Jewelweed

Jewelweed*, pictured here in a photo from the internet, is truly a gem of a weed. It grows in damp places, often near poison ivy. Youngest brought a bag full of jewelweed with her last time she was here for a visit. We dried it and put it in oil to steep for a month to release it's poison ivy fighting properties. A wash or salve or soap made with it will help lessen the effects of poison ivy on the skin.

Goodman gets poison ivy every year whether he is careful about staying away from it or not so we have tried lots of remedies including an elixir made with poison ivy. A small-town drugstore in a neighboring town sells the elixir made with a small amount of poison ivy to build immunity, and Goodman takes that, which helps tremendously, but he still gets a blister now and then, so I'm going to use the oil for a poison ivy soap as soon as it's ready.

We're getting lots of produce from the garden including cantaloupes. 

I finished the socks for Goodman. I used Lion Brand Amazing yarn.

Life is just a bouquet of zinnias here in the foothills. ;)  Have a great week, Y'all.
*Jewelweed is poisonous if ingested.

Jooo Lye Sho Iz Haht

Greetings, Y'all! We've been in a heatwave like none I can ever remember. I hope you're staying cool. I've been busy preserving produce from the garden and enjoyin' the flowers, too. A Queen Sophia marigold.

 

A bluebird on the back fence line.

This is sweet woodruff, one of the herbs I like to grow in my li'l herb bed that is right outside the kitchen,

 I grew sage this year in lieu of buyin' it at the grocery store. In this uncertain economy we're making an effort to grow as much as we can and not have to buy. I hope you're doing the same. Are you making your own laundry detergent yet? It makes me very happy to wash a load of clothes for about .02 cents a load. :)

 I've been growing echinacea for several years. I plan to make my own capsules for immunity this year.

Just by-the-by, there was a bad car crash in front of our house this week, and one of the folks involved was airlifted to one of the local hospitals. They landed in our front pasture to pick up the patient, who is in stable condition now, thank the Lord. (I have to say it was kinda nifty to see the helicopter land in our field.)

No knitting lately as we're busy from dawn to dusk with other things that must be done now. Hope to visit with you again soon.