Ivy

I thought there would be loads of exciting stuff about ivy in my Scots Herbal but there isn't much really.

It was woven into a wreath with honeysuckle and rowan to place over byres and under milk churns to keep witchcraft at bay though.

My Napiers Herbal book list the following uses for ivy - as a corn treatment when soaked in vinegar, as an ointment for treating burns and for treating irritated or infected eyes as a tea.

As a plus, although it doesn't look it, it apparently is a great source of nectar for bees and is valuable to them if they wake up early due to unnaturally clement weather early on in the year. I certainly see a lot of bees buzzing round ours. It also hides a lot of insects which is nice for the insects and also for small birds such as Wrens who hop about amongst it, picking off tasty treats.

I have been taking my herbal treatment and dietary changes described here for a week now and I feel sure it is making a difference already. The skin is still itchy in places but the redness and roughness has subsided quite a bit which is a great relief. The bit above my left eyebrow is totally better. I hope it continues!

In other news, it came to my own attention the other day when running home that the double ultramarathon I have in a few weeks is actually my first ever running race. I have never even done a 5k before though I have done a couple of obstacle courses involving running, not sure if that really counts. I expect this is quite unusual. I have reached a sort of epiphany in the last week where I suddenly feel much better about running and in fact am almost enjoying it! Yes! It was perhaps just a question of finding a distance long enough.