What's everybody doing today?

[Peanut]

Interesting to know this. Do you know if there is a place where monarda didyma can be ordered, to ensure I have the right be balm? I can use the one I have for tea, if nothing else. After my garden beds are redone, I can do more of a serious search for the plants I want for medicinals.

I have wondered if I were to plant various mints, each in a section of a garden bed, if there would be a problem with them together? Think of a long and fairly narrow garden bed, maybe 18 inches wide, divided into two foot sections, one for each of the mints. I could space them out further and put something else in between them.

My guess for the type of bee balm that I have is that it is the same kind as Amish, but significantly smaller. I put it in a pot for now, until I finish reworking my beds and establish where I want to put it. I am hoping it will come back each year.

I am starting over with my herbs. I had sage that was 15 years old and full of wood and growing in places it should have been. I dug it all out and planted new sage. I also have chives, garlic, rosemary, chamomile, comfrey, artimisia, dill, peppermint, thyme, cat nip, verbena, saffron crocus, and lemon balm. There are a few nurseries that I want to visit to get more medicinal herbs, but I want to wait until the raised beds are repaired, dug up and amended.View attachment 44419View attachment 44420View attachment 44421

It looks like you have one of the cross pollinated varieties.

I've never purchased from new moon nursery but I've heard a couple people say their experience with them was good.

These people advertise both of the monarda's that are special medicines... Every tribe in the continental US used monarda fistulosa (lavender beebalm) except for one. The Cherokee was the only tribe to not use it. They used monarda didyma instead (scarlet beebalm). They are very similar medicinally speaking but there are subtle differences.

Personally, I use M. fistulosa. It's one of my favorite medicines. I use it weekly for exhaustion headaches. M. didyma isn't so good for those but is great for sinus headaches... see... subtle differences. It's funny sometimes with closely related plants, this is one of those... weird little differences.

I've even used M. fistulosa to treat a copperhead bite, I've used it for bad fevers caused by broken bones, injuries... both viral and bacterial infections... It's an amazing medicine.

Scarlet beebalm is the beebalm used to make Oswego tea.

http://www.newmoonnursery.com/plant/Monarda-didyma
http://www.newmoonnursery.com/plant/Monarda-fistulosa
I couldn't get to the forum at all for a couple of hours. I used the site Sentry posted to check if a site is down. They even said it was down... Helps you find whether the website you are trying to browse is down or not. Check if the website is down just for you or everyone around the globe.

 

[Patchouli]

Thanks, @Peanut for info about site down.

Around here we have growing wild Aromatic Bee balm. It is magic! Such an interesting looking plant and flower and smells heavenly!! I have not looked into any medicinal benefits. I am officially chicken to get out in the fields, etc., looking for stuff at this time of year. Sssssss
I've never heard of the New Moon Nurseries. Looks like a great resource.

 

[The Lazy L]

We will be watching our church service on TV.
Lunch will be at the restaurant of the wife's choosing.
Collect eggs.
Nap while doing some online research.
Member of our congregation died from the China Flu. This evening we will have a brief service on the surviving spouse's lawn. Masks I'm told are manitory.

 

[Meerkat]

Semi retiring from the self appointed 'radical' historian of H&C forum.
Do house cleaning ,cook and plan grocery list.
Rake up some leaves to put in composter for fall planting.Don't have to worry about the green or nitrogen ,just cut off some of the new growth climbing overfence and invading the yard.

 

[Weedygarden]

Semi retiring from the self appointed 'radical' historian of H&C forum.
Do house cleaning ,cook and plan grocery list.
Rake up some leaves to put in composter for fall planting.Don't have to worry about the green or nitrogen ,just cut off some of the new growth climbing overfence and invading the yard.

Did something happen that I missed, Meerkat? I hope everything is okay.

