Come join the excitement!

 I've been working hard....and I had the help of two good men!

I've MOVED!!!!

Not my farm, yet.  But my blog!  There may still be some glitches but I will continue to get them worked out!

This new location should allow me to do so much more than I can here. I'm still moving some things over but hope to be done in the next few weeks.

I just couldn't wait to invite you to drop in, stay awhile and look around.

I'm sharing  a bit about canning for my first post at our new address!

Let me know how you like the new look :)

You can now find me at blog.tnfarmgirl.com

Blessings,

It's that time of year again....

It's been a busy week around here.  We've been picking squash/zucchini, giving it away, putting it up and eating it every day.  I don't think our plants have ever lasted this long or produced this much!  I've grated and frozen enough squash to have squash/zucchini bread all through the winter.  Now, I'm dehydrating it!

I do most of it plain to add to soups and stews in the winter. But I also lightly salt some of it because it makes the best "chips" in the world!

The green beans have started.  Last week Elijah and I picked over a bushel. Mom and I sat and snapped beans together for about 5 hours while we chatted and then I began canning.

I've done about half of what I need for the year. This is one afternoon's work.  The beans should be ready to pick again this week.  I think I'll wait till the cold front hits.  If what they predict is true, I'll be picking green beans in 60 degree weather.  Can't say I've ever done that before!

While I'm snapping and stringing the beans, I take the shorter, thinner beans and set them aside for dilly beans.  If you've never had dilly beans, you are missing a real treat!  I added one cayenne pepper from our garden to each jar - we like things spicy around here!

Of course this happened in the middle of things...

They are so cute and we loved seeing them get big enough to go to new homes! They like to hide in my car engine - it is their kitten playground.  Every time I needed to go someplace, I had to plan extra time to get them out.  It becomes quite a pain.  So glad I don't have to do that anymore. Thank you to everyone who adopted a kitten!

We've celebrated a lot of birthdays lately.  I've made a lot of these fresh strawberry pies!

I can't begin to tell you how much better a fresh strawberry pie is compared to a baked strawberry pie. My kids have begun to request them frequently.

For our 4th of July celebration, we did homegrown steaks on the grill, baked potatoes, green salad, green beans and this Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake...let the drooling commence!

Just to entice you further... here is a slice up close...

Brownie crust, candy layer, cheesecake layer, chocolate and chopped peanut butter cups....wow!  It tasted even better than you can imagine.  I froze half of it to share the next time one of my kids are over. First come - first serve kids!

I'm planning on teaching a soap making class this Sunday for some people who are visiting from Chicago. They really want to learn how before they head home..if you are interested in learning how to make soap correctly I'll share more on that tomorrow!

I will be attempting to make a natural sunscreen today for the first time....I'll let you know how that goes...pictures and all....success or disaster!

Headed out to get the farm "batten down" for the huge storm we are supposed to get...

Time to milk? Here's help!

We were blessed to get a little helper with our new cow...no, she still doesn't have a name...

Meet Huey!

Isn't he the cutest thing?  Huey usually keeps the front two quarters (largest ones) empty for us.  Leaving us to milk the back two quarters...with the smallest teats in the WORLD... and we still get around 3 gallons of milk!

However...Huey was indulging a bit too often in her milk  and ended up with scours.  He has been separated from his mama for the last 3 days while we correct that situation.  He loves his mama and is calling for her loudly at the top of his lungs often 24/7!  Tomorrow is the last day of separation and I think we are looking forward to the reunion more than they are! They can touch noses through the fence but he can't reach that milky goodness!

Josiah is building a milking area in our barn for our lovely lady since she doesn't fit in our milking parlor. Hopefully, we will have our milking machine back early next week to alleviate some of the time the boys are spending milking.

In case you didn't notice, there is something special about Huey!

Do you see it?

An ordinary morning becomes an Extraordinary Day!

It was about 9 a.m. and we were getting ready for church when the phone rang.  It was a sweet friend calling with a question....an amazing question....did we want a cow who had just freshened (had a calf)....for FREE!!

