bear repellent and vodka~

image from the internet

Look what my sister Cher gifted me ... a can of bear repellent! I just love it ... another defense besides my trusty stick.  Not that I've ever needed to use it ~ but it doesn't hurt to be prepared just in case.

~~~

I was bored and was hopping around on the internet and was looking for some jam recipes ... and I came across some uses for the booze ~  vodka.  Now how on earth did my searching go from jam to vodka ????

Interesting though ...

1. To remove a bandage without pain, saturate the bandage with vodka. The stuff dissolves adhesive.

 

2. To clean the caulking around bathtubs and showers, fill a trigger-spray bottle with vodka, spray the caulking, let set five minutes and wash clean. The alcohol in the vodka kills mold and mildew.

 

3. To clean your eyeglasses, simply wipe the lenses with a soft, clean cloth dampened with vodka. The alcohol in the  vodka cleans the glass and kills germs.

 

4. Prolong the life of razors by filling a cup with vodka and letting your safety razor blade soak in the alcohol after shaving. The vodka disinfects the blade and prevents rusting.

 

5. Spray vodka on wine stains,  scrub with a brush, and then blot dry.

 

6. Using a cotton ball, apply vodka to your face as an astringent to cleanse the skin and tighten pores.

 

7. Add a jigger of vodka to a 12-ounce bottle of shampoo. The alcohol cleanses the scalp,removes toxins from hair, and stimulates the growth of healthy hair.

 

8. Fill a sixteen-ounce trigger-spray bottle with vodka and spray bees or wasps to kill them.

 

9. Pour one-half cup vodka and one-half cup water into a Ziploc freezer bag and freeze for a slushy, refreshing ice pack for aches, pain or black eyes.

 

10. Fill a clean, used mayonnaise jar with freshly packed lavender flowers, fill the jar with vodka, seal the lid tightly and set in the sun for three days. Strain liquid through a coffee filter, then apply the tincture to aches and pains.

 

11. To relieve a fever, use a washcloth to rub vodka on your chest and back as a liniment.

 

12. To cure foot odor, wash your feet with vodka.

 

13. Vodka will disinfect and alleviate a jellyfish sting.

 

14. Pour vodka over an area affected with poison ivy to remove the urushiol oil from your skin.

 

15. Swish a shot of vodka over an aching tooth. Allow your gums to absorb some of the alcohol to numb the pain.

And to think ... after all these years all I ever did with it was drink it! 

Until next time...

So it goes in my neck of the woods.

~mel

 

time~

Well Happy July already!  Time is just a flying by these days.  When do the lazy days of summer start?  Someone let me know so I can slow it down and enjoy it before it passes me by.

Not much is happening around here.  Dear Hubby and I have been making firewood and have the woodshed just about 3/4 of the way full with hardwood (predominately maple and yellow birch) for this coming winter.  The wood piled on the outside of the shed is poplar and balsam which is a softer wood and doesn't make good coals and hold heat like the hardwood.  We call it junk wood ~ which we burn when it's not real cold out ... above 30 degrees.  We also burn a little junk wood in the summer months to heat our water system.  It's a lot of hard work; but a LOT cheaper than paying for fuel oil or gas and an electric hot water heater.  All our heating cost us is a little electricity to run the pump and our time and labor. 

Now that most of the wood work is done I can concentrate a little more on my gardening and house keeping.  My daughter has  a wedding coming up in six weeks and it's taking place in our back yard.  Mercy!! I do have a lot of stuff to get accomplished this month.

I was snapping photos again ...

Brandy ~ the overseer of all that goes on around here.

Goat's Beard ~ what an odd name for this plant.












Missouri Primrose ~ with a little Lamb's Ear peeking out:

Don't you just love daisies ~ the I love you I love you not flower ~  these are wild voluntaries on the outside of my flower bed:

A Monte Negro Lily that was originally a deep burgundy red it's first year; but has come back orange ever since... still... very pretty.

AND... some trail camera shots!!

Until next time...
So it goes in my neck of the woods.
~mel

feed them and they will come~

Dear Hubby & son hollowed out a long stump with the chainsaw,  filled it with a shovel full of reject cookies and crumbs from the cookie factory (that the local feed store sells) and buried it halfway in the ground and put a very heavy slab of wood and a rock on top.

momma and her little ones ~ notice how momma just picked that big ol' stump out of the ground

full bellies ~ time for a catnap

a coyote passing through

Mr. Shaggy in the process of removing the rock to get at the buried stump ...

... even the crows and the squirrel have to get in on the action

a very ugly mangy wolf

the curious raccoon

and Mr. Bruino

So that's what's roaming around in my back yard these days.  Pretty cool if you ask me.

I just love being able to live so close to nature ~ but it can also have some drawbacks ... such as keeping your grill good and clean so the bear aren't up on the deck checking things out ... and bringing in the bird feeders at night so the bear aren't eating them up and smashing the begeebees out of them ... and making sure the deck door is LOCKED so you don't have unwelcomed visitors of the natural kind wander into the house.  It also makes you VERY cautious when going for a walk.  The big bear doesn't scare me much, but I am leery of the protective momma when she has cubs and I also don't trust that ugly wolf that is full of mange and losing his hair.  I always carry a very hard oak stick when walking the trails... not that it would do me much good I suppose in a charging situation... but it just makes me feel better.  

Here's a pic of my stick that I took last winter ~ that's why there's snow in the photo... lol ... NO it didn't snow here this week.

Last night I had fried up some fish and some potatoes with bacon and onions for supper.  I told Sam he better make sure the bear have something in the stump because I didn't want them checking out the good smell coming from the house.  So far... cookies are keeping them happy.   

 

Until next time...

So it goes in my neck of the woods.

~mel