Sassafras Tea

Nothing says summer like Sassafras Tea.

This is a Sassafras sapling.  Sassafras is a type of tree, not just my oldest daughters alter ego, it used to be used commonly for tea and making root beer.  The roots of the tree smell a bit like root beer.  I have more pictures here from a post I did our first year. The Lands Bounty
Like with anything you pick from the wild be sure of what you are getting.  Don't use my site alone to identify and do your research.  Sassafras does contain a chemical that the FDA determined was dangerous which is why root beer is no longer made with Sassafras. I talk about it more on The Lands Bounty post.

Okay on to tea...Girls and I picked a bit of the leaves for our tea.  I just get a good handful and tear them up a bit and put them in a pot with water and heat.

I bring the water to a boil then turn off the heat.  Let it steep for a bit.

We like this tea cold so I stain and pour over ice.  I usually pour while it is still hot so that it dilutes is a bit. 

This batch was very green but I can come out a more yellow color too.  We decided the tea smells like fruit loops.  We usually sweeten it just a bit.  It has a very light, sweet, vanilla like flavor. 
Enjoy!

In the Ozarks 2 years!

  Hard to believe we've been here just over 2 years now.  The time has flown by for me.  I'm often asked if I still like it. Yes, I love it here.  I have yet to grow tired of the beautiful views God has created.  I love looking out the front window at the green hills and the life they contain.  I love sitting in my living room looking at my wood stove and seeing the fire twinkling as it warms our house. 
I am truly blessed! 

But, while blessed I am we have had trials and those trials have made us stronger.  With each new improvement and advance I am thankful for the accomplishment. 
One such improvement is that after 2 years I no longer sleep on the floor!  Yes we always has a mattress so really it wasn't that bad. But that mattress was just on the floor. 

Both in the fifth wheel trailer. Like above and you couldn't stand up in the space. So we crawled into bed literally for the first year and a half. 
Then we moved and had a real room but no furniture so we were still on the floor. 
But no longer!

Super D built this amazing bed for us.  I hesitated sharing it as it is still unfinished but couldn't wait any longer.  Now we have to climb into bed but it is in progress.  Still needs stained and some more additions.  It is amazing though and I am happy to be up off the floor!

While we are on beds I'll share the girls beds too.  These have been built quite a while.  They got up off the floor much sooner. :)

Super D calls these floating bunk beds.  He plans to build a desk under each one for them.  But we'll see if that happens.  It opened up their room quite a bit so they have some space. 

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms.  (I know I'm a day late)  Thank you to my family for showing me a wonderful day even though I had to work. 

Fun in the Sun!

Wear sunscreen!  I got the first big sunburn of the season. For the record mom I attempted to put on sunscreen but should have had the kids help me.  Hence it fades from white to red.  And the tag on my tank top was up so I got a lovely square in the middle of my back.  *rolling eyes*

These are our new summer toys! Super D and the girls have gotten to take them out a couple times.  I got out with them once.  They are so much fun and relaxing.  I envision many trips on them.

I staked out our humming bird feeder to get you all a picture.  But when I got the camera out they got shy.  Couldn't get a picture of them at the feeder go figure.  This guy landed on the volleyball net. 

Here's my attempt at a picture.  See the tail? Sugar bug has taken to filling up this feeder and keeping it full for our Hummers.  I love sitting out on our deck and watching them buzz by. 

That's the start of our warm season.  We are looking forward to more fishing, hiking, kayaking, and even bike riding.  Taking time to do the fun stuff is essential to my sanity but is hard to do with us working and keeping the farm running. 

Have any good plans?