Category: Nature

September 22, 2018May 23, 2021

Choosing the Right Trees

Tree Selection Depends on Purpose; Fruit-Bearing, Ornamental, Privacy, or Shade

by Kelly R. Smith

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This article was updated on 05/23/21.

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Trees in our yards serve many purposes. Some are ornamental, some, like avocado trees, bear fruit, some are for privacy, and some provide shade which reduces energy bills. With that in mind, when choosing the right trees you must ask yourself what purpose they will serve.

How to Choose Fruit Trees

Many people want their own fruit trees and why not? Free food is great. Also, for some of us it’s that nice, fuzzy feeling that comes with the assurance that the fruit is truly organic. I myself fall into that category; I once made the commitment to plant one fruit tree per year. Now, I’ve about run out of real estate.

The mistake many people make is neglecting to research the required chill hours the trees need. I see it all the time; people buying trees at the local big box store. They plant them and wait. No fruit cometh forth. The map at the top of this page will show you the zone you live in and the corresponding temperature range. You might pay more for trees at a nursery but you will know what you are getting.

I’m here in South Texas and I’ve got a peach tree, two fig trees, a plum tree, and an Improved Meyer Lemon tree. I lost two orange trees and a couple of palm trees in the unprecedented freeze of 2021. Still, any kind of citrus tree is a good choice for my family. Another factor when choosing fruit (as well as vegetable garden plants) is vitamin and mineral content.

Choosing Shade Trees

Shade trees are very beneficial. They help to maximize your energy efficiency. When they shade your house from the sun, you save money. Basically, the southern side of your home will receive up to three times more sunlight than the western and eastern facing sides in the wintertime, and just one-third as much during the hot summertime. Deciduous trees are a better choice than evergreens because they lose their leaves in the wintertime when you benefit from the warming sun. Weather plays a big part in your energy consumption.

Planting trees with this in mind is called a passive solar concept. One note of caution–do not plant them too close to the house or you risk root damage to your foundation, which can be especially expensive and intrusive to repair if you have a concrete slab. Large trees should be no closer than thirty feet away and small ones no closer than eight feet away. As a preventative measure, install root barriers.

Choosing Privacy Trees

Privacy trees keep those pesky peeping neighbors at bay and deter crooks from seeing what property you have on your property. Some good candidates are Thuja Green Giant, Leyland Cypress, Emerald Green Arborvitae, and Italian Cypress. Since they are relatively fast growing, the benefits arrive quickly.

Trees are not only helpful; they also add a lot of equity to your home. Select and plant them properly and they’ll take care of you. Remember to care for them with pruning and a fertilization schedule and your investment in your home equity will be protected for years to come.

DIY Home Flea Control Methods

Affordable and Natural Pest Control Solutions

by Kelly R. Smith

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This article was updated on 02/17/21.

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Just one glance at that monster insect pest above is enough to make you want to eradicate them because of the sheer ugliness, but wait, it gets worse. Your pet or family members may develop flea allergy dermatitis, skin infections, and anemia from contact. Also, if your dog or cat ingests a flea (which is very likely) he may become infected with tapeworms.

According to the American Kennel Club, “Tapeworms are an intestinal parasite. Along with roundworm, hookworm, and whipworm, this flat, segmented worm is found in dogs, cats, humans, and many other species around the world. The most common tapeworm species is Dipylidium Caninum. The medical term for a tapeworm infestation is Cestodiasis.”

“First, the dog will ingest a host that is harboring tapeworm eggs, most often an adult flea. There are a few ways a dog might ingest a flea, such as self-grooming, or grooming a canine or feline housemate. Other animals that are potential transmitters of eggs include birds, rabbits, or rodents, which even a well-fed dog might scavenge for.”¹

Why are Fleas so Hard to Get Rid Of?

Why are they such effective parasites? First, their bodies are flattened sideways, allowing them to easily navigate through your living room carpet, yard, dog park, or your pet’s fur no matter how dense it may be.

Secondly, those claws you see in the image above allow them to cling to Fido’s skin to resist all that scratching and chewing. And those back legs? They allow the pests to jump 50 times their body length! They would easily dominate in the Insect Olympics. Basically, your pets don’t stand a chance.

How Can You Practice Organic Flea Control?

In a previous post we explained how to eliminate flea larvae in outside the home by applying beneficial nematodes. This is a preventative measure since the larvae can never reach adulthood. Most of these flea controls are effective on other household pests, particularly orange oil.

