Dandelion Syrup

We made dandelion syrup this week for a pick me up to a very rainy day. It is very easy to make, but a little time consuming. You need to put at least 12 hours aside to let the dandelion tops steep and then need 2 hours to simmer the syrup. Perfect activity for a chilly and rainy spring day.


For dandelion syrup you need about 250 dandelion tops (give or take a few),1 lemon, 4 C water, and 2 pounds of sugar (I love organic cane sugar for this).

Put the dandelion tops in 4 C water, bring the water to a boil then cover and simmer for an hour. Let cool and place in the refrigerator overnight for the dandelions to continue to steep in the water.

The next day strain the tops from the water. Mix the water with 2 lbs of sugar and the freshly squeezed juice of 1 lemon. Simmer for about 2 hours, until the water evaporates. This is how the water looks when the lemon and sugar have been added.

After 2 hours, a froth should form on the surface of the syrup (see photo below). Take the syrup off of the heat and let cool. It should thicken as it cools.

After cooling, your syrup should look like this. Cane sugar tends to create a pretty amber color when made into a syrup, I've never tried it with processed sugar, the color may be different.

The Little Ladies could eat it by the spoonfuls! It has a very earthy sweet taste.


Araina licked her spoon clean. Tomorrow we will put the dandelion syrup on homemade waffles for breakfast.

You could follow this same recipe but replace the dandelions with violets or mint or any other herb you have handy. Ohhhh, rose petal syrup would be tasty too. For more dandelion fun visit dandelion octopus, beautiful pollinators, and dandelion prints.

This Kind of Germ Sure isn't the Swine Flu!

Growth itself contains the germ of happiness. -Pearl S. Buck

Red Oak

Sugar Maple

Scarlet Maple

Red Pine

Blue Spruce

Ash- enlarge to see the cute bee peeking around at the camera

Buckeye

Ginkgo

We caught the germ of happiness today while on a new growth scavenger hunt. I don't think we will be recuperating anytime soon! :)

Ohio Corner View "Transportation"

The very lovely Jane from Spain Daily had a terrific idea for bloggers to share their "Corner View" of the world with others. The participants in this are from all over the world. This week the theme is transportation.

Here in Ohio, you see a lot of John Deere Tractors plowing the fields this time of year, preparing the soil for large crops of corn or soybeans. You know it's a John Deere by the bright green and yellow! This farmer is plowing in the field that is up against our backyard.



On our 5 acres, you'll also find a John Deere to help with yard work, gardening and cutting the grass.

You'll also find a Red Ryder tricycle, bright red of course, with a little blondie on it going up and down the driveway. Sometimes there will be a panda on the back......

Or a big sister................

I encourage you to take a look at the others' Corner Views. It really is a trip around the world from your computer screen! Here are the links to view.....

jane, ladybug-zen, ian, bonnie, esti, sophie, cele, modsquad,caitlin, joyce, ani, couturecoucou, kim, a day that is dessert, natsumi, epe, kaylovesvintage, trinsch, c.t., jeannette, outi, schanett, ritva, dongdong, francesca, state of bliss, jennifer, dana, denise, cabrizette, bohemia girl, ruth, dianna, isabelle, amber, a girl in the yellow shoes, mister e, janis, kari, jgy, jenna, skymring, elizabeth, audrey, allison, lise, cate, mon, victoria, crescent moon, erin, otli, amy, ida, caroline, lisa, dorte, kimmie, la lune dans le ciel, nicola, malo, samantha

Virtues of Dandelions... Beautiful Pollinators

Please note that NO bees or people were harmed in this study!

Yesterday we surveyed the different pollinators that visited our lovely dandelion yard. Dandelions are a great source of nectar to many different kinds of pollinators. The girls made big bumblebees out of construction paper to write down their discoveries on.

The ladies wrote down the different pollinators as we spotted them; then kept a running tally of them.

We found all kinds of different little critters. Hello ladybug............

We were surprised to see this little leaf jumper.

