Horses and donkeys had spa day Saturday. They got their nails all snipped. Manchi had a shoe mend. The donkeys were not left out. Astrid has a nice hair tonic that keeps the horse flies at bay. She styled Manchi and Whiskey’s hair. A bath rolling in the dust happened after the humans left. 😂 I love that Astrid uses a female farrier. Girls can! 💪💪
Margaret’s mother and Larry’s mother were first cousins. So Larry and Margaret are first cousins once removed. If you share a grandparent with someone you are first cousins. If you share a great grandparent you’re second cousins. The removed comes into play when one of the two is closer related to the shared ancestor. More than you wanted to know! Margaret is one generation closer to Larry and her shared ancestor. Their shared ancestor is Howard Standridge.
Problem in paradise. This morning I walked to Pop’s Pond. See all that Foliage on the water? How can I get rid of it?
Saw the Wild Potato blooming. Ipomoea pandurata is the Latin name meaning shaped like a fiddle. It’s is native to the eastern half of North America. Native Americans ate it. It has a large root is some times 25 feet long. The roots can be eaten if cubed and boiled in at least two changes of water. Never eat it raw. It is also called “Man of the Earth” because of its huge roots. Younger and smaller is better. Young roots can also be roasted but they will be on the bitter side. Boiling twice is the preferred method, then roast the boiled cubes if you like. Usually straight down deep from where the vine goes into the ground you will find the root. I guess sort of like our Poke Sallet. Granny said boil it though at least two waters.
Both are of the same family and look similar. Even Sweet potato bloom from the garden looks similar! They’re all of the morning glory family. When the morning sun rises the morning glory blooms and if the sun hits the center of the flower a beautiful glow is visable! Morning Glory flowers are smaller and have a little more funnel look to the bloom. They’re all colors. Potato Vine blooms are white. The blooms on the Morning Glory dies after one day. Morning Glory plants are annuals and not hardy. It’s difficult to kill a Potato Vine even if you try. It’s a perennial.
Little Greta is wearing a dress my mother made Laura! My Momma made the little dress over 50 years ago. I think she sent me three cotton dresses. This is the way she stitched little girl dresses. They had sash at the waist, a gathered skirt, and little sleeves. They all looked a little different. Some had collars and some did not. She didn’t use a pattern. In the lower elementary grades, she made me three dresses for school each year. She ordered the material from National Bella Hess. We pulled our clothes off when we came home on the bus. Girls could not wear pants to school until I was in about the 6th grade. I recall in cold weather we could wear pants, but wore a dress over the pants! I loved looking at the catalogs when they came in the mail. In the 1960’s we began ordering from Sears and not National.
National Bellas Hess was a mail-order company known general merchandise catalogs. It began as National Cloak & Suit in the late 1800s and was renamed National Bellas Hess around 1910. The company was a major player among the "big-five" mail-order businesses, alongside Sears, Montgomery Ward, Alden's, and Spiegel. A significant aspect of their history is the 1967 Supreme Court case, National Bellas Hess v. Illinois, which addressed the collection of sales and use tax on mail-order sales. They lost snd filed for bankruptcy in 1971.
We have turned back the clock and are ordering from home once again. Our “catalogs” are all on-line now. Our “wish” books are endless. I order on-line but I like to shop for groceries. If I as young, I’d probably do pick up especially at Walmart. I don’t grocery shop there much. I prefer a smaller store. I buy groceries there but not my weekly supply. I buy groceries once a week. It’s just a habit.
Sister Fleta needed a little dressy purse for a wedding! I stitched up this! I think it’ll work.
Virginia Creeper took root in a fence post and flourished! Seeing the five leaves told me it wasn’t Poison Ivy. 85 percent of humans are allergic to Poison Ivy. Well, actually they’re allergic to the oil in the plant. That miserable “stuff” is called urushiol. It’s a myth that you can eat the leaves of poison Ivy and become immmune. Don’t try it. You can’t catch it from someone who has it unless you come in contact with the oil. Urushiol can remain active and toxic on surfaces for up to five years. Even if the plant is dead, the oil can still cause a rash if it comes into contact with skin. If it’s on your clothes it can be toxic years later. I’m one of the 15 per cent not allergic.
Finished another baby blanket for a baby boy. My yoga instructor is going to be a grandmother. The colors did not show correctly. They’re decorating his room with mallard ducks. One wall is hunter green. This is cream and dark mallard green. I used the no pill yarn. It’s really soft, but doesn’t look like it’s for a baby to me.
