Yes indeedy I did. I also got some daylilies (who knows what they will look like), and a shrub that I don't know the name of. The shrub has leaves shaped like a nandina (only green) , but it has berries like a holly only much larger and grouped together in a bunch. I also got something with a flower like a daffodil, but the leaves are not the same as daffs and the flower is very small. The daffs (both small and large) are the old bright colored yellow. Awesome!
I itch all over and I am now thinking, that I also got into poison ivy. I am not fit to go out in public. I look like a leper. I may still go to the doctor if I don't get some relief soon. The TTO gives me some relief on the fire ant bites and the oozy ones are drying up. Some of the fire ant bites still have blisters but I am being careful not to scratch them and I put the TTO on three times a day now.
You would have laughed your head off if you had seen me. I got down on all fours and crawled along the old fence line pulling up irises. The daffs were so deep, I could only get a few. As I crawled along, I think that is where I picked up the redbugs. They are in all the places that you normally get redbugs.
I am now covered on my arms, and neck and chin with a rash that looks very much like poison ivy or oak. I can't believe I got this stuff in the dead of winter. I just didn't even think about it because of the time of year.
I know that it will be better eventually and the flowers will be with me long after it is over. So, yes it was worth it or will be when I am over the oozes, rashes and itches. I just hope that if I wind up at the Dr.'s office, it doesn't cost more than the flowers and shrub would have cost me in the store.
I also have this wierd thought of some little old lady looking down from Heaven and say to herself: Finally someone to enjoy my flowers again!
Charlene
The Recipe
lol. I'm sure you're right about somebody looking down from heaven. She's thinking "well it's about time somebody showed up to claim these jewels, but I sure hope she's not allergic to them!" Maybe some oatmeal in a hot bath would help sooth your skin. There was a thread last fall I think about poison ivy cures. There were lots of suggestions on it. Something that might help is organic apple cider vinegar. Sounds strange, but it sure works fast on a bad sunburn. If you have a good health food store, you might go there and ask for advice.
The sad part is that there is still enough plants there to fill a normal sized yard. It will all be dozed soon enough and I am sure none will be saved. It is being surveyed and marked off. They dozed the house and have cut down a lot of trees. I think it is sad to have so many pretties just crushed and pushed away into never, never land.
There is no way I am going back there.............well, if I just didn't itch so badly to keep reminding me of the pain..........I wannna go back, no, I don't wanna go back.
Someone needs to save me from myself before I self destruct.LOL
More plants than you could dig in a day, in a day, in a day...off to dreamland. That is if I can sleep.
I am so sorry Charlene, I put the TTO on with in a few minutes of being bit. With so many things I think you better see the doctor and then I will bring my spray and kill every thing a long the fence and we can dig until are hearts are full of joy.
You are about 2 hr. from me. I live on the south side of Tyler. I would be in heaven digging up all of those plants so if you do not get sick from it then it was worth it. You sound like my kind of girl.
I am also sorry I did not get back to you but I have been sick and going through lots of testing.
Did you put the TTO and every thing? I hear people talk about it all the time but the ant bites were the first thing I I tried it on big time.
Please let me know how you are.
Joan
I didn't go to the doc, but the pharmacist told me to get some hydrocortisone. It has helped more than anything yet. He said unless the poison ivy places were oozy, red, and swollen, I didn't really need to go to the doctor just yet.
The best relief for the itching that I have tried (and boy have I tried a lot of things) seems to be (of all things) finger nail polish remover. Last night while watching TV, I just kept it at hand and doused each itch as it occured and it did help quite a bit. At night I take benadryl and I have been able to sleep just fine.
My DH said that I wouldn't need to worry about the effects of the bugs and poison ivy, he would personally kill me if I went back to that homestead.
I know he is right, but ........
Charlene (edited for typo)
This message was edited Feb 21, 2008 1:37 PM
Joan,
I do hope you are feeling better. I also hope all the test results came out the way you were needing them to come outl
You know if you really wanted to come, I could give you directions to the place. It would be well worth the trip. I don't think that the gas and the pain, itch and meds needed would really be worth it though.
However, if you like daylilies (of unknown variety), daffodils (huge yellow trumpets), noid irises, paper whites, other unknown bulb plants, and a few various vines and shrubs then it may be worth it. There are also lots of small trees that could easily be dug there.
Be forewarned, I can't find out who the current owners are. I googled the person whose name was on the box and looked up all I could find and he is (if not deceased) one hundred and one years old. I could have gotten more info if I would have paid the fees I guess. Everytime I go pass the place there is no one there. One time I went and there was all kind of equipment there, but I guess everyone had left for the day. Now, it is marked off with stakes and pink tape in the back of the property. The house and some trees have been removed.
