I learn something new every day

Saturday morning bright and early, I met Elder and Sister Crump and we walked/hiked the Wild Iris Ridge Trail.  The trailhead is close to where I live and it is a loop trail so we started and ended at the same location.  It is only 3 ½ miles round trip so we were back before it got too hot.  It was 92 degrees Saturday afternoon 95 on Sunday.

The wild iris blooms for about 3 weeks each spring.  They are at the peak right now.  They were all over the hill sides.  BEAUTIFUL!!

The sunrise through the trees and the wild flowers made for a beautiful start to the day.

As I walked the path I could hear frogs.  I could never see them
but thought you might like to hear their happy chatter.  Turn up your volume.

It has been a pretty routine week but I did have one call from a missionary that caused me to do some study.  They told me that they had been handling parsnips and got a burn that was blistering.  Have you ever heard of a wild parsnip burn?  It was something new to me.  Here is what I learned:

The wild parsnip (Pastinaca sativa) is a tall plant with yellow flowers. Although the roots are edible, the plant’s sap can result in burns (phytophotodermatitis). 

The burns are a reaction between the plant’s sap and your skin. The reaction is triggered by sunlight. It isn’t an immune or allergic response, but rather a sun-sensitive skin reaction due to the plant substance. 

What exactly is phytophotodermatitis?

Phytophotodermatitis is a skin reaction caused by a substance found in many plants, including wild parsnip. This substance is called furanocoumarin, or furocoumarins. 

Furanocoumarin causes your skin to be extra sensitive to ultraviolet (UV) light. When the sap from the leaves and stems of these plants gets on your skin, and your skin is then exposed to sunlight, an inflammatory reaction takes place. 

Other plants that may cause phytophotodermatitis

• carrot
• celery
• fennel
• fig
• giant hogweed
• lime
• mustard
• wild dil 
• wild parsley

Symptoms of wild parsnip burns

About 24 hours after getting wild parsnip sap on your skin and being exposed to sunlight, you’ll begin to experience symptoms. 

Symptoms start with an intense local burning sensation, followed by a red rash. Over the next couple of days, the rash may get worse — sometimes with severe blistering. 

Some people may not recall any redness or blistering. Instead, you may see irregular patches on the skin, sometimes as linear streaks, a random cluster of small spots, or even fingerprint-sized spots.

After about 3 days, the symptoms start to get better. Eventually, like after a bad sunburn, the burned skin cells die and flake off.

As symptoms improve, the rash may appear lighter or darker. Discoloration and sensitivity to sunlight in the affected areas can remain for up to 2 years.

Wild parsnip

Wild cow parsnip

The missionary wasn’t sure if it was wild cow parsnip or just wild parsnip.  They didn’t see the flowers.  

Anyway, they put ice on the burn and blisters, took ibuprofen, and applied hydrocortisone and later some aloe.  I was told that it was very painful!

I helped in the office with a post office run, organization, and helped move some cars from one area to another.  The missionaries are in pretty good health for the most part so my “nursing” duties have been fairly light.

My friend, Diana, wanted to give the missionaries a treat so she bought a huge box of Oreos at Costco and asked me to take it to the missionaries.  I’ve been putting them out on the counter this week.  They are disappearing with great joy.

I saw this pretty blue jay down by the river on one of my walks this week.

I was visiting with a missionary about having a positive attitude. When discussing positivity, I always think of a quote by Charles Swindoll:

"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.  Attitude, to me, is more important than facts.  It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think, say or do.  It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill.  It will make or break a company... a church... a home.  The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we embrace for that day.  We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way.  We cannot change the inevitable.  The only thing we can do is play the one string we have, and that is our attitude... I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.

And so it is with you... we are in charge of our Attitudes”

I pray that your week will be filled with positive thoughts and happiness.

I love my Savior.

I love you my family and friends.

I love serving others.

I love serving others.  It makes me happy to see someone else happy or grateful.  Serving as the mission health advisor (nurse) allows me to talk to others who are physically or mentally struggling or simply have questions or a need to talk.  I love this interaction.  I am sorry when someone is struggling but to see them improve or at least to see a smile and offer a “thank  you” lets me know that I am doing what I can to be closer to my Savior and to try to do as He would do.  

  

I had a real treat this week.  My sister, Peggy Barker, and her husband, Claude, came from Arizona to Vancouver WA to be with their daughter for a few days.  Since I am about 2 hours away here in Eugene, they drove down on Monday to go to lunch with me.  

After lunch, I showed them the river where I sometimes walk and had an enjoyable few hours with them.

We saw this pretty bird by the river.  I sent the picture to my brother,
John, who has studied and recognizes birds. 
He tells me that it is a California scrub jay

I like to help in the office when I can.  For example, I took some packages/mail to the post office one day and helped to straighten the office and vacuum on another day.  

I enjoy visiting with the young missionaries who work in the office on Tuesdays and Thursdays but there are usually missionaries in the office almost every day to pick up mail for their areas, to get scriptures for investigators, etc.  

