Email from Judy starts out (wouldn’t it be nice if all email did?) with “I LOVE your blog!” Then, with her permission I’m sharing this, she continues…
About jewel weed though: rub it on your skin after being exposed to poison ivy and it takes away the itch! I grew up in upstate New York, and didn’t know about this cure, even though my skin was bubbled up with poison ivy rash throughout most of my young life (in the summer). Once, I read that an antidote plant often grows in proximity to an irritant plant. Nature rocks.
One other New England antidote, from my own past…
It must have been fifteen years ago when, just past sunset, our dog Marianne raced into the house and dive-bombed my lap, bringing with her all the fresh fragrance of angry skunk.
Whew!
Fortunately, I was fully prepared, with
- one giant can of tomatoes
- four small children
- one moonlit NH lake
We escorted Marianne down to the lake beach, waded her out hip-deep (her hips, not ours), and massaged her from nose to toes with squishy tomatoes–one tomato per small massager.
At the end of this process, Marianne smelled enough like herself (plus tomatoes) that we could all manage to sleep in the same house with her. And, at the end of the summer, “the day Marianne met a skunk” was voted the best day by several of those small participants.
I feel very confident recommending this method as a skunk antidote.
You can even use a big bathtub instead of a lake–but try not to omit small children, they’re part of the magic.