A rose of steel that does not fade - for my mother

 My mother is currently in quite some pain and staying in hospital, so she got her Christmas present early this year to give her some joy in her hardship. I made this one on a recent Christmas fair as a present, actually. It was fun to make, and while there certainly is some room for improvement still, it was my first, so I do not complain.

 All forged in five heats (there was little time, you see;-)), it came in a bit crude still, but as is, I like it well enough (my mother certainly does, but I could whack some hammer dents into a shrapnel and she would like it ;-), that´s mothers for you ;-)).

Sometimes it´s good to make something that does not necessarily need to have an edge, and to play around a bit with steel... it certainly gave me some refreshment and a boost of creativity.

Harvest!;-)

 I  am currently preparing ´shrooms and potions;-). The mushrooms are either just dried or salted and spiced and salted with...erm ... salt, thyme, sage and artemisia, weird, I know, but tasty;-). I even seasoned some with honey and sage, and dried them and what can I say... they are all gone already..;-) I tend to eat them as snack more often than cooking with them!

Those are gins and potions: Up front there is a very handy love potion, which is also a good tonicum against arthritis:

take four handful of nettle seeds,
four handfuls of dried rose petals (rosa canina)
0,2 l of birch sap
and honey to cover the whole mess
2 cl of Amaretto liqueur

let rest for three days in the sun, and three weeks in the dark, strain through a sieve and enjoy. 2 cl per day will suffice!

Behind that, a cough syrup.

take two handfuls of ribwort plantain (plantago lanceolata),  ten leaves of gravel root (Euparium) or Echinacea, one small and sharp chopped onion, cover with honey and let it rest for six weeks in the dark.

The big bottles: Sloe gin, with cinnamon spice, Birch sap and herbal wine with nettle seeds, sloe / birch sap wine, sloe / birch sap / herb wine. Jul feasting is accomplished!;-)

By the way, this is Willibald;-), a birch sap vinegar fungus that simply built up in a neglected birch sap bottle. I fed him with honey, and he prospers well. I have made birch sap wine with him and added a bit to bannock dough already... works!;-)