| Author |
Message |
    
Creb
storyteller
Username: Creb
Post Number: 10
Registered: 7-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 28, 2003 - 3:03 am: |     |
Thalion, I hope the cave lion attention getting call from the portal didn't scare you too much!
You pressed the right button on the console though, so you must have got the message that I have retrofitted email access to the time portal.
This will enable you to communicate in real time with us, and us with you.
People can now ask you questions and give advice if things like that happen.
Anyone got any ideas to help Thal out of this mess? Just some hugs might be appreciated by the sound of things!
(((((((((((Thal))))))))))))
Creb
**********
Time is the simplest thing... |
Thalion
storyteller
Username: Thalion
Post Number: 360
Registered: 5-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 28, 2003 - 11:38 am: | |
Aaawww....
Thank you Dr. Creb.....
That hug was just what I needed!
What a great surprise! All of a sudden I don't feel all alone any more. 
(((((Creb)))))
I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they pass by - Douglas Adams |
Thalion
storyteller
Username: Thalion
Post Number: 361
Registered: 5-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 28, 2003 - 11:58 am: | |
Eco, I do a little herb and berry drying in real life, too, and sometimes had meal moth infestations, even if I put the stuff into tightly closed containers. They lay their eggs before or while you dry the stuff, those eggs are tiny and you don't notice until it's too late... I also had tiny mites in elder flowers and linden flowers I dried... what I usually do is heat the herbs and berries briefly up to 60°C after air drying, and as soon as they cool down put them in dry, tightly closed bags or containers. That works well for most of my herbs and stuff...
But I don't have tightly fitting containers here and now ... I'd need some insect repellant that could be used for stored food. A plant that wouldn't poison the food while it poisons the insects, or repells them, or confuses them... or some other tricks.
What did our ancestors do?
Compared to that, I find it rather easy to keep the stuff free of mould...
I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they pass by - Douglas Adams |
Utika
bear cub
Username: Utika
Post Number: 8
Registered: 9-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 28, 2003 - 2:32 pm: | |
Interesting question. Could smoking the plants during the whole drying process help ? The smoke might kill the bugs, no ? About the insect reppellent, mothes seem not too be found of the smell of lavander, garlic, mint, rosmary and bay leaves. maybe not easy to find near Kostenki though... |
Kerensa
bear cub
Username: Kerensa
Post Number: 35
Registered: 9-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 28, 2003 - 2:34 pm: | |
Perhaps our ancestors just did not worry about it? Perhaps shake as many insects off as they could? Or perhaps they had plants that did not get infected?
I hope you can solve your problem. |
Thalion
storyteller
Username: Thalion
Post Number: 362
Registered: 5-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 28, 2003 - 3:36 pm: | |
May 26th, TT0
The cave lion roar this morning woke me up and almost scared me to death, Panicking, I jumped out of my sleeping bag. Then I remembered that that was the alarm clock from the time machine and sat down again, with trembling knees.
After I regained my composure, I found Dr. Creb's message and the email terminal.
Wonderful! The knowledge alone of having a means to communicate is helping with the loneliness here. This lifestyle isn't natural... at least not for me. Maybe for a hermit...
Anyway, maybe someone can give me tips on how to preserve the dried food (mainly the berries and grains but also the roots and bulbs) from rotting and insect infestation. I know several insect repellant plants, but haven't found any of them as yet around here...
There would be walnut... I could use the leaves... but there is no walnut tree around, I guess the climate is too harsh and the winters are too cold, even in this sheltered valley.
Too bad, I could use the juice from the leaves as an insect repellant for the skin as well, I am expecting mosquitoes and blackflies later in the year, maybe not up here in my cave, since it is always quite windy, but when I go on my exploring trips...
For that sage would have to do.... I did see some sage on the steppe.
Neem tree leaves would be perfect. But for that I would have to make a quick trip to India...
I could see if I can find mugwort somewhere. That could grow around here... and it has insect repellant properties. I could spread the leaves with the dried food... I wish I had access to the plant for a future database... with all preparation and knowledge.. there is always something that you forget...
