This year our garden hasn’t been the best.  I blame the heat really.  But this past Friday Ben and I picked two cantaloupes from our garden, which just so happen to be the only two it produced.  We were so thrilled that we immediately cut one of them open and ate it.  It was the best cantaloupe I have ever had, no joke.  There is something so gratifying about growing melons, probably because it takes so long for them to ripen.

Anyways, I hope everyone has a great Wednesday.

I can wait for True Blood Sundays, so my friends and I can fry these up!

If you like the tape strips used in the photo of June and I, get them for free at Pugly Pixel.

Cheers!

Poison Ivy (Left) Virginia Creeper (Right)

Last Wednesday on my lunch break, Ben and I were looking at our garden’s progress, when we noticed some poison ivy on the edge of our garden.  I said, “I’ll just pull it up since I’m not allergic to Poison Ivy.”  I then proceeded to pull up the vines without gloves on.  Do not make my mistake!

Things I have learned about Poison Ivy/Virginia Creeper:

1.  Poison Ivy often grows alongside Virginia Creeper. Virginia Creeper is also poisonous.  At this point,  I am not even really sure which one caused my rash.

2.  Just because you have never had an allergic reaction to Poison Ivy, doesn’t mean that you are not allergic to the plant.  You can develop an allergy to it at any time, usually after repeated exposure.

3.  Just because you “are not allergic” to Poison Ivy doesn’t mean you are not allergic to Virginia Creeper.  Poison Ivy causes an allergic reaction after exposure because it contains an oily resin called urushiol.  Virginia Creeper causes an allergic reaction because it contains oxalate crystals.   You can be allergic to both or just one or the other.

4.  Urushiol (Poison Ivy) can remain on clothes, tools and even dead poison ivy vines for years.  Since I couldn’t really remember what I was wearing that day, Ben and I just washed everything.  We still need to clean our tools but I am not excited about going into our backyard again.

Things I have learned about the Posion Ivy/Virginia Creeper Rash:

1.  Having never had poison ivy before I had no idea how bad it sucks.  The itching is slowly driving me crazy.  It is all that I think about really.  I have been taking Benadryl at night which helps but makes me feel real loopy and sleepy.  I have also been using Caladyrl which also helps but doesn’t stop the itch.  I would suggest using both.

2.  The rash develops nasty blisters similar to the blisters you get from a really bad sunburn.  They look really gross and seep nasty liquid.  There is not much you can do about the seeping, but the liquid doesn’t cause the rash to spread which is a common misconception.  These blisters make going to work a whole other issue.  Since my rash is the worst on my wrist, I had to figure out a way to work without irritating the blisters or grossing out my fellow employees.  Although it is not a good idea to cover the rash with any type of bandages, I have found that if you need to cover it for work you can loosely cover the blister with rolled gauze.   The gauze will soak up the liquid and help you not to focus on it.

I promise you that it hurts.

3.  There are plenty of home remedies online.   I have tried two home remedies so far with no results really.  I tried mixing Apple Cider Vinegar with baking soda and pouring it over the blisters.  This did nothing.  I also tried mixing baking soda with regular vinegar and making a paste.  I applied the paste to the blisters and wrapped with saran wrap to keep it from being too messy.  I left it on for 25 minutes.  For the first 10 minutes I was less itchy but then it started itching again.  Tonight I plan on using the Aveeno Oatmeal bath, which I have heard and read works well.

In case you are suffering from either Virginia Creeper or Poison Ivy, I found these websites helpful:

• Mayo Clinic (my go to for anything medically related)
• Wikipedia’s page on Poison Ivy Toxicodendron radicans and Virginia Creeper Parthenocissus quinquefolia
• Poison Ivy Home Remedies and Information
• Read my friend Kristen’s post about her Virginia Creeper issue this summer.

Sorry this post is pretty negative but I have very negative feelings about my rash.

