After a few minutes of observation and several neatly shaped clouds of smoke, he would tell me how many days before the linden flowers are going to be ready for picking and drying - for year-round supply of delicious tea that (at least in my experience) provides more warmth to your body than any other herbal tea.
The picking of the linden flowers took a few days and he would always start on the south side, where the leaves reached that mature golden color which meant they were filled with sunshine to the max and ripe, first.
Drying was also a delicate process because my grandfather wanted to keep every fragile linden flower whole, without crumbling. Just with as much caring attention as he was paying to the linden tree before picking the flowers, he was now supervising the drying process.
I am quite sure that winter was my grandfather's favorite time of the year. Small farm was a lot of hard work from dawn till sunset. Only in winter he was able to sit next to the welcoming wood-burning stove, smiling while reading an article about a distant country in the newspaper and enjoying a cup of his linden flowers tea.
This memory leaves me wondering if my grandfather was smiling like that because he was cozy and warm, because the newspaper story reminded him of something pleasant, or was it the mildly sweet taste of home-grown and home-made linden flowers tea that was making him feel so happy and relaxed.
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17 comments:
Great memory share, I only have a one of my pop...Him chasing me around the backyard with a belt.... The Linden tea memory is much better.
Your Grandfather was obviously very close to nature and sounds wonderful. Never heard of a Linden tree before so they are probably native to the USA. Great story.
What a dainty little flower. Very pretty.
i've never heard of a linden tree before! it's very pretty, though.
I have had orange and elderberry flower tea, but never linden--what does it taste like?
what a sweet memory to share. Thanks
Great memory! That brought back great memories of my grandfather. I've never heard of that flower, but it's so lovely. I bet it makes a wonderful tea! Thank you for sharing. :)
I've never tried linden tea. Must add it to my list of things to try
That is a great story. It's cool that he made his own tea. I've heard linden also has beneficial properties for skincare as well- but I don't recall the exact benefit.
I've never even heard of the Linden Tree or tea.
Sounds as though your Grandfather really enjoyed the process of picking and drying - and it's so nice for you to have those memories.
Lovely picture - and very pretty flower!
What a wonderful tribute to your grandfather. I loved reading this post.
Both the tree and the flower are lovely. What a wonderful tribute to your grandfather. I'll have to look for the tea. It sounds good.
Now I know where you get your love of nature and tea from. What a beautiful story. It's nice to have good memories like that to pass on to others.
I love herbal teas. This is one I have never tried. It is really great that you have this memory of the care your grandfather put into something special.
Oh what a great memory of your grandfather! We have never heard of the Linden tree either, but it sounds like it might make a good cup of tea!
Your FL furiends
Your recall is wonderful, and thanks for the Linden tea tip... I had no idea. But then again, I've got to admit I'm clueless on what you can drink (and eat) and what you can't. Your blog is bringing a whole wealth of nutritional (and fun!) facts my way, thanks!
What a nice memory of your grandfather and didn't realize you could dry the flowers and create tea. Thanks for the post.
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