I think I will be able to cope with the storage of the meat. The batches that were overdried are still good, only a bit leathery. The ones that were spoiled weren't sliced evenly and dry enough. I have to learn to cut the meat to just the right thickness and dry it long enough - but maybe not smoke it all that much.
Today I found large patches of chickweed Stellaria media - I had found the odd plant here and there ever since I arrived here and munched the fresh leaves as a vitamin C source, but too much of it raw isn't good since they contain a large amount of saponins. Cooked, however, they lose their toxicity and taste like spinach. I decided to make my favorite baked flat cakes tonight, from some of my remaining grains (I might as well eat them before the insects get them...) and fill them with chickweed-spinach. There was a bit wild garlic left... hmmm... just the right thing to season the chickweed.
Stellaria media, chickweed. Photo copyright Henriette Kress, http://www.ibiblio.org/herbmed - Look at this wonderful site if you are interested in plants!
Since so much of my stored food is gone now, I will go and dig out cattail roots. There is plenty of cattail around in shallow swampier areas of the river shore, and in oxbows.
I could also look for acorns... there are many oak trees around, and there may be acorns left that haven't been eaten by squirrels or worms yet....
from: http://zapovednik.h1.ru/photos.shtml, one of the places where the river is slow and phragmites and cattail grow.
I have also seen Nuphar lutea, the yellow water lily. The root can be used as a source for starch, although it is bitter and has to be treated like the starch from acorns, leached for a while.
Nuphar lutea, yellow pond lily. Photo copyright Henriette Kress, http://www.ibiblio.org/herbmed
There is more to come, I am not afraid to die of hunger, that isn't what made me so desperate. I want to be able to store enough food for the ones who come to this cave after me... But with your help maybe I will succeed after all.
Hugs to all of those who read my diaries! 
(Message edited by Thalion on December 22, 2004)
I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they pass by - Douglas Adams |
Thalion
storyteller
Username: Thalion
Post Number: 363
Registered: 5-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 28, 2003 - 3:40 pm: | |
Oh email- wonderful!
Utika, thank you! I will certainly try the smoking when I do my own drying of herbs and berries. We will see if it helps.
There is wild garlic around, only still very tiny. I should collect large amounts, maybe all methods combined will give good results.
Kerensa, thank you, too! I think you are right, our ancestors probably ate some of the infested food and maybe weren't as picky about the occasional bug in the stew as we are... but you should have seen that mess with the meal moth (Dšrrobstmotte in German) - no way that I would have eaten any of this...
I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they pass by - Douglas Adams |
Darsina
gatherer
Username: Darsina
Post Number: 141
Registered: 9-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 28, 2003 - 4:04 pm: | |
How about burning some sulfur nearby? It's still done nowadays, has little to no effect on the taste of the dried fruit and kills moths. The same works for the addition of acetic acid.
http://www.apis.admin.ch/deutsch/pdf/Krankheiten/M ottenschaeden_d.pdf
I'll be looking for a link in English this evening.
Thinking is the work of the intellect, dreaming its pleasure. - Victor Hugo |
Thalion
storyteller
Username: Thalion
Post Number: 364
Registered: 5-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 28, 2003 - 4:28 pm: | |
More email, hello Darsina!
How can I find sulfur? What do sulfur rich stones/soil look like? Do I need to purify it in any way?
I don't have acetic acid either...although I could try to make vinegar if and when I can manage to make fruit wine. However, when do I use the vinegar, before I dry the herbs to kill the eggs?
I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they pass by - Douglas Adams |
Darsina
gatherer
Username: Darsina
Post Number: 142
Registered: 9-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 28, 2003 - 8:28 pm: | |
Good news, there are natural sulfur resources in the Ukraine. World Resources Dictionary
With the means you have on hand you can only use elemental sulfur, because the refining process of sulfuric ores requires high temperatures and some apparatus. It's a bright to dark yellow mineral that can be ground quite easily. It can be found in the form of crystals, shapeless rocks or powder. sulfur.jpg It is most likely found around the volcano that scared even Vincavec during the Mamutoi summer meeting. But be careful not to breath sulfur dioxide or any other dangerous gases while you're looking for sulfur. A soaking wet cloth around mouth and nose will be of help.