Sister Sutherland and I often wear clothing that is similar in color or style.
It is as though we coordinate our outfits.  This day it was green.
Other days it is a polka dot skirt.   We think it is quite fun!

Elder and Sister Mackley finished their mission on Thursday.  President and Sister Weekes had the office missionaries to dinner at their home on Wednesday evening to celebrate and thank the Mackleys for their hard work and contributions and to wish them well.  It was a pleasant evening

Left front President and Sister Weekes,  next to them Elder and Sister Crump,
in the back former missionaries Brother and Sister Palmer,
 and right front Elder and Sister Mackley

It has been a great week for walking.  It has been cool in the mornings and no rain.  The clouds are always fascinating.  The contrast of light and dark is amazing.

I always see a lot of geese and ducks on my walk along the river, but on Friday I saw a river otter.

These baby geese are getting bigger!

I should have zoomed in sooner on the river otter.
 It kind of surprised me so I didn’t think quickly.

The River otter is adapted for both terrestrial and aquatic environments. The heavily muscled, somewhat cylindrical body is thickest at the thorax and tapers posteriorly to a thick, flattened tail. The body tapers to a blunt and slightly flattened head. The legs are short and powerful; and the toes are webbed. The eyes are small, forwardly directed and set high on the head. The underfur is grayish, short, and dense, and overlain by longer, stiff and shiny guard hairs. The dorsum is brown and the venter a lighter brown or tan; the lower jaw and throat are whitish.

Not very clear.  A screen shot from the video

I like the markings on this mallard

I also saw more squirrels than usual.

A brown squirrel

3 Greyish squirrels on this tree. One is at the base on the right

The spring flowers continue to amaze me with their vivid colors.

Saturday, I went on an adventure with my friend, Diana, from my ward.  She knows I love chocolate so she took me to Euphoria Chocolate Company for a scrumptious chocolate ice cream bar.  Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you look at it) for my waist-line, this place is WAY too close to my apartment for comfort!  It will take true will power not to go there EVERY day.

Diana likes to buy her eggs directly from the farmer, so I rode with her to Elvira, about 30 minutes away, to pick up her eggs.  

On the way, we stopped at Grocery Outlet and did a little grocery shopping.  I picked up a few deals for my cupboard.

She introduced me to Fern Ridge Lake which was also on the way.  Beautiful!!

  

Fern Ridge Lake, a popular recreation area for sailing, power boating and water skiing, is just 12 miles from downtown Eugene. Six park sites and several remote access points around the lake offer a variety of day use recreation opportunities such as picnicking, swimming, fishing, hunting and wildlife viewing. A private concession on the peninsula at the south end of the lake has overnight camping sites. The Fern Ridge Dam was completed in 1941 and provides needed flood control. The area includes extensive wetlands and provides unique habitat for a variety of wildlife and wintering waterfowl populations.

The little farm house and the chickens were fun to visit.  

It has been a good week.  I hope that you will find an opportunity to serve someone this week.  It really will make you happy.  I listened to a talk as I walked this week about service and then I read some thoughts on the church website.  Here is a quote from the article I read:

“In our technology-driven world, we could spend an entire day without physically needing to see or talk to another person. Thanks to digital devices and the Internet, we can work and order our food, and just about anything else we need, from home. You can go days with your only interaction being with your touch screen or mouse and keyboard. And while technology isn’t inherently bad, it does make it easier for people to be separated.

That’s not the kind of world we want to live in though. There are many great things about our modern world—but the people in it should be at the top of that list. Taking a genuine interest in your family, friends, neighbors and even strangers is one of the most rewarding decisions you can make for yourself and those around you that you choose to serve.

Why It’s Important to Help Others

Think back to the last time you helped someone, whether it was holding the door open for a classmate or raking your elderly neighbor’s leaves. While you were doing it and afterward, how did you feel? We’re going to make a safe bet you felt happy and more positive about life. That’s because the fastest way to feel joy is serving others.

An old Chinese Proverb tells it perfectly, “If you want happiness for an hour, take a nap. If you want happiness for a day, go fishing. If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune. If you want happiness for a lifetime, help somebody.”

But serving doesn’t just make your heart feel good. Studies have shown that there are mental and physical health benefits to serving, like reducing depression, lowering blood pressure and lengthening your lifespan.

Putting other people’s needs before yours also strengthens your relationships. It connects you with the one you’re serving, and if that someone is someone you know, it creates a stronger bond with them.

It also enriches other people’s lives. Taking time out of your busy day to even bring a friend a bowl of soup when they’re sick makes them feel better and can uplift them during their rough time.

And perhaps the best benefit of service is the chance of that person paying it forward. If you help someone, they’re more likely to do something nice for someone else that day. Your one act of kindness could have a major domino effect.”

Have a wonderful week.

I love my Savior.

I love you my family and friends.