Well, of course we did!  We had been looking for a milk cow for some time and right now they are very expensive.  Market prices are up in our area and milk cows are more than twice what they normally cost.

She had been offered to someone else here locally and they had declined.  They wanted to see her go someplace she would be well cared for...she has a shoulder injury from birth and does well on pasture but struggles in a crowd of hundreds of other cows or on cement.  

My friend told me there was a hitch....this was not a Jersey...."she's a Holstein".  Hhhhmmmmm.  We've never had a Holstein...never been around a Holstein etc.  We love Jerseys.  Higher butterfat content, cheaper to feed, smaller in frame so easier to handle.  Plus...our milking parlor was designed for Jerseys.

Elijah and I did some talking and came up with a list of questions. Our questions were answered...they offered to bring her to us...so we accepted.

HOWEVER, she was giving 10 GALLONS of milk a day.  Gallons people!  Before your heads start swimming with pictures of cream, cheese, milk and ice cream...think about milking 10 gallons a day BY HAND!

So...we dug out our bucket milker, are having some tubing replaced and are looking forward to some relief.  Of course her production has dropped - we knew (and hoped) it would!  We aren't milking 3 times a day like the dairy was. We aren't feeding the same high intensity feed and we certainly aren't milking her dry each time.

I will say that this is the gentlest cow we have ever had.  You can walk out into the field, sit down next to her and milk her and she doesn't move.  She doesn't kick either - although she occasionally swishes her tail!

We had a family emergency the day she arrived so we didn't get to milk her until later that evening.  Elijah and I spent hours in the barn...she has very tiny teats! We borrowed a milker from a friend the next day to make sure she was milked out....I was worried about mastitis! One cow milkers may be the best invention in the world!

We are very grateful to our friend for thinking of us and to our heavenly Abba who has provided abundantly once again!  We serve an incredible Father!

She is only 2 years old so we hope she is a part of the family for a long time!  She doesn't have a name yet...we are open to suggestions!

She is certainly enjoying this slower paced life...green fields, sunshine, and solitude. Well...almost solitude...there is someone who is helping with the milking right now....

Head to Heels...Supersized!

Do you love my Head to Heels Peppermint Salve?  Does your jar disappear way to quickly?

It does in my own home! Between headaches and using it to soften those tough places like elbows, knees and feet (especially my heels!) My jar was empty every time I turned around! I use a lot of it on my feet in the evening.  I put it on just before I go to bed, pull on some soft socks and the difference in the morning is amazing.

So, I decided to put this amazing salve in the larger jars.  You get more salve for your money this way!

You will find it up on the website here.

Your feet will thank you!

Summer Surprise!

Do you love summer?  We do.  It is the busiest season on a farm.  Long hours working in the garden, then harvesting, washing, snapping and working for days canning! But aren't you glad when the snow flies the next winter?

We've been getting lots of squash, zucchini, tomatoes and now peppers are beginning! I noticed last night that our pole beans are covered with little beans...I imagine that by the end of the week we'll be picking green beans.  I'll can the majority of the beans but I'll also make some dilly beans from the smaller beans.  Yummy!

On nicer days, when a breeze blows through the barn, we've been working on barn clean up and organization.  Things are looking much better now but I'll be glad when we finish.

And the surprise?

Can you imagine why these things have turned up in my kitchen again?

And this time it is really different....

More next time!

Sale ends soon!

Quick reminder...the sale ends at noon today! Orders placed by noon will be shipped out today!

On Monday, I'll be releasing another salve in the larger size!  Check back to see which one!

Today, I'm spending time with my niece who is visiting and processing squash and zucchini. I've given lots away and am still over run.  My niece tried southern fried squash last night for the first time.  She had never had squash before and absolutely loved it! We do to!

Monday I'll be making soap and trying a new one. Lemon!  I'll take pictures and let you know how it turns out!

May your weekend be filled with family, love and memories in the making!

