Edge Hill House c 1740

Rather than share the photos here, I have made the album on my FB public. 

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.4179474898947889&type=3

Worth a Listen: Testimony of Liane Brown

If the player won't work, click here.

Liane Brown tells about her family's harrowing experiences in the middle of Nazi Germany and the communist invasion of Russia which split the country into East and West. Her family would eventually find its way to the United States of America, grateful for the freedom which they found here.

Dog Fennel

  

Eupatorium capillifolium

capillifolium=hair leaf

In the past, I have had to cut neglected fields that were overgrown with this plant. It was taller than I was! You've probably seen this plant along fence lines and roadways. I am not one of the people who likes the way it smells.

Its name is dog fennel. It is not the same fennel used in kitchens. The two plants are not even in the same family. The kitchen herb is in the carrot family. The dog fennel is related to daisies and sunflowers. I would not take dog fennel internally because it has alkaloids that can damage the liver. Livestock won't eat it. 

A Native American tribe in North Carolina did take internal preparations of dog fennel, but I am not comfortable sharing that information. Some people do eat small quantities of it in dishes and claim it has not affected their health. Seeing as to how there are plenty of other plants we can safely consume, so why risk it?

Dog fennel has antifungal properties. The fresh leaves can be crushed and used externally on wounds and insect stings. You could make a tea to use as an antifungal wash. 

Dog fennel is also useful to us as an insect repellent.* Native Americans burned fresh stalks on their fires to ward off mosquitoes. It can be cut and laid in bundles inside dog houses and dog runs to repel ticks and mosquitoes. Some pick the green stalks, crush the leaves, and rub them on their skin to repel mosquitoes and biting flies. 

I've been told that the best way to use it as an insect repellent is to make a spray from the extracted oils. You should research it to learn more about extracting, but here are some very brief instructions to illustrate how simple the process can be. You can extract the oils by stuffing a pot with fresh, bruised plants, covering them with water, applying gentle heat for several hours. Then you strain off the plant matter and bottle with 10-20% carrier oil. The carrier oil helps stabilize the plant extracts making hold potency last longer. It seems to give 1.5-4 hours of protection depending on strong the extracted liquid is and how hot it is. Growing conditions, when you pick it, how tightly you pack your pot, etc all will affect the strength.

After the plant has dried naturally in the field, the leaves and stalks make good fire tinder. I use the dried stalks to mark planted rows in my garden. I read that Native Americans used the stalks as shafts for arrows. If true, those arrows must have been used for lightweight purposes as the dried shafts are hollow and brittle. They will split and break into fairly easily. I can push them into loose soil, but they snap when I try to push them into harder packed soil. Maybe they hardened them with heat at a certain time. 

*The dog-fennel oil was more potent than the conventional insecticide malathion. In conclusion, these combined results showed Eupatorium capillifolium oil is a promising novel source of a biological insecticide with multiple modes of action. source

Another Home Dairy

This is another home dairy in my neighborhood. 

It's a little blurry because it was taken from a distance.

You can see another home dairy and learn about how they were used here.

Big Tree

Clint trimming a tree at Wilmore's.

We are very grateful to the Lord and Wimore for the front room we sometimes use for group meetings and Bible study. It's a nice, quiet little spot with dozens of nearly tame Eastern Cottontails.

This is an old black elm that was filling the gutter with leaves. Clint removed some branches to get more light and air to the back of the home. Our thoughtful and sweet Bethany did the gutter cleaning.

The elm is 14 feet 6 inches in circumference. 14 feet!! Wow! That makes it around 265 years old. That means it started around 1754 which is 22 years before our nation was officially formed in 1776! This tree has stood through so many storms and has seen so much change. Willie's old tree is special!

*****

This one says 265 years old. It lumps all elms together.

"The Elm with stem circumference of 168 inch is approximately 265 years old."

 This one says the elm tree is 214 years old. It only does one type of elm.

"Estimated Age of Tree: 214 years old.
This tree could have started growing in 1805.
About 1805: In 1805, Thomas Jefferson was President. Our flag had 15 stars, which included latest states Vermont and Kentucky."

Stonewall Jackson's Headquarters

original house

house today

Stonewall Jackson Headquarters

Stonewall Jackson's Headquarters Museum

Wisteria House c1789

This was considered a mansion for a family then. 

It is much smaller than my home.

Wisteria House (101 S. Loudoun St.) Originally built circa 1789, this house was expanded. Issac Parkins, who owned Out‐lot #49 on which most of Fort Loudoun was built, also owned a mill and seemed to deal in real estate. He consequently sold this Loudoun St. in‐lot to William Russell who enlarged it. His son, a veteran of the War of 1812, later occupied the home. It is a beautifully picturesque building when the wisteria is in bloom!  source here.

Godfrey Miller Home

History

thick walls!

Hill's Keep

part of First Presbyterian Church

First Presbyterian Church Winchester, VA

I love visiting old churches. It is a joy meeting other Christians and hearing how passionate they are about their church. I also enjoy the beautiful architecture and rich history. I have visited dozens of historical churches but only have a few of them in the blog.

First Presbyterian Church, Winchester, VA History

I Corinthians 1:10 I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought.

George Washington's Office and Statue

George Washington's Office
George Washington used a little log building, now the middle room of George Washington Office Museum, as a military office from September 1755 to December of 1756 while Fort Loudoun was being constructed at the north end of town. 

Road Way Markers

If you click to enlarge this picture, you should be able to read the text of this marker in Charlottesville, VA.

I love learning about history, so I try to read roadway markers any time I am a passenger. If I don't get to finish one, I send a text to my email reminding me to look it up here. A Virginia only marker database is here.

Job 8:8-10 For enquire, I pray thee, of the former age, and prepare thyself to the search of their fathers: (For we are but of yesterday, and know nothing, because our days upon earth are a shadow:) Shall not they teach thee, and tell thee, and utter words out of their heart? 

Homeschool Freebie Hero Classics DVD from Nest

https://www.nestlearning.com/t-email_signup.aspx

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The DVD is free and comes with a free coloring pages download. Regular shipping is also free.

Walter Reed Birthplace

Walter Reed was the youngest of five children and became  doctor at the age of 18 1/2. He was and still is the youngest MD to graduate from the University of Virginia. He is credited with confirming the theory that mosquitoes were the cause of the spread of yellow fever. When you start to think your home is not large enough, take a trip to a historical home owned by an average person. Space was used very efficiently to create a comfortable home. We hope to take the whole family to tour the inside of the house sometime soon.