Sunshine Community Gardens

4 July 2019

www.sunshinecommunitygardens.org

Gardener's Picture page

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If you are signed up to receive the Weekly Weeder and have not been receiving it, here is a troubleshooting page to help. If this doesn't help, please let Sharon at scgardenweb@gmail.com know. Thanks.

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Friendly Warning - To Be Taken Seriously

Gardener Gail Reese writes: "I would like to share with fellow gardeners my experience of the last month. Unbeknownst to me, I was bitten by either fleas or perhaps chiggers either at the Garden, in my neighborhood, or in my yard. Within a week or so of the bite, I developed a high fever, sweat the bed every night type of fever, and an excruciating headache along with body pains and aches. I also developed a slight rash on my chest 5-7 days after the first symptoms. I was treated in ER for dehydration before my doctor could see me. I was lucky my doctor took my visit seriously and researched and came back with a suspicion that I had contacted murine typhus through a flea bite, which may have been infected from a cat, a rat, or a possum, all of which roam the neighborhoods of Central Austin at night. I was treated immediately with two weeks of Doxycycline and the fever, headache and body aches have finally abated, however my energy level is still very low, three to four weeks after contacting the disease.

I read about typhus and thought it was a skid row type of disease but upon looking at the Austin government website, I see it is endemic in Austin. If you get flea or chigger bites and develop a high fever and excruciating headache get to your doctor immediately. I have been out of commission for close to a month from this but supposedly two weeks of Doxycycline has knocked it out. I'm not trying to spread panic but I do think it's something all gardeners should be aware of and all Central Austin residents, especially if you or your children or grandchildren spend a lot of time outside. My dog has been on flea control all her life and I regularly have had rat bait traps similar to those in the garden set quarterly around my house for years. This can happen to any of us. The link to the government website for Typhus in Austin is below."

http://www.austintexas.gov/department/typhus

Thanks for the "heads up" Gail and here's hoping for your full recovery soon.

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Recipe for Independence Day

What is more traditional and welcome than potato salad at a summertime picnic? Here is an easy and tasty recipe from an expert.

Craig Claiborne's Potato Salad

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon wine vinegar (white, if available but red works)
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• 2 cups cubes of warm cooked potatoes
• 1 cup finely chopped celery
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 3 tablespoons minced parsley
• 2 hard-cooked eggs, coarsely chopped
• 1 - 2 tablespoon minced shallots
• 1 tablespoon dry mustard (the secret ingredient!!! Gives a great tang.)

Step 1: Combine the oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Pour the dressing over the warm (cubed/cut) potatoes. Toss lightly and chill.

Step 2: Add the remaining ingredients and toss again. Chill until ready to serve.

Yield: 6-10 servings

New Happenings in the Tool Shed

Bob Easter, Sunshine's Master Tool Fixer, has reorganized and put up new photos for where SCG tools should be hung and returned. There are new areas of the tool shed where tools have been moved and need to be returned to those areas only. Please note to use the safety hooks when returning our heavy tools. Gardeners at Sunshine are among the luckiest community gardeners in all of Texas because of the wide variety and large numbers of gardening tools available on sight for our use. Here are a few requests to follow when using SCG tools:

1. Please look at the signs and photos marked for the various tools and replace the tools you have used in the appropriate area. See photos below.
2. Please make sure you have cleaned your tools before replacing them in the toolshed.
3. Please place broken tools on the workbench for repairs.
4. Please do not donate your old tools to the Sunshine tool collection, unless you have contacted Bob directly to see if we can use the tools. All donated tools must be in good working condition. His contact information is listed on the Sunshine website contact list. Goodwill will probably take usable gardening tools if you no longer want to use them.