Natural Flea Control

Our dogs have fleas. They have been living outdoors all summer long and now that it's getting colder, Sisterwho is pleading their case; she wants to bring them back inside for the winter.

We have looked for natural flea killers and researched it on the internet. We have bought some of the once- a-month type stuff that you squirt on their back at the feed store. It's active ingredient is Pyrethrin which is derived from Chrysanthemums and so is as natural as I thought we could get. It worked pretty good, even better than the costlier topicals that we've bought from the vet and it has a lovely citrus frangrance. Still, it is toxic to puppies and humans.

Did I mention that our dog is about to have puppies? At least, we think she is. She had a doggie period a couple of months ago and Sisterwho woke up one morning to see something she wished she hadn't. She occasionally lets the dogs come into her room at night through her bedroom window if they cry and beg long enough. This particular morning, when Chewy was still in heat, Sisterwho said that when she woke up our male dog, Beau, had a really satisfied look on his face, smoked a cigarette and rolled over and went to sleep. Or...something like that.

For awhile we didn't think Chewy had conceived. She didn't look or act pregnant (no strange food fetishes or waddling around). However, now she is starting to show some signs, unless it is just wishful thinking on our part.

First of all, our kitten is suckling her. I looked out the kitchen window onto the deck the other day and saw the kitten with it's paws on Chewy's stomach and heard suck, suck, sucking sounds. Chewy was willing to be milked for a few minutes before getting up and walking off. The kitten takes advantage of every opportunity to suckle. Sisterwho insists that Chewy has milk coming from her teats and that her belly is visibly larger and I have to admit, she has been acting a little strange the past couple of days; i.e., not eating much and being a little standoffish.

Anyway, back to the fleas. We didn't want to put anything on Chewy and risk the puppies' health so I read about using Diatomaceous Earth for flea control. You just rub it all over the dog's fur and into every nook and cranny so the fleas have nowhere to run. I only know that it somehow interferes with the fleas ability to breathe and so they jump off or die. We went to the health food store where I had seen it many times and bought a bag.

Believe it or not, it works! We put it on today and the dogs were running in circles while the fleas were doing the same, trying to get to a safe harbor. Within minutes of applying it, the fleas were inactive and there were fewer of them; hopefully they will be completely wiped out and the dogs can come inside. I'm anxious to see how often it has to be reapplied. I'll keep you posted!

Evaporation Made Simple

We have a rain gauge mounted on a fencepost and every Wednesday the kids check it and record the amount of rain for the week. This week, it was empty. "But", Sisterwho said, "it rained a couple of days ago". "Aha", I thought to myself, "the perfect opportunity to discuss the effects of heat and humidity and resulting evaporation"! But before I could begin, Littlewho said, "It was the sun, it dries up the water". Sister and I both looked at him and I know she was thinking the same thing I was, namely-"How does he know that?".

I said, "Littlewho, you're correct, and how did you figure that out?". He gave us a look that appeared to say, "Ok, you simple-minded fools" and then he said, "Well, you know that song about the Itsy Bitsy spider....."and out came the sun and dried up all the rain.....?".

Duh!

The 100 Mile Diet

THE 100 MILE DIET– The typical-American meal is made up of foods that have traveled an average of 2,000 miles to get from farm to table. While this practice is convenient and may provide us with greater variety, it also has a negative impact on energy conservation, greenhouse gases, and oil dependence. In fact, industrial agriculture and long-distance food transportation generate between 20-25% of all climate destabilizing greenhouse gases in the U.S. Given this fact, buying food that is locally or regionally grown can dramatically reduce energy consumption and greenhouse pollution. Enter a new trend, started by Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon: the 100 mile diet. "We're the kind of people that ride our bikes everywhere, so we wondered why we were going to all this effort when our food was flying around the world," says Smith. The diet trend, which requires participants to eat only foods grown within a 100 mile radius, is catching on across North America. Philadelphia journalist Elisa Ludwig took up the 100 mile diet for 12 days to learn more about the foods she eats. "If eating local is a moral imperative, then every meal is an opportunity to do the right thing," says Ludwig, who kept a daily journal of the experience. You can read her journal entries at http://www.organicconsumers.org/2006/article_1463.cfm.

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"Lucky"

Last week I really did a number on myself. I have done some really stupid things over the years and my Mom always says she should have named me "Grace". This last incident sort of takes the cake.

I was playing horseshoes with dh last Tuesday. He was practicing for a tournament and I was trying in earnest to be interested in the game (a big stretch); I thought maybe I would enjoy playing more if I could do it without my horseshoes ending up bouncing down the hill with every throw.

So, I was getting instruction from dh, who, by the way, is good at everything he does and therefore gets frustrated trying to teach someone like me how to do something that requires coordination. It was cool outside that morning and I had a jacket on when we started throwing. I became warm and took my jacket off and tied it around my waist (can you see where this is going?). As I was preparing to throw my horseshoe I was completely and utterly focused on my foot placement, my stance, my grip on the horseshoe, and I had my left arm placed at a 90 degree angle to my body for the utmost balance (who knew there was such technique to horseshoe throwing?). With my right arm I prepared to throw the horseshoe the 40 foot distance to the stake. As I hurled it forward, it became entangled in my jacket and instead of flying ahead of me, was jerked backward toward my face and clunked me square in the forehead.

For the first second I thought, "OW, that hurt!". In the next few seconds I became lightheaded
and sat down on the ground with my hand on my head. In the meantime dh had run into the house for ice and I was sitting there whimpering--it REALLY hurt. Littlewho started crying and said "Mommy, are you oK?". I mustered up the strength to say "Yes, baby, I'm OK". Then he shrieked "YOU'RE BLEEDING! ARE YOU GOING TO DIE??". I opened my eyes long enough to see a puddle of blood forming on the ground between my legs.

Dh came back with the ice and handed it to me so I could place it on my head. I was still moaning and once dh knew I was alright he couldn't contain the laughter. He proceeded with a list of comments-- "How on earth?....I didn't know horseshoes was a contact sport.....this must be a first.....we'll be telling this story 20 years from now". By now I was laughing and crying at the same time.

Dh asked me to remove the ice from my head so he could survey the damage. I assumed I had a small cut but when he said, "Oh shit", that was my clue that it was probably a little worse. When I finally made it into the house and looked into the mirror I was shocked to see a gaping 3 inch long, deep gash to my forehead that obviously needed professional attention.

8 stitches later, I am fine but with yet another scar and 2 black eyes. My parents love to tell the story that when I was a rough and tumble 3 year old, trying to keep up with the boys, someone said, "You're never going to be Miss America if you keep getting owies!", to which I shrugged my shoulders and glibly replied , "Then I guess I'll just be a scratched up nurse!". Talk about a self-fulfilling prophecy!