Daisy's Ordeal

 Most folks find using herbal remedies interesting, but are sometimes not convinced of their efficacy.  They subscribe to the Missouri motto "show me", which is ok.  I tend to fall into that category, as well. After all, our culture is steeped in the assurance that the pharmacy carries just the panacea you need in time of crisis. 

Daisy, the Fashionista

Crises are plentiful on farms and mine is no exception.  A few years ago I kept a small herd of dairy goats.  Daisy, the herd mama and boss lady, cut her udder wide open... a gaping three-corner tear that promised ugly tomorrows.

I have a first aid protocol in place that had proven itself during multiple injuries of various animals and family, but it required bandaging.  There was no way Daisy's cut could be bandaged, which produced a persistent doubt about the trusted herbal protocol.

Trying on a hat...

It was a Saturday so I drove to the local feed store.  I love that store--it's small and friendly and I'm greeted not only with a smile but a hug. (Horse Play, Wood Heights, MO)  I proceeded to explain the injury to the proprietor and she thought she had just the ticket.  Another customer piped up and confirmed that aforementioned over-the-counter product did indeed produce miracles.

I guess my herbal soul rebelled a bit and I had a sudden confidence in the herbal first aid protocol that had saved the day many a time.  I decided that I would go the herbal route until Monday--I would be able to tell which way the wound was going--downhill or up!  If it wasn't working I would come back and purchase the highly recommended meds.  

I proceeded to doctor Daisy.  First spraying with hydrogen peroxide and dabbing it off.   Then spraying with echinacea angustifolia tincture.  Then slathering a generous amount of herbal green salve over the wound.  This is where I would normally apply a bandage, but considering the location of the wound, that just wasn't going to fly.

But, ultimately deciding hats were for eating, not wearing.

One of my concerns involved Daisy laying in contaminated barnyard matter with the wound fully exposed.  I changed the herbal dressing three times each on Saturday and Sunday.   By Monday morning the wound had started healing nicely; no sign of infection.

Herbal remedies to the rescue.  Again.  Daisy's ordeal left her with only a slight scar to show for all the trauma.

This is why I use herbal remedies.  This is why I teach herbal remedies.  

Saturday, June 12 at 10:30 am our herb class is on the how-to's of making time-honored traditional herbal treatments.  You will learn the six basic solvents used in making tinctures, salves, oils, decoctions, infusions, oxymels,  and poultices.  Plus, my little secret to super-charging your herbal oils.    

And, best of all, you'll get hands-on experience when you make your own remedy to take home.

Register ahead to receive hard copies of class material.  Register and pay with PayPal in the right hand column.  Text or leave message at 816-853-0440.  Email me at lizzy@rcvfarm.com 

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CLASSES

I've had so many folks asking about classes...here they are!! I did not have classes at the farm this fall...I just couldn't seem to fit it into our schedule. But, winter is here, it's time to get to studying!

My classes are being offered by the Excelsior Springs Adult and Community Education program. Address :614 Tiger Drive Excelsior Springs, MO 816-630-9240

CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE CLASS CATALOG and enrollment form/information.

Classes are as follows: Herbal First Aid Tues January 14 6-8 pm $19

Herbal Antibiotics Wed January 15 6-8 pm $19

Maiden Mother Menopause Tue & Wed January 20 & 21 6-8 pm $39 (2 day class)

Organic Gardening Tues January 28 6-8 pm $19

Natural Goat & Chicken Husbandry Wed January 29 $19

I will have more classes at the farm later in the spring/summer.

First Aid on the Farm

I mentioned my herbal first aid last week; here's one of my healing stories.

This spring when my does had their kids, one of my goats, Becky, tore her udder.

It went about 3 inches one direction then turned and went another 3-4 inches. There were 2 flaps hanging open like curtains in a bad play.

It happened on a Saturday morning; I buy feed on Saturdays so I mentioned it to my feed lady. She recommended a product made specifically for animal wounds and one of her customers joined in to tell me how wonderfully the product worked.

I told them about my herbal protocol that had always worked well, although this was by far the worst wound I had used it on. I said that by Monday I would be able to tell which way the wound was going; if I needed to I would come back and buy the OTC product.

I washed the entire area with soap and water.

Step One: spray with hydrogen peroxide. Blot off excess foam with clean tissue, paper towel or cotton ball.

Step Two: Spray wound with echinacea tincture.

Step Three: Slather with dandelion salve. I used a plastic glove to do this. I usually bandage after this step, but this was not an option here so I just put more salve on and around the wound than I usually do.

All done. I was very worried about there being no bandage to keep it clean. She lays in the barn, the barn yard and the pasture opening her up to all sorts of nasties getting into the wound.

By Monday, the wound looked so much better I didn't even consider buying the OTC wound product. I applied the herbal protocol 3 or 4 times a day for about a week, then twice a day at milking time.

The wound healed incredibly fast without a hint of infection.

This is Becky today; all well with just a tiny scar. She is still sharing that sweet sweet milk that our costumers love.

I make the echinacea tincture and the dandelion salve; they are sold separately or in a first aid kit along with hydrogen peroxide and bandages. CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE FIRST AID KIT.

On a side note--I noticed Becky's kid's face and ears looked strange. "What now," I thought. Can you see the discoloration on his face? After the 2nd day I decided to take a scraping and look at it under my microscope to see if he had any beasties crawling around under that beautiful angora hair.

That's when I realized he had gotten dandelion salve all over his face and ears when he was nursing!!! Wow, that was a relief.

Men Cook Dinner Day

Woohooo, ladies. It's the national day for men to cook today! I am one of the chosen ones in that my FarmBoy Gary loves to cook. HERE IS a recipe from our website that even the culinary challenged men can do. It's right up their alley GRILLING.

Don't make the mistake of thinking grilling is only for warm months. We grill 12 months out of the year. This recipe for Grilled Onions is super easy and super good.

It's a beautiful day here at the farm. We've had several cloudy, windy, rainy, muddy days so the sunshine is soooo appreciated. FarmBoy Gary is working on making goat stalls in our barn. Yay! I wanted them to each have their own space. It's an old barn, but FarmBoy works wonders with his handy dandy hammer and yellow power tools....of which I am banned from touching.

Becky's spot where Daisy gored her is healing quite nicely. One day when I'm not talking about food I'm going to post pics of wounds and expound on my triple whammy herbal first aid protocol. IT"S GREAT. In the meantime you can read about it HERE

Yesterday I did battle with my sewing machine (Asian beetles invaded us during the hot spell last week and apparently they thought they would winter over in the mechanics of my Singer)and my serger (missing screw). However, I persevered and am almost done.

DRATTED BEETLES...THEY WERE EVERYWHERE!!!

We have a what I refer to as a mountain behind our barns. It is goat heaven. They always come when I call. Here is a short clip of their stampede down the mountain and into the barn yard in response to me yelling "GOAT" at the top of my lungs. Cute, huh?!

CLASS ANNOUNCEMENTS

Herbal First Aid scheduled for Dec 13 is POSTPONED until January 17.

NEW UNSCHEDULED HERB CLASS: Winter Solstice Planting Dec 20 10 am to noon $20. This class is all about WINTER SEED PLANTING. Get a head start on spring!

FINAL KIDS CLASS: Plant Reproduction. Dec 6 Tues 10 to noon. $5. There will be NO KIDS CLASSES January thru May. The summer program will begin in June.

CRAFT CLASSES: Gift Boxes --charming paper boxes with matching cards or gift tags--November 29 10 am to noon $20 No craft class in December.