My garden started pumping while I was gone. And look what I found growing in one of the beds! Wonder what it is?

This is the "food" you are served in a hospital, presumably a place of healing. Under all that questionable gravy and meat is white potatoes and a slice of white bread. Your drink choices range from soda, energy drinks, factory milk, and sugared teas and juices. I have no words. Which actually means my head is full of them and I don't even know where to start.

Sitting here in the ER helping a lady who fell and fractured some ribs and all I can think about is comfrey and boneset and bone broths in between all the tests and tubes and worst case scenarios.

Been traveling in the hot and humid midwest and always enjoy meeting plant friends in their natural surroundings: chicory, pokeweed, boneset. And the night noises and firefly shows, wow. People are real nice here as well, waving at me as I walk and all. I think most Americans are kindly. Supposedly we all hate each other (or are at least suspicious) but that's not my experience when I travel. Maybe folks should travel a little more to meet real people in other states. I dunno about the cities (where weeds and woodpeckers aren't abundant), but at least on the quiet back roads. I'm always encouraged when I do.

Easy Fruit Cobbler You can throw this together and have it baked and ready before the dishes are done. This is for a large pan. Halve it if you want to do a 9x9. And follow the directions no matter how weird it sounds. Preheat oven to 400 degrees (205c). Put 2 sticks of butter (227g) into your pan and stick it into the oven to melt it all while the oven's preheating. Watch it so it doesn't burn! Bowl #1: prep your fruit. I don't measure (sorry), just slice or chop it all evenly. I put in maybe 5 stalks of rhubarb and a large container of strawberries. You *could* use frozen but your cobbler will take a LOT longer to cook off all the excess moisture. Bowl #2: 2 cups flour, 2 cups sugar (we use sucanant, which is why it's all brown), 4 tsp baking powder. Don't let your butter burn. Take it out when it's all melted. Add 1 1/2 cups milk to your dry ingredients (not the fruit). Cover the melted butter with your wet mixture. Just plop it all in in big spoonfuls, all over evenly. It will look horrible. Just trust me and keep going. Then top with your prepped fruit. Pop it into the oven until done, maybe 25-30 minutes. It might be an hour if your fruit is frozen. It's done when the knife comes out clean. Try to let it sit 5 min before serving it warm with ice cream. Let me know if you make it!

Let the rhubarb rumpus begin!

I can't hardly believe 4 small Italian sodas with 4 cookies cost me a quarter of a hundred dollars 😱 It makes me kinda sad I really can't take my kids out for a treat more often.

It's wet and grey again (hello, June Gloom). It's a good time to play with paints and read a book (currently This Light Between Us...how our own gov't deported our own Japanese brothers and sisters in the early 40's even while the Jewish people were getting deported throughout Europe). Seems to me that dividing people is nothing new, an old scheme from the devil that works again and again. The Screwtape Letters is an interesting read for similar schemes.

I tried out these bags for my potatoes this year and they are doing super well! I've got five different varieties going. The water drains real well from them and I think the black helps to retain the heat. I've been topping the shoots off with compost and soil mix and layer by layer they keep making new spuds. At least we hope so! This bag is done and I'll keep the plants growing until they yellow and die off a bit, then I'll just dump over the bag onto a clean tarp and have the younger kids go on a potato hunt. That's the *plan* anyhow.

Because a whole lot of lighthearted and carefree people will be baking their skin that hasn’t seen the light of day for eight months 😎

Sunburns

A Simple Aloe Vera and Lavender Spray