And composting. I have had a compost bin in my yard for at least 15 years and it needs to go. I know that compost needs to be kept moist and be turned regularly. It is not easy to turn stuff inside a bin and when I emptied the bin recently, there was stuff in their that was years old and hadn't even begun to break down. I know it is because I didn't turn it and keep it moist. I think it is not as easy to compost when you live in an arid area. I used to have a 3 sectioned bin that I made for myself and it worked better. A couple of my neighbors tell me they just bury the stuff that they want to compost.

 

[Patchouli]

You should have your own blog or webpage then, @Meerkat !
Bacpacker so glad you're doing so much better. Incredible how hard it hit you.
I was invited to church today. Masks. Clean before a brief service, service, no singing allowed but music will be played, then sanitizing afterwards so they can do it again with the next batch of parishioners.
@The Lazy L sorry to hear that. That makes for a somber time.

 

[Meerkat]

Did something happen that I missed, Meerkat? I hope everything is okay.

And composting. I have had a compost bin in my yard for at least 15 years and it needs to go. I know that compost needs to be kept moist and be turned regularly. It is not easy to turn stuff inside a bin and when I emptied the bin recently, there was stuff in their that was years old and hadn't even begun to break down. I know it is because I didn't turn it and keep it moist. I think it is not as easy to compost when you live in an arid area. I used to have a 3 sectioned bin that I made for myself and it worked better. A couple of my neighbors tell me they just bury the stuff that they want to compost.

No Weedy just need to slow donw on the history lessons nobody wants or cares for. .

 

[Meerkat]

You should have your own blog or webpage then, @Meerkat !
Bacpacker so glad you're doing so much better. Incredible how hard it hit you.
I was invited to church today. Masks. Clean before a brief service, service, no singing allowed but music will be played, then sanitizing afterwards so they can do it again with the next batch of parishioners.
@The Lazy L sorry to hear that. That makes for a somber time.

What ! No captive audience? It may be a an alternaive to Trumps World Inc.What should I call it?

 

[MoBookworm1957]

Well, today is a milestone for Strawberry and I.
Last week we hit the 10.5 mile with us walking together.
Not bad for 2 slightly overweight ladies.
We walk in the mornings before it gets too hot and humid.
We also walk periodically during the day too get our steps up.
Not bad for an old broad with 2 new knees.
We have walked not quite a mile this morning already.
Will have to fix something today for meals, no clue as of yet.
Everybody have a great day.

 

[Patchouli]

@Meerkat sometimes it is hard to follow what you are saying/posting. Sometimes I'm not in the mood to read it. Sometimes it is very informative and I feel I have benefitted from reading it. I believe there are people here who don't "like" or respond to anything we post, they remain silent, something about a digital footprint probably.
Captive audience? You're hilarious. I don't know much about bloggers and having your own webpage. I know a few people that have done it. I have no idea how you would get a following unless you are allowed to include a link to it here and on fake book. Personally, I have my fake book account set to "Friends", not public or friends of friends.
Some bloggers have it so comments can be made, others don't, or only if you are respectful. A lot keep it very anonymous for themselves which is a great idea.
I should be walking more, Mobookworm. No excuse not to.

 

[Meerkat]

@Meerkat sometimes it is hard to follow what you are saying/posting. Sometimes I'm not in the mood to read it. Sometimes it is very informative and I feel I have benefitted from reading it. I believe there are people here who don't "like" or respond to anything we post, they remain silent, something about a digital footprint probably.
Captive audience? You're hilarious. I don't know much about bloggers and having your own webpage. I know a few people that have done it. I have no idea how you would get a following unless you are allowed to include a link to it here and on fake book. Personally, I have my fake book account set to "Friends", not public or friends of friends.
Some bloggers have it so comments can be made, others don't, or only if you are respectful. A lot keep it very anonymous for themselves which is a great idea.
I should be walking more, Mobookworm. No excuse not to.

Ok Patch but right now I'm busy making impovrmnets on the USA and world. It needs me more than some history blog or site.dancing chickenPlus its more fun being a philosepher with a small following it means less peopel to tell you how wrong you are.

 

[Sentry18]

Spent some time this morning helping raise flags at home and other places. It is Flag Day after all!