But what if you already have them in your home? You need DIY home flea and pest control methods that don’t rely on poisons and pesticides. Filling your home with toxins to get rid of pests is like throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Following are some organic solutions.

Homemade Flea Spray. This is a very economical method that is non-toxic to children and pets. All you need is a spray bottle and a few ingredients that you probably already have on hand. Combine 2 cups vinegar, 1 cup water, 3 tablespoons lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of witch hazel.
Dawn Dish Soap. Any dish soap will work but Dawn is preferable. There’s a reason that its used on animals following oil spills. Simply fill small bowls with warm water and soap and place them in affected areas. Night time is most effective because fleas are nocturnal insects.
Orange Oil Spray. This is one of my favorites for all types of pest control. It won’t harm humans or pets but it is deadly for insects including fleas, spiders, ants and more. It can be purchased at Amazon.com.
Diatomaceous Earth. Again, look for this at the nursery. It is the microscopic remains of fossilized algae, in a fine powder form. Sprinkle the dust thinly in affected areas wearing a dust mask to avoid throat irritation. Wait two days and then vacuum thoroughly. Diatomaceous earth kills fleas by dehydrating their bodies.
Rosemary as a Preventative Measure. While rosemary will not kill fleas, it will certainly keep them away. They don’t like it! There are two good methods. Firstly, let it dry and then grind it up finely. Sprinkle it anywhere you are experiencing flea activity. The second way is to use an herbal rinse to keep fleas off of your pet and outdoors where they belong. Place 1/2 cup fresh rosemary in a quart of boiling water and allow to steep for 30 minutes. Remove the liquid from the heat and strain it into a bowl. After it cools, apply it to your pet’s coat and let it dry before allowing your pet to go outside. Using both these methods in conjunction is an attack on two fronts. Hint: grown your own rosemary in your herb or veggie garden; this will ensure you have a steady supply of organic herbs.

Using a combination of these methods is more effective than a single one so don’t be afraid to experiment to determine what works for you. Do you know of any other effective home flea control methods? Tell our readers about it in the comment section below. We’re all in this together!

References

American Kennel Club, Tapeworms in Dogs: Symptoms, Treatment, and Prevention, https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/health/tapeworms-in-dogs-symptoms-treatment-and-prevention/

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August 8, 2017November 3, 2020

Al Gore– The P.T. Barnum of Climate Change

by Kelly R. Smith

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This post was last updated on 11/03/20.

It used to be “global warming.” When that catchphrase came under question the buzzword shifted to “climate change.” The idea was to make the term so vague that if the temperature in any given area got cooler or warmer, the True Believers from the Church of Carbon Defiance (CCD) could wag their warm/cool fingers at skeptics and mutter, “I told you so.”

But the political correctness and the search for a more palatable phrase continues. www.the guardian.com says, “Staff at the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) have been told to avoid using the term ‘climate change’ in their work, with the officials instructed to reference ‘weather extremes’ instead.”

A couple more examples of rhetorical manipulation include substituting “resilience to weather extremes” for “climate change adaption” and “build soil organic matter” for “sequester carbon”.

I earlier mentioned the CCD because climate change really is a faith in the sense that any other religion is. The so-called global “real science” climate change that backs it up is nebulous science and conjecture at best.

When did Meaningful Weather Records Begin to be Collected?

Older weather records are only as accurate as the instruments used. In the US, Thomas Jefferson made regular observations at his home Monticello from 1772 to 1778, and participated in taking the first known simultaneous weather observations in America. But that is one solitary location and hardly gives us the “big picture.”

That didn’t begin to happen until the invention of the telegraph so that weather observations from distant points made by volunteers could be collected in a reasonable period of time, plotted, and then analyzed at one location. In 1849 this location was the Smithsonian.

Weather Projections from Past, Present, and Onward

There are three time frames in weather analysis. First, the past as outlined above up until today. While the early technology was primitive, the resulting data can at least demonstrate trends and patterns that can be loosely correlated with advances in industry and manufacturing (e.g., the increase in carbon emissions).

The second frame is a snapshot of today. At any given moment we have an accurate comprehensive view of what is happening worldwide. Finally, we are left with the third frame, computer projections of the future which is where we really begin to get into trouble.