Blessings,

Back with a Bang!

It's been awhile....life certainly gets in the way of blogging at times!  It was an unusual spring.  We saw several babies born, many couples marry, and sadly saw many friends' parents pass away. My mama took a nasty fall and is still recovering. Our fellowship suffered an unusual loss when a young teenager murdered his parent.  It's been months of roller coaster emotions!

Happily, these last few weeks, life seems to have settled down to a more normal pace. However, I have not been idle as you will see in a moment!

We've had some happy news too....Josiah is getting married in September to a young lady we have known and loved for over 7 years now!  Last summer Jeremy married and added a lovely daughter to our family.  Our farm is getting quieter and quieter as the boys marry!  Unless my grandson is visiting!  He will be 2 this summer and is one of the smartest little ones I've met. I love spending time with him!

Our family has many birthdays in the summer so we are gathering together often.  We are getting to be quite a crowd! We just had our annual pontoon trip on a local lake.  The perfect day!  The weather was glorious, the water was perfect and we all enjoyed spending time together lazing in the lake and chatting.  I think we may need to do that again!

We are re-claiming our garden, one bed at a time.  I had two little foster boys with special needs for a year and a half. During that time the garden turned into a garden of weeds!  Help!  I need a natural remedy for Bermuda grass! Josiah is building our beds and Elijah and I are filling them and maintaining them. It is slow going but will be so worth it when I pick our first red ripe tomato!  The squash has been nice and the basil is yummy but I'm waiting for the tomatoes!

I've already put up 32 pints of strawberry jam this year.  Half regular and half hot (my favorite!) Green beans will be next...the vines are at the top of their trellis and I expect to see blooms before long.  The pepper bed is full of blooms so peppers won't be far behind!

We had a late freeze this year so I don't think we will get much fruit from our orchard.  The trees have grown like crazy but we had snow in APRIL!  Lots of it, and it nipped our blooms. Sigh....and I'm almost out of my applesauce!

I'm in the process of changing the names of some of my soaps. Don't worry, my soaps won't be changing...just the names.  I'll be able to share the reason for that soon I hope!

To celebrate my return to blogging with a bang....

1. You will now find Arnica Salve in a new larger container!  The picture will be added as soon as our weather cooperates! I've put this new large Arnica Salve on sale until Friday at noon - 20% off!

2. I'm putting my ebook Herbal Medicine Made Simple - The Art of Herbal Medicine from a Christian Perspective! on sale at 40% off until Friday at noon! Only $12.00!

3. I'm putting my ebook  Soapmaking Made Simple on sale...also at 40% off until noon on Friday!  Only $12.00!

4. Since summer has finally arrived, and summer makes me think of fresh citrus...orange juice, lemonade, limeade....I'm putting all of my citrus soaps on sale at 20% off! This includes: Citrus Sensation Gourmet Shampoo Bar, Tangerine Moisturizer, Siah's Citrus Delight, Lijah's Lemon-Lime, and Kitchen Citrus Bliss!  If you love my citrus soaps, now is the time to stock up because this sale will also end at noon on Friday!

I hope that was a big enough bang! How are your gardens growing?

Frogs and Willow Trees

This has been the coldest winter we've had since moving here 15 years ago. One night it was -30 with the wind chill. The air made my skin hurt.  We've had lots of snow - and two storms that covered our farm with at least 6 inches of snow each time.  Nothing compared to y'all up north but quite  different for us here in the south!

However, towards the end of last week I stepped outside one evening to enjoy the stars.  There are not many lights out here in the country so sometimes it looks like the stars could be plucked from the sky. And then I heard it.....down in the far field.....frogs!  When the frogs begin to sing again, spring is in the air!  I love the song they sing and always wonder if it isn't praise to our Father!  I'd love to hear the translation but I'm just sure they are singing about His glory.

The next sign I'll be watching for is the "greening" of our willow tree by the pond.  It happens quickly.  Brown in the morning and tinges of green in the evening.  I expect it soon.  Then the peach trees will begin to blossom - usually too soon because we almost always have another frost that kills the buds.