Still have some family in town, but slowly and surely they are heading to their respective homes. Each of them with a ziplock bag of pulled pork. Which turns out fantastic by the way. I made two different version this time, pepper & garlic and BBQ Honey Butter.

Oldest son decided he wanted a slim carry gun so he came home to shop at the Dad Store. He end up taking my Ruger LC9S Pro with night sight, a half dozen mags, and a kydex holster. He also took my old 2nd gen Ruger LCP, a couple mags, and a pocket holster. In exchange he agreed to clean the gutters, power wash the house & driveway, and some other chores.

 

[snappy1]

Did video first thing this morning, fed dogs and then cleaned baths.

Went to Church. Came home and prepped sugar snap beans to cook and made cucumber tomato salad, then sliced okra to put in freezer. Fed compost with some old hay from goat shed.

Only thing left is to take some eBay photos and rest.

 

[Amish Heart]

Had to be out of the house for awhile, so we picked up deli food and headed to the park. The playground is still shut down, but the grass is open. About five older ladies came and brought their folding chairs. They spaced them 6 ft apart on the grass, brought their knitting or whatever and visited. Cute. Another older woman pulled up and opened her hatchback of her car and was cleaning it out. She kept coming over to us to give us things...a frisbee for the kids, a local book of our village...we figured out quickly she just wanted to talk. Daughter cancelled for dinner, so we have a lot of great food to finish off without her. She gets wishy washy sometimes.

 

[MoBookworm1957]

Strawberry and I are very tired this evening.
We had grand daughter.
She came at 0945 hours and left at 1745 hours.
She went home grubby,full, cranky and whiny.
No NAP day.
Serves her mother right.
Good thing she gets no sugar at Granny's house.
She goes through sugar detox at Granny's House.
Her mom pumps her full of sugar than drops her off with her dad or Granny.
The little fart head peed in potty today.
She got to put sticker on Granny's calender.
If and when this tired Granny gets the strength, I'm going to bed.
On the good note today Granny and Strawberry got in 4275 steps.

 

[Bacpacker]

After yesterday's marathon gardening session, I slept late and other than running the drip system for a couple hours and dispatching a coon I trapped overnight, I did little of nothing today.

 

[Weedygarden]

Hot day and the dogs mostly just laid around, even when we were in the yard.
Drove to daughters to water garden.

Compost bin is gone, sold it for $20 to a guy on Craigslist. 11 bags of yard waste are out for large item pickup. Recycling bin is out. Just need to roll out the trash bin.

Sitting with the swamp cooler on. 91 degrees high today.

 

[Spikedriver]

Slept in, played board games with my daughter before I took her back to her mom's. This was the first time she has stayed with me since the Coronavirus hit. Her mom's family is hypervigilant about the virus because they're all high risk. But I think they finally realized my daughter needed to be with me. We had a good 5 days together.

Tonight, went to the gym and did laundry. Gonna hit the road back to Wisconsin for work tomorrow...

 

[hiwall]

Worked in the shop all afternoon again.

 

[Sewingcreations15]

Round 1 of today is I put on a load of washing in the washing machine and hung it out and put on another load of washing for DH. Both of had a few cups of hot chocolate to ease in the morning.

I trench composted the vegetable peelings in the kitchen, DH washed up the dishes and cleaned the benches and I wiped the dishes and put them away. DH is currently hanging his load of washing on the clothesline.

We had planned to go firewood cutting here today but with the recent downpour of rain it would be likely our vehicle loaded with firewood would sink like the titanic in the soil we have here so we will leave it until tomorrow and give it a day to dry out.

 

[Sewingcreations15]

Round 2 of today is that we went into the gardens and dug out the clumps of grass and marshmallow weeds in the gardens surrounding half the home and put it in the bin and I took the rubbish bin to the curb and DH took the recycling wheelie bin to the curb too.

We both took the 2 loads of clean washing in from the clothesline and brought it inside. DH has set off the drip irrigation system off for the vegetable gardens and hand watered the potted fruit trees with saved rainwater from the rain we had yesterday.

