Bright Meadow Farms

Vacation went well.

I picked and froze 29 pints of black raspberries, and made 30 or so grapevine wreaths from grape vines that are strangling the apple trees in the orchard. Lesson learned: Wear long sleeves and gloves when pulling down grapevines. I got a nice case of poison ivy on my right forearm for my trouble.

I have been getting lots of advice on how to treat the poison ivy. "See a doctor." "Wait three weeks and it will go away on its own." "Use a diphenhydramine cream to reduce the itching." I have noticed that when I take ibuprofen (broken foot is still healing) the redness and itching is reduced quite a bit - but nobody has mentioned that as a cure.

This week I am back at work. It is flooding here, we got 5-7 inches of rain in the area last night, and more expected this afternoon. I keep looking longingly at my garden - being away at the farm for a week and then having the rain, I have not done any weeding - and the weeds are getting taller.