Jewelweed

 Impatiens capensis or Jewelweed is a wildflower.

It is growing quite nicely along the dock over at my baby brothers home.  It likes a bit of sun and lots of moisture to grow well.   Flowers can be orange or yellow.

See the fleshy stem/stalk...the clear gelatinous substance inside is what kills the itch and spread of poison ivy.  I pick the largest stalks and split them open with a knife.  Some people will keep stalks in their freezer for the next years early poison ivy problems.  We have a slurry in our fridge...one year Far Guy got some stalks and threw the whole stalk into the blender...it works great.  

I managed to escape a huge outbreak of the Poison Ivy this year...I had three small spots...one should not touch sweaty cleavage with a lawn mowing glove.  Lesson learned. 

Far Side

Look OUT!

 For the Poison Ivy! 

We had enough rain to nurture the poison ivy to great heights...in some areas it looks like a shrub...a nasty shrub. 

I sprayed this area as it is near the house...soon it will be dead.   It felt good to spray it.

Yes I know I am weird.

Far Side

Leaves of three

 Let them be.   Poison Ivy is green all summer and blends in with many other plants.  The more shade a plant has the taller it will grow...seeking the sun in the shady woods.   I saw some plants last summer that were over three feet tall. ...scary for sure.  

Fall is a great time to identify poison ivy on your property because it sticks out like a sore thumb. 

First it turns yellow...there are still some green/greenish yellow plants in this photo. 

Then the real red flag.

Everything the pretty red is Poison Ivy in this photo!   You can mark the area with a flag and spray it in the Spring.   I use Round Up for Poison Ivy. 

If you have endured the insane itching of poison ivy...then you will understand my personal war against it.   Those of you lucky enough to escape it...good for you!  ( My husband has never had it... very lucky guy!)

Far Side

Jewelweed

 The Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis) is in bloom.  It is easy to spot now.  The fleshy stem of Jewelweed is full of a gel that will stop the itch of poison ivy.   I need to pick some and put it in the freezer...just in case. 

The flowers can be orange or yellow. 

We have a little bit in the fridge from the time Far Guy put a bunch in the blender with some beeswax and some kind of lotion. 

You can also buy Jewelweed soap...and we have done that from time to time also...you can never be too prepared to fight Poison Ivy.  

Jewelweed is also called touch me not ...if you touch a seed head it will send the seed into the air.  Adam  thought the exploding seeds were pretty cool when he was younger!

Our neighbor Leah had a really bad case of poison ivy this summer....so I hope she finds some and puts it in the freezer just in case. 

Far Side

Bee Happy!

 I finally got around to decorating the wreath for June. 

Home is where your honey bee! 

Yesterday was another warm day ( 91 F) I worked outside in the morning before it got real hot...took care of some Poison Ivy and some ant trails.  I ran out of Diatomaceous Earth...my preferred way to attack ants ...by desiccating their little bodies.  Yes I am real happy killing the Poison Ivy along the roads and at the edge of the woods...and those horrid black ants that bite are just a bugger....sometimes if I stand near a nest they will crawl in through the holes in my crocs and bite me...and frankly that really pisses me off! 

See that black line ...that is an ant super highway that goes right by my Lilac that didn't bloom this year and to the base of an Oak Tree. 

Splendor Report: Far Guy beat me again...I gave it a good try,  I declared that I won and he got an extra turn and overtook my score.  Far Guy 4 me 1.

Far Side

Snowball report

The Minnesota Snowball has turned white.

The shrub looks pretty good for getting no care what so ever.

I have been busy in the yard and the driveways...it is that time of year to spray the Poison Ivy along the roadsides.  I wait for conditions to be right...not too windy.  I also walked through my baby brothers zipline area.  Lots of kids will be running up that hill later this summer.  It is located in the deep woods on a hillside.
  Far Side

Fall Projects

After several days of warmer weather I still have a Fall list that won’t quit.  Good thing we are supposed to have a warm spell (above freezing during the day) for the next week or so.

We mulched leaves again, Far Guy mulched the wild gardens.  I raked along the garages and mowed…it was a dusty job.  I got the little flower garden cleaned up and worked on some of the solar lights.  Car windows were washed and the car vacuumed out.  An attempt was made to clean up Far Guys garage…

In the evenings I work on Christmas cards, they are coming along nicely.

  Poison Ivy turns color in the Fall

More Art

I found the new sculptures in town quite interesting.

Sculpture #3  Untitled Copper and Steel the artist is from the small town of Vergas Minnesota.

The copper shines so nicely in the sunshine.

 

Not sure what the artist was thinking…is it a river?   I see movement…I enjoyed the colors. Of the five new sculptures this one is my favorite.

Yesterday we went out for lunch in mid afternoon…just as we were being seated a couple in a nearby booth motioned wildly for us to join them…so we did.  It was one of Far Guy’s classmates.  The guys had a good visit and I enjoyed listening to his wife…who was a talker.

We came home and I sprayed more Poison Ivy…so much for life in the fast lane!

