It is a Wee bit Frustratin'

from Wikipedia: common ragweed - grows between 1-3ft at the farm

So here we are, almost to the end of September, and no fence for a new goat pen. Needless to say, I am mulling this lack of fence over and over in my mind. I want a fence, but when I go outside, I am good for about15-30 minutes tops. Then the golden haze of ragweed pollen mixed with everything else starts to tickle my nose. I'm toast for the rest of the day. If I push my luck, which I have been known to do, and go out after an hour or two of rest in the house, then I am having major allergy problems for at least two days, if not more. Ugh.

Say it through your stopped up sinusitis nose -- Ugh. Don't feel any better? Me either.

I used to say, in college, that I wanted someone to give me a wooden spoon so I could dig out the offending body part - my sinuses. No one took me up on that offer. Too bad. So here I am with my hyper-active super vigilent immune system centralized about my nose and sinuses.

from Wikipedia: grand ragweed, also called buffalo or horse weed, grows 6 ft and beyond in the field

Over the years I have tried countless remedies, both mainstream and not so mainstream. I've had allergy shots. Had an allergic reaction to them after about a year. Ate bee pollen - no change. Ate local honey - no change. Took prescription and over the counter allergy medicine - only works for a lmited amount of time if at all and has to be strong enough to knock me out to work. Went to sleep with a wet warm washcloth on my face - aaah nice but allergies would come back pretty quick. Drank or ate extremely cold drinks - some temporary relief. Worked in computer rooms 8-12 hrs. per day - worked well, but I was cold most of the time and a bit stressed. Sleep always worked pretty well, but I missed a lot of interesting stuff.

Now I have begun to change my diet and my lifestyle as part of this farm experiement and I have had limited success. Ragweed season starts in the middle of August. I usually start sneezing uncontrollably with watery eyes, itchy throat and stuffed sinuses within a day or two. I also get welts when I handle ragweed. They go away after about 15, 20 minutes. This year with my local, organic diet, I pushed the inevitable sinusitis back until about a week ago. That is progress, but I am still allergic. I have recently researched the role of various vitamins in boosting your immune system. Key players appear to be Vitamin E, C, B12 and zinc. It will take a bit longer to work those things into my diet and perhaps the vitamins and minerals would be more effective coming from local food. We will see. One thing I know for sure is... I'm looking for that wooden spoon. Maybe I'll be back out in October or November.