Then the bees, many different types of bees. I soooooo love bees, it breaks my heart that so many people don't appreciate these beautiful insects because they think they will be stung. I don't know what these people are doing to get stung....going barefoot in a yard full of dandelions will get you stung and of course swatting at a yellow jacket will get you stung. Yellow jacket wasps are the aggressive yellow and black critters that visit your picnics and buzz you when you are eating an ice cream cone, these are NOT bees. They give bees a bad rep, so not fair!! Bees are not aggressive and don't want to sting you, they will die themselves if they sting you! Sorry about the dramatic passion here, but I feel compelled to speak for the bees! This is a yellow jacket wasp, looks like a bee but most definitely is not a bee.

On with the gorgeous and wonderful bees that we found busily collecting nectar. This honeybee was the cutest, she had pollen all over her little bee body! She was working so hard and never realized I was right there taking her picture. No aggression here!

This little gal stood on her rear and looked right at me!! Isn't she cute?

This was a little tiny bee gal.

She had to take a nose dive deep into the petals to get a sip of nectar!

This carpenter bee was also a busy girl.....

Visit the Honeybee pollination crisis site to learn about the devastating crisis of bees today. Visit the Urban Bee Garden to learn more about different types of bees and the good they bring to the world. Visit Dandelion Octopus and Save the Dandelions for more dandelion activities.

Dandelion Octopus- Dandelion Virtues

We love dandelions in the perfect little vase on the windowsill; so sunny and happy yellow, a little sign of spring. However, we also love dandelion stems in a little vase on the windowsill, so curly and spirally!

This is so fun to do. Pick a dandelion, the long thick stemmed ones are the best, then pop its top. You will now have a hollow stem which you can see through. Start gently pulling down the "octopus legs." Try different widths, some thick and some thin.

Place the stems in water. Some will curl right before your eyes, some need more time (the longer they are in the water the curlier they will become). Watch them coil and spiral.....

Make ringlets...........

And go this way and that..........

Put them together to make a little spirally bouquet.

The girls also like to curl the bottoms of the popped tops, they call this little creature a dandelion octopus.

Visit Save the Dandelion for some more dandelion activities.

Beautiful Blogging Friends

The girls and I had been studying dandelions today and was I going to post all about it until....(1)the mail came and (2)I read a comment from the Wild Violet Tea post. I have such warm feelings in my heart that I chose to blog all about some great blogging friends that I really ADORE!!!!

First, I received this comment today from Artistmama at Chocolate Eyes, "I posted some pics of the felt mobile & wall hanging I made for the baby. Thanks so much for the inspiration! It was so fun." I went to her site and found this ADORABLE mobile and BEAUTIFUL wall hanging; she made them for her baby boy which she is expecting at the end of June. I am really in love with how she took something which inspired her and made it her own. I especially love the hedgehog in the mobile!

Photos by Artistmama at Chocolate Eyes

Then, as I mentioned before, the postman delivered us two LOVELY packages. One package was a complete surprise. Sunny J from Sunny's little blog made us a beautiful little felt flower. What a very kind, generous and sweet little girl. She did a beautiful job on the flower!


With the flower we also received 3:15 pm Milk Tea and All Natural Sun Drops from Sunny J, Prime and Dong Dong ( Adventure of J and Prime). Dong Dong had mentioned that her children loved milk tea, I didn't even know what that was, until today!


We had to make some straight away! The 3:15 Milk Tea has a very different taste for us. Its ingredients include black tea, non-dairy creamer and rosehip extract. It has a sweet, rosey smell and taste. You make it exactly like you would make a cup of tea.


The Little Ladies loved the milk tea and the peanuts. Thank you so much Dong Dong, J and Prime for the surprise goodies! It really made our day and it was fun trying something new!



Also, another package in the mail today for us, from Willo at Green Gracious. This super cute panda is made out of bamboo! How cool is that? He is from the My Natural Bamboo Collection and is being sold at Barnes and Nobles. Willo's got a great blog all about being green in easy and practical ways. She has great giveaways you don't want to miss as well! Thank you Willo, we love him (and of course the girls named him Bamboo).

Make a visit to these lovely blogs written by these beautiful people and tell them Lisa sent ya!