Anybody on the gulf coast biting their nails while watching the dozen or so computer-generated hurricane path possibilities during each and every hurricane season knows how accurate that can be. Given that dose of reality, can we bank on what is going to happen 50 or 100 years from now? Which brings us to…

Al Gore, Alarmist and Profiteer

As an analogy, if Jesse Jackson can be described as a poverty pimp, Gore can certainly be described as a climate change pimp. It boils down to taking a popular issue and using it for personal gain rather than making a meaningful difference. After a lackluster performance as Vice-President and failed Presidential candidate, he had to cast about for something new to do.

After working as a visiting professor at various universities he drifted off into the global warming movement. He was no stranger to this world; he had been involved with environmental issues beginning in 1976, when as a freshman congressman, he held the first congressional hearings on the climate change, and co-sponsored hearings on toxic waste and global warming.

Carbon credit: any tradable certificate or permit representing the right to emit one ton of carbon dioxide or the mass of another greenhouse gas with a carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO₂e) equivalent to one ton of carbon dioxide.

Seeing an opportunity, he jumped into the carbon credit business, founding Generation Investment Management (GIM) along with David Blood. The firm’s focus is on a research agenda including global sustainability and renewable energy issues.

GIM took a big position in the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) for carbon trading and Gore used an alarmist position to attract investors.

According to forbes.com, “Between May of 2008 and October of 2009 the CCX market value for one metric ton of carbon plummeted from $7 per metric ton to $0.10 along with the shareholders’ investment values. Losers included the Ford Motor Company, Amtrak, DuPont, Dow Corning, American Electric Power, International Paper, and Waste Management, along with the states of Illinois and New Mexico, seven cities, and a number of universities. But GIM was in a winning position.

“Never give a sucker an even break” – P.T. Barnum

Arctic ice to be gone by 2012 — Guess we dodged the bullet on this “real science” prediction.

Al Gore, Hypocrite

The face that Gore presents to the world is that of a planet-saving messiah. The truth is far from that. It’s a case of do as I say, not as I do. Case in point—his home in Nashville, Tennessee.

Al Gore's energy-guzzling home — Al Gore’s energy-guzzling home

According to Drew Johnson, National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR) Senior Fellow, “The past year, Gore’s home energy use averaged 19,241 kilowatt hours (kWh) every month, compared to the U.S. household average of 901 kWh per month. During the last 12 months, Gore devoured 66,159 kWh of electricity just heating his pool. That is enough energy to power six average U.S. households for a year.”

“There’s a sucker born every minute” – P.T. Barnum

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Photo of Kelly R. Smith Kelly R. Smith is an Air Force veteran and was a commercial carpenter for 20 years before returning to night school at the University of Houston where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science. After working at NASA for a few years, he went on to develop software for the transportation, financial, and energy-trading industries. He has been writing, in one capacity or another, since he could hold a pencil. As a freelance writer now, he specializes in producing articles and blog content for a variety of clients. His personal blog is at I Can Fix Up My Home Blog where he muses on many different topics.

August 3, 2017July 23, 2020

How to Find and Adopt a Rescue Dog

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Dogs playing tug-o-war — Eddie and Maggie playing tug-o-war

This article was updated on 02/20/20.

There’s no doubt about it—people love their pets. The most common pets are dogs and cats. How they go about selecting and acquiring their pets varies. Usually, one of the following methods are used.

Taking ownership from a friend or acquaintance. This happens when the current owner moves, loses interest, or simply can’t care for the animal properly any longer.
Buying one from a pet store. The problem with this method is that the buyer always runs the risk of getting an animal from a puppy mill. Not only does this often come with potential inherited health issues but the puppy mill industry is usually just a legal form of animal abuse.
Buying from a local breeder. This is a good solution if you want a pure-bred animal but it can be quite expensive.
Adopting an animal from a shelter. These are often referred to as “rescue animals” and in my mind this is the preferred method. It may be my imagination but these animals seem to appreciate being saved from life in a caged setting or often euthanasia. This blog post focuses on this method, with dog adoption in particular since that is my experience.

Adopting a Rescue Dog—the Process

Rescue dogs find themselves in the “system” in a number of ways. They might be strays, drop-offs, or victims of animal abuse. Once they enter the system they are relegated to municipal dog pounds, shelters, or foster homes.

Today the process of selecting your future pet is easier than ever, right from the comfort of your own home. This is because most shelters and rescue organizations have websites complete with photos and descriptions. You can narrow down your selection before making a physical trip.