At about the same time the willow tree begins to turn green, mint will spring up everywhere!  Come April, it will be time to start cutting and drying it.  I love mint in my tea, mint to season our food with and making ice cold "mint tea" for hot summer days!

In honor of spring, I'm putting all of our "mint" soaps on sale this week! Refreshing Rosemary & Mint Shampoo, my decadent..you'll want to taste it (but don't!) Chocolate Ice, my germ busting Peppermint Tea Tree,  my best selling soap and personal favorite  Remy's Rosemary & Mint, and that scent from the past... Double Mint.  Save 20% on my "mint collection" starting now and ending at Friday at noon!

Hope spring is in the air at your home!
 

Whipped body butter volunteers?

I'm looking for a few local guinea pigs volunteers  who would be willing to try out my new whipped body butter and then give me an honest review!

This scent is based on my very popular Chocolate Ice soap...so if you don't like peppermint, this is not the time to volunteer.

Isn't she lovely?

 To volunteer...

1.  You must be local :)

2.  You must suffer from dry skin.

3.  You must be willing to give me your honest opinion ....I'm talking brutal people!

4.  I'd really like my jars back too!

Leave your name or zip me an email if you are brave enough.

Oh...Elijah says it tastes faintly minty with a hint of chocolate...seriously?

Maybe we should make another rule....this is not to be eaten - just slathered on your dry skin!


 Thanks in advance!
 

Life With Boys....

Don't know...

didn't ask....

 And yes....they are under my kitchen table...   

Winter Cow Chasing...the new Olympic Sport!

We just tried sending 2 steers to the butcher. 

Notice the word tried.

My sons put the steers into the corral the night before the butcher came to pick them up. 

The plan: Butcher backs trailer up to the gate, we open the gate, steers walk into the trailer.  It is how it always goes....usually without a hitch.

Notice the word usually.

Elijah went down to open the gate for the butcher.  I watched from my window. The steers balked.  Even the butcher was surprised. Usually Jersey steers are pretty docile and cooperative.

There is that word usually...again.

They began snorting and tossing their heads. Backing away from the gate and moving forward.  I then watched one of them jump the fence! A 4 foot fence.  Like a cat or dog would do.  In 15 years, I've seen cows push through fences, try to walk through fences, find ways around fences but NEVER have I seen a cow just jump a fence. 

He got his feet tangled and fell on the other side of the fence.  Elijah got him untangled but now he was in the far field...that goes to the creek...that goes to the valley...

Elijah took off after him.  In the meantime, the other steer walked into the trailer and the butcher secured him.  I got my farm boots on, grabbed my coat and took off to help.

As I headed down the hill,  Elijah chased that steer back into the field that was secure.  That steer saw the open gate I was headed towards and began to run.  I know he was thinking "freedom".  I began to run downhill and it was a race to see who could get to the gate first!

I won. Barely...don't know if you know this but cows can run really fast!

As I swung that gate shut, Elijah tried to drive that steer back towards the corral.  And once again, that steer jumped a 4 foot fence next to the corral.  No...he didn't jump....this time he sailed over it.  Like he had wings.

Forget the "when pigs fly"...how about "when Jersey's fly"?

Elijah took off after him - now he was in the pond field - a whopping 11 acres with hills and valleys.  Elijah has the gift of perseverence, he would have chased that steer all day. What should have been a 15 minute operation had now turned into one hour of chasing this steer.

I called Elijah back and told the butcher to go ahead and haul the one steer.  We'll call him back to get the "jumper" when we have a few more people here to help.

Our new plan? Open to suggestions!

We may try to make that fence look bigger than it is. He only has to walk 6 - 8 feet to the trailer.

I know one thing...that jumping cow is going to taste so much better than the cooperative cow.  We've learned over the years that we always enjoy the more difficult cows the most.  Relief, and victory,  are lovely things to taste when it comes to cows!

