House smells wonderful :)

[Toddy]

Himself brought me in larch cones to dry to use for Christmas decorations. Usually they dry off just fine sitting on a tray, but everything is sodden wet here just now. We have had incessant rain, every burn and river is heaving. Good weather for ducks

So, I spread them out on baking trays and put them into the oven, low and slow and opened the door a bit.
It's lovely the whole house smells wonderful and I have pinecones enough for Christmas and to stash away for firelighting too.

I save the waxes from the cheese truckles and dip the cones in that. I wrap a bit of string around them first, and that makes them a 'firelighter' kind of thing. Easy to put a couple in a bag or pocket and guaranteed fire even when the world is sodden wet !
They can also be used with salts to make coloured flames for the Hallowe'en, GF, Solstice, Yule, Christmas or New Year fires too
Different salts give different colours to the flames.

Tell you though, pine cones in the oven, better than any fake air freshener

M

 

[punkrockcaveman]

That sounds awesome Mary

I like the idea of the fire starters. I think I've even seen them for sale! Bonus points for reusing the wax

Have you ever managed to harvest any pine nuts before?

 

[Toddy]

Oh I wish
Pine nuts come from Stone Pines, and they don't grow well here.
It's a bit like the edible chestnuts, they so rarely fill out properly here, yet in the Med they produce tonnes of them.

The firestarters are easy. You can use good wax on them too if you're trying to keep things cleaner for the house chimney.

I'm pretty sure Wayland did a tutorial on them a while ago. I'll see if I can find a link to that thread.

It's miserable weather here just now, but the house really does smell fresh and bright somehow.

M

 

[demographic]

Oh I wish
Pine nuts come from Stone Pines, and they don't grow well here.
It's a bit like the edible chestnuts, they so rarely fill out properly here, yet in the Med they produce tonnes of them.

The firestarters are easy. You can use good wax on them too if you're trying to keep things cleaner for the house chimney.

I'm pretty sure Wayland did a tutorial on them a while ago. I'll see if I can find a link to that thread.

It's miserable weather here just now, but the house really does smell fresh and bright somehow.

M

The chestnuts have been producing a bit of a crop round here mind, don't usually but this year seems better.
Not full size but big enough to be worth eating for a change.

 

[Toddy]

We get occasional years like that, but they're rare. Even in those years though the chestnuts are few and far between.
We get a really good crop of beechnuts in a mast year though.

 

[demographic]

We get occasional years like that, but they're rare. Even in those years though the chestnuts are few and far between.
We get a really good crop of beechnuts in a mast year though.

Mast year reminds me of this by Steve Mould about oak trees and squirrels.

 

[daveO]

My house smells like cremated pumpkin seeds.

 

[Toddy]

@daveO



Funny you should say that.

I cut up a butternut squash this afternoon to try the butter, sugar and spice thing that Robson Valley suggested earlier this week, and I thought as I peeled it that it might make vegetable crisps, and I could do as he said with the seeds too......

Well, the crisps ended up overdone so I suspect the smell was the same as your cremated pumpkin seeds They were horrible.

I can honestly say that butternut squash seeds are not good roasted, they're hard and kind of like trying to eat apple cores.

However, butter, sugar and spice coated pieces of the squash are really good roasted

 

[Lean'n'mean]

My house reeks of dog & I love it.