about poison ivy

This is the first year I've really been bothered with poison ivy. My husband never seems to get it. I liked this information article.

"Ask Dr. H - Can you still spread poison ivy even after you've washed?
By Dr. Mitchell Hecht

Q: My doctor says that once you wash off poison ivy sap from the skin, you can't spread it. If that's right, then why is it that whenever I get poison ivy it seems to spread to other areas? -D.C., Philadelphia

A: The skin rash (dermatitis) that causes poison ivy is due to the chemical "urushiol" contained in the plant's sap. All parts of the plant, from the leaves to the roots, contain urushiol. 85-90% of people who come in contact with the sap will get a poison ivy rash. The sap containing urushiol can rapidly penetrate the skin within 10 minutes after contact. Washing your skin within 5-10 minutes with soap and water or even hydrogen peroxide may prevent the rash. The problem is that either we don't know we've brushed against a plant, or the sap is left behind on our clothes to cause a rash days later when we handle them while doing laundry. Urushiol is an oil, and will stick to almost anything - clothing, sports equipment, hiking gear, garden tools- even your dog's or cat's fur.

Once you've developed the rash, you can't spread it to other parts of the body or to another person. That's because once the sap is washed away, there's no more allergen around to cause a rash. Those blisters you see are your body's reaction to a foreign substance on the skin. Blister fluid does not contain any sap and therefore can't spread the rash. New lesions that appear a few days after the initial rash are just less sensitive skin areas or areas where there was less sap exposure - not a spreading of the rash."

eat chickweed

I saw this information here. I love learning about wild edibles.

Yes, this is the stuff I pull out of the ground when weeding.

labneh

live to cook blog recipe

This looks very good - I'm eager to try it - will try to post a picture after I make some. First I will make my own yogurt because I have the best way to make yogurt using a non-electric yogurt maker. It makes a quart. It just has a plastic container you put in an insulated container - you could probably use a thermos; I haven't tried that. We have so much mint around here; I'm always trying to find ways to use it up.

May garden

I took a few pictures of things growing outside - always fun to compare them later on in the summer. I have a bunch of these type plants everywhere - they are so easy to make more and more of them.

In this picture, I planted lettuce in the white box and marigolds around it. You can see some poison ivy on the fence - I pulled a bunch today but missed that bit. Pineapple mint is growing here too.

Speaking of poison ivy, our neighbor to the east has it growing up their house. You can see it next to the house. Sadly they don't cut down any of the trees growing up around the perimeter - wonder what it will be like in a few years??

I've planted many tomato plants here and there around the borders and on the northern part of our yard. I'm sure they'll be much bigger in a month.


a bit of lettuce
green strawberries
basil itty bitty seedlings

wood floor

Grandma's wood floors




Dining Room


The Den

tomato plants

I planted 18 of my tomato plants - have lots left to plant. I thought I'd sell at Farmer's Market this summer, then I sprained my ankle the end of February and the farmer market person didn't contact me with info like she said she would, so I'm not doing farmer's market but I will have lots and lots of tomatoes if they all grow well. They look good now. I have Yellow Plum Tomato, big slicing tomatoes, Beef Sandwich tomato and some other kinds. I'm not taking many pictures; maybe later.

The picture I posted I got from somewhere or other.