Ants

I have been struggling with ants.  We moved an old log bench to a different spot and it was attacked by big black ants.  Ants that bite…I know this first hand as they went in one hole of my croc and bit me hard enough that I kicked off my croc. These black ants make huge mounds….and thousands live inside the mounds.  I never took an Insect ID Class…but they are most certainly ants.

How about Ants as a sculpture?  This is Sculpture #2 at the Park in Park Rapids.

This sculpture is called AntVenture.

I suppose if you were a child you could have an adventure. 

I have no sense of humor when it comes to ants.  I don’t want them any where near the house or where they can bite Chance…or me.  I would use Diatomacious Earth on the mounds…but it rains heavily every few days…I have to wait for a dry spell.

besides plotting to kill ants…I washed the lawn mower….I drew the line at waxing it…but I probably should have waxed it.

I sprayed a bunch of Canada Thistle…and made the rounds to see that what I sprayed a few days ago is in the process of dying. It is…since I am the local plant sprayer…I have most of it sprayed except for an area that I cannot get to unless I am become a mountain goat.

I sprayed a bunch of Poison Ivy too…Roundup for Poison Ivy is my weapon of choice.  In Minnesota every property owner is responsible for his/her Poison Ivy along property borders. If you have the Ivy you can be reported to the County Weed Officer…then it gets nasty.  Some people especially those who move here from a fancy smancy town don’t like ivy when they find themselves covered in the rash…and report their neighbors.  Do not laugh it has happened.

Poison Ivy is a special regulated plant; 

Poison Ivy must be eradicated or controlled for public safety along rights-of-ways, trails, public accesses, business properties open to the public or on parts of lands where public access for business or commerce is granted. Must also be eradicated or controlled along property borders when requested by adjoining landowners.

After all the plotting of killing ants and spraying Noxious Weeds

I took some old solar lights and put them in the wildflower area where the Lilacs are…earlier this spring Far Guy mowed them down…but they have come back nicely.  We need to mow the perimeter and I wanted to protect the Lilacs somehow.

It was a warm busy day…one project led to another all day long, finally when my hair was dripping with sweat…I gave up…cooled off…washed my hair and read.  We had a thunderstorm and got an inch of rain in thirty minutes.  What happened to gentle soaking rains…we have had only gullywashers lately.  I will have to mow again in a few days…mow …rain…repeat.

Miserable signs of spring

The Populus deltoides or Cottonwood or Piss Popple have catkins. 

I think this is a male tree along our driveway.  The female trees will bloom next and then the fuzz flies all over. 

Time to get out the allergy pills.

Poison Ivy berries.

We have a good supply of Poison Ivy Soap, if we use it after working in the yard then our chances of getting it are slim…but still possible.    I still have some of the very expensive Zanfel on hand, it works wonders when you first notice the rash is itching.

Poison Ivy is some wicked stuff. I am going to try to kill these berries before birds eat them and drop the tiny seeds all over the place. Birds are never bothered by the urushiol that causes the intense itching. Lucky birds.

Piss popple fuzz gets all over, the dog carries it into the house, it rolls across the yard in waves, if it stops someplace where there is dirt and water it will sprout almost overnight.

Skeeters and Poison Ivy

Hello August.  August can be a miserable hot month in Minnesota.  We already know that the skeeters will be bad. 

One of our friends said he mowed his yard in shorts and a t shirt and was regretting it when he had bug bites all over his arms and legs.  I told him that he was nuts. ( He agreed.) I wear long pants with my socks up over my pants legs and a hooded  long sleeved fleece, when I am done mowing it all goes in the wash and I head for a bath with the Jewelweed soap that prevents the spread of the Poison Ivy oil.  I don’t like bugs and more than that I don’t like Poison Ivy…which we still have a lots of at the edge of our yard.  It has been raining too much to spray.

The lawn looks good but when it rains every other day it should.  I am mowing every five days or so.

We order Jewelweed Soap from a place called Turkey Foot Trading Company and it is the best soap we have found for the prevention and treatment of poison ivy. 

We have not been compensated in any way…just passing the information on.

Lawn Mowers and other things

We attacked the grass, it really grew last week during all the rain.  I drove that stupid new lawn mower, I so want my old mower back but I think Far Guy took it to the dump.   This new machine has hydrosomething drive..just a fancy smancy name for ways to confuse an old woman.  I just want a lawn mower to go forward and cut..that’s it.  I don’t care if it will mow whilst going backwards..I never drive backwards anyway..but Far Guy made a big deal out of showing me that if I pushed some button I could mow while driving backwards.  Did I try it? No..I am not fond of backwards…and the hydrosomething..I am not a fan..my foot gets tired. I am used to using my foot to stop..not to go.  

I had a vehicle once that lost it’s R.  For 18 months I never backed up, I only used a pull through parking spot in town..and if I had to back up I opened the door and got out and pushed it backwards..gosh I miss that vehicle.  Some days I wish I had it back..I know it will be a great collectors item some day.

Far Guy trimmed while I mowed..then he got out the anger management stuff (Roundup) and I murdered a whole bunch of Poison Ivy..take that..you evil little plant…suck in that poison in the sunshine and shrivel up and die…ha hah ahaaa.  It felt so good.

