This Open Road - Homeschool Blogger

Tuesday Review

Tue, 3 Jun 2008 08:12:00 -0500

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We first tried Badger balms a couple of years ago when on vacation. The hotel we stayed in one night did not have individual climate control, but rather the under window unit air conditioner/heater. We had to use the a/c and all woke up stuffy and miserable. Tiger Cub was especially miserable. We found the balms at a nearby store and decided to give them a try. Tiger Cub used the winter wonder balm ... it worked great and we were hooked on the products!

We've tried quite a few of the products - winter wonder balm, anti-bug balm, healing balm, sore muscle rub, foot balm, sleep balm, baby balm, along with several of the lip balms - and are extremely pleased with them all.

All products can be viewed here.

You can read about Badger here.

Where can I buy Badger products? Go here.

My other review from today can be found at Natural Paths.

Mama Cat

It's finally done

Thu, 29 May 2008 09:45:00 -0500

The big Kahuna finally cut down this oak tree while he was home on holiday this past Monday. I am ashamed to admit that it's needed to be cut down since late September 2004 ... yes, you read that right.

The poor thing was a victim of massive amounts of rain and wind from Hurricane Jeanne. The storm uprooted it quite a bit and the tree has been leaning ever since.

The tree has been topped a couple of times over the years to prevent any damage should it fall (untopped it would have crashed onto a portion of our roof and taken out our power, cable, and telephone lines if it had ever fallen). Even topped, it posed a danger of crushing our a/c unit if it fell. I don't know why the Big Kahuna never would cut it down and it's certainly something I would never have dared attempt myself.

Tiger Cub took great delight in checking out all the holes left by the woodpeckers.

Mama Cat

Turtle I Spotted In The Pond

Wed, 28 May 2008 09:27:00 -0500

When I was on our dock the other day with my cat we were looking out into the water and we saw a turtle come up that we've never seen before. Mom was in the backyard so I ran to get her so she could get some pictures.

It wasn't interested in eating any of the bread we tossed to the fish. It had a baby turtle with it but it swam away too fast for Mom to get a picture. We think it's probably a cooter turtle but we don't know what kind. We can't see its shell good because there is so much algae on it.

Tiger Cub

Tuesday Review

Tue, 27 May 2008 00:56:00 -0500

Visit Angela to join the Tuesday Review or for links to participating blogs.

Sloggers garden clogs.......

* Available at Target ($14.99)

* Made in USA

* Choice of colors (red, black, blue, or olive green at my local store)

I hate uncomfortable shoes or shoes that take too long to put on and take off (in other words, I'm very much a flip flops and clogs kind of gal ... easy on, easy off). I was wearing flip flops outdoors, but that just wasn't cutting it to get gardening and yard work done so I gave in and purchased these Sloggers at Target a few weeks ago. I love them! They are very comfortable, meet my requirement of easy on, easy off, and are made in the USA (we try our hardest to avoid products made in China).

My other review from today can be found here.

Mama Cat

Rain, rain ... where are you?

Thu, 22 May 2008 09:40:00 -0500

We still have not had any significant rain here. A couple of days ago it sprinkled heavily for literally one minute and then it was over. Today is overcast, dull, and hopefully will bring rain. I no longer trust watching the weather forecast (not that I put much faith in it anyway) as they say we'll get rain and even show it on their radar, then it never comes. I spent a few hours yesterday working on weekly lesson plans for Tiger Cub's studies this coming homeschool year. I think the drabness of today merits curling up on the sofa and spending a few hours doing the same thing.

The okra continues to do well. I sowed between 48 and 52 more seeds this past Sunday to see how they'll do this time of year. They are the one thing I've been told can be sown here right now. I admit I've become a lazy gardener. I haven't kept up my garden journal and I didn't even accurately count how many seeds I sowed ... I really must snap out of this.

The sweet basil is so beautiful and yummy!...

Lots of San Marzon tomatoes are growing (I never can get a pic of these without it blurring)...

Still no bees, butterflies, or other insects to be seen. We did have a few bumblebees hanging out by one of our sheds, but they are all dead on our back porch now. I'm guessing it was the smoke from the wildfires that did them in (and yes, good homeschool mom that I am, some are now in jars being kept for our Zoology 1 studies this coming year)...

Box turtle (we see these pretty often around our property)...

One of our most adorable visitors (although this is one reason why it's very important to have a fenced garden!)...

One of the firefighters told the Big Kahuna that it would be a good idea to cut down all the pine trees and palm trees on our property because they provide so much fuel for fires. The Big Kahuna is taking this to heart, but I am not so thrilled about the suggestion or the Big Kahuna's desire to follow through with it. I enjoy the privacy they all provide and I love the pinecones. The Big Kahuna keeps reminding me that pines are a haven for rattlers and they are easily uprooted by hurricanes. The palms are native and this is Florida after all ... I can't imagine not having palms! I'm holding my ground on this one with the Big Kahuna. We'll see what happens. I did a quick count a few days ago to see just how many trees we're talking about. Thirty-one pines and fifty-one palms...

Mama Cat

Wordless Wednesday

Wed, 21 May 2008 09:15:00 -0500

Visit Tiany for more Wordless Wednesday entries.

