I am a long time seasonal allergy sufferer, despite the fact that I love gardening. So for years I was a benadryl kid, and for years I too felt the well-known "sleepy" side affects. However, I have come across some allergy relief products that have seriously eliminated my need for Benadryl, Claritin, Allegra, Zyrtec, and Flonase. Yeah, I'm pretty much allergic to any and everything haha.

For sneezing, itchy, dry nose, constant running, and all those other fun symptoms these next couple of items have honestly been my panacea.

Ayr Brand Nasal Gel: This saline nasal gel is quite honestly the most amazing thing ever for nasal allergies. It's perfect for dry, scratchy irritation, that constant need to rub your nose, and helps soothe that tingly sensation. Just place a little dab around the nostrils, and then carefully put some up your nose. A little goes a long way! You don't have to plug your nose with this stuff to make it work. It has aloe that will immediately remove itch feelings, plus the saline solution keeps it moist. This also helps to prevent pollen from entering all the way up the nose to the olfactory foramen. (fancy term for where the pollen drives you crazy.)

SinuCleanse Squeeze: Sometimes all you really need is to clean out your Nasal Sinuses to remove any built up pollen and air particles. This simple nasal wash kit will remove built up mucous, pollen, misc particles that get stuck in the mucous membranes. It uses warm water, Sodium Bicarbonate and Sodium Chloride (saline solution) to naturally wash out the nasal sinuses. If you click the link it will describe how to use it properly. It's very easy to do, and after the first try I immediately felt better. I highly recommend this one. It's pretty much what you would get done at an ENT's office, but much cheaper.

Now let's say you can't be bothered to have water rushing up your nose and out the other end. Well here is a great all natural tea that will help stimulate your mucuous sinuses to loosen up and help flush out your allergens. Not to mention this tastes GREAT!

Nasal Cleanse Tea:

1/2" slice of fresh ginger
3-4 clove pieces
small cinnamon stick (broken into two)
5-6 cardamom pods
*you will also need your own Tea Bags or a Tea Ball

You will need to dice the ginger into nice size bits. The cinnamon sticks will also need to be shortened to fit inside the tea bag or tea ball. I would not recommend using ground cinnamon, because it will be too overpowering. The cardamom pods can be crushed open, but keep the seeds in the pod.

Once you have everything in the tea bag or tea ball, time to boil some water. Make sure the water boils for just a second, then remove from the heat. Pour hot water over tea bag or tea ball and allow to seep for 5-10 minutes. You should be able to smell the tea (it will smell amazing). Then you may add some sugar or sweetener, but not too much. Sip Slowly and allow the tea to warm up your throat. This will help stimulate your nasal passages and you should notice your nose starting to drain. If you notice your nose is really starting to run, this would be a great time to try the SinuCleanse Squeeze! Or you can just blow your nose.

At some point recently, someone gave me a hug, and then exclaimed something about me losing weight. I was sure that I really hadn't, but, I haven't been near a scale since before Spring Break.

I was cold and hugging myself when I was making breakfast this morning, and I was stunned to realize that he's right. Or, at least, there's not as much of me there as there used to be.

My response is a combination of, "Blast!" and "Yippee!!"

In other news, the planner is back in the head. She has big ideas for summer, and some of the personal time includes shoving her hands in the dirt and encouraging good things to grow. Hopefully.

I have resolved that I shouldn't get my own house until after a particular life goal is hit (said life goal involves being out of the country for a fair amount of time, so this seems reasonable), but man, the day I have property that I'm actually allowed to PLANT things on, I will have to restrain myself long enough to move all my things into the house.

I can see that conversation. I'll be sitting, enraptured, in the middle of the lawn or some such, taking in everything around me, and fantasizing about what can be planted where. Someone will of course want to know where to put something, and my mind won't care a whit about anything going inside the house, just what life may be brought to the outside of it.

I like hardy natives, and trees. Also, golden retrievers.

Surprise to NO one - I volunteer at an animal shelter in town. Surprise to no one - I'm 100% in favor of adopting a shelter pet rather than the pet store variety, for several very good reasons.

Annnnnnd it's back to study-time.

How to Build a Tumbling Composter

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit
One of the keys to composting is aeration. The bacteria need oxygen to carry out the aerobic respiration that creates rich compost. One way to aerate your compost is with a pitchfork or a compost turning tool. If you keep your compost in a tumbler, however, all you have to do is turn the container. Since most compost barrels can be expensive, you may be interested in building your own for much less money and an hour of your time.