We went for a ride and stopped to visit neighbors..some were mowing and some had just finished mowing.

Barbara’s Lilacs.

It is going to rain again and it is still cold here although yesterday we had some sunshine so it felt warmer than the 64 degrees it was.

We talked to Adam, his pain is only a one..he reports that he has a hard time opening a bag of chips unless he uses his teeth..and his Mom helps him get cleaned up and dressed. He cannot play computer games..but he can play his X-Box.  I suggested that he read.  Ya..he guessed he could do that.  He will get a cast sometime this week..he wants a green one:)

Poison Ivy

It never fails.  I get Poison Ivy or Pi.  I have a few spots on my leg that are questionable.  I am using the Jewelweed Soap on them.   Absorbine Junior helps with the itch except when you scratch them..then it burns like fire..but a good feeling fire cause it burns out the itch.  Usually if I make it past the 4th of July I can avoid the really bad outbreaks.  Years ago I got the Pi shots and I could escape completely.  Since the idiots in the  FDA took them off the market I am resigned to the fact that I will have to suffer with at least one bad outbreak..maybe two.  Chance picks up Pi on his fur and shares.

We sprayed along our drive and property borders last night.  In Minnesota you are SUPPOSED to keep it under control along your driveway..where someone could inadvertently touch it. Let me tell you..in Minnesota we can grow some really tall Pi. We use Round Up on it for a quick kill.  I like to wait for a really warm day when the plants are working hard to photosynthesize and then hit them with Round up..the results are evident in a few days. I also like to wait for a day when I am really cranky..when killing something like Pi makes me feel better. I know I am a twisted sick old woman.

Poison Ivy is a specially regulated plant. This is what the Minnesota Department of Agriculture says about it:

Must be eradicated or controlled for public safety along rights-of-ways, trails, public accesses, business properties open to the public or on parts of lands where public access for business or commerce is granted. Must also be eradicated or controlled along property boarders when requested by adjoining landowners.

In my experience, you can dig it up..or you can kill it with Round Up. I have less chance of getting it standing back four feet with a sprayer:)

Poison Ivy

I have a spot of Poison Ivy that is stubborn and slow in going away.  Sometime someone or some dog brushed up against the ivy with their pant leg or their furry leg and then rubbed up against the bench in the kitchen..the bench sticks out enough that I routinely bump into it..hence the Ivy.  Far Guy washed down the benches with Dawn dish soap..

I needed some Jewel Weed.  It is in the Impatiens family.  It is also called Touch Me Not.  The seeds shoot off into the distance if you touch them when they are ripe.  

The stems is what you want to harvest, we usually pick a side branch.  Open the stem and spread the watery goo on the ivy..in a few days it will be gone.  I have noticed an improvement in my Ivy with just a few applications. Of course I am using Far Guys Jewel Weed soap too, he special orders it off of the Internet. 

This is something Far Guy came up with years ago..during his research into native plants…he dabbled into home remedies..he has never had poison ivy on his skin.  He did have it in his eye once back in 1994, using the weed eater without eye protection. (He went to the eye doctor and got special eye drops.)

I hate the ivy and this is my second bout with it this year.  I used to be able to get shots for it.  A series of three shots in March.  The FDA took it off the market..I was a real unhappy camper.

Minnesota has an over abundance of Poison Ivy…it grows wild everywhere. 

Do you have Poison Ivy where you live?  What do you do to prevent it, and what do you do to stop the horrific itching?:)

Wildflowers: Jewelweed

Far Guy is a jewel of a guy, he cooks most of the time and we split the housework..

One day a few years ago I came home from town, probably after a horrible grocery shopping experience and he was cleaning up the ceiling.  Now why in the world was he washing the ceiling?  He had a hair brained idea, he had ordered a whole bunch of Jewelweed off of the Internet..it was fresh..so he put it in the blender and made a slurry out of it..except he doesn’t have a license to run a blender..so of course the top came off and green goo covered the ceiling and many other things too.   The green goo that did not end up on the ceiling ended up in the fridge.   Some of that green goo was mixed with a liquid soap, I was instructed to use it for my poison ivy..well low and behold green goo works to stop the itch and the spread of the dreaded Poison Ivy.  He tried to talk me into doing a more scientific study where I would rub Poison Ivy on both of my arms and wash one with Jewelweed green goo and leave the other untreated.. well I may be a bit of an adventurous sort sometimes..but I am no dummy.

Jewelweed or Impatiens pallida grows wild here in Minnesota. It likes to grow near the lakes. It is a native plant.  It is also called Touch-me-Not, this fits it perfectly.  The seed pods shoot seeds in all directions if they are touched.  It’s thick fleshy stems hold the green goo. I have found both the yellow colored variety and the orange spotted variety.  The orange seems to grow taller than the yellow.

Far Guy showed Adam how the seedpods explode when they are touched..Adam thought it was pretty cool.  Far Guy took a few stems filled with green goo to a local soap maker..his idea of having his own Jewelweed soap may again become a reality one of these days.  He told the soap maker if she put it into a blender to make sure the lid was securely in place:)