(no subject)

[tagryn]

I entered my comfrey in the Charles County Fair and won a second place ribbon in the "Herbs - All Other" category. I think the novelty of the herb helped - I'm probably the only person in the county actually growing it. I also uploaded four more photos to my flickr account from our vacation in Virginia Beach this past weekend. Nice hotel, warm water without big waves, time with Donna - very good. I do have one story, though. I purchased a dive mask with prescription lenses a few months back, and have been learning to snorkel with it along the way. Well, the snorkel doesn't work so well in the surf, but the mask was doing fine - I can actually see without glasses using it - except for the common problem of the mask fogging up (due to the temperature differential between the water and skin). Then I remembered an old diver's trick and spit in them. So I was there, rubbing the liquid on the lenses and feeling very satisfied with myself for having remembered it, when - BAM! I get clobbered by a wave. Now, I was in the area between the ocean and sandbar where there hadn't been any waves at all for about 10 minutes, but sure enough, the minute I took my eyes off the wave train, one comes along. And have to say, its a strange feeling in that split-second between hearing the wave start to break a few feet from you and looking up and seeing a big wave cresting over you. I'd like to say I thought of something profound, but I think my brain was just saying "Uhumhuh?" and still trying to process what exactly that wave-breaking sound meant before I went flying.

Comments

[jilara.livejournal.com]

I love comfrey! It's my favorite obscure herb. I used to grow it, but found it doesn't persist well in my yard. But it's nice to know someone else grows it!

[tagryn]

Ah well. When we were in London a few years back, comfrey was growing in the parks along the Thames. I think my wife was amused at seeing me so excited over seeing it in the wild.

When I was in Columbus last month, one of my favorite gardens there was still growing comfrey, but I had to smile when I looked underneath: they had it in a large pot. Guess they'd figured out that when the stuff does grow, its almost impossible to kill off unless you dig out every piece of root.

[jilara.livejournal.com]

Makes me think of how excited I was to see meadowsweet in the wild in Ireland. Come to think of it, I think I've seen comfrey growing there, too.

I don't know what it is about my yard, but some things that take over elsewhere don't persist well in it. Maybe it's a combination of my soil and the California climate and all the chemicals they add to the local water...