A couple of weeks ago I finally replaced the spherical tea infuser that broke years ago. Once again, we have an easy way to enjoy an herbal tissane from our own garden. Since the day I purchased two little heart-shaped metal infusers, Haiku has run down to the garden in the afternoons to gather herbs. Today we enjoyed a blend of rose petals, spearmint, chocolate mint and lemon balm. I thought the tea would be deep pink from the rose petals, but instead it was a lovely, translucent aqua. Other days we have included lavender and cat mint and skipped the pretty roses, which were not yet blooming. We served our tea over ice today, and the boys joined us to commemorate the last day of school, and the beginning of summer vacation. The whole kitchen smelled lemony and fresh, and Tanka kept saying "cheers" and tapping his glass to mine (though carefully!)
When I was a young girl my favorite play place was under the arching canes of an old-fashioned rose shrub. When the rose was blooming, my little hide-away smelled like heaven on earth. My brother's forts were pine-scented or mulberry stained, and we all liked to press down the tall field grass into little "rooms." Lavender, lily of the valley, yellow and purple iris, and roses are all tied to the memory of a certain place or a certain someone from my past, and just one whiff of the fragrance carries me back in time.
photos by Haiku, June 8, 2007
By early afternoon, the snows of early morning had turned to light rain. I put on my big boots and headed out to look for signs of spring. I had to look closely, but tender green shoots are pushing up out of bare earth, and from beneath the snow and ice that lingers here still. This will probably be the last time I photograph my gardens this winter. When I do my "Sunday Stroll" on Easter, it will be spring. 
