What is the TRUE remedy for “STINGING NETTLES”? I fell off my bike today a rolled down a steep incline through a patch of blackberry bushes & stinging nettles… Baking soda & water are NOT doing the trick!
Poisonous Plant – Stinging Nettle
What It Is: A broad leafed plant that lives in western North America and parts ofEurope, which causes a stinging rash when touched.
How it Attacks: This plant has hollow hairs on the underside of its leaves, on its stem and on the veins along the top part of its leaves. When you brush past the plant, these tiny hairs break off in your skin and release formic acid into your skin. This causes a stinging sensation, as well as redness, white bumps and itchiness that can last up to 24 hours.
What it Looks Like: Stinging Nettles grow in shady areas. They have a straight, tall stem and heart-shaped leaves. In spring, tiny clusters of greenish flowers form where the leaves and stem meet.
How to Treat It: Curled Dock plants live in the same areas that Stinging Nettles do. They are short, broad leafed plants that sort of look like overgrown Dandelions, but without the flower part. If you pick of one of their leaves and rub it on the affected area, you’ll get a little relief. Also, if you are close to home you can rub a paste of baking soda and water on it, which should make you feel better.
We have had a fantastic first summer in Seattle thus far… evidently it may be historically fantastic and not something to be counted upon…
“Monday broke a record dating back to 1891 for the driest May 20 to July 19 stretch ever.
Just 0.24 inch of rain fell at the Federal Building in Seattle, eclipsing the previous driest stretch of 0.57 inch in 1938.
And not to gloat, but much of the rest of the country is griping about rain and cold. In Washington, D.C., known for its sweltering, humid summers, the thermostat this July hasn’t broken 90 degrees.
New York City recorded more than 10 inches of rain in June, prompting Mayor Michael Bloomberg to quip: “It only rained twice this week — once for three days and once for four days.” - source
who hasn’t watched a movie where a ‘classic’ summer is depicted? one with kids going off to camp or camping with the family or a road trip or hiking or touring a national monument. easily the last 2 summers for us have been made of the classic types of things you hope to do and you really hope your kids will hold on to as they get older and look back on with great memories. Right now we are staying at Vasa Park:
- snack shack – check
- lake – check
- life guards – check
- swim test – check (Elias is still working to pass it before he can do the docks & extras)
- lots of kids – check
- floating docks – check
- diving board – check
- basketball court – check
- water slides – check
- grilling hotdogs (soon to be in progress)
- shade trees – check
- dad’s hammock set up – check
- fishing – checked that off this morning, but sure to be more!
what else do you need?
There have been so many summer activities that it is truly very difficult to keep up with them all. We spent the BIRTHDAY WEEK in Whistler, B.C., Canada. Taking the RV across the northern border wasn’t nearly as ‘risky’ as the southern border is rumored to be these days. Pre-trip the boys were so excited for their passports that I was worried Canada wouldn’t up to the official documents needed to get there. The RV Park was almost always crawling with other kids to play with. It was situated next to a crystal clear blue/green river that was flowing with snow run off. We had access to mountain top ski lifts (believe it or not, on one of our mountaintop hikes we literally walked into a Sports Illustrated Swim Suit shoot for next year – Jen was so excited) and rode the world’s longest spanning gondola. I road plenty of mtn bike trails. The whole family went for a coaster ride one evening (coasting on our bikes down hill on a very easy path – NOT a roller coaster). We swam in mountain a lake. We took in a children’s art festival. Jen got to shop solo. And the boys went to the skate-park EVERY chance they got – this was the #1 activity selected whenever they got a vote.
Here are a few shots… we will definitely be returning.