For preserving your food, put them on a loosely woven wooden rack and burn the ground sulfur (no further purification necessary) under it so that the formed sulfur dioxide passes around the fruit.
Sulfur dioxide
quote:I don't have acetic acid either
Of course not. I'd better stop thinking like a chemist while giving advice. 
quote:although I could try to make vinegar if and when I can manage to make fruit wine.
It's more than likely that you'll be producing vinegar instead of wine. Ordinary yeast causes wild fermentation that leads to vinegar, while the production of wine requires a special kind of yeast. So far I was never successful in making grape wine, I always ended up with sour vinegar. If you really want to make wine, try to work as neatly as possible.
I'd soak the fruit or herbs in the vinegar before drying them. Moreover I'd boil vinegar under the rack on which you are drying the herbs. The acetatic vapour will also kill vermin.
Thinking is the work of the intellect, dreaming its pleasure. - Victor Hugo |
Darsina
gatherer
Username: Darsina
Post Number: 143
Registered: 9-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 28, 2003 - 9:29 pm: | |
Just in case that you have troubles opening links, Thal. This picture shows a rock with elemental sulfur on it. It isn't difficult to scrap it off. Another reason for this particular post could be that I'd like to try posting a picture. 
It works!
The flame produced by burning sulfur is of a deep blue.
(Message edited by Thalion on December 22, 2004)
Thinking is the work of the intellect, dreaming its pleasure. - Victor Hugo |
Thalion
storyteller
Username: Thalion
Post Number: 367
Registered: 5-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 29, 2003 - 9:10 am: | |
Aha - more email. Hello Darsina!
quote:Good news, there are natural sulfur resources in the Ukraine.
Too bad that I'm in Russia...
quote: It is most likely found around the volcano that scared even Vincavec during the Mamutoi summer meeting.
The volcano that scared everyone during the summer meeting was the Vesuv in Italy. We can take this to the palaeo-environment thread and talk about it some more, if you like.
quote:But be careful not to breath sulfur dioxide or any other dangerous gases while you're looking for sulfur. A soaking wet cloth around mouth and nose will be of help.
I will not actively go looking for sulfur. If I should happen to find stones like the ones you described, by coincidence, I may play around with them, and then take your advice. Thank you.
quote:For preserving your food, put them on a loosely woven wooden rack and burn the ground sulfur (no further purification necessary) under it so that the formed sulfur dioxide passes around the fruit.
That's somewhat similar to how my grandma preserved apple slices for baking... they were always very fresh and white. However, I am a bit reluctant to use sulfur since I am not certain about the health effects of larger amounts of sulfur. When you put too much of it in your wine, you get a headache, and I have some more serious side effects hidden somewhere in the back of my mind. Maybe we should take the sulfur topic to the science thread? Would be interesting to discuss.
quote:Of course not. I'd better stop thinking like a chemist while giving advice.
LOL. Did you file your application yet? Would be interesting to see how a chemist goes about this task.
quote:It's more than likely that you'll be producing vinegar instead of wine. Ordinary yeast causes wild fermentation that leads to vinegar, while the production of wine requires a special kind of yeast.
No. I know how to make wine. Actually, the yeast that is needed to make wine lives in association with grapes and most other fruit. The only reason vintners need to rely on added yeast these days is the fact that Sacharomyces cerevisiae, the yeast used for wine and beer making (same species, only different strains for different products) is killed off by the fungicides used by the vintners/farmers. They can't get spontaneous fermentation any more.
The vinegar-making microorganisms are often associated with fruit flies, one of the reasons you try to keep those out of your batches and off your fruit.
quote: So far I was never successful in making grape wine, I always ended up with sour vinegar. If you really want to make wine, try to work as neatly as possible.
