Making a fizzy drink, a change in the kitchen, ticks dropping out of my hair and other real life happenings in the house of doing stuff.
Rhubarb Fizz I made a batch of rhubarb fizz at the beginning of the month because I like it and because the rhubarb patch was getting Mesozoic sized. By the end of the month the pink fizzy drink should be popping with bubbles.
I only ever really get a mild fizz when I make this so I'm leaving it to sit for an extra week. Learn how to make Rhubarb Fizz here (it's just rhubarb, sugar and lemons).
I just took a quick walk to my refrigerator to taste the control sample (I refrigerate one bottle immediately so I can taste the difference between it and the ones that have fermented for weeks) and I can tell you it is indeed delicious but fizzless.
I got rid of the floating white shelves in my kitchen and replaced them with an old pine corner cabinet that I bought at an antique show the end of April.
I'm genuinely READING A Year Full of Pots. Every word.
Most importantly I'm gather ticks in my hair.
It's nice out finally without the massive amounts of mud so Philip and I have been heading into the forests where ticks head into Philip.
I 100% believe in giving tick medication to your dog, especially in my area where the tick population is explosive. Warming weather and non existent winters means more ticks live through the winter and populate more.
Last week they populated in my hair. Post shower, 2 days after a walk in the woods, I was sitting on a chair in my living room, my hair still wet. I felt the familiar sensation of an intruder in my personal space.
A crawling feeling at the back of my hair. I swatted whatever was in there away. In the milliseconds it took to land on the ground I prepared myself for a centipede, spider, or most hopefully, just a stray hair.
It was a dog tick. I killed it. I hate them. At least it wasn't a deer tick.
Deer ticks are WAY smaller and carry a multitude of disgusting and terrifying diseases like Lyme disease so if you get one embedded in you, you need to remove it as fast as possible (within the first few hours is best, within the first day is good).
As it stands, a tick falling out of my hair still wasn't scarier than the years we've had snow in May so all-in-all not a bad month so far considering.
A very rounded out month, I'd say. ;) Having a dog, brings the diligent tick watch to the forefront for me.
Terracotta pot alert: Costco has a big pot right now for less than 30 CAD, at least in here in Quebec.
Thank you!!! I'll check in my local Costco! ~ karen
Love the countertop corner cupboard. Good buy! Will definitely try the rhubarb fizz. Ticks! Total yuck. Be very careful. Even if you beat Lyme Disease, it can leave you with immune system issues. Have you considered getting Phillip a sheep cover like they use to keep sheep clean so their wool doesn't get dirty. They use them in the summer, so they must not cause overheating. Just a thought to cut down on the ticks.
I actually have a bodysuit for Philip! But his feet and head are still bare so I'm not sure how helpful it will be. ~ karen!
Hi Karen
I’ve been away for 3 weeks and wondered if I missed any news of your owls. Couldn’t find any posts that could update me.
Waiting anxiously to hear….
You're right! I haven't updated in a while. I will! ~ karen
Is that a Prayer Plant in the picture with your fiz? It is beautiful! Mine is it's sad sister, droopy and the leaves are a bit dry at the ends, no matter how much or often I water it. Is it the Texas heat? We keep the house at a cool 79 degrees all summer, perhaps it is sensitive to that?
Maybe try watering it less? Most of these indoor tropicals only want 1/4 cup a week. I was struggling with my pothos and orchid. Turns out I was over watering. 1/4 cup a week for my pothos and a couple tablespoons a week for the orchid.
Hi UTMom! It's actually the only indoor plant I've kept alive for over a year. For someone who is so good with growing vegetables I'm TERRIBLE with any indoor plants. It's Aglaonema - "Dalmation". ~ karen!
Oh crap on a cracker. Was I wrong? Hate that.
I had to go look at the tag so don't be impressed with me. ~ karen!
That’s a Dieffenbachia or Dumb Cane, quite different to a prayer plant although the leaves may look similar. Some varieties have stunning foliage.
I live a couple of blocks from Times Square and I read your blog with such envy. Oh, to have a gorgeous, comfortable cottage with espaliered fruit trees, to grow such beautiful and astonishing dahlias, to raise my own organic fruits and vegetables and can and bake, to have my steadfast canine companion by my side through life’s adventures…. And then I read about ticks falling off your head and I’m like, Nope, I’m good. (Just kidding. I really am envious. Thanks for letting me live vicariously through you!)