Actually, this works out well for people like me. When I walk by the kennels and they are all barking for attention I’m the kind of guy that “wants to take them all home.”

There is likely to be an adoption fee; $50 dollars or so is not unusual. This fee covers things like shelter upkeep, heartworm treatment, and neutering or spaying. Still, this is a small price to pay considering that most of shelter workers are volunteers. And what can you say about foster homes? Those folks are downright saintly.

Will Your New Pet Fit in?

It is extremely important that your new dog (or cat) fit in. If you already have a pet and you are just adding to your menagerie, you should arrange a “meet and greet” where the animals can do the sniffing ritual; be sure they get along.

Another consideration is whether you have small children. The shelter workers can sometimes tell you if the dog is child-compatible. However this is not always possible if the dog was a stray and its history is non-existent.

Finally, it is important to have a backyard fence. This will ensure that your dog can run around and get exercise without escaping. This serves as a great addition to your home security as it provides a burglar disincentive. Some shelters insist on it when they screen your adoption request.

My household has four rescue dogs, a Rat Terrier (Eddie), a Dachshund mix (Sammie), a Southern Black Mouth Cur (Frankie), and a border collie (Maggie). They all get along famously.

Eddie was a no-history dog. When this happens the shelter workers simply assign the dog a name. Eddie got the moniker “Spencer.” Well, that wasn’t going to work. So, when we got him home my wife just started calling out names. When she said, “Eddie”, his ears perked up. And that’s how he got his original name back.

The bottom line is this: when considering getting a dog, a rescue dog is often the most frugal and compassionate choice. Plus it has the added advantage that the dog is often house-trained.

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March 31, 2017June 12, 2021

Japan’s Whaling Policy Under Scrutiny

Commercial Fishing Hyped as “Scientific Research”: Hogwash

by Kelly R. Smith

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This article was updated on 06/12/21.

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The Japanese are known for all manner of odd things — quirky cartoons, kinky schoolgirl fetishes, and more. But by far the most odious is their continuing tradition of slaughtering whales. Certainly, the Japanese consume their fair share of seafood, but their whale meat consumption is significantly down in the aftermath of WWII so it hardly justifies their current hunting tradition. Then why?

What is the Japanese Fascination with Slaughtering Whales?

So why do they do it? Japan has set its 2021 catch limit for large whales at 383, the same as last year, in line with calculations to avoid a negative impact on cetacean resources, according to the Fisheries Agency. Note the use of the specifier “large.” This catch is not for the meat and it is probably not for perfume (ambergris is produced by sperm whales and valued as an ingredient for women’s perfume for some reason).

No, the Japanese Fisheries Agency says the annual slaughter is really, “research for the purpose of studying the ecological system in the Antarctic Sea.”

Wow, didn’t see that coming. But then hey! I’m not a highly-paid Japanese press agent, right? This takes fake news to a whole new level.

According to Yahoo News, “Under the International Whaling Commission (IWC), to which Japan is a signatory, there has been a moratorium on hunting whales since 1986. Tokyo exploits a loophole allowing whales to be killed for ‘scientific research’ and claims it is trying to prove the population is large enough to sustain a return to commercial hunting.”

Maybe it’s just me, but that sounds like crappola in all its glorious splendor. Harvard International Review says, “whale meat from such “scientific” expeditions has been sold commercially, a practice that has regularly generated controversy for the country. In fact, the Japanese government began to subsidize its whaling industry during the years of its “scientific research”, and as a result of government purchasing, public schools have even served whale meat from these expeditions in lunches.”

The History and Future of Whales Slaughtered by Japan

The Japan Whaling Association is said to have begun around the 12th century. However, Japanese whaling as carried out on an industrial scale began in the 1890s when Japan started to participate in the modern whaling industry, at that time an industry in which many countries participated. Japanese whaling activities historically have extended far beyond Japanese territorial waters and even into whale sanctuaries protected by other countries. So nothing about their behavior is benign or even scientific and it is not in the realm of national sovereignty, it’s an international issue.

They also go so far as to claim that opposing their practices has nothing to do with being green. Ironically, they call their activities “capture surveys.”

Today, Japan is on board with Norway’s arguments on its own whaling activities. The thin argument is that it’s entitled to continue whaling because of the place whaling holds in its cultural heritage, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. The whale meat from these hunts is consistently sold in shops and restaurants, which negates the “scientific” justification. To take the charade further, it is showcased at an annual food festival that, in some cases, features the butchering of a whale for onlookers.

