25Jul 2025 by catbird
Wildflower Meadow Soda

Wildflower Meadow Soda

First Harvest, Foraging, Recipes, Summer
First Harvest is a time of year when nearly everything is ripe and ready for harvest. It is a time of year when grass and grains are coming into their own. This immediately takes my mind to golden meadows and droopy wildflowers swaying in the sun. We live in a pretty urban area, but there is a park nearby with a big open meadow and the kids love to run through it with butterfly nets swooping wildly and collapsing into fits of giggles. It's such a late summer experience and consequently, such a late summer drink. August here is hot and muggy. I love my tea, and so do the kids, but I just can't in August. Instead we make sun tea, iced tea, tea lattes and tea sodas. This…
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23Jul 2023 by catbird
Wildcrafting Tea

Wildcrafting Tea

First Harvest, Foraging, Garden, Play, Recipes, Summer
The first harvest is all about, well, harvesting. Many people associate this day with grains and bread, but there are lots of other things that are at their peak and ripe for harvesting this time of year too. One of our favorites that you might not immediately think about is herbal tea. We harvest wild plants and plants from our garden, dry them and make a new tea blend each year. (Naming them is obviously part of the fun...) Past names have included "summer thunderstorm tea" and "firefly tea." Herbs to Harvest for Tea Try collecting a variety of herbs and then let children smell them and decide which ones they like together. Wash and dry everything and then crush them up in a mortar and pestle. (This step is…
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