I plan to start with dandelion and elderflower 'wine' (if I find a source for sugar) and later make blueberry wine. For myself and those who come later. Yummy. I made wine and beer successfully in the past and know how it's done. We can take that also to the science forum if you want.
quote:I'd soak the fruit or herbs in the vinegar before drying them. Moreover I'd boil vinegar under the rack on which you are drying the herbs. The acetatic vapour will also kill vermin.
I have doubts that I would want to produce vinegar in such amounts... and if I had some, I guess I'd rather use it for salad.
This is a bit too hightech for my lifestyle here, although it is an interesting approach, something I might want to try out in real life..
I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they pass by - Douglas Adams |
Thalion
storyteller
Username: Thalion
Post Number: 373
Registered: 5-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 29, 2003 - 3:24 pm: | |
May 27th, TT0
An Afternoon in Paradise
I spent all morning looking for acorns, checking my traps, setting new ones, work in general. Then I swam across the river at that place I showed you yesterday to dig out some cattail roots. I made a small raft-like thing where I can keep my baskets dry and just push and hold while I'm swimming (it's still very cold in the water... brrrr.....).
After I dug out a fair amount of roots, I lay down in the sun to get dry and warm up.
Bees and bumblebees were humming. Flowers smelled sweet. Birds were singing. Many, many birds, a real concert. Frogs were quacking. The wind was blowing gently through the branches of the trees. Ducks and Geese have arrived from somewhere, and I was watching a heron stalking through the high grass on the river bank, looking out for prey.
A falcon was hovering on the other side of the river, probably bringing food to its young.
The sun was warming me up nicely and I felt sleepy. There is no sound of airplanes or other signs of human civilization. If it were always like this, I could love this place.
More tomorrow. Good night.
I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they pass by - Douglas Adams |
Eco
bear cub
Username: Eco
Post Number: 16
Registered: 9-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, October 30, 2003 - 7:27 pm: | |
Hi Thalion. I was looking into how to control the Indian meal moth and thought you might be interested in a few suggestions. From this page:
quote:Items infested by insects that live within the food (carpet beetles, flour beetles or Indian meal moth) should immediately be discarded or temperature treated to kill the insect. To control with cold treatment, put infested items in a deep freeze for three to four days. To improve the effectiveness of this treatment, alternate freezing treatments with a period of rewarming to room temperature. For high temperature treatments, heat the oven between 133 and 140 degrees F for 20 minutes. Injury to the food is possible with excessively high temperature treatments.
Heat- or cold-treated objects can be reinfested. Keep them in the refrigerator or store them in tight-fitting containers until household infestations are eliminated. Adult Indian meal moths and flour beetles deprived of food might live three to five weeks. Carpet beetle and cockroach infestations typically take much longer to eradicate. Because insects also can develop on spilled food, thoroughly clean areas where food is stored by vacuuming or sweeping all spilled food.
Freezing during the winter shouldn't be much of a problem, except you'll have to control moisture. I know you don't have a thermometer, but maybe you could use the heating method if you could figure out a way to build a stone oven that wouldn't get too hot but would hold in enough heat to kill the eggs, etc. Also, from what I've read, it is important to be sure the area where the infestation occured is thoroughly cleaned and any spilled food is swept away. Hope this is somewhat helpful . eco
|
Cavebear
storyteller
Username: Cavebear
Post Number: 201
Registered: 9-2003
| | Posted on Saturday, November 01, 2003 - 12:44 am: | |
Thalion - You mentioned collecting acorns, and something occurred to me. Some oak trees have a genetic mutation that lacks the gene that produces the bitter taste (Jared Diamond). IIRC it is a single mutation that allows acorns from some trees to be immediately palatable to humans. Such trees are prized in France from what I have read.
You might want to note which acorns come from which trees and taste them separately (I assume you are going to pound them for "flour". When you find which oaks are the mutations, try collecting from those areas only.
Yesterday, my cat came when called. That worries me; I hope she's not ill! |
Thalion
storyteller
Username: Thalion
Post Number: 381
Registered: 5-2003
| | Posted on Saturday, November 01, 2003 - 12:10 pm: | |
June 5th, TT0
Sorry for not having reported and answered emails for a few days. I have been *so* busy.
