Summer Solstice

We had a beautiful day on the first day of Summer. After all the Father's day activities were done out back I went. My husband lit a fire and I wove on the loom.

I had to add a few rows to the sunburst on Summer Solstice.
Before I could start weaving I had to unweave some of Mother Natures work, the bittersweet vines have been working hard on the project.

Fist I added a row of dyers chamomile, next a row of lady's mantle, finishing up with a wool strip previously dyed with eucalyptus.

This year I planted two moon flowers at the base of the loom, they should be beautiful climbing up the loom.

The roses and first summer flowers are in full bloom.

This September our Herb Society meeting is about making herbal sugars and salts. To get ready for the meeting I'm making the sugars. The first is rose petal. This sugar will be used to top sugar cookies or cakes.

To make the sugar is easy but it's important to make sure you use roses with no chemical sprays on them. Absolutely no florists roses. Next important is to taste the rose and see if it is pleasant. They say the red and pink roses are the best. This came from my pink climbing rose bush.
First step I do is to pick and lay the rose petals out for 24 hours so some of their moisture dries out.

Next keep layering them with sugar. I keep them covered with a napkin so the excess moisture can get out and stir them everyday. After there's no more moisture left I'll put the lid on tight until ready to use.
The next herbal sugars will be lavender, lemon balm and rose geranium.