Update:  My rash is feeling so much better today.  It has been 4 days since I posted the photo above and I started taking Medrol (tapered dose pack of steriods) on Friday.

Here is how my rash looks this morning

I know it still looks pretty bad, but the itching has mostly stopped and the blisters are drying up!

1.  We picked our first strawberry of the season.  I think it is the prettiest strawberry ever.  I can’t wait until our strawberry plant produces more.

2.  Last Friday, I had the pleasure of getting to see Miss Lana Rebel and Kevin Mayfield perform.  Her voice makes me smile and it didn’t hurt that Kevin can play a saw.  This is their bus which they are touring the country in, which I think is so romantic.

3.   This year we planted corn for the first time in our garden.  It is already my favorite plant this year and it hasn’t even produced corn yet.  The corn silk is so pretty and I love how tall the corn plants are getting.

4.  This is Samson.  He belongs to my friends Katie and Chris Doughty.  He is such a sweet dog with his sweet face.

5.  This is a corn hole board built by my friend Kacey Kester as a groomsmen gift for his wedding.  Isn’t that such a great idea?  We play this every time we cook out at the Doughty’s house.

Hopefully they will be big enough to pick soon.

Recently we have had a lot of  rainfall and flooding, so we tried to wait to plant the seedlings we started indoors a couple of months ago and it wasn’t the best idea.  Once we returned home, we brought the record player outside and finished planting our garden.

This is our garden plan for this year:

I made these markers so that we can keep everything organized.

Our sunflowers have exploded since last year.  We are for sure going to have to thin them out eventually.

Recently Ben replaced the washtub on his washtub bass, so we planted some strawberries in his old washtub.  We just drilled a couple of holes in the bottom for drainage and mixed together potting soil and garden soil.  I hope that planting them in the washtub will help with bugs and pests.

I’ll keep everyone posted on our garden’s progress.  I can’t wait to have tomatoes, strawberries and watermelons!

See them as seedlings here, a little bigger here and with tiny buds here.

And when I had pretty much given up on my sunflowers, I noticed these tiny little buds.

I have no idea why they are just now about to bloom but I can’t wait to have sunflowers!

Because of my recent tomato explosion, I feel the need to cook, bake or do something with all of the tomatoes I have on my kitchen table.  So Ben and I made salsa and also a tomato pie for True Blood Sunday.  I wasn’t really happy with my tomato pie but I tried it again last night and will post about it tomorrow.  I have been waiting to make my own salsa from my own tomatoes and bell peppers since we planted our garden.  I don’t care that the rest of the ingredients came from the grocery store because the tomatoes were so great and my bell peppers look fake because they are so beautiful.  For whatever reason, bugs don’t nimble on bell peppers and I like that.  We don’t use any pesticides in our garden.  So I am aware that insects and worms like tomatoes just as much as I do, but for whatever reason they are not into bell peppers.

For True Blood Sundays, my friends and I usually make Louisiana or vampire inspired dishes.  Although salsa isn’t really  a Louisiana or vampire inspired dish, making salsa from your own vegetables is a very southern thing to do.

Overall I thought our salsa was really good.   I love how fresh it tasted!  While making salsa for the first time I also learned how to peel a tomato.   Peeling tomatoes is actually really easy and I had no idea.

Peeling a Tomato

1. Wash your tomatoes and take the stems off.
2. Cut an X on the end without the stem.
3. Boil enough water to submerse your tomatoes.  Once the water starts boiling place them into the water.
4. After a few minutes, use a slotted spoon to place your tomatoes into a bowl of cold water.
5. Let them sit a minute or so then pull the skins right off.

Check back tomorrow for my tomato pie!

We have  yellow tomatoes (Lemon Boy),  red tomatoes in about every size (Campari, Grape, Better Boy and Early Girl to be exact)  and  heirloom tomatoes (Cherokee Purple and Brandy Wine).  We also have an eggplant and four bell peppers.  I love having a garden!

This is the first Bell Pepper I picked from our garden! Isn't it pretty?