Lots, actually!
With summer quickly approaching its time to be thinking about those nasty little blood suckers ... fleas. I talk about DE a lot on several message boards I frequent. "What is DE?" you might ask. DE is Diatomaceous Earth, basically powdery, crushed, fossilized diatom remains (a type of algae). It can be used to kill almost any type of pest, is all natural, and chemical free. DE works because the individual "grains" are very jagged and cut into the exoskelton of bugs, and then dries them out causing them to die. You can rub it directly on your pets, use it in your house and yard, and even feed it to your pets to control worms.
One thing you want to make sure of is that you get "food grade". Other types (such as the kind used in aquariums) will not work for pest control and is dangerous to breathe or injest.
A fellow Nestie blogged recently about some great uses around the house:
http://supernaturalmomma.blogspot.com/2008/05/diatomaceous-earth.html
BPO Food Guru and all around smartest person I know (Don't tell her I said that. Her head is big enough!), Holly, also posted some great tips for treating your house with DE:
http://www.bigpawsonly.com/index.php/topic,17839.0.html
So, check it out. You can generally find it at garden or farm supply stores. Treat your dogs. Or cats. Or both. And your house. Your yard. Hell, treat your car! It can't hurt.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Sunday, May 18, 2008
If life hands you lemons, polish wood!
So, I have a problem. I am addicted to polishing wood. Elli also has a problem. She is addicted to licking Old English furniture polish off of furniture. This is bad because A) It makes my polish go away and B) I'm fairly sure dogs do not need to be eating Old English.
Anyway, I decided to make my own wood polish yesterday. I wanted to use something natural ... not just so Elli could eat it but because I'm trying really hard to remove all of the nasty chemical cleaners from my house. The wood polish was one of the last to go. So, I mixed up some olive oil and lemon essential oil.
It worked fabulously! Unfortunately, Elli seems to think it is even better for snacking than Old English. While its not nearly as bad for her, I would still like to have conditioned wood, dammit!
Oh well. At least her fur while be soft and shiny. And her breath is lemony fresh!
Anyway, I decided to make my own wood polish yesterday. I wanted to use something natural ... not just so Elli could eat it but because I'm trying really hard to remove all of the nasty chemical cleaners from my house. The wood polish was one of the last to go. So, I mixed up some olive oil and lemon essential oil.
It worked fabulously! Unfortunately, Elli seems to think it is even better for snacking than Old English. While its not nearly as bad for her, I would still like to have conditioned wood, dammit!
Oh well. At least her fur while be soft and shiny. And her breath is lemony fresh!
Friday, May 9, 2008
Kiden is a Capricorn
An ode to Kiden ... alpha dog of the house. Er, world. Sorry, Kiden.
Kiden is a Capricorn
She eats Innova EVO food.
She believes in stuffies and balls
And never wears no shoes.
Black hair, pink collar, and crazy ears
And a funky pack of dogs.
Reckon she would blow a gasket
If she came to meet a hog.
Cause Kiden's gotta have somebody to go and pick on.
Who she can feel better than at any time she please.
Someone doin somethin dirty decent dogs can frown on.
If she can't find nobody else, then she will help herself to Ke(o).
Keg'n sleeping, Kwellen squealling
Kiden doesn't care.
She will laugh at, then steal toys from,
Any dog who's there.
Some dogs hate the cars
Some hate the cats, some dogs hate birds like doves.
Kiden hates most anything that
She can't be boss of.
Kiden is a Capricorn
She eats Innova EVO food.
She believes in stuffies and balls
And never wears no shoes.
Black hair, pink collar, and crazy ears
And a funky pack of dogs.
Reckon she would blow a gasket
If she came to meet a hog.
Cause Kiden's gotta have somebody to go and pick on.
Who she can feel better than at any time she please.
Someone doin somethin dirty decent dogs can frown on.
If she can't find nobody else, then she will help herself to Ke(o).
Keg'n sleeping, Kwellen squealling
Kiden doesn't care.
She will laugh at, then steal toys from,
Any dog who's there.
Some dogs hate the cars
Some hate the cats, some dogs hate birds like doves.
Kiden hates most anything that
She can't be boss of.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
God save us from the tree people.
Last night we had a large, half-dead pine tree cut down in our back yard. Er, side yard. Back side yard. Back corner of the house ... whatever!
Anyway, the tree was technically on our property. The roots, however, were cutting into the sewer lines of the lady next door, who wanted it out. Instead of asking us to pay for it, she just hired someone to do it. It was really a win-win situation ... it needed to come out, and we didn't have to pay. YAY! The only problem was that the people were doing it after hours (read -- under the table) so they worked from 6-9pm.
All of the dogs were fine with the chainsaws ... except Keagan. Keagan hid under the bed. He is moderately sized (about 65lbs) but quite roly-poly and VERY uncoordinated. So, having him thrash around to get under the bed was quite interesting. When they finished cutting the limbs and started feeding them into the mulcher he started to relax. Then the other shoe dropped ... or should I say, tree.
This pine was maybe, 5381950180918 ft. tall. And when it fell it was LOUD. Loud enough to make Keagan pee. In my floor.
Not only did Keagan pee everywhere, but the rest of the dogs went NUTS. Well, the rest except for Dals, who just kinda stood there like, "Uhhhh ... did something fall?" Kwellen went scampering off with the cats. Kiden and Elli slinked down and tried to get BEHIND the couch they were sleeping on. It was a mess.
Its good to know that my house contains rougly 400lbs of dogs and not a SINGLE one of them would be useful in an actual scary situation. But, they are good for snuggling after the scare is over.
Anyway, the tree was technically on our property. The roots, however, were cutting into the sewer lines of the lady next door, who wanted it out. Instead of asking us to pay for it, she just hired someone to do it. It was really a win-win situation ... it needed to come out, and we didn't have to pay. YAY! The only problem was that the people were doing it after hours (read -- under the table) so they worked from 6-9pm.
All of the dogs were fine with the chainsaws ... except Keagan. Keagan hid under the bed. He is moderately sized (about 65lbs) but quite roly-poly and VERY uncoordinated. So, having him thrash around to get under the bed was quite interesting. When they finished cutting the limbs and started feeding them into the mulcher he started to relax. Then the other shoe dropped ... or should I say, tree.
This pine was maybe, 5381950180918 ft. tall. And when it fell it was LOUD. Loud enough to make Keagan pee. In my floor.
Not only did Keagan pee everywhere, but the rest of the dogs went NUTS. Well, the rest except for Dals, who just kinda stood there like, "Uhhhh ... did something fall?" Kwellen went scampering off with the cats. Kiden and Elli slinked down and tried to get BEHIND the couch they were sleeping on. It was a mess.
Its good to know that my house contains rougly 400lbs of dogs and not a SINGLE one of them would be useful in an actual scary situation. But, they are good for snuggling after the scare is over.
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