I guess I am pretty gutsy going there, but I can see that none of the work there is relative to rebuilding a home there and they have already dozed a large flower garden that was there earlier. I would ask the owner's permission if I could find out who they are, so far, I haven't found out yet. I called the tax office and I didn't have enough information to give her to find out what I needed.
Charlene
Charlene if you have chiggers, you might try something called Chiggerid. It is finger nail polish with some kind of anti-itch stuff in it. It works very well on my chiggers. You might have to get it at a pharmacy.
I you could get permission could bring the tiller and it would at easter..
How are you doing?
f
When I was a small child the army took over a huge section of forest near us so they could expand the base. They also purchased many old farms and homes surrounding . They burned the homes and barns and just used the land as a buffer zone for the base. My mom gleaned every flower, berry bush, rhubarb patch she could get. My poor father never complained, even when digging those massive peony plants and rose bushes. Your story brought back some great memories.
Joan, if I can get permission, I will let you know. There are some other things there I would love to have if I could get permission. There are lots of plastic flower pots and some old windows and screens.
You won't need your tiller as the daffs that I couldn't get are surrounded by bushes and roots. The soil is easy to dig in as it is rotted leaves on top and sugar sand beneath that.
There are enough plants to share with anyone who wants to come if I can find out who owns it and get permission to get them. I will post here if I get it.
I bet that people who like to dig for old bottles would have a hayday there if they could find the old family disposal site. The soil in this area is very easy to dig as long as you don't get into roots growing over an area. It is like digging at the beach.
Charlene
:-)
This message was edited Feb 23, 2008 4:55 PM
Well, I finally have an address of someone who is paying the taxes on the property in question. They live in New Mexico. I don't know their names as it only lists the [payor as the estate of F.W. Humbert of Palestine Tx. I have their mailing address. I called info to see if there was anyone with the name of Humbert in the town there and no such luck. I will be mailing a letter to them on Monday. Wish me luck. On another site, I found that Mr. Humbert was listed as being 103 years old. I suppose since it is listed as an estate paying the taxes, he is either deceased or incapacitated. I can't find out much on his wife, except she is listed as being 99 years old.
This has been an interesting experience except for the rash and itching. LOL
Silver, I did find something called chiggerex. I bought three kinds of itch medicine and the gold bond seems to quell the itch for the longest time so far.
Charlene, I think you have been through it. Your husband is right but it was fun thinking about it.
We have been through there a lot because we lived in Round Rock and move to Tyler. Round Rock is not the same now. There was nothing there from Goergetown to Austin but us.
Joan
This message was edited Feb 23, 2008 10:13 PM
Joan, I am going to write to the estate manager in New Mexico. We'll see what they say. I may get someone who doesn't have allergies to go with me and get the last things that I want if I get permission.
I don't think I will ever quit itching. I even itch on one of my eyelids. I was lucky enough to have on sweat pants with elastic on the ankles so I don't itch on legs or feet. I don't think it is redbugs causing my biggest problems anymore. I am mostly just covered with a rash that turns red when I am warm. If I cover up at night (which I like to do) it makes me itch. It was the crawling along the fence-line that got me. If any of you remember meeting me you will recall that I am a VERY large lady. So I should have had better sense than to get down on all fours and crawl through the underbrush just to get daffs that were too deep in the first place.
I am sure that I must have been a very funny sight to behold. Not so funny now though.
We got our last two calves this morning. Both of them bull calves! Yeah, for that. No more having to watch over the cows to be sure they aren't having problems with birthing.
We only have eleven cows right now plus a bull and a steer (for the freezer). We lost two calves and have been going crazy checking on the cows to try to be there if they needed help. It is heart breaking to lose them.
I guess I should limit my chat here for Ken started this as a recipe thread. Sorry Ken, I got carried away.
Charlene
Charlene, I'm sorry you lost those calves. I hate it when I lose babies! What happened to them?
I try to stay on top of any problems that develop. Last year we had three calves with pneumonia, two with infected navels and one whose pink eye infection caused all kinds of problems. That last one occurred when I couldn't get out and check on the calves. When we first started ranching, we lost a number of them before I became familiar with thier most common ailments. Right now, there are seven little ones running around — six heifers and one bull calf. The little bull calf was born on the coldest, wettest night in January. Our bull has sired lots of heifers! It drives my DH crazy cause he doesn't have many bull calves to send to market. I'm keeping most of my heifers as replacement heifers and to build up the size of the herd. Four years ago, we were down to 12 old cows because my DH insisted on sending all calves to market. I finally had to put my foot down. Because I can't stand to send any to market, I started asking for registered Angus heifers for my birthday. I sold my first 4 registered bull calves at the Lone Star Alliance December Bull Sale. They'll get to live longer.
