February is Skunk breeding season. Before you let your dogs out make a little noise and give skunks time to move out of your yard.
If you come face to face with a skunk, stay calm and talk softly to let them know you’re there, skunks have poor eyesight. Skunks are very sweet natured animals and don’t want to spray you. Go about your business and avoid startling them.
Skunks will give you several warnings if they are scared:
1. They will stomp their front feet
2. They turn their backs to you
3. They will do a handstand
4. They will spray
If a skunk DOES spray your dog etc. here is our favorite technique and recipe:
Firstly catch dog ( person etc) as quickly as possible – don’t let them roll or rub on anything.
If you have rubber gloves wear them. BLOT the spray off with paper towels.
Mix a paste from Dawn dish soap, peroxide, and baking soda and spread it on the area. Let it sit for ten minutes then rinse off and repeat.
If this happens to be on a human or hairless animal leave out the baking soda. The baking soda is sort of like an exfoliant and is really abrasive to bare skin. ( I know this from being sprayed in the face by a skunk I was trying to rescue lol- the baking soda made me look like I had chemical burns)…
Another note: PLEASE WASH YOUR RECYCLING AND PLEASE DON’T LITTER. Every year I rescue skunks with cans, yoghurt cups, domed lid fast food drink cups, etc stuck on their heads. If you come across a skunk with something stuck on its head, throw a towel over it and just pull the object off. Don’t touch wild animals with bare hands as some can have parasites or disease.
1. “As you get older, three things happen. The first is your memory goes, and I can’t remember the other two.” – Norman Wisdom
2. “People say money is not the key to happiness, but I have always figured if you have enough money, you can have a key made.” Joan Rivers
3. “I’m sick of following my dreams, man. I’m just going to ask where they’re going and hook up with ’em later.”- Mitch Hedberg
4. “Truth hurts. Maybe not as much as jumping on a bicycle with a seat missing, but it hurts.”- Lt. Frank Drebin
5. “Accept who you are. Unless you’re a serial killer.” – Ellen DeGeneres
6. “When life shuts a door … open it again. It’s a door. That’s how they work.”
7. “I want my children to have all the things I couldn’t afford. Then I want to move in with them.” – Phyllis Diller
8. “When your mother asks, ‘Do you want a piece of advice?’ it is a mere formality. It doesn’t matter if you answer yes or no. You’re going to get it anyway.” – Erma Bombeck
9. “Better days are coming. They are called: Saturday and Sunday.”
10. “An apple a day keeps anyone away if you throw it hard enough.”
Bonus #1
“Haters are just confused admirers because they can’t figure out the reason why everyone loves you.”– Jeffree Star
Bonus #2
“Laughing at our mistakes can lengthen our own life. Laughing at someone else’s can shorten it.”– Cullen Hightower
The exact origins of the sticky bun are debatable, as is the history of National Sticky Bun Day. While some attribute the sticky bun to the Ancient Egyptians, others argue that it may have originated in Germany. Some historians say that they may have been around in the Western World since the Middle Ages, when cinnamon became a more prominent spice in these regions.
However, one thing that is agreed on is that German settlers brought the sticky bun to Pennsylvania in the United States. Specifically, they seem to have been brought and popularized through the Pennsylvania Dutch (Deutsch), many of whom were fleeing religious persecution during the 1700s. These pastries were originally called ‘schnecken’ and are now considered to be a specialty of Philadelphia.
When it comes to sticky buns, some clarifications may need to be made since many questions seem to come along with them. One of the main questions is this: what is the difference between sticky buns and cinnamon rolls?
While the answers may be as varied as the people who are asked, many people believe that the difference is nuts. Literally, the addition of nuts is what turns a plain old “cinnamon roll” into a “sticky bun”. These nuts are typically pecans but could be of another variety as well.
In addition, sticky buns are (yes, you guessed it), stickier. This is because, before they are baked, a caramel glaze is prepared that is poured into the baking dish with nuts prior to adding the dough rolls. Then, when the baking is finished, the rolls are flipped upside down, leaving the sticky, gooey, nutty goodness all on the top of the buns.
Since they don’t have the sticky glaze, cinnamon rolls don’t need to be turned upside down. Instead, they usually have a powdered sugar glaze that is drizzled on the top to give a sweet finish.
One day a man saw an old lady, stranded on the side of the road, but even in the dim light of day, he could see she needed help. So he pulled up in front of her Mercedes and got out. His Pontiac was still sputtering when he approached her.