As far as the future is concerned, Japan claims that as it is simply conducting ongoing research on whale maturation. It affirms that in the absence of “verified” non-lethal sampling methods, whales will continue to be slaughtered until the feasibility of non-lethal techniques is established. It seems that the motto of the Japanese whale slaughtering industry is, “We must eliminate them to find out how to conserve them.” That sounds like Nancy Pelosi, also a windbag.

Do Transgender Athletes Have an Unfair Advantage?

by Kelly R. Smith

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This article was updated on 09/30/20.

Regardless of what we might think of transgender bathroom policies or how gender-shifters should be affected by many other social issues, sport is a particularly sticky area. Sports performance is indeed affected by hormones, muscular structure, heat tolerance, and even height.

It’s no secret that this gender issue is huge in the Olympics. In particular, testosterone levels in women, transgender or natural, affects performance. Take the 25-year-old South African woman Caster Semenya for example. She is a natural woman but has an intersex condition. This means she possesses the anatomical sex characteristics of both males and females.

By definition she is hyperandrogenous. Her body provides much higher levels of testosterone than the majority of other female athletes. It follows that this builds greater muscle mass and bone mass which permits her to run faster and train harder with fewer sports injuries.

Should She Compete against Men or Women?

This introduces a moral dilemma. Semenya dominates the 800 meters. Certainly many factors allow her to do this but it is irrefutable that her higher testosterone level gives her a clear advantage. In fact she is built like a man—broad shoulders, narrow hips, very muscular, and even a masculine jawline.

This brings us to the moral question; if her competitors took testosterone supplements in order to even the field it would be considered doping. Semenya isn’t doping but does she have an unfair advantage because of her condition? Since her testosterone is abnormally high for a woman, more like a man, should she compete against them instead?

To address that question, at one point track’s governing body, the IAAF, placed a ceiling on testosterone levels in female athletes. When that happened her running performance came somewhat down to competitive levels and the common speculation was that she began medically suppressing her testosterone production with supplements in order to meet the requirement.

Since the IAAF removed the ceiling she has become virtually unbeatable once again. Depending on one’s personal outlook, it’s easy to draw a conclusion about what is “fair” and what regulations should be in place.

High School Sports are Affected Also

Recently, a transgender wrestler named Mack Beggs from Euless Trinity High School has been easily dominating the girl’s field at a competition at the Berry Center in the Cypress-Fairbanks school district.

Beggs was a girl but is now a transgender boy taking testosterone. Ironically, he/she wanted to compete against other boys but the University Interscholastic League rules force Beggs to compete as a girl instead. If that’s not a case against illogical wrongheadedness, what is? Once again testosterone is a huge factor. The really sad thing is that some of those testosterone-lacking girls were probably hoping for, and training hard for, a sports scholarship.

So, what’s right and what’s wrong? Where should the lines be drawn? Each of us has to decide for ourselves.

Update 02/28/20: A Missouri state legislator has introduced a bill that would ban transgender high-school students from competing on teams that do not match up their original biological sex. Speaking at a state education hearing on Tuesday, GOP State Sen. Cindy O’Laughlin said, “It is a known biological fact that males are born with categorically superior strength, speed and endurance. It has nothing to do with any other issue than trying to create a fair playing field.”

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Choosing the Right Trees

Tree Selection Depends on Purpose; Fruit-Bearing, Ornamental, Privacy, or Shade

How to Choose Fruit Trees

Choosing Shade Trees

Choosing Privacy Trees

More Trending Articles

About the Author:

DIY Home Flea Control Methods

Affordable and Natural Pest Control Solutions

Further Reading

References

About the Author:

Al Gore– The P.T. Barnum of Climate Change

When did Meaningful Weather Records Begin to be Collected?

Weather Projections from Past, Present, and Onward

Al Gore, Alarmist and Profiteer

Al Gore, Hypocrite

About the Author:

How to Find and Adopt a Rescue Dog

Adopting a Rescue Dog—the Process

Will Your New Pet Fit in?

About the Author:

Japan’s Whaling Policy Under Scrutiny

Commercial Fishing Hyped as “Scientific Research”: Hogwash

What is the Japanese Fascination with Slaughtering Whales?

The History and Future of Whales Slaughtered by Japan

Trending Articles

About the Author:

Do Transgender Athletes Have an Unfair Advantage?

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