Betty, We have a registered angus bull, but our cows are just "mostly" angus and not 100 per cent pure. They are all black and I know seven of them are sired by a pure angus bull. The other four came from the auction house.
My DH used to have cows but it has been 40 years of being out of the cow business. So, in essence we are having to re-learn as things are sooo different now.
The two that we lost were both the first calf of the mama. The first one we lost, I think was a very premature birth. We found it when we went out to feed. It was still in it's sac and seemed to be a way too small.
The second one we had been watching the mama for a couple of weeks thinking she was ready. Her calf was delivered easy enough and didn't take her long. It was large though. If we knew then what we know now, I think we would have saved it. The bag was just too extended and mama wouldn't let her nurse. We saw her in the evening just after she gave birth and we had checked on her an hour before and she seemed fine, so I know the labor wasn't the problem as it had to be pretty quick. The calf seemed a bit weak, but we figured it was because it was just born and it wasn't even dry yet. We should have gone back out again that night and brought the calf up to the house and given it some of mama's milk in a bottle. Mama was very easy to milk out the next day, so I am sure we could have milked her that night.
We left her until morning and she was moved across a dry creekbed and the calf had made it over there, so again, we thought it must be okay. We still hadn't seen him nurse though and he was pretty weak. We had to go to town and when we got back he was down and we couldn't get him up on his feet. We took him to the vet, but they were out on a farm call and not coming back in that evening. We took him to the house and gave him a half gallon bottle of powdered colustrum. He sucked, but it was very slow and weak. If we had just done that in the first place, I think he would have made it. Also, we should have tried to milk mama instead of using the powdered stuff.
Next time one seems a bit weak and we don't see it nurse, we'll take quick action and have a lots better chance of saving it. We really shouldn't have lost him.
Now for the good news. Our registered angus bull is throwing mostly bulls. Out of 10 calves only two were heifers. DH is a happy man. We don't know what the little preemie was, but 8 out of 10 is pretty good. We are going to trade our heifers with the guy who is behind us. He has the same thing we do. That way we can keep our bull longer and so can he.
The cows are DH's, but I love them too. He had cows his whole life until he went to college and then off to Viet Nam.
I have my plants and we both do the garden and chickens.
We are supposed to be retired, but work harder now than we ever did before. LOL
It is work that we love though and we could have retired in town and had life easy, but this is so much better.
The ranch was my DH's idea, but since I'm the one with a biology degree, I was elected to take care of the cows. I have grown to care a lot for them. I have taken to heart all three vet's recommendation that we address calf problems quickly. That lesson we learned the hard way, too. It's amazing how fast a newborn can dehydrate. A heifer born in October was in excellent health for the first 3 days, running around and suckling lustily. By noon of the 5th day, she couldn't get up. The vet gave her a bag of electrolytes, antibiotics for the navel infection and one injection to increase her appetite. She pulled through without another problem. We have to use the powdered milk replacer. Our cows are tame, but not that tame! We didn't have a squeeze chute until recently.
When I had to hand rear a heifer year before last, the two farm and ranch supply stores were closed. The vet recommended we use enriched whole milk warmed to body temperature. It took both of us to feed that heifer the rest of the week-end. Early Monday morning, I went to town and bought Cargill's medicated milk replacer. I didn't have a problem feeding her after that.
My DH went along with my decision not to continue teaching when we moved to Texas. So I've had plenty of time to get to know the cows in the herd. Ours is also a registered Angus bull since half the herd is registered Angus. The other half range from F1s to 31/32 Angus except for one, Café, sired by a neighbor's registered Charolais bull who paid our herd a visit.
It took time, but I finally convinced DH to let me use one of the pastures as a birthing pasture. Mother and calf spend at least the first week there. If the mother or calf develop a problem, they are brought to the heifer pasture, closest to the house, so I can look in on them more often. Once the heifer corral is complete, I'll have a sick pen attached to the corral so we can transport individuals between pastures using the cattle trailer instead of running ragged trying to separate mother and calf from the rest. We have been using the dog's 16' X 32" pen to house ill patients. The dog, Blue, doesn't really use the pen, but she gets so jealous when we put cows or calves in there.
