'Gators Got Your Granny

Since we have returned our garden has really taken off. The corn is getting ready (and so are the raccoons). The weeds have also matured. While we were in Berlin, Maddie got stung by a plant they have there. It was some sort of stinging nettle. It took Maddie two times before she learned not to touch it. This weed we have in our area is also a stinging nettle, called a Bull Nettle.  My Uncle Mike has always claimed to have a cure for this sting. I don't know of anyone who has actually taken him up on it.

Another plant that has take off is the poke weed. It grows in fence lines and around, and can get up to 10 feet tall. Ours don't have the purple berries on them yet. The berries are poisonous to mammals, but can be eaten by birds. They will stain your clothes and hands if you get them on you. The Indians would use the "ink" from the berries to decorate their horses. It is also called "inkberry." The US Declaration of Independence was written in pokeberry juice.

Its most famous in the South for Poke Salad (as in "Poke Salad Annie," covered by the King). If you cook the young plants just right, it won't kill you. I've never had it and don't plan on it, since its not recommended anymore as being safe. There were lots of other medicinal purposes claimed from acne to arthritis. That reminds me of the Beverly Hillbillies.

I have been trying to get a picture of the twins. She keeps them hid out in grass during the day, so I had to wait until dark to get this photo of them tonight.