 

[The Lazy L]

Wife's girlfriend is bugging the wife about how the wife should take Social Security now instead of waiting until she's 70 as the wife wants to do. Wife hasn't changed her mind but wants me to do the research to prove that it's better for her to wait until she's 70. Then she wants me to confirm her decision is the correct one, that way if my recommendation fails she can blame me to her friends. I'm not falling for that that.

If she lives to 80 she would be $10,000 ahead to take SS at 66. If she lives to 90 she would be $28,800 ahead if she takes SS at 70. I'm not making a recommendation or suggestion either way.

 

[hiwall]

Wife's girlfriend is bugging the wife about how the wife should take Social Security now instead of waiting until she's 70 as the wife wants to do. Wife hasn't changed her mind but wants me to do the research to prove that it's better for her to wait until she's 70. Then she wants me to confirm her decision is the correct one, that way if my recommendation fails she can blame me to her friends. I'm not falling for that that.

If she lives to 80 she would be $10,000 ahead to take SS at 66. If she lives to 90 she would be $28,800 ahead if she takes SS at 70. I'm not making a recommendation or suggestion either way.

At the very least the Social Security program will go through some major changes in the future. No one knows what those changes will be. The current path is unsustainable. Congress will make no changes until the situation is dire so it will be pushed off for a while yet. I doubt if people will like any of the future changes.

 

[snappy1]

Took DH to doc appt. about 80 miles away this morning. If the sun will go behind a cloud for a bit, I will weed some.

 

[Sentry18]

Took the afternoon off so I could take my son to his first tennis practice of the summer and one of my daughters to her first summer dance lesson. Both had a lot of fun and were happy to get back into some sort activity schedule outside of the house. Now they are all out on the slip-n-slide getting wet and covered with grass while I sit her playing on my laptop. Fun stuff.

 

[Terri9630]

She probably got a Rhogam shot, Zannej. I've had to get one, too during mid pregnancy, and immediately after birth. It's because my blood is RHnegA, and husband is A pos. My blood type runs in our family, typically one female in each generation. Our oldest daughter, my mom, my grandma, then I don't know. My favorite amish cousin's daughter has it, too, and I bet one of her daughters.
Celebrating husband's retirement today. Toast with some champagne. Felt kinda bad for him, though, it's typically celebrated with a party and lots of speeches. Has been working in his industry all his life, straight out of college. It's been a long time. Everyone said thanks and bye to him during the morning meeting (on line from home). But I suspect he'll be working on some independent projects after we move.

Tell him congratulations and have fun.

 

[Amish Heart]

Thanks! Told him. He didn't know what to do with himself today, except go to rehab. The having fun part is going to take some work.
The afternoon showing came 20 min early, so we were not out of the house yet. Then they blocked me in with 2 cars, so I had to have them move so I could leave. All that for a 15 min walkthrough. These two ladies didn't appear to look in the yard either. I find that odd. Grabbed an ice cream for each of the kids and went to the park to eat it while we were waiting. The same lady in the same car was there, still cleaning it out. Said hello again, and now I'm wondering if she just hangs out there everyday.

 

[MoBookworm1957]

Amish Heart,
Tell your husband Congratulations on retirement.
Tell the twins belated Happy Birthday.
Lazy L, you are a wise man.
I wouldn't get in the middle of that one either.
Hiwall, you are probably correct in your assumption about Social Security.
Strawberry and I have walked several times.
She has also walked with her new walker too.
Dishes are done, simply didn't have energy after grand daughter left yesterday.
Made fresh bread this morning.
Doctor didn't call today.
They rescheduled for Friday.
Still a telephone call.
I'm still tired.
It's hot and humid here.

 

[Terri9630]

People are lazy and don't care to go outside anymore.

 

[MoBookworm1957]

People are lazy and don't care to go outside anymore.

Strawberry and I go outside every two hours or so to walk.
For her to stretch out in the grass.
We'll see how this walking stuff flies in the winter.
I would rather bee outside than inside.
But unfortunately I can't breathe if humidity gets too high.