Fresh Peppermint Tea

I'm still slipping outside to pick fresh mint for Ed's morning tea. This is Black Stem Peppermint, a favorite. I have dried some for the winter, but for as long as the plants are producing nice leaves, we will have the fresh. It's worth putting on a jacket to go out, and it gives me a chance to walk around and watch all the plants as they progress into their winter dormancy. The annuals are for the most part gone, by that I mean dead. The perennials slip into their hibernation at different rates. The kettle whistle blows. The tea is ready. A small bit of summer lingers still!

Time for Tea

In the morning, I'm a coffee drinker, but Ed drinks herbal tea from the garden. It is my habit to make the tea during the day. I put it in the refrigerator to be microwaved the next morning. During gardening season, when I forget, it means an early 6AM trip to the garden.

Yesterday morning I took the camera with me. Black stem peppermint is what you see here. It was dark enough to require a flash for the picture. It was also dark enough to make me talk out loud to myself in case the skunks or other critters were lurking about. If I forget again, it will be dried tea instead of fresh. I guess I'd better get this peppermint cut and dried!

A huge flock of starlings is here today. I hope they move on soon! They are way too reminiscent of the movie The Birds !