THE POISON IVY BLUES.
Last year, while still working as an intern, I had my first experience with poison ivy. What started as a few small bumps on my arm grew quickly to giant rashes, covering my arms, my belly, my legs. Different people react to the plant in different ways, and it became apparent that I was one of those people who "got it bad."Poison ivy is a plant that produces urushiol - a clear liquid that is found in the sap of the plant. Urushiol is what causes the itching and burning, and it is the most common allergy in the country - affecting over half the population. Even if you think you aren't allergic, reaction to poison ivy can begin at any time. Continued exposure to the plant builds up over time and can suddenly cause a rash. Oh and ALSO - urushiol is pretty powerful stuff. It lingers - staying on your skin or clothes or dog or cat or whatever - unless you completely remove the oil. This is why it is so easy to get one tiny spot that grows into more and more and more. Urushiol can even remain active on a completely dead poison ivy plant - for ONE TO FIVE YEARS. Fun!So basically, I hate poison ivy. I detest it. It has truly become an actual problem for me - because our farm has a lot of poison ivy. Especially poison ivy VINES, which are even more potent. With all of the clearing and cutting and digging around we are doing in the old barns around the cabin site, it seems that every time we go to Bugtussle, no matter how careful I am, I get some. And that some grows to lots. The last round lasted almost a month from miserable start to finish, bubbling into blisters and leaving some hideous scars on my wrist. My current round hasn't even reached the blistering peak yet - I have it in between my fingers on both hands, covering my entire left arm, and in some other terribly unmentionable places. It consumes my every waking moment, taking all my concentration not to scratch it, not to rub it, not to run outside screaming from the insanity of it. And just when I seem to find myself in a zen state of tranquility, accepting the pain and pushing it from my mind, I find a BRAND NEW PATCH popping up on some bizarre part of my body and I become enraged. Last night, I was lying in bed crying while I hysterically told Jesse that maybe I'm just not supposed to be farmer. A tad dramatic, perhaps, but seriously. IT IS THE WORST AND I WANT TO DIE.I have tried several different cures and remedies over the past year. We always wash with TECNU first, to remove any remaining oil and stop potential spreading. While helpful, it doesn't provide any real relief from the pain or speed up the healing process. Plus, with my current round of poison ivy, the Tecnu has seemed to further irritate and spread everything around. I have used both Calagel and Aveeno 1% Hydrocortisone Cream. I have tried apple cider vinegar. I have used the homeopathic remedy - actually ingesting a microscopic amount of rhus toxicodendron (which is poison ivy). All of these sorta kinda work, and I have found that the homeopathic remedy speeds up the healing process...but nothing really helps relieve the soul-crushing itch.ALL OF THIS TO SAY - most likely due to my delirious outburst last night, Jesse decided that was enough of that, and we needed to find a solution. He ran out to the store and came back with a few products that, at least so far, have been a GODSEND. Calendula salve (a plant we grew earler this year!) and Burt's Bees Poison Ivy soap. HALLELUJAH the soap has saved my life. It contains jewelweed, which is a natural remedy for poison ivy, and I only had to wash with the soap once to have almost 8 hours of no itching, and the calendula is so soothing. You JUST have no idea how wonderful that is.
Sorry for the long, complain-y post, but I am hoping to perhaps share some of these tips with others who might suffer as I do. I feel like the jewelweed and calendula are the ticket. I am not a huge fan of Burt's Bees as a company (Clorox owned, imports all beeswax from Ethiopia, etc), so I am going to stock up on this homemade jewelweed, olive oil, and calendula soap and hopefully try to plant some jewelweed of my own when we are back on the farm!What about you? What products and remedies have worked for you?- Hannah.
DIGGING OUT THE SPRING.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwGfmrYuXnAWe are back from our week at Bugtussle! It was a wonderful Thanksgiving - we had a delicious lunch with the Smith's before they left for Pennsylvania, and we spent the week doing various projects at the cabin, cutting firewood, and learning how to cook our meals on a wood cook stove! One of our projects was digging out the little natural spring we have on our property. I cannot describe the moment when we discovered it - the magic of pulling out some clumps of leaves and mud and watching a stream of water suddenly pour out from the rocks. We cleared away all the debris and fallen leaves and salamanders and then covered it up with tin as a temporary roof. I don't yet know how we will utilize the spring - it sits at the lowest point of elevation on the farm - but we are thrilled to have it. These days, having a reliable source of water is a treasure, and having one that beautifully bubbles up mysteriously from the ground seems like a miracle.- Hannah.
THANKS.
Hannah and I have much to be thankful for.We're heading up to our farm this weekend, which we're deeply thankful to the Smith's for offering us. We've had a crazy year and we're thankful to our friends and family for helping us hobble through the bad times, and celebrate the good. We're thankful for all of the supporters we met during our campaign and we're thankful the new community it helped us create with you.And of course, we're thankful for this guy, who through all the moving and chaos has still for some reason put up with us, so long as we set aside time each day to play his favorite game: chase. Thank you, goof.
photo by Klara Ferrero
So Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! We'll be back next week with a full farm and cabin report. Have a great weekend, be safe, and no matter what you're eating, don't forget to thank your farmer!- Jesse.
CHRISTMAS CARDS ANYONE?
Since Jesse is working most days and I am still on the hunt for a holiday job, I have had a lot of free time lately...and I do mean A LOT. I have spent most of it applying for jobs, looking on craigslist for wood cook stoves and cast iron tubs, drawing, and generally trying not to go insane. Just the other day I started working on these Christmas cards using an amazing photograph of Wendell taken by the lovely Klara.
I really love how they are turning out. I thought about perhaps selling sets of Wendell notecards to make some extra money...but then I thought that maybe there might be some folks out there interested in their own personalized holiday notecards using their pets. Yes, no, maybe? If you are interested, send me an email at roughdraftfarmstead@gmail.com and we can talk about the specifics. Not only would you be supporting the farm, but you would be keeping me from going insane. AHHHHH I'M SERIOUSLY LOSING MY MIIINDDDDD GIVE ME SOMETHING TO DO- Hannah.