Broom bustin'

I had no idea that Scotch Broom was such a big problem. Now that I'm an Islander and it's June - I see what a big deal it is. This website, Broom Busters, has lots of great info about Broom - how it got here, what it's doing to the native vegetation, and how and when to get rid of it. There are some big patches of Broom out in the Back 40 here at camp, so the boys and I went off on a mission this afternoon to do some bustin'. 

Along our journey we came across John, a camp volunteer who is here with his wife for about 6 months every year. John has spent days on end bustin' broom. He was digging it out until he heard the part about "don't disturb the soil - just cut it down". He told me today the task is going much faster now that he's just cutting, not digging! The boys joined right in with him, putting his branches into the truck, and he let them use the skookum loppers he was using. Even Marty was able to cut through the biggest plants. 

We didn't know that the flowers are varied in colour. (Left)

The idea is to cut the broom before the seed pods develop. (Right)

We cut and piled for a while, stopped to watch a garter snake, and finally called it quits as both Max and I were starting to sneeze from the snow cotton flying around. He was rubbing his eyes (after handling the cotton - not good) and I was getting itchy throat and feeling puffy in the eyes. Oh goody.

Poor Max, along with his allergy to cashews, pecans and pistachios - he seems to have inherited the misery of seasonal allergies from me. This is the second summer I've noticed symptoms, but so far he hasn't had it as bad as I have. I've finally found a natural remedy that seems to work well for me.

My new Sanuk sandals - I love them!

They've are officially my new go-to summer footwear.

They look nice, are super comfy, and well made.