This has been a wild winter.  According to the weatherman - it's about to get a lot wilder. Evidently, snow will start here in just a few hours and continue to Friday.  5 to 10 inches is what they are calling for.  It's headed our way from the gulf which has the locals murmuring about the winter of '93. I wasn't here then but after asking some questions I found out that 21 inches of snow came down pretty quickly.

I thought I lived in the south! 

This does not look like the south! This is our last snowfall...just about 2 weeks ago!

I like one good snow fall a year.  I still like to sled and make snowmen with my sons.  I might even throw a snowball or two (ok...I definitely throw snowballs!). Then I like to come in to warm by the fire with a cup of home made hot chocolate while a pot of baked potato soup simmers in the crockpot!  The best of winter...but once a year is enough.

Our temps have been to -17 (-30 with windchill). When it is that cold out it makes your face hurt, your skin burn, your bones ache and you just can't seem to get warm. You'd think we lived in the North Country like my friend Scott!  I'll spend this snowy Friday listening to his interview with Richard Grossman. Hope you'll join me - Scott talks about all things agrarian and Richard is an extremely knowledgeable farmer!

I think even our animals have been cold this winter.  It's so odd to see them walk around in a snowstorm with several inches of snow on their backs. We've been giving them a treat of beet pulp now and then with their hay. 

And we've been spoiling our horse with frequent apples.  He is spending a lot of time at the fence in front of my kitchen window looking very forlorn.  He looks across the yard right at me with those big, soft, brown eyes. I'm pretty sure he is begging.  I usually go out with a carrot or apple so I can stroke that lovely soft nose of his!

When the temps drop to single digits, we bring the farm dogs in for the night.  Boy are they getting spoiled! They've been in so much they now think it should be a daily thing.

The barn cats burrow down together into the hay in the hayloft and keep toasty warm. All that shared body heat!

Our chickens seem to be thriving through this very cold winter.  We've had no frostbite to their combs and we are still getting 6 to 8 eggs every day.  When it warms up to 32 we usually get 10 or more. I think I need recipes that use a ton of eggs!

I'm so thankful to my Father that all of the creatures he has entrusted to us have remained healthy this snowy winter.

How are y'all faring in this crazy weather?

You Can Can!

I'm not talking about dancing.  I'm talking about something much loved in the winter (like right now!)  when I see these on my shelves...

and much disliked in the summer (when you do it every day for weeks on end).  It involves heavy pots, lots of hot water, steam, chopping, grinding, and lots of cleaning up!

Yes, we are talking about canning!  Do you do it?  Do you water bath? Do you pressure can?  Both? If you've never done it before, will you start this year?

If you are a crazy canner during the summer, do you can when you don't have a garden? I just discovered this different type of canning a few years ago but....more about that in another post!

It's time to start thinking about canning this summer - and yes...I know it is snowing outside right now.  Begin to gather your equipment (more on that in another post).

Start picking up jars - so easy to find at estate sales, auctions and thrift stores.  I often see ads in our little paper from elderly ladies who have finally given up canning and they are selling off all of their jars!

Pick up a copy of the Ball Blue Book - it's inexpensive and is a good basic place to start!

Keep an eye out for sales at Tattler - my favorite re-usable canning lids - yes re-usable! I don't buy canning lids anymore and I save a lot of money because of that each year!  I love my Tattlers!

Also, check out your local county extension office.  They usually have a canning expert on staff! I make good use of this resource myself.  When I am going to can one of my own recipes and want to make sure I have the times and pressure down correctly, I always run it by our local extension agent just to make sure I haven't missed something!

Let me know if you have any canning questions, and I'll respond to them in future posts on canning.

More on my favorite equipment coming soon with some giveaways to help you on your path to putting up food!

Blessings!
   

Things you never thought you'd say to your children...

This is a common topic in our home..."things I never thought I'd say to my sons".

Tonight it was this...


"Your eyeliner and eyebrow pencil are waaaayyy to dark"....