Even with the smile on his face, she was worried. No one had stopped to help for the last hour or so. Was he going to hurt her? He didn’t look safe; he looked poor and hungry. He could see that she was frightened, standing out there in the cold. He knew how she felt. It was those chills which only fear can put in you. He said, “I’m here to help you, ma’am. Why don’t you wait in the car where it’s warm? By the way, my name is Bryan Anderson.”
Well, all she had was a flat tire, but for an old lady, that was bad enough. Bryan crawled under the car looking for a place to put the jack, skinning his knuckles a time or two. Soon he was able to change the tire. But he had to get dirty and his hands hurt.
As he was tightening up the lug nuts, she rolled down the window and began to talk to him. She told him that she was from St. Louis and was only just passing through. She couldn’t thank him enough for coming to her aid.
Bryan just smiled as he closed her trunk. The lady asked how much she owed him. Any amount would have been all right with her. She already imagined all the awful things that could have happened had he not stopped. Bryan never thought twice about being paid. This was not a job to him. This was helping someone in need, and God knows there were plenty, who had given him a hand in the past. He had lived his whole life that way, and it never occurred to him to act any other way.
He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, the next time she saw someone who needed help, she could give that person the assistance they needed, and Bryan added, “And think of me.”
He waited until she started her car and drove off. It had been a cold and depressing day, but he felt good as he headed for home, disappearing into the twilight.
A few miles down the road the lady saw a small cafe. She went in to grab a bite to eat, and take the chill off before she made the last leg of her trip home. It was a dingy looking restaurant. Outside were two old gas pumps. The whole scene was unfamiliar to her. The waitress came over and brought a clean towel to wipe her wet hair. She had a sweet smile, one that even being on her feet for the whole day couldn’t erase. The lady noticed the waitress was nearly eight months pregnant, but she never let the strain and aches change her attitude. The old lady wondered how someone who had so little could be so giving to a stranger. Then she remembered Bryan.
After the lady finished her meal, she paid with a hundred dollar bill. The waitress quickly went to get change for her hundred dollar bill, but the old lady had slipped right out the door. She was gone by the time the waitress came back. The waitress wondered where the lady could be. Then she noticed something written on the napkin.
There were tears in her eyes when she read what the lady wrote: “You don’t owe me anything. I have been there too. Somebody once helped me out, the way I’m helping you. If you really want to pay me back, here is what you do: Do not let this chain of love end with you.”
Under the napkin were four more $100 bills.
Well, there were tables to clear, sugar bowls to fill, and people to serve, but the waitress made it through another day. That night when she got home from work and climbed into bed, she was thinking about the money and what the lady had written. How could the lady have known how much she and her husband needed it? With the baby due next month, it was going to be hard….
She knew how worried her husband was, and as he lay sleeping next to her, she gave him a soft kiss and whispered soft and low, “Everything’s going to be all right. I love you, Bryan Anderson.”
There is an old saying “What goes around comes around.”
On February 20th, pet lovers everywhere observe National Love Your Pet Day. This holiday focuses on giving extra attention to our pets. The day encourages pampering our pets and focusing on the special relationship pets hold in our lives.
Did you know that most households in the United States have at least one pet? While there are more cats than dogs in the United States, more households have dogs than cats, but not by much. Pets are not limited to the canine and feline categories. There are quite a few who prefer the companionship of birds, reptiles, fish, or rats. Whoever your pet companion is, we are sure you will enjoy spending a little extra time with them on National Love Your Pet Day and reap the benefits, as well such as stress relief and lower blood pressure. So on February 20th (and every day) show your appreciation to your pets!
History Of National Love Your Pet Day:
Pets have been a part of human existence for hundreds of years, and owning one is growing increasingly popular and frequent. Animals have been close to our side since the dawn of civilization. Consider the fact that wolves have lived alongside humans for centuries, and there is evidence of people, dogs, and cats coexisting as long as 12,000 years ago. Toy dog breeds were first kept by European nobility in the 1600s. Pet birds were the preferred pet of all classes in Spain until the 1960s. Although the individual who established Love Your Pet Day is not widely known, the masses began celebrating and bringing it to light on a large scale in the early 2000s.
I’ve noticed that it’s often because snarky people have ego and self-esteem issues [you can tell that just by the things they do and say], and are addicted to putting others down so they can feel better about themselves.
However, their snarkiness and sarcasm reveal a great deal more about them, and how they see themselves, than they realize, and none of it is positive.
So, I tried to post in Nahi’s guest book this morning, and the message in the top right corner is what I got…and it would not let me post it. I can see telling me I duplicated a comment, and while I appreciated the warning, after the first warning, I should be able to post it anyway…
