30 Days Wild 2020 – Day Three.

Day 3: Whilst planning this years 30 Days Wild I decided to name Wednesdays as RAW, meaning Random Acts of Wildness. In this series I’ll be using The Wildlife Trusts’ 30 Days Wild app, to help choose the day’s theme.

So without further ado, here’s today’s RAW: brew a leafy tea. I decided to try oregano tea as I have it growing abundantly in the yarden.

Here’s what I did: 

Oregano Tea

• I chopped a sprig of fresh oregano from the yarden, washed it and chopped the leaves into small pieces.
• I then boiled the kettle and poured a measure of one american cup of hot water.
• I poured over the chopped oregano leaves in a cup and left to seep for up to five minutes.
• I sieved as much of the oregano leaves as possible and added a drizzle of honey.
• Adding honey was much needed as the tea was strong and bitter without it.

My verdict, I think I’ll keep my oregano on top of pizzas, it wasn’t a pleasant drink. Oregano has many healing properties from easing colds to boosting the immune system and aiding in the reduction of inflammation.

Have you tried oregano tea? What is your favourite herbal tea?

Thanks for reading, and stay wild!

Christine x

30 Days Wild 2019 – Day Twenty-three.

Day 23: Today’s blog is all about bees, honeybees. David and I drove to The Bee Centre in the grounds of Samlesbury Hall, Lancashire, for a two hour pre-booked bee experience. After donning our bee suits and taking the obligatory photos, we (of a group of nine) were escorted to the outdoor hives. Kath opened up a hive and explained what was happening in the frames.

David in bee suit

Honey bee

Christine in bee suit

Christine and hive frame

Honey Bees

Kath used smoke to make the bees (native black bees) more docile, while she inspected the hive. The bees gorge on honey, thinking there’s a fire so that they can take stores with them when they set up a new colony. We witnessed a drone (male) being born and lots of male/female brood cells and also the odd queen cell. It was fascinating to learn so much about life in a hive! Everyone has their own role and worker bees can fly up to three miles for food. The queen lays 2,000 eggs a day and is solely dependent on being cared for by the other bees. A worker bee can live up to six weeks whereas a queen can live to five years.

After meeting the bees we returned to the centre for honey tasting. The centre has an ethical and sustainable view on beekeeping and only extract honey when there is a genuine surplus. Due to this year’s wet June the bees are having a hard time and need our help! You can do this by planting more bee friendly plants, a helpful list can be found here.

Our experience really whetted our appetite for beekeeping and whether a hive would be something our yarden could accommodate?

Have you ever kept bees? Like the idea?

Thanks for reading, and stay wild!

Christine x

30 Days Wild 2018 – Day Twenty-one

Day 21: Today’s Throw Back Thursday is also the Summer Solstice, or longest day. I got up for 4.43am and listened to a muted dawn chorus. Later on I sat and enjoyed the 9.44pm sunset at the end of the day with a small glass of mead.

In 2015 I counted the visiting garden birds. 2016 saw me up early again for the dawn chorus and in 2017, I made rosemary tea.

While the sun set on the longest day, I sipped a small measure of mead. I have never tasted mead before. On first tasting, I could smell the scent of honey. The first mouthful was sweet and the burn of alcohol followed through before a flowery bouquet. I don’t know whether it is a taste I like, perhaps a bit too sweet for me.

Mead

Clouds

The moon at sunset on Midsummer

What about you, do you like mead? Do you celebrate the summer solstice, if so how?

Happy Litha,

Thanks for reading, and stay wild!

Christine x