Tidbits

We had a beautiful morning sunrise Monday morning.  It was cold out, but gorgeous sky.

Never hit your shin on something.  The pain is like no other.  I've been using up my freezer stash of comfrey poultices.  They are helping, but man...

(used my mortar and pestal for a small amount)

I've also been picking plantain.  I somehow got an itchy patch of a rash on my ankle (hm, could be from wearing flip flops out when it was warmer and brushing on something).  I got rid of it using a fresh plantain poultice in two days (second one I added fresh chickweed).  Yay, for the power of weeds.  Our plantain isn't very big yet, but we are getting some here and there.  I also ordered a free small food processor for small batch making. 

Does anyone here take horse chestnut for varicose veins?  Would love to hear your input.  Just wondering if I order the horse chestnut, do you make the extract as you would a "tincture?"

I placed my order for jojoba oil.  It's time to make homemade tick oil.  It can be used on humans or dogs and it works.  You can also make it with water and spray it on, but I prefer the oil, so I don't have to re-apply so often in the hot sun.

We continue to get rain.  The farmers are behind by 3 weeks getting into their fields, so you can imagine how far behind we are.  Flooding issues almost everywhere right now.  I told Hubby, if we can't plant with good timing, I won't plant at all.  It would be a complete waste of time.  We can't even get the tiller into it until it dries up.  We are not yet at our planting time, so say a prayer, send up good vibes and positive mojo.

Baked away the cold rainy blues - blueberry crumble.

The frustration is real

Does anyone have a natural ant killer I can use in my herb garden.  I was walking by it and saw a puffed up area in my oregano.  I stepped on it, and poof a bunch of ants came out.  Urgh.  Cornmeal doesn't kill them, and I can't use artificial sweetener nor borax.  I'd contaminate my herbs.  I am however, dumping boiling water on the hill.  I will have to do it a few more times, and if it works, replant some of the oregano.

This my friends, is my rose bed.  Does anyone have a natural homemade weed killer?  I don't care if it kills off the roses either, I want different ones anyway.  It's the most frustrating bed we have, and nothing has worked from weed fabric to 6 inches of mulch on top.  

Well, since I wrote up this draft for the post, I found another way to handle this weed garden from hell - roofing shingles and rocks.  We know someone re-roofing, so we hope to get some of the old singles soon. Until then, guests will just have to enjoy the weed fest going on. 

We are due to have 4 days of rain starting today (again).  Sunday we had planned to piddle around, but guess what?  We took off south to pick up a new radiator for our 19 year-old's car.  While we were there, my step-daughter called.  She gave birth to our 3rd grand child - a boy.  We drove north and made a visit to the hospital.  What a busy weekend.

I don't have clean house slippers to work around the house today.  Sigh.  Thanks to Jesse.  He's been so good off the leash, and in plain day light I just go out with him.  However, he smelled a dead rabbit in the road and went straight for it.  He's back on the leash after I ran through the sopping grass, saturating my slippers and socks.  My slippers are drying after a good washing.  As for that dead rabbit?  Hubby went out and shoveled it off into the field north of us.  We later watched a vulture having it's meal.