds. I have been finding strawberry plants that are plant-on-top-of plant-on-top-of-plant. Thinking, no wonder I got so few berries this year. In addition to the the weather, I have never thinned these before. And, suddenly that is new information for me to process. Because this Honeoye type of strawberry

.A Story Dedicated to Crafters Everywhere I am always on the hunt for a deal at my local thrift store. A few months ago, I found a bunch of mugs for 25¢ each. Great deal! I said. And I walked on past because, well, I couldn’t think of anything to make. But it was brewing on the backburner. What would I do if I bought a bunch? The next week, the deal was still there. So, I took home $6.25 worth of mugs. How many? Too many, but, 25 to be specific. “What are you using them for

This piece was written two years ago after I was at my local thrift store window shopping. And, my word: they had a sale on their crystal…for 25 cents a piece. What? This stuff was SO beautiful. I could not believe it! Naturally, I took as much as I could fit into the shopping cart as I had been drooling over much of it for about a year but never thought I would be able to get any of it. Boy! Was I wrong! John and I never really had a wedding reception or huge amounts of stuf

Today was gorgeous! I mean, it was so beautiful that it was the kind of day when working outside just is the right thing to do...and so I worked outside. Got the garden going, although, honestly, most of it is currently poison ivy...I don't get that. Every spring I get a case of poison ivy. This year it hasn't happened yet. We've had like a week or two of good weather and going out there yesterday and today I was surprised that I didn't get all itchy and break out. I think I

I like researching how to make expensive items instead of buying them. It is a hobby of mine. One essential that I have recently made in quantities that I could sell is Vanilla Extract. It is easy and fun! You take a bottle of Vodka or Rum, you put a pile of Vanilla Beans into the bottle and put it in the dark for 3-4 months, or more for an especially strong batch. There are multiple types of Vanilla beans: the ones that I have been getting are Madagascar Vanilla Beans. The

Today was fun! I pruned my lemon tree that I grew from seed two Januaries ago this morning, (this was written in 2024) cut back some roses that have been blooming all summer, and picked a whole lot of elderberries off the bush that is in front of our home. I also enjoyed watering my other lemon tree that I rescued last fall. It currently has five lemons on it and I'm excited! I separated out the berries from the stems of the elderberries and they reminded me of the alveoli (b

Have you ever thought about growing a banana tree? Well, I have! In fact, I have four in my dining room right now. Last spring, I wanted to buy a Blue Java Banana Tree. To my dismay, a single six inch to one foot tree was going to cost me $40. But, for the same price I could get four baby trees. I chose the four smaller trees. Which are now as tall as my shoulder, about 3-4 feet of tree and about a foot and a half of container and soil. I have figured out the secret to growin

If I am not the cistern but the tree…

Crabapple, Cinnamon Stick and Cranberry Jelly

Vanilla Extract I like researching how to make expensive items instead of buying them. It is a hobby of mine. One essential that I have recently made in quantities that I could sell is Vanilla Extract. It is easy and fun! You take a bottle of Vodka or Rum, you put a pile of Vanilla Beans into the bottle and put it in the dark for 3-4 months, or more for an especially strong batch. There are multiple types of Vanilla beans: the ones that I have been getting are Madagascar Va

RECIPES: Giant Bubbles Recipe 1 gallon water...