Tuesday Review

Tue, 20 May 2008 04:05:00 -0500

Visit Angela to join the Tuesday Review or for links to participating blogs.

Arctic Homestead: The True Story Of One Family's Survival And Courage In The Alaskan Wilds by Norma Cobb and Charles W. Sasser

This is the inspirational story of Les and Norma Cobb, who along with their 5 children, left the lower 48 to carve out a homestead in the wilds of Alaska near the Arctic Circle. They endured many hardships and setbacks along the way, encounters with bears, Sasquatch/the Bushman, and crazy neighbors ... and that's only the beginning! I read this book a few years ago and am currently re-reading it for some much needed inspiration and motivation.

Norma Cobb is the last woman to have signed up under the U.S. Homestead Act and, along with her family, prove out her claim.

My other review from today can be found here.

Mama Cat

The garden isn't doing well

Fri, 16 May 2008 08:44:00 -0500

It's been a while since I've posted anything here. I've been too preoccupied with the wildfires. Pop over to my personal blog to read about that.

The 35mph winds Sunday and Monday did not do my corn any favors. Several stalks are leaning and despite our efforts to rectify the situation, they continue to lean. I may try to stake them this weekend ... I may not. I will admit I am feeling rather defeated in my gardening efforts and along with being tired from the events of this week (wildfires) I just don't have my heart in it right now. All the green beans are gone. Our temps jumped from the 80's to 95* and they all died. The pickleworms destroyed all the cucumber plants. I am down to 2 zucchini plants from 5 ... whether the remaining 2 make it is yet to be seen. I am down to 1 squash plant from 4 ... whether it holds on is yet to be seen. They look okay from a distance, but I need to make time and give them a thorough inspection. They may still be infested with pickleworms. I have let things slide so badly this week. Keeping abreast of the wildfire situation was more important.

The okra is still doing okay. We enjoyed our first batch of fried okra a couple of nights ago. I could eat it until I'm literally sick!

We still have not had rain and now there is not even dew on the ground in the mornings. I am strongly feeling my attempts at watering the garden on my own are a failing effort. We did have our first sunflower open up yesterday so that was a beautiful thing to see.

I have also noticed that my singapore plumeria seems to be thriving since I gave it a dose of fish emulsion the other week when I put it on the garden plants. I really need to repot it soon.

Mama Cat

And the losses start...

Fri, 9 May 2008 10:13:00 -0500

I'm thoroughly disgusted and discouraged. Our squash, zucchini, and now cucumbers have been invaded. The culprit ... pickleworms. At first, I thought the squash and zucchini were suffering from blossom end rot. It made sense to me. After all, we've been without rain since the beginning of April and I'm out there every day with the spray hose trying my best to water everything well. I came to the conclusion that I wasn't getting everything watered deeply enough and the soil was drying out. Then I discovered some pesky little critters devouring the squash and zucchini flowers and fruits. I'm literally running on burnout right now (so many things on my plate and not enough sleep) so I hurriedly tried to diagnose the problem and ended up not reading thoroughly enough which resulted in a misdiagnosis. Now that I know the real culprit, what I've read doesn't leave me much hope. Apparently they are notorious in Florida and impossible to get rid of. The Big Kahuna is going to be heartbroken that the 4 cucumbers that were growing so well are a loss. An organic gardening book I have suggests using Rotenone - after reading the info at that link, I don't think so! I'm shocked the book would even suggest that. I've been trying to combat the problem by spraying everything down with a mixture of water and Dr. Bronner's liquid castile soap. I have a sinking feeling it's a losing battle though. I had to yank one dead zucchini plant this morning. At what point do I give up, accept that I'm going to have to buy these things at the store (*$igh*), and direct my energies elsewhere?

The natural foods market closing has me pretty stressed out. I have been told that they are going to start discounting items soon, but I've also been told that a lot of other customers want to know what day this starts and what time the store opens that day. Apparently they all intend to be there when the doors open (and here I was foolishly hoping I was the only one that had that bright idea!). I'm trying to get a game plan together, but I may as well count on that all going out the window since I have no idea what kind of mob (or not) I'm going to be dealing with. I'll also have Tiger Cub and Lion Cub in tow ... there goes all focus and reasonable thinking on my part! (Seriously, I love my boys, but I am very easily distracted so shopping with them, especially in this scenario, is not likely to turn out well.)

Our school year is over and I am looking forward to a break. The lazy days of summer (okay, it's still technically spring but it's going to be 93*+ here today so it may as well already be summer) have arrived.

And I had to smile when I was presented with this last night.......

Mama Cat

Tuesday Review

Tue, 6 May 2008 05:03:00 -0500

Visit Angela to join Tuesday Review or find links to participating blogs.

Today I'm sharing one of Tiger Cub and Lion Cub's favorite snacks.......

Snikiddy

This yummy organic snack is comparable to Planter's Cheese Balls, but without the MSG or other yucky ingredients. We've tried the Grilled Cheese Puffs (huge thumbs UP) and the Rockin' Ranch Puffs (thumbs DOWN by everyone except the Big Kahuna - he liked them and the rest of us found them too bland).

So now you know our dark (or not so dark) secret ... we do eat junk, but it's organic junk! Seriously though, we all get the munchies from time to time (admit it - you know you do) and these are a great treat.