we had some surprise visitors this weekend.
i know they're going to ravage the garden
(they already took a nibble and ate the remaining persimmons i had left on the tree as a peace-offering for the birds) but....
they're really cute.
it felt pretty magical to sit in our backyard and watch deer romp around.

MESSAGE

from Curt:

We regularly use our chainsaw to clear out thick brush for fire prevention. We wear long-sleeve shirts but sometimes it's just too hot (the protection glasses get foggy). So over the weekend we often get Poison Oak and usually by Tuesday, the rash and bubbles appear. It gets worse for a couple days and takes at least two-three weeks to get rid of. Once, my arms were completely covered. We tried all kinds of stuff like Tecnu and Zanfel but with only very limited results. One of the product sheets states Poison Oak is worse than Poison Ivy. We also tried Tea Tree Oil (Shayna's favorite), milk or half & half which was recommended by a dermatologist. Wet towels soaked in sage leaves (boil water and pour over fresh leaves) wrapped around the arm definitley helped, (because it's an old home recipe and sage (german: Salbei) is anti-inflammatory). We heard about peach leaves and Manzanita mash, but haven't tried it yet. If anyone has a secret treatment, please advise.

Here's Shayna again:
I can attest to all of the above. We're as careful as can be and I'm just getting over a 3 week bout of poison oak on the chin and I don't even play with the chainsaw. It's not fun. I've barely even had a teensy nibble of the wrath of the plant. We've talked about renting goats (seriously). Anyone know of any service that deals with poison oak removal???? It's not in a feasible place to just ;eave alone and goodness knows we're sick and tired of dealing with it.....

Thank you!

working clothes and the staging ground for a new project.
weather report is favorable for this weekend....
thumbs pushed and fingers crossed!

rainy saturday cleared out the view for us on sunday.the seedlings are poking up their heads.
we'll have bundles of radishes but i want to put more beets in the other boxes.
has anyone ever tried to grow kohlrabi? i've been on a bit of a kick lately...took a break on sunday to play on ocean beach and see some friends....

if you haven't already:

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poster by xtrapop

downpour all day saturday, water in our wheelbarrowsunday it finally cleared up long enough to string-up one box for plantingthis year i'm trying the square-foot gardening method

3 boxes on the right will stay
last year's box on the left will gocurt's already got the next project going (maybe the last outdoor project before rainy season is truly upon us?)....