Eco, thank you for that info, that relieves me, since the fruit and grains I will collect in late summer should stay free of insects over the winter, and thus still good if and when the next traveller arrives here.
I will try out a combination of the methods suggested to keep the food clean, people who come after me will be able to tell if those methods were efficient or not.
Cavebear, thank you for that info, I didn't know that. I will certainly look out for that variation.
I'm going to bed now since I am still not done with all my work, and also be busy tomorrow, but I will report in more detail soon.
I only say that much: Fish!
(Message edited by Thalion on November 01, 2003)
I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they pass by - Douglas Adams |
Darsina
gatherer
Username: Darsina
Post Number: 152
Registered: 9-2003
| | Posted on Saturday, November 01, 2003 - 7:01 pm: | |
You've got mail. Hope everything's alright where you are.
quote:Did you file your application yet? Would be interesting to see how a chemist goes about this task.
Thanks for the invitation. At the moment I haven't enough time for thorough research though, let alone leaving work for even limited time. I'd be happy, however, to be part of your base crew and put in my 2 cents from time to time.
quote:I plan to start with dandelion and elderflower 'wine' (if I find a source for sugar)
Would honey also work?
quote:We can take that also to the science forum if you want.
Good idea. I'd be delighted to read about your experiences.
Good luck, Thal!
Thinking is the work of the intellect, dreaming its pleasure. - Victor Hugo |
Darsina
gatherer
Username: Darsina
Post Number: 156
Registered: 9-2003
| | Posted on Saturday, November 01, 2003 - 11:05 pm: | |
quote:The volcano that scared everyone during the summer meeting was the Vesuv in Italy. We can take this to the palaeo-environment thread and talk about it some more, if you like.
I'll adopt your proposal. This is really news for me. 
Thinking is the work of the intellect, dreaming its pleasure. - Victor Hugo |
Thalion
storyteller
Username: Thalion
Post Number: 386
Registered: 5-2003
| | Posted on Monday, November 03, 2003 - 2:35 pm: | |
June 15th, TTD0
Ah- more email...
Darsina, yes, honey would work with that particular type of 'wine'. The elderflower and dandelion wines aren't really going through full alcoholic fermentation, the drink is sweet, sparkly, but with very little alcohol.
Now I need to find that beehive...
Back to my reports:
I was too busy these last few days. This is an exciting time, all the plants seem to flower at once, I hardly can catch up with photographs and listing... suffice to say that I enjoy all the fresh food.
The first wild strawberries are ripe, too, and I had a pig-out at one of the patches.
Wild strawberries, Fragaria vesca. © G. Herger
I saw more brown bears at and in the river, they were fishing. I have been fishing regularly, too, but a few days ago, when I last reported, I saw a large dark silhouette in the water. I got goosebumps and couldn't believe my luck - but it was true: this was sturgeon!
I shouldn't have been surprised, sturgeon does occur both in the Black and in the Caspian sea. And in both there is the valued Beluga sturgeon that has been almost poached to extinction in our day and age because of its much valued caviar.
I was happy to see these impressive animals. I watched how a few of them swam upriver. Would I be able to catch one of those? That would be quite a treat!
I couldn't just go and spear one of them, or net them. Those living fossils can get up to 200 pounds - and I have no idea how one woman who isn't especially skilled should hold that struggling mass of muscles.
One would be enough for me... I could try spearing a smaller one. But how to hold it?
All past week, I made a net out of plant fibres. I cut a sturdy and long rope out of the good reindeer hide I had saved for so long. While doing that, I broke one of my precious stone knives, now I only have four left.
I think I will try to spear one of the fish with the rope attached to the spear, and tie the rope around a tree or something, to be able to hold it. I should make something like gloves, otherwise the leather/rope will burn my hands... The net could perhaps help me get the fish out of the water. I don't want to rely on the net for catching the fish, because I would not be able to restrict that to one fish, it would break, and I couldn't manage more than one anyway...
A difficult task. I will have to think about it a bit more..