I should, perhaps, mention that I have a son involved in community theatre and ballet...
  

Life with boys...

 

I know nothing....

nothing...
    

2014 and questions for YOU!

First I want to thank you all for the kind emails, messages and comments about Nora. I have the BEST readers!  Y'all touched my heart and reassured this crazy farm girl that she's not the only one who loves her cows! Thank you for your kindness and your time...I truly appreciated your comments!

This past holiday season was wonderful yet difficult.  Wonderful because we spent much time together as a family and I really enjoy having all of my kids and my grandson together.  We also got some big projects accomplished which has taken some pressure off of me - always a good thing!

Difficult because many people we know and love, experienced the death of a loved one between November and now. Our hearts still grieve with you all, yet we know He is faithful and that all of this will work together for good to those who love Him. It's so hard to see when you are in the middle of it, but take heart and know that even the hard things are gifts from Him.  I believe this is where faith and trust come in...faith that He is a loving Abba and trust that He is in control of all things. We are so grateful to Him!

I almost made my weight loss goal for 2013.  I began August 1st with the goal of 10 pounds a month.  Boy...that first month was e a s y!  The others? not so much.  I came very close though - loosing 46 pounds.  I feel better,  except for the baggy clothes thing going on.  I have more energy and have been blessed to have been healthy through all of it!  I'm setting a new goal...35 lbs. by the end of May.  I know this will be harder but I am determined!  I also hope to spend more time with Rod...my stern and grump taskmaster.  We still have that love/hate relationship!

I am working on some new things in 2014...new for my family which ultimately means it will be something new for y'all too.  Here's the list with questions for you!

1.  Solid lotion bars.  Do you love them? Use them?  What do you like/don't like about them?  I'm working on recipes and would love some feedback from y'all!

2.  Whipped body butter!  Again...what do you like or don't like about whipped body butter.  

3.  Which do you like most - solid lotion bars or whipped body butter?

Can you tell we are needing some moisture in my house?  One of my sons is a carpenter and he is outside all of the time!  His hands tended to get so dry when he was a child, that during the winter they would crack and bleed.  Now that he is outside all the time, I really want to develop something for him to bring relief!

A friend made an innocent comment over the holidays which began me thinking about my salves...she had a baby with a very inflamed bottom and was having trouble getting my healing salve on him - his skin was just to tender.  Ever have one of those "a-ha!" moments?  I really feel like I need to re-formulate my salves so they are a little softer and easier to apply.

4.  How do you feel about softer salves?  Yes, no?

Then one of my lovely daughters talked to me about my Healthy Lips Lip Balm.  I created this for her.  She says it does a wonderful job in warding off a cold sore episode and has greatly reduced her outbreaks.  However, if she does end up with a cold sore, the lip balm is way too painful to apply.  So...we are working on a lip "cream" that will help dry up those cold sores.  This is the same recipe as our lip balm but quite a bit "looser" to make application easier.  We just finished our first round of testing and it was very effective!  We are now working on the softness/hardness ratio so we can get it just right for those tender lips.  This would come in a tin as opposed to a tube. The tube would be used as a preventative and the tin would be used if you had active cold sores.

5.  Would a Healthy Lips Lip cream be of interest to y'all?

And another thought....

6.  Sugar scrubs....yes or no?

And just to keep you happy....and me busy...

7.  What other products would you like to see available at TNfarmgirl?

I look forward to hearing your thoughts!

Blessings,

  

It's not easy to kill a cow

She'd been looking bad for sometime.  She was quite old. We couldn't get her to gain weight.  I didn't think she would survive last summer.  I knew she wouldn't this winter.

We talked about taking her to the stockyard.  But...she was an old friend. 

My boys were raised on her milk.  I made every dairy product possible from her rich creamy milk. My boys rode her like a pony. 

I don't think she ever kicked during milking. Ever.

She deserved to live her few short months on grassy pastures that were well known to her.

When all the other cows ran away from home...she stayed here.  When all the other animals conspired to make trouble (yes...they do that...) she was good as gold.

