SUMAC, ST. JOHN'S WORT AND CANADIAN PIPELINE JOBS FOR US VETS

...SOME VIOLENT WEATHER YESTERDAY...

...CLEARED FOR FIREWORKS LAST NIGHT

ST. JOHN'S WORT

STAGHORN SUMAC, MALE FLOWER SPIKE

STAGHORN SUMAC FEMALE FLOWER SPIKE

Thursday, 8:15 AM.  73 degrees F, wind NNW, light.  The humidity is 73%, the sky mostly overcast but the barometer is on  the rise.  Yesterday afternoon we had a weather cell move through that brought very high winds but no rain.  The temperature fell from the high 80’s to the low 70’s in minutes. A few utility lines went down but nothing more.
    Friends Andy and Judy came to dinner yesterday and when it got dark we took the convertible and parked on Catholic Hill to watch the fireworks.  Bayfield’s were nothing to write home about but we could also see LaPointe’s display on Madeline Island so it was well worth the effort.
    The staghorn sumacs, Rhus typhina, in the cashew family (Anacardiaceae) have been flowering for weeks, putting on a nice display, the male flower heads golden yellow, the female flower heads pink, then turning purple, to be followed by fuzzy purple nutlets that will remain for most of next winter.  The seeds have a lemony, astringent taste, and in the past a summer drink was made from them.  I have not heard of anyone being allergic to either staghorn or smooth sumac, but poison ivy and poison sumac are close relatives so one should probably be cautious.
    The first wild raspberries are ripe along Old San Road, so it won’t be long until we can go berry picking amongst the bears. The common St. John’s wort,     Hypericum kalmianum, in the family of the same name, is in bloom in the fields and it is quite pretty.  There are many, confusing species.  St. John’s wort has a long history of use in herbal medicine as a nervine, and is still used as a treatment for nervous disorders and as a calmative. 
    Have you heard that the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) organization has brokered thousands of skilled jobs for returning vets, working on the Canadian portion of the Keystone pipeline?  I’m glad someone is looking out for jobs and the economy, as the Administration sure is not.