If You Go Out In The Yard Today...

I think our resident "teddy" bears need to have their picnics somewhere other than my backyard.  I get tired of having to repair bird feeders, throwing out suet holders and jumping up and down on the feeder poles to straighten them out.  Besides, they stink and the cats won't even go in the yard for days.  A pox on them!

We've had summer weather for a good bit of April and May, but last night old man winter came back.  The wind died down and the thermometer plummeted to about 25.  I had all my unplanted things inside. I think everything survived.  Someday I am going to learn that May can turn on us gardeners and not be a bit pretty.

I am having another Williamson Tea to comfort myself in the cold.  This one is a High Grown Kenya and 1 pound of the purchase price of the tin goes to relief work in Africa.  I like seeing my money do that kind of work.  Again, these are tea bags.

This is not the best Kenya tea I have had, that honor goes to Royal Tea of Kenya, but it is far from the worst.  There isn't a whole lot to say about it.  It's dark and strong, with woodsy overtone, maybe a touch of cured tobacco.  It plays nicely with milk and on the whole, I like it.  Himself did, as well.

Yet another fancy schmancy altar.  What can I say, I like churches.  The somewhat darker structure on the left wall, would have been the royal box, so they could be separated from the common folk.

Games and Elephants and Tea

If women want to learn to play hard to get, they should watch the birds.  Mourning doves and downy woodpeckers are real experts at the game.  The doves basically ignore their proposed mates who prance and preen and are too, too persistent,while the woodpeckers lead theirs on an aerial ballet.  They are fascinating to watch.  Speaking of persistence, the squirrels, they are indeed persistent when it comes to a full bird feeder.  However, I have discovered that the presence of our largest cat, Orphan Andy, is quite the deterrent, all 20 pounds of him.  His other name is Fatso Catso, so you can imagine his shape.  He just sits on the steps and dares them to approach.  For all his size, he is very fast and an excellent mouser or squirreler.

Ah me, I have fallen into temptation once again.  This time it is Williamson Tea  Elephant Tea Caddies and the teas within.  They are all tea bags, so my standing as a tea snob is called into question, but sometimes a tea bag is all you're up for and Himself simply can't be bothered with making a pot of loose tea,  I think by now Williamson's has about 8 of these delightful caddies and I have 4.

The one I tried today is Quiet Afternoon and comes in a gold elephant, complete with calf and adorned with Christmas hangings, presents and mistletoe, decked out like Indian elephants for a special festival.  I have to say I like the tea.  It is like a mild Breakfast tea.  Has a hint of sweetness, though and perhaps a hint of fruit.  It can stand a drop of cream and doesn't get harsh if you overbrew it.  Altogether a very pleasant experience.

Another Hapsburg Palace in Vienna.  They just loved to build themselves mansions.

A Traditional Tea

It is dark and grim this morning,  The trees are dripping with rain.  The fur persons have run out and come in with wet tails they drag across my legs and then give me a wondering look as I yelp and try to jump away.  Then, of course, they become solicitous, climbing on me to see what is the matter so that now I can be not only wet and cold, but grubby as well, from their muddy paws.  Cats!

All is not lost, however, as I have 4 new teas to try from Mark T. Wendell, who carries my all time favorite Hu Kwa  Lapsang Souchong.  They also carry several British tea company’s wares as well as some from Japan and China.  Today’s offering is from Williamson Tea, “Tea farmers since 1869”.  I am having English Traditional Afternoon Fine Tea.  The tea is grown using sustainable methods and their claim is that they ensure their workers labor in good conditions and earn a decent living.  Already, I am prejudiced in their favor.

The dry leaves are an attractive mix of browns and blacks and they have a delightful winey, oak barrel, tobacco scent, with a twist of something approaching citrus at the end.  I brewed it for 3.5 minutes, even though the tin said 2.  The resulting brew was a lovely golden brown, smelling super fresh.  In many ways this is a simple tea, but it does have a subtle, almost chocolate finish.  It is very slightly winey.  It tastes wonderful and would make an excellent tea for a party, especially for those a bit shy about new teas..  It is equally good with or without cream.  Next time, I will try it with a bit of lemon.

I am having my new favorite tea sandwich - butter and radishes - those very nice French breakfast ones.  Yum!

I have been reading a new book on raising herbs,  Homegrown Herbs by Tammi Hartung.   In it there are numerous charts, one of which lists herbs that can be used for tea.  They are agastache, anise hyssop, catnip chamomile, coyote mint, Echinacea, fennel, ginger, lemon balm, lemon grass, lemon verbena, licorice, Mexican oregano, nettle, oats, passionflower, pennyroyal, peppermint, red clover, spearmint, stevia, thyme, vervain and blue vervain, and violets.  Before you run right out and start making tisanes with these, make sure you read up on them, as some must be used with great care.  I never knew there were so many and some I have never heard of as being edible.  If you are at all interested , this is an excellent book.

I love this old doorway, from 1768.  It is just so, so old.

More gardening today - I may actually have run out of space.