A-Z Challenge 2025 ~ H

This year I choose an easy way out. Each day I'm going to solve the Wordle of the day, using as starter a word beginning with the letter of the day. I post every day at 6 pm. my time (GMT +2. Dang you DST!)

As the alternative badge, as supplied by Lissa seems to suggest growing things I'll prefer those as starter words, and if at all possible, I'll avoid words containing the same letter more than once.

I'll maybe add a few words about my chosen starter word if fancy takes me, else I'll just post the solution - or not in the case that I did not solve it.

H is for HAZEL and HERBS.  I was so in doubt which one to chose, and only my telling of the revenge plant/wool dyeing had HAZEL win by a whisker.
Hazel is another one of those bushes or trees showering us with pollen and making me sneezy and itchy. But the leaves and the catkins are great dyers. I have even planted a red leaved variety in my garden, and every spring I bribe somebody, most often the Writer, to pick me all the catkins in a big pot and place them on a big flagstone outside. Then I pour boiling water over them, grinning evilly, and freeze the resulting mash until the time is right for dyeing of my revenge hanks. Red hazel catkins give a beautiful, durable bottle-green colour.
Herbs -- well I use herbs for cooking, dying, soaping, salves, and much more. I grow 2 types of parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, savory, tarragon, chives, lovage -- loads of lovage -- oregano, dill, fennel, mint, basil, laurel, lemon balm and lemon verbena.  But no cilantro. I cannot make it grow, and I find the taste nauseating. Sometimes I grow ginger, shiso, lemongrass, and anise. This year I'm trying my hand at caper berries. I also dream of growing juniper and turmeric. I tried wintergreen, but did not like the taste.

Wordle was a big tease yesterday, as the solution was HAZEL! Today's starter word. I opened Wordle in another browser and made this for showing off today:

Yes it is cheating, but I was sorely tempted. And for the real one today ... I got Great again

Yes, I know that SWANS could not be the solution, as E was missing. Thinking smarter migth have given me the solution in 3 or 4 tries.

As I have a very short memory for words, I thought it could be fun to try once more - only this time using my other H-word: HERBS:

And explaining how I solve a Wordle, just thinking aloud here:

HERBS - Yay. All of three letters: E, R, S, none of them in the right place.
STAIR - S, A placed rigth - good, lucky word.
Now I have 4 letters S, A, R, S.
R can only be in the 4th place, as there's no word I know starting in SRA.
E could be 2nd or 5th.
SEAR_ could be the solution with SEARS, but I do not like repeating letters -- a weakness, I know.
S_ARE looks better. And I try the as yet un-tried letters one by one, as I always do:
SQARE, SWARE, SYARE, SUARE, SOARE, SPARE 
Oh, SPARE is a word. And actually the solution. If it had not been so, P had been grey, and I had continued and found SCARE and SNARE.

Or in case of SEARS actually being the solution, E would have been yellow in the word SPARE as well as P being grey.