Yesterday (Saturday) we butchered the rest of the chickens. These will go in our freezer. ;) Several families came over to butcher their birds and join in the fun! :) By about 1pm all the butchering was done, and everyone took their harvest home to store for the winter. :) After we had bagged up our chickens and tucked them into the freezer, we headed out to the ridge to clear brush and prepare for deer season. Because of all the standing water we had this summer, we had not groomed our trails at all this year. There was a lot of branches to pick up and tall grass to mow down.
While I was out there, I took the opportunity to pick burdock leaves, another thing I like to do in the fall. Spring would be better time to pick them, but I usually can't get to my burdock, due to water, until the slough dries up in the fall. I pick the leaves from the first year plants (ones without the burrs). Burdock can be eaten like salad, but we don't eat it. We have plenty of greens still growing in the garden. I stock burdock in case I will need it for wounds. It makes a great band aid! :) The nutrients in the leaves (which are more abundant in the spring) help to feed the wound, and the best part is that the leaves do not stick to the wound. If a person has a really large wound, it can be hard to cover with band aids or even gauze. Then when is comes time to change the bandage, it can get really painful because everything is stuck to the wound. That's when the leaves become a real blessing!
I hang the leaves in my garden shed from a clothes line and let them dry. When/if I need them, I just put them in hot water to soften them up and then they are ready to use.
Last fall Jonny sanded off part of his finger. It was a really bad wound. We used the burdock leaves on it and they worked great! He had very little pain, a sign of a wound that is bandaged well.
On the farm, you always have to be prepared for injuries! :( Just this weekend, Mike pierced (almost through!)his pinky finger with the edge of a cattle panel. I am not totally sure how it happened, but he and a friend were transporting the panels and one slid into Mike's hand. The point of the panel went right through the finger nail. He has a nice hole! I told him he should start a new fashion...finger nail piercing! :) One of the panels also poked through a finger on is other hand. At first, I thought I would need my burdock leaves, but we have just used band aids for this wound. Needless to say, I always need to be prepared! :)
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