Steps

1. Buy a plastic drum, between 20 and 55 gallons (75-200 liters), and a 48 inch (1.25 meter) length of 2 inch (5 cm) schedule 80 PVC pipe, or a length of 1 1/2 to 2 inch (3.8-5 cm) galvanized steel pipe.
2. Drill holes in the center of the top and bottom of your drum, large enough for the pipe you are going to use for an axle.
3. Pass the pipe or post through the center holes.
4. Build a wooden saw buck to support the compost barrel. Nail 2 sets of 2x4s (pieces of wood that are 1.5″ × 3.5″ or 38×89 mm in terms of height and width, respectively) in an x-frame, and nail two 2x4s across the feet at the bottom for support.
5. Set the barrel with the pipe in the wooden 2x4 saw buck.
6. Drill holes in the body of the barrel with a 1-inch (2.5 cm) drill for aeration.
7. Rotate the barrel in the sawhorse frame using the pipe or post as an axle.
8. Cut a hole in the side and add simple hinges and a hasp to create a door with the piece you cut from the side of your drum.
9. Fill your drum composter with leaves or other compostable material, and allow your new "garden helper" to do its job. You will want to rotate the drum a few times every day or so, depending on the outdoor temperature. (See Tips below for ideas on how to add a handle.)
10. Check the contents occasionally, and when they are broken down by the bacteria in the drum, remove them to use for soil amending, mulch, and other purposes around your lawn and garden.

Tips

• If your barrel is a light color you might consider painting it a dark green, brown, or black. There are paints like Krylon that work particularly well on plastic. The dark color will absorb light and raise the temperature of your compost.
• If the contents of the drum are very dry, moistening them will accelerate the composting process, but do not saturate them with water.
• Composting (decomposing) occurs more quickly in warm weather.
• If you would like to add a handle to help you turn the barrel, drill a 1" (2.5 cm) hole all the way through one end of the pipe. Slide a piece of rebar or other round steel tubing that is 1" (2.5 cm) in diameter through the holes. The rebar should be about 2' (60cm) long. Center it so that you now have two handles on the end of the pipe and can grasp them to turn the barrel. You can cover them with pipe insulation for an easier grip.
• You could also build the tumbler on a diagonal axis (enough to create a slope) and put a plug in the bottom of the drum, which would allow you to add water that will help the decompostion and create a liquid fertilizer when drained from the drum.

Warnings

• Filling your composter with green (fresh cut) lawn trimmings or other material may cause it to generate too much heat, in which case it may begin to smolder, if the container is not rotated occasionally.

Things You'll Need

• One 20-55 gallon (72-200 liter) plastic drum.
• One 48 inch (1.25 meter)length of pipe with a 2 inch diameter (5 centimeter).
• 2X4 treated lumber.
• Nails
• Circular saw.
• Drill motor, hole saw, and drill bits.
• Basic hand tools. (hammer, measuring tape, square)
• Hinges

Related wikiHows

• How to Use Your Home Built Tumble Composter to Create Rich Compost
• How to Compost
• How to Build a Compost Bin
• How to Find Free Compost Ingredients
• How to Make Your Own Worm Compost System

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world's largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Build a Tumbling Composter. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

Today I am planting our garden with my dad. I don’t mind gardening, in fact I enjoy it to a certain extent, but I have a tendency to kill plants. Most of my horticultural endeavors have not turned out well. I like the work though: the planting, the weeding, the picking, and the cleaning. It keeps me busy for most of the summer if I am attentive.

 

We are also going to be planting two cherry trees, two apple trees, and an Asian pear tree soon, too. We planted two peach trees and a cherry tree last year, but the deer destroyed our cherry tree. We also have three full grown apple trees, but one is almost entirely dead and another is starting to die so we need to replace them. One apple tree will be the same as what we already grow (Haralson), which was planted by my grandfather. The other is going to be a dwarf 4-in-1 tree. The only apples I eat fresh are the ones from my backyard so planting these trees is of particular importance to me.

 

I also need to weed the strawberry patch and transplant a cottonwood today. When I was younger I avoided helping in the garden as much as possible. I hated the bugs and the heat. Now, I think my father is growing tired of my ambitious plans for the yard. I want to start a raspberry patch and plant a hazelnut tree, but those may have to wait another year.

 

I think part of my love for gardening is I like being at home and being self sufficient to a certain extent. We grind our own flour, bake our own bread, and basically live off our garden during the late summer. I like knowing that my hands helped produce what I eat. Eating is more of a celebration for me when I have watched the plants grow and picked it with my own hands. I have the same feeling towards cooking my own food.

 

Later tonight I am going fishing. Hopefully I finally catch something (fishing is another thing I don’t have a great record with). If nothing else it will be nice to sit by the water and practice my casting.

For two years I have been growing moss on the north patio to my house. today I finally harvested it and  draped it over rocks and the stone lantern top and around the pitcher plant. It involves putting on industrial grade knee pads, taking a kitchen scraper and  on hands and knees slowly lifting off sections of it in sheets. the parts that crumble can be put in an old blender  ( I have one I use for paper making) with a tab of buttermilk or yogurt and poured over the places you hope it to take hold.


Now moss very much has a mind of it's own and it will either take or not take and obviously you need a damp shady spot for it. But to me it is one of nature's wonders and I have loved cultivating it and then using it to "age" the water area I built near the front door. I can't understand that people buy herbicides to kill this stuff. After I get most of the stuff up I will power wash the front patio and it will be spiffy and ready for a new crop of moss in a few years.