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

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.

Tuesday, April 28, 2026

Sprained Toe ~ Weather Woes and Garden Prep Flooding


Regarding my recent sprained toe... 

I unfolded each piece of gauze to prepare and make the poultices for my toe area.

(looks like ants are chewing holes in the leaves)

I harvested some comfrey from our "weed" garden, to make poultices.  I only had 2 x 2 gauze, but it worked for my toe.  I used my new smaller food processor this time, and it worked great (comfrey leaves, a bit of water, and flour {can use arrowroot, or whatever for a thickener}).



The plant is springing up pretty well, and was large enough to get enough leaves cut for the poultices.  I used a freshly made poultice right away, and froze two more.  The frozen ones work to also reduce the swelling.

I also used my homemade comfrey salve, and the bruising is very quickly healing, and pain was gone after day one of poultices.  Thankfully, it was a sprain and not a break.


A strong thunderstorm, with rain and wind, moved into our area last night.  Only about half the mowing was completed before the rain arrived.  I have yet to harvest more dandelions due to the abundance of rain.  The last dandelions all went to seed very quickly.

I'm hoping we will get more chickweed, as I have yet to weed three more flower beds (actually four, but we have a plan to work on that one this year). Anyway, I typically pull the chickweed to save, as I weed the flower beds this time of year.

Our cold weather apparently does not want to leave yet.  We will be dipping to the 30's for three or four nights.  I'm just hoping it's not a hard freeze. 

The abundance of rain is a problem for our vegetable gardens.  One, it's too wet to even walk in, which means zero tilling or weed pulling to prepare the beds, and two, we've not been able to even obtain tomato plants this spring (yet).  I do not start my own tomato plants, because we plant so many (and indoor space is limited to start every single plant).

Rain is in the forecast yet this morning, and more tomorrow.

Sprained Toe ~ Weather Woes and Garden Prep Flooding ©  April 2026 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart




11 comments:

Jeanna said...

Please send us some of your rain. We are in a drought in the NC mountains and wildfires are popping up. Today (Tuesday) is the first day we've had any real rain but it isn't enough.

Gill - That British Woman said...

I am thinking you are in the Northern States with that temperatures? I am in Southern Ontario, and we have been told that it's going to be cold up here for the next two weeks by the weather forecasters, then hopefully things will get back to "normal," whatever normal may be?

Gill - That British Woman said...

forgot to add you have an interesting blog!

🌸 Debby/My Shasta Home said...

Some parts of the country is in drought and other s with too much rain. I can see how it can be too much of a good thing! Glad your toe is getting better. Toes are sensitive and boy if you stub,a toe or drop something on it, the pain is excruciating! 😭

Betsy said...

We have the same weather. Rain last night and cool for the next day or two. We'll be heading out camping this weekend after church with our minister and his wife and Curt and Barb. We're going to the tulip festival in Pella, IA. Hopefully the weather will be just a little warmer but not hot.
I pray that the poultices are helping your toe. I had a skin biopsy done over a week ago and it's still all red and sore. I may call the doctor tomorrow as I don't know if that's normal. It's always something isn't it?
Blessings and hugs,
Betsy

Leigh said...

No fun having a strained toe! Thanks for the pictures of how you treated it. Very helpful.

We had tons of chickweed this year, so I hope it's the same for you. With Dan's knee surgery, though, I didn't have a chance to do much with it except put it in a lot of salads. I still have a little chickweed salve from previously.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Jeanna, I am sorry to hear that. We are flooded out this spring.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Gill - That British Woman, thanks for visiting and I'm glad you are enjoying my blog.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Debby/My Shasta Home, yes, I am reading drought in some areas, while we are being flooded out. Every year there is a one issue or another with spring planting. We do expect it most years. We've also had drought years here as well, and we just stopped watering the garden. Yes, it was not fun to stub my toe. Very painful too.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Betsy, I hope your biopsy was normal, and that the site heals up fast. Have fun camping. Blessings and hugs.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Leigh, we do love having chickweed salve on hand for sure. It's great for a lot of issues. Yes, we are just now getting some chickweed. I did see some cleavers out there too.