pygmy

i swear all the wild turkeys know hunting season just ended, because now they're everywhere and suddenly very cavalier. several times a day, i've looked out the window and there's at least one male displaying, along with their harem (usually about 6-10 at one time)

hey, here are some random helpful plant facts:

flowering dogwood roots & bark are anti-malarial. even if malaria isn't a big deal at your latitude now, good to know, with climate change and all, eh?

mashed leaves of american beautybush are an incredibly effective mosquito repellent, an isolated compound from it being as effective as DEET.

i also just dug up some yellow dock roots, and i'm going to cut them up and dry them, as they're good for chelating and expelling some heavy metals (like arsenic and lead)... by the way, cilantro is good at that, too, believe it or not. so don't be hatin' on cilantro!