(Message edited by Thalion on December 22, 2004)
I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they pass by - Douglas Adams |
Thalion
storyteller
Username: Thalion
Post Number: 392
Registered: 5-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 04, 2003 - 4:09 pm: | |
June 16th, TT0
Today I went sturgeon hunting.
I made gloves from a piece of soft leather, just a round piece of leather, tied around my wrists, with a slit for the thumb. That should give me enough grip not to get my hands burned.
Did you ever try to tie a leather thong around your wrist with a fingerless glove on your hand? For a while I thought the adventure would fail because of this already - but with a loop and holding the thong with my teeth, I finally managed to put them on.
I chose a place in the river where the water wasn't too deep, because I thought I would hardly manage to spear a fish when I had to swim. I could only hope that one would come close enough to the shallower area for me to get it. My aim isn't good, the closer the better...
So I got undressed and waded into the river up to a point where I could still stand firm. I was holding a spear I had made out of wood, with a few hooks at the end, somewhat similar to a harpoon.
The leather rope had been tied and glued with resin to some branch stubs I had left on the end of the spear.
I have a rough sketch of this harpoon here:
I looped the end of the rope around a tree close to the river, in a way that a pulling fish could be restrained by the loop around the tree... something like a primitive pulley... and maybe I could hold it that way. And then I waited.
I saw large silhouettes moving in the middle of the river. Did I mention that the river is quite big?
I waited. And I saw more large fish swimming upriver.
And I waited...
Finally one swam closer to the shore, where I stood. I thought I would try, hurled the spear... and missed.
The water still was very cold and I felt the cold creep up my spine, making me even clumsier than I usually am.
So I waited some more.
Maybe I should have waited for mid summer to go hunting for sturgeon, but I had no idea if there still would be any. I knew they were there now, and now I wanted to get one.
After a long time of waiting I had to get out of the water to warm up. I started a fire and hopped around, drying off in the wind, which didn't make me feel any warmer.
Should I give up? No- I finally warmed up when I sat close to the fire, the sun was shining, and I had brought warm clothes.
After a while I tried again. The first few steps into the ice cold water are worst... and then I waited.
I tried a few throws, but missed every time.
I waited until I felt so cold again that the spear was falling out of my hands. I saw plenty of sturgeon, but none was close enough for me to hit it.
Trembling all over, I got out of the water, got dry, warmed up, packed my stuff and headed home. I'm disappointed. I will try again tomorrow.
(Message edited by Thalion on December 22, 2004)
I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they pass by - Douglas Adams |
Thalion
storyteller
Username: Thalion
Post Number: 402
Registered: 5-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, November 06, 2003 - 3:36 pm: | |
June 17th, TT0
And I thought I could just go there, wield my spear and fish some sturgeon....
After I came home, I felt very, very cold, my hair was wet, and although the days are nice and warm, the nights are still cold.
This morning I woke up with a terrible headache and, worse, a painful bladder infection.
The headache could be dealt with, after all I have a large amount of dried willow bark, leftovers from my basket weaving projects. And willow bark tea is efficient, although the onset of the effect isn't as fast as that of an aspirin. The tea is bitter, too.
The bladder infection is more serious. Not only is it painful when you pass water, if left untreated for too long, you can get a kidney infection and that can get really serious.
Do I have to mention that my nose was running and my throat was feeling rough?
I have a full blown cold, and a cough could be expected within the next few days.
I'm not too concerned about the cough. In the few months since I've been here, I became fitter and trimmer than I ever was. I lost weight, and gained muscle. I tried to eat healthy and ate a large amount of fresh food. My immune system should be strong enough to deal with the cold, but still, I have to do something about the bladder infection!
I am reluctant to take antibiotics when I don't really need them. Although I brought a collection for all kinds of uses, I don't have that many, and I still have a while to stay. If I can avoid it, I won't use any...
I remember the last time I took antibiotics. It was during the preparation phase when the time travel team made me ready for the trip.
