Bloody Fingers

Witches' Gloves, Dead Mens' Bells, Bloody Fingers, or good old Foxgloves they are now flowering everywhere- especially in the polytunnel and they're so pretty I haven't the heart to pull them out. Culpepper, the famous herbalist, reckoned they had : ' ...a gentle, cleansing nature and withal very friendly to nature. The Herb is familiarly and frequently used by the Italians to heal any fresh or green wound, the leaves being but bruised and bound thereon and the juice thereof is also used in old sores, to cleanse, dry and heal them. It has been found by experience to be available for the King's evil, the herb bruised and applied, or an ointment made with the juice thereof, and so used.... I am confident that an ointment of it is one of the best remedies for a scabby head that is'. So any scabby head problems and you know what to do but be very careful as they are also highly toxic! Used with extreme care and know how, digitoxi is now used in modern medicines to control erratic heartbeats.

Damp and humid today, we ventured out to Bandon - Himself in search of a lightweight backpack and some walking sandals for me. Bandon was looking a bit forlorn in the mizzle though the outdoor shop had lots of interesting and essential things. The sandals were too expensive but Himself came away with a satisfactory backpack in preparation for jetting off to the Aran Islands on saturday. Exciting!