I’ve really been loving getting back to our Herb Fairies studies . . . . it’s so grounding to be out harvesting beautiful little plants that take forever to pick while the spring birds and sun are filling your senses. Perhaps the world would be in better mental health if we all practiced this a little bit.

Violets are in full bloom, and today we harvested about 6 cups of “flowers” (actually, the plant doesn’t put out the true flowers until fall). We have a half gallon of infusion going to make jelly tomorrow, violet honey, and violet ice cubes for Barefoot Girl’s delight.

Last night our neighbor girl was over and helped Barefoot Girl harvest some violet flowers for dinner; it was her first experience learning that you can eat a common wildflower, and the look on her face was priceless. It’s the small things that make a difference — she’s a girl that already loves gardening and at eight years old talks to me about it almost every time she’s over, so who knows where she might take that knowledge?