My DH thinks I call the vet too often, but I figure I'd rather have a vet bill than a dead calf. You can't sell a dead calf.
We traded bulls rather than heifers or cows. The new one has slightly better EPDs. We also purchased a one year old who comes from a different genetic line. We are getting help on ways to improve the herd from a neighbor, who raises just registered Angus. The most difficult thing I've had to do so far is to send a cow I hand raised to the auction barn. She had a few defects she passed on to her offspring. I wouldn't have noticed them if they hadn't been pointed out to me.
Charlene, I have a friend that will go with us if you get the OK. Would your police or county sheriff know any thing about this person?
I did not know you were and big Texas rancher.
Joan
Does anybody know if the beer in the recipe will work if it's only lite instead of regular?
would a few drops of soap to the recipe hurt the brugs? That is what I use for killing off mites, etc.. on everything else. Thanks,
Annie
light beer is low in carbs so it has less to work with. I see no reason why you can't use soap but I would not mix a batch to use every day. I think I would only use soap when necessary.
Hmmm. Well I guess I'll just pour the lite beer on the compost pile. Have to use it for something. I bought it to use as snail bait, but I found out the snails don't like it any more than DH does.:) BTW we have a brewery in town. I don't know what they call the stuff that's left after they brew a batch of beer, but whatever it is could I use it somehow in this recipe? Or maybe just mix it into the dirt around the plants? Seems like it should be good for something.
Silver, if you have Wagyu cattle, you could raise your own version of Kobe beef. LOL Seriously, I would think it it might be best to compost it. Anything that has to break down would take nitrogen from the soil around the plants.
Bettydee, what is a Wagyu ? You're probably right about it needing nitrogen to break down, but it must be good for somethin'. Is that stuff called mash? I vaguely remember watching a documentary about making beer and I think that's what they said. It's got to be a grain of some sort. Seems like it would atleast be good in the compost. I think I'll start another thread about that.
A Wagyu is a really ugly looking Japanese cow. It produces very marbled beef and is very, very expensive.
We visited the brewery in Shiner. I believe that mash is a mixture of the grains and hot water. I don't know what the spent grain husks are called. I do know that the ranchers around Shiner feed the stuff to their cattle (Wagyu cattle in Japan are feed beer or what's left). It should be good for a compost pile, I just don't know whether it should be treated as the green or the brown part of the compost pile. Too much in one layer may lead to rot instead.
Oh, I think I saw something on the news about those Japanese cows. It was talking about somebody I think maybe in Tx that raises them. Wouldn't be you would it?:)
Unfortunately, no. I know of three ranches in Texas that raises a crossbreed of Wagyu and Angus. These operations are very large. So they can afford to process their own cattle. The product is then sold directly to restaurants. This is where the money is. It is almost impossible to import those cattle. Half our herd is registered Angus and the other half is mostly angus.
Hmmm, well atleast you enjoy your ranch.:)
Can I use the recipe on all my houseplants or is there some that I shouldn't use it on?
I used some of the reciepe to treat a cutting that has caught stem rot. It seemes that it has worked. The rot has stopped and the sores along the bark is about to close and heal up. I applied a couple drops of tea tree oil in luke water. I am now trying to soak my seeds in that too.
Tonny
Yikes! I tried the recipe on my Rosemary Plant and it died. I am heartbroken,but it surely does work on the Brugs. I should have been more cautious as I think Rosmary are quite fragile to overwinter☻
Rosemarys are tough to overwinter. I got one late last season, put it in a clay pot for more 'breathe-ability' and barely water it. I have sprayed it with the recipe, but not often and then just a light mist. So far it looks OK but . . .
. . . We're all just waiting (impatiently) for SPRING!
I think that I'm going to water the brugs and the allmanda with the recipe and then just mist the other houseplants with it. Hopefully that will work for me. I have to spray my passionflower for spidermites again today anyway so I'm going to spray the recipe too.
Maybe this was already discussed, but I have been wondering if an adjustment to the recipe might need to be made in spring for encouraging flowers? Don't we need phosphorous or something for that? Please excuse my ignorance. I have read and re-read this stuff and should know it.
Brugs do not like a lot of phosphorous.
Oh, that's right. I forgot. How about plumerias and confederate jasmin and daylilies?
It would be best to ask about those in other forums.
I don't remember if this has already been asked/answered, but can I use regular feeding along with this as a foliar spray?
Anne
I plan to. I don't think the spray would be sufficient for such heavy feeders as Brugs. One reason for me is that I'm not consistant enough to use the spray every day. Ken would have to answer this question.