I have a friend who lives in Tribeca and I envy her, lol. ~ karen!
The corner shelf looked like it was born to be there - so neat looking! Just ticks in general - big yuck - and then to have them fall from your person - an even bigger yuck!!! You and Phillip, please be safe.
I love the corner cabinet too! As someone who cleans houses, I've never liked open shelving! Especially in a kitchen. They're grease/ dust collectors and hard to clean because you have to practically unload them to each them down!
That is exactly right. They would get COVERED in yuck. They now live in the potting shed holding other yucky things. ~ karen!
You make a living at this; I get it. But it's not worth dodging all the ads to read your content.
O.K. ~ karen!
What is your favorite tick treatment for dogs? We have loads of deer ticks and I just found one crawling out of my purse at the office. And they are impossible to kill! I immersed it in a blob of hand sanitizer and it still wiggled away!
Hi Cyn. I've used Bravecto and NexGard. The NexGard had a tendancy to make Philip feel sick so I use Bravecto now. :) ~ karen!
Isn’t that the truth… snow in May would have been an abomination whereas a tick is inevitable. We’re up to 30 and thank goodness for the medication on the dogs.
I planted watermelon already! Cucumbers next! What an unusual May. Enjoy your fizz. Sounds delicious and I have been harvesting rhubarb so great timing (I made your tart, disastrous crust didn’t matter as the filling was aces.
I have never made rhubarb fizz, but have been making water kefir for many years. Even tho I tend to stay away from sugar/carbs I still drink my water kefir almost daily...I can not stay away from the fizz!!
And thank goodness, tick season has slowed down for us. We tend to have our highest risk in the cooler spring and fall season. But it is chigger season here and that is certainly just as itchy, but without the risk of horrible tick borne illnesses.
I always wondered why the odd time my hands or ankles would get SO itchy after being in the garden - usually at the beginning of the season. It wasn't until last year I found out from a friend at the garden that it's probably chiggers. ~ karen!
What the hell are chiggers?
That's what I asked. They're little sort of mite type bugs/parasites? They bite and make little blisters that are VERY itchy. ~ karen!
Pic of the corner shelves please. 😊
Be careful young lady - dog ticks are also potentially quite dangerous - I post this because I care.
https://www.ticklab.org/blog/2020/08/06/diseases-commonly-spread-by-american-dog-ticks-and-lone-star-ticks/
Yes! I know! But it's a fact of life now (at least where I live). I've discussed ticks with my doctor, who is also a gardener. She just does her best to keep them off and she constantly monitors for the telltale ring. ~ karen!
Excellent - like I said it's only because I do care about my favorite Canadian blogger..
I never got the tell-tale ring when I got bitten by a deer tick in the 1000 Islandsm in 2017. I experienced dizziness first, which I attributed to getting up too fast. A few days later I found a tick; it was small and deeply embedded in the skin below my right knee. By then I was becoming sick with flu-like symptoms and I was developing a long rash up my right thigh that looked like it was made by a nasty set of claws. As it turned out, I had both Lyme and cat-scratch fever as a result of being bitten by a creepy little crawler. I didn't feel the bite; the tick anesthetizes the skin before burrowing. After a punishing antibiotic treatment, the sicknesses abated, but I was left with arthritis. Yoga enabled me to regain mobility and continues to help. That said, I'm 61, so perhaps I'd have arthritis even if I hadn't got Lyme. I'm sharing this story because I didn't get the typical rash. I want others to know that if you spend time in nature it's important to always be on the lookout for ticks, especially if you feel unwell in any way. Cover your hair completely with a scarf, use bug repellent be aware that peeing behind a bush might be a mistake - I think that's how the little devil got me.
That's true! The bullseye rash doesn't always appear. It's the most easily identifiable sign. I'm glad you beat the lyme! ~ karen
I can always count on you for a good laugh. You had a tick in your hair, whereas I had a brown recluse spider on my bare arm today. At least I think it was a brown recluse. I didn't leave it on me long enough to verify its identity with Google lens.