When I was about 13 I was on a bicycle ride at my girlfriend's house. Her name was Anne. She was the daughter of German immigrants. Her family was in the business of growing grape stock for the vineyards in the Finger Lakes area. I am sure that her family's business has done well the past few years! We have so many new wineries in the area!
Anne and I went down this huge hill! I was hesitant to just let the bike fly but I did. Actually, in retrospect, that was a bad idea. The bicycle went out of control and I ended up on the side of the road in a daze. I sustained an injury to my left elbow. I still have a piece of road cinder in that elbow. I was dazed and I went to the road ditch to wash it!!!!! That was a very stupid action to take! (we never heard of flesh eating bacteria back then!) As a nurse, now I am very impressed with my stupidity. I went to the Emergency Room and received a stitching. A few days later, my wound became infected and I was prescribed antibiotics. At this time we were living in the country on Waddell Road in Clifton Springs. My father had planted comfrey in his garden. As a treatment, he made a comfrey poultice for me to apply to my arm. (He was a practicing MD at the time) I recall the arm had pitting edema. Definition: Pitting edema is when there is swelling which stays pushed down when pressed on. My arm healed, but I do have an ugly scar. I would bet it would have been even uglier without the application of the poultice!
Comfrey is a very interesting plant. It has scratchy fuzzy leaves. The flowers are purple and they are in bloom now, as this picture reveals. If a bee tries to enter the flower he has great difficulty, due to it's shape. Often there will be a tiny hole chewed on the side of the blossom, where the bug as entered to get the nectar of the plant. Hummingbirds really enjoy it. Tonight my father was telling me that they practically fly upside down to drink the comfrey nectar.
My father used to make "comfrey tea" fertilizer for his vegetable garden. My father grew his comfrey in the 1970's and 1980's on Waddell Road, he took cuttings to Vine Road in Penn Yan. My daughter must have taken root cuttings to our farm. She subsequently took cuttings from the farm to her house on her Street extension. She brought cuttings to my father's apartment at Centerpointe. Wow.
Anne and I went down this huge hill! I was hesitant to just let the bike fly but I did. Actually, in retrospect, that was a bad idea. The bicycle went out of control and I ended up on the side of the road in a daze. I sustained an injury to my left elbow. I still have a piece of road cinder in that elbow. I was dazed and I went to the road ditch to wash it!!!!! That was a very stupid action to take! (we never heard of flesh eating bacteria back then!) As a nurse, now I am very impressed with my stupidity. I went to the Emergency Room and received a stitching. A few days later, my wound became infected and I was prescribed antibiotics. At this time we were living in the country on Waddell Road in Clifton Springs. My father had planted comfrey in his garden. As a treatment, he made a comfrey poultice for me to apply to my arm. (He was a practicing MD at the time) I recall the arm had pitting edema. Definition: Pitting edema is when there is swelling which stays pushed down when pressed on. My arm healed, but I do have an ugly scar. I would bet it would have been even uglier without the application of the poultice!
Comfrey is a very interesting plant. It has scratchy fuzzy leaves. The flowers are purple and they are in bloom now, as this picture reveals. If a bee tries to enter the flower he has great difficulty, due to it's shape. Often there will be a tiny hole chewed on the side of the blossom, where the bug as entered to get the nectar of the plant. Hummingbirds really enjoy it. Tonight my father was telling me that they practically fly upside down to drink the comfrey nectar.
My father used to make "comfrey tea" fertilizer for his vegetable garden. My father grew his comfrey in the 1970's and 1980's on Waddell Road, he took cuttings to Vine Road in Penn Yan. My daughter must have taken root cuttings to our farm. She subsequently took cuttings from the farm to her house on her Street extension. She brought cuttings to my father's apartment at Centerpointe. Wow.
