• Berries - Faith - Flowers

    Rhythm of Life

    The mint in my backyard has flowered; tiny white flowers make a wreath around the stem. I pause to wonder at the delicate loveliness. The phlox are a bright spot of color. I can see them from my kitchen window. The elderberries are getting ripe. I will make elderberry juice/syrup…

  • Children - Faith - Family

    Children Are A Gift from God

    Kate’s prompt for Five Minute Friday is: FIVE. Once inspired, we write for five minutes (more or less).  At first I considered writing about my five favorite herbs, or maybe five summer recipes. And then I made another connection. I have three grandchildren that are five years old. Children are…

  • Flowers - Gardening - Herbs

    The Colors of Calendula

    Calendula is a bright sunny flower and a herb. It has been called poor man’s saffron. The petals of the flower can be added to rice. The flowers can be dried for tea. I have enjoyed seeing the range of colors of that the flower displays from bright orange to…

  • Children - Faith - Gardening

    An Honest Prayer

    They arrive in the middle of the summer . . . For the past several years the leaves on my cherry tree and raspberry bushes have been devoured by beetles. Only the veins of the leaf remain after Japanese beetles have had their feast. So I have been devising strategies…

  • Berries - Recipes

    The Best Blueberry Pie

    Blueberries are appearing in the grocery store. They are from the southern states–it will still be a while before the Michigan berries are ripe. Even though they are not from Michigan the blueberries are lovely, and so I made a family favorite pie. Pastry: 1 cup flour 1/8 tsp. salt…