I was stuffed with antibiotics of all kinds. I was scrubbed with disinfectant soaps until my skin burnt.. and then I was kept in strict quarantine. My teeth were controlled, and everything that could cause trouble was fixed. I felt bad, got a horrible diarrhea, but still saw the need of that complete disinfection - well, as complete as possible while the patient stays alive... I would be going to a place with a native population, and chrono police had warned of serious consequences if I would introduce any kind of disease there that wasn't known at that time. Even if it had been around, the strains I was likely to bring would not be known back then and the people would not have any immunity towards them. Thus I accepted the ordeal and went through it willingly.
But not now. There should be other means, and bladder infection isn't something entirely new to me. I brought it about through carelessness, and now I will suffer the discomfort and try to treat it with means on hand.
Cranberry juice? - No, there are no cranberries yet, too early in the season.
Beer? - Not here and now.
Rose hips?- Yes, I could make a tea with them, they contain a fair amount of vitamin C, and this is helpful with bladder infections. But I also had a better idea, I had seen bear berries, also known as kinnikinnik, the plant Arctostaphylos uvae-ursi.
Arctostaphylos uvae-ursi, Kinnikinnik. Photo copyright Henriette Kress, http://www.ibiblio.org/herbmed
This is a part of most commercially available herb tea mixes for bladder problems and is very efficient. I had seen this plant on the steppe, close to the place where I had set some of my dead fall traps. It is time to control and deactivate them anyway, I had forgotten to do that during my sturgeon-hunt fever. I will drink my rose hip tea and a bit more of the willow bark, and then go looking for that plant.
(Message edited by Thalion on December 22, 2004)
I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they pass by - Douglas Adams |
Darsina
gatherer
Username: Darsina
Post Number: 167
Registered: 9-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, November 06, 2003 - 4:00 pm: | |
Thal, are the blueberries already ripe? They are also known be of great use in case of a urethritis or a bladder infection. You should also drink as much as possible in order to "flush germs out". Sounds a bit ridiculous, but does indeed work.
Get well soon!
Edited to say: Maybe blueberry leaves work as well when infused with hot water, but I don't know for sure.
Thinking is the work of the intellect, dreaming its pleasure. - Victor Hugo |
Kerensa
gatherer
Username: Kerensa
Post Number: 56
Registered: 9-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, November 06, 2003 - 5:24 pm: | |
Thalion I did a search and found out that for your bladder problems you could use (I can't find the english words, sorry)
Baerentraubenblaetter as tea, they have an antibacterial effect
or Birkenblaetter as tea.
I hope you can find them at this time of the year!
Coltsfood is good for your cold.
You poor thing, I hope you get better soon. |
Thalion
storyteller
Username: Thalion
Post Number: 404
Registered: 5-2003
| | Posted on Friday, November 07, 2003 - 8:05 am: | |
Thanks girls!
Darsina, blueberries aren't ripe yet, and since I don't know about them, I'm not gonna experiment with the leaves.
I do drink a lot, though. When I was a teen, I had bladder infections from time to time, now I know what to do to prevent them... standing in ice-cold water for any length of time isn't one of these things... 
Kerensa, Arctostaphylos is Baerentraube. A very good herb for all kinds of urethral problems, but I'm usually only treating myself with herbs for minor stuff, if the kidney were in danger to be affected, I'd see a doctor - or here, take the antibiotics. Yes, birch leaves (Birkenblaetter) are good, too. There are lots here, upriver in the little birch forest I showed you a picture of a few weeks ago.
I collected a whole lot of coltsfoot when it was flowering, I also found plantain, there are elder flowers in the valley - all good for colds. The linden trees on the other side of the river don't flower yet. Linden flowers are excellent for colds and other stuff.
I will need all this when the cough comes...
I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they pass by - Douglas Adams |
Thalion
storyteller
Username: Thalion
Post Number: 405
Registered: 5-2003
| | Posted on Friday, November 07, 2003 - 3:22 pm: | |
June 19th, TT0
This was a hard day. Yesterday, I went out looking for my traps and found the kinnikinnik on the way. I postponed checking the remaining traps for the next day, today, and went home to make my tea and just sleep. The bad thing with these bladder infections is that you feel the need to pass water all the time...