She was the perfect family cow.

Shortly after sunrise this morning, we saw her laying flat out in a field. We just knew she had died. We started trying to figure out what to do.  You don't bury a cow in ground that hasn't been above 30, and mainly in the teens, for days. 

We decided to drag her to the farm graveyard.   

A wee bit later, Elijah came running in.  She was alive....but couldn't get up.

He brought her water, hay, feed.  Nothing doing.  She appeared to be suffering. He said it looked like she was crying. Elijah rolled her over to help her get on her feet.  She didn't even have the heart to try.

I believe she was about 17. She had lived with us for over 11 years.

We knew we had to put her down.  Farm life is hard...don't believe all those pretty pictures in the magazines. 

My oldest and my youngest did the job together.  I'm grateful to both of them.  I don't think I could have done it. I stayed in the house...watched from the window...prayed and cried.

All of her pasture mates came to say goodbye...even the horse.  I didn't know they did that.

As the tractor took her to the graveyard, the other cows followed, bellowing non-stop.

Don't tell me cows don't cry.

She was my favorite cow ever....I'll miss you Nora.
 

Diagnosis Part 2

If you haven't read Part 1, you might want to start here!    

    
Now that I knew what it wasn't, I felt more confident in attempting to treat this thing spreading across Elijah's face and down his throat. We continued with the colloidal silver since that seemed to give Elijah relief.  Elijah just soaked a rag in it and kept it pressed to his face. This tells me that we were probably dealing with something bacterial.

I then started with Plantain...both compresses and poultices.  We did them for several hours that day, alternating between a compress and a poultice.  I'm so thankful that we can find Plantain on our farm even in the middle of winter!

We saw immediate improvement!  This is how he looked after spending an evening with Plantain. The red patches were less angry looking - more pink as opposed to bright red.  The weeping was confined to his chin at this point.
 

Before bed, we slathered Jewelweed Salve on his outbreak - just in case this was some sort of poison oak or sumac.  We deal with poison ivy all the time, all. the. time., but to our knowledge never poison oak or sumac so we weren't sure if they would present differently on Elijah.  We were covering all bases since we didn't know what we were dealing with.

 The next morning he looked even better!

You can see areas that were covered the night before that are now clear patches.  The area on his cheeks that are above his mouth are now clear.  The patches down his throat and across his collarbone were gone!  The weeping was much reduced. Was it the Jewelweed or the Comfrey in the salve that did the trick? 

Each morning, Elijah would need to remove the dried crusts from the weeping over night.  He did a mini exfoliating session again in the middle of the day and at night.  This seemed to speed up the healing process. 

Again, we did periodic compresses with Plantain throughout the day and evening.

At this point, we began using my Healing Salve both night and day. That really seemed to put us on the fast track to healing!  After using my healing salve for two days, his face is almost back to normal.

The improvement was so profound that we stopped using everything else and only used my healing salve. You can see a small crusty patch in the crease of his chin. This was the area where everything started and that was most severely affected.

After another 24 hours, there was no outbreak visible.  No scarring either!  His skin was back to normal...clear and beautiful! (Elijah would object to me using the word beautiful!)

We have tried to figure out what this was...poison something? contact dermatitis?  possibly impetigo (although I think the doctor would have diagnosed that)? We will probably never know.  We prayed!  We covered all the bases herbally and his face quickly cleared.  We give all glory to our Abba Father for the herbs he gave us and the answer to our prayers.

I recommend everyone gather Jewelweed and Plantain, let them dry naturally (no dehydrators or ovens please!) and store it in air tight containers.  Or visit my affiliate partner Mountain Rose Herbs and stock up!  

Both Plantain and Jewelweed are important to keep in your herbal arsenal at home! I think we use Plantain and Jewelweed ( along with Comfrey) more than any other herbs.  Get seeds and roots this year and grow them yourself!

Remember though....once  you plant them you will always have them in that area so make sure you plant them in the right place!

Blessings!