Pioneer Woman at Heart

One Flourishing, Frugal and Fun Family!

One family learning to live off the land, cut back on expenses, and to live a simpler and a more self-sufficient lifestyle.

Adopted Motto

"Eat it up,
Wear it out,
Make it do,
Or go without."
~A Pioneer Sampler, by Barbara Greenwood~

Saturday, June 18, 2016

And She's Down.....Up Again ~ Another scarecrow?

I've been struggling with allergies, or I thought I was, and have been very tired.  So tired, that I wanted to take a nap lately.  I never nap.  Unless I'm sick.


I took a nap.   

 (Warning:  this is a "grap a cup of coffee/tea" kind of post.  Sorry I was so chatty.  Must be that I'm feeling better today.)

Shocker.  My kids thought I was joking when I said I was leaving the porch and taking a nap.

I overslept one morning, and woke up feeling as if my head would explode.  


I also flipped through my herbal remedies in search of help, before calling the dreaded doctor (which I never had to call).  Most people who read my blog know that I am not a doctor and have a disclaimer at the bottom of my blog.  And that not all herbs work the same for everyone, and may even cause a bad reaction.  I simply share my personal experiences.

With that in mind, I researched that a mullein tincture may cure a sinus issue, and much faster than a two week antibiotic (that may never work).  I did not have a tincture on hand, but will be stocking my medicine cabinet with one.  I do not have goldenseal either.  I read that tinctures can last 7-10 years safely in your medicine cabinet. 

In place of the tincture, I decided to make a tea with elder flowers (I had two on my trees), mullein, and peppermint.  I have been drinking the ginger tea for the congestion, and it does work for that (for me anyway) as well.

I still went about my day outdoors, but put my homemade vapor-rub on the edge of my nose (has peppermint oil and eucalyptus oil in it).  I hoped it would also help keep the pollen out.

After one full day of herbal tea, I was able to rid my head of sinus pressure.  Salt water should never be under estimated either.  Or hot ginger tea (made from freshly grated ginger).

In this case, salt water wins, and the teas win too.  It opened passages, and they dried up, and reduced my cough to almost nothing. Also, the fatigue was quickly lifted, and my work load was much easier to handle. Energy is returning now.

We still lack rain.  It's very dry again. 

Today, it's back out for weed patrol.  I also had to replant every single yellow squash seed.  Not one came up.  Everything else is up (aside from a few cucumber seeds), so I'm not sure if they sold me bad seeds?  I purchased from High Mowing.  I'm thinking the lack of rain has affected my seeds.  I had been watering with well water, but switched to my rain barrels recently.  I guess we'll see. 

I replanted, so we'll see.  Also, all of my herb seeds arrived.  I'll be moving the herb pots back on the sunny porch, and watch them for a few days before planting (again).  I am pretty sure it was a raccoon who was causing the damage. We've never had raccoons destroy anything other than toss the cat food bowls around.

Speaking of bowls.  One raccoon stole a cat food bowl.  A bright blue one.  I found it the other day.  It pulled it into one of the barns, ha ha!  Now, I have to be super careful and make sure they are not hunkering down in my "garden" barn.   

I also think it was the same raccoon digging up one grape vine, over and over.  I have put in posts, and wrapped it with chicken wire.  It's the last vine to get new growth on and I don't want to lose it.  My lesson here is to protect all new plants with a barrier.

Digging through a cupboard, I found an old pair of  (jeans) overalls.  My 16 year-old wants to make a husband scarecrow for Pearl.  My husband wants to make a "biker" scarecrow.  I'm not sure what will transpire just yet. 

2 comments:

RB said...

I've been having problems with allergies too, from Lord only knows what. I've now got a sinus infection that I'll work on with teas and Vitamin C. This too shall pass.
I pray everyone has a safe and blessed week.
God bless.
RB
<><

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

RB, I honestly thing mullein works better than nettle. I'm making more today.