At 1.30am today we were at our Spring Equinox, and what better way to celebrate than admiring the brilliant green spring foliage of this lovely English Oak (Quercis robur)?
English Oaks are one of my favourite trees and this one was alive with the humming and buzzing of bees and insects.
Traditionally, springtime was a time of food shortage. The winter stores were almost exhausted and
the new crops were still growing. It was
a time of eating the herbs of the field, with their bitterness acting as a
detoxifying tonic after the dullness of winter.
Not many people are fond of bitter foods, but they do help
the digestive system work better. This
year I have decided to do a Spring Tonic using Swedish Bitters (I have done it before, but not for a
long time).
I have 5ml mixed with a little warm water, both before breakfast and again before my
evening meal, and continue until the bottle is finished.
This brand of Swedish Bitters follows the traditional recipe
very closely.
I actually enjoyed my visit to the cemetery yesterday (and thank-you
everybody for all your lovely comments).
The sun was shining while I was there and it was so peaceful to simply
sit on one of the provided seats and contemplate life for a while.
On my way home I called at a little charity shop that I
know, and bought these two books for $1.
“The Book of the Year” explains how modern customs arose from the
different Special Days found throughout the year, and “Salads” is, of course,
all about making different salads.
I hope everyone has a great week 😊
Margaret.
The 6 week springtime gap in the food year almost certainly underlies the 40 day pre-easter fasting tradition in the Christian church (in the northern hemisphere). And they probably adopted it from older traditions. Bitter herbs - tansy in particular - eaten on the Wednesday after Mardi Gras (fat Tuesday and carne vale - goodby to meat).
ReplyDeleteThats a truly magnificent oak; one for sitting under.
What a lovely oak tree! We're going into autumn as you progress into spring.
ReplyDeleteThose are very interesting books. I would love to read the book of the year. I will seek it out in my online usedbookshop. .
ReplyDeleteAlso interesting to read about the eating of bitter herbs. Here they love bitter greens, especially dandelion greens. Do you feel better for your bitters detox?
Yes I did, which is why I am trying it again. I even got to love the taste, almost crave it, which I thought indicated it was something I needed. I have never tried dandelion but I imagine it is similar to puha?
DeleteHa, and I've never tried puha lol
DeleteWhat a stunning tree.
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteThe tree is beautiful. Happy Spring to you! The books are great finds. Take care, enjoy your day!
We are entering fall of course and the bounty if the harvest is to be seen everywhere.
ReplyDeleteThe leaves are fully open on your trees already. Our spring equinox is in March of course but we don’t have leaves on the trees until the first week of June. You have a lovely tree filled spring to enjoy!
ReplyDeleteWow, you have to be strong already, to take that tonic!!!!!!!! Glad it works for you.
ReplyDeleteSpring Tonics are often spoken of, but don't think I have ever seen one. Thank you!
So glad your day, had lovely weather.
I love things like "The Book of The Year"! Enjoy...
Oh and how could I forget the gorgeous old Oak tree!!!!!!! What a beauty!!!!!!!!!!
🍁✨🍂✨🍎✨🍂✨🍁
How interesting about the bitters....I was wondering if that would be similar to some of the greens we always ate in the spring of the year. We picked polk, and dandelions and there was another little green plant that we gathered. I don't know what it was.
ReplyDeletethat tree in your photograph is absolutely beautiful.
I believe it would be very similar. In our modern lives we are losing touch with these old folk remedies that really worked for people.
DeleteI also think that we actually eat a lot more...I know I do. And a lot of it junk food. When I grew up we had a coke or pepsi at the most 8-10 times a year. A candy bar or icecream was not any more often. Was a real treat to get either. Mom only went grocery shopping maybe once or twice a month, and that just to get some of the basics cause we grew about everything we ate. Anyway, she might get a bag of some kind of chips then. But that was to feed her and 3 kids....
DeleteI agree Rose. I feel I also eat more junk than I used to, perhaps because it is so readily available now. I often shudder at how much junk my grandchildren consume on a regular basis.
DeleteLook at chocolate, for instance - it used to be a luxury that arrived in a pretty box all individually wrapped, now we can buy it in block form (plus all the candy bars) and scoff to our heart's content :)
I like that venerable old tree. It absolutely dwarfs everything under and around it.
ReplyDeleteThe books look interesting and certainly were a good deal!
I"m a sucker for op shops, usually I look for odd shaped plant pots I can put more succulents in, amazing what you find sometimes though.
ReplyDeleteWhat a stunning tree Margaret - Love it! I had never heard of the spring tonic - I must keep an eye out for the bitters - it's the kind of thing I am interested in.
ReplyDeleteA great book buy - they look to be good reading!
Stay safe
Blessings
Maxine
I posted a comment last night...won't repeat myself in case you just have not published. But was coming back to say I love the new photo at the top of your blog. I think I totally forgot to mention it in my other comment.
ReplyDeleteThank you Rose, and sorry I was a bit slow in publishing some of the comments (busy watching TV instead!) xx
DeletePlease don't apologize about being slow. We do what we can do when we can do it. I just totally forgot to tell you I love the banner photo. I always enjoy seeing what you put up there.
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