This morning I felt like something already eaten... my head was still aching, nose running, and the cough had started.
Nevertheless, I couldn't just stay in bed, I needed to get some more water up here (it still is a juggling with the full bladder, and takes its time) and make my tea, and more.
I tended to my cold as much as I could, and decided to go and check the rest of my traps anyway. The weather was gorgeous and I didn't want to waste the time I have here.
I went up to the steppe, once again moved by the sheer beauty of it. The feather grass, Stipa pennata is in full bloom right now and covers large parts of the steppe with a silvery shining veil.
Feather grass, Stipa pennata, Image modified from http://www.vsu.ru/dept/science/scidept/galgor/comm on_p_e.html
The diversity of that seemingly so uniform area is amazing. I should get going with my plant lists and catalogue the photographs I've taken... but I'm always so busy. It's not very efficient being all alone on such a research mission. A small group could get more work done, and chances at survival would increase, too. I will mention that to Dr. Creb and the team when I'm back.
After some time, I came to one of the remaining dead fall traps and was shocked. There was a dead rabbit, and a living red fox. The fox had both his front legs broken and cowered next to the big stone I had used as a dead fall. The poor thing could only crawl and apparently was paralyzed from fear and pain. I had no idea how long it had been suffering this, but it was entirely my fault. I should have checked these traps every day, and I had neglected that ever since I saw the sturgeon.
The fox must have stalked the rabbit and attacked it just as the stone fell down. A freak accident, but those happen.
I got my parka from my backpack and threw it over the foxes head. The poor animal tried to snap at me. I held his head, muzzle firmly shut, and cut his jugular vein. After a short struggle it was over. My parka was drenched with blood, but I didn't care. I sat down and cried.
I don't think I'm overly sentimental. I eat meat and wear and use leather and other animal products. However, I don't like cruelty, I love all animals, and killing and causing pain to an animal unnecessarily is something I am strictly opposed to. This fox didn't have to die. I didn't really need his fur and wasn't out to hunt him. If I wanted his fur, I could have hunted him and killed him quickly. I was just being thoughtless and caused it to suffer needlessly. And it reminded me so much of my dog...
Yes, the thought of taking it back to my cave and nurse it back to health occurred to me briefly. But I am not Ayla. I am no healer. I do have a good knowledge of plants and their medical and nutritional value, but the most I would do is to treat myself for minor ailments. I would treat people who trust me and know me with stuff like cold remedies, perhaps. Not more. I had no idea how to set bones. But I know that a failed attempt at setting broken bones can cause more harm than good. Maybe I would try that for a human who is asking for it if no one more knowledgeable were around. But I doubt it.
Doing it to this fox would add to the cruelty. A fox with one crippled leg might survive, but with two? And what would I do, having a wounded and scared fox in my cave? It was a young adult, not a baby, and thus quite fierce. I would have to feed it, hunt for it, take care of his waste, since the cave doesn't have easy access... would have to try to tame him, since he was scared... and if the bones didn't heal right, I would have to take care of him for the rest of his life. And what would I do when I was ready to leave? Abandon him? Take him with me? No, I think with killing him I did the only thing I could do under these circumstances.
Those thoughts calmed me down a bit. I skinned the fox. Despite all hardships, I couldn't bring myself to eat it, so I left it for the other predators. The rabbit wasn't fit to be eaten any more either, so I left it there as well.
I will try to work the foxes fur, and only ate some boring dried jerky tonight. I don't feel much like eating anyway. On the way back I collected some elder flowers and plantain leavesand now am making my cough remedy. The bladder infections seems to be a bit better by now.
The fur has gone into the lye for a day. I can't leave it there for too long, since then the hair will start to fall out. I forgot to take the foxes brain, so I will try to use fat for making it soft while stretching and drying. I don't have too much fat left, but I will use some of it for that. I still feel bad. I go to bed now.
(Message edited by Thalion on December 22, 2004)
I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they pass by - Douglas Adams |
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