Ah, science has discovered what many parents already knew!

"Science"  has has long known that homes with pets in them produce children with stronger immune systems.

I could have told them that years ago.  Want to vastly increase your children's chance of not having allergies?  Fill your house with pets, plants, and stop sweeping up every speck of dust.

Early exposure to allergens produces defenses against them.  No exposure to allergens weakens the immune system.

But hey, I'm not a scientist.... none of four kids ever had allergies.  I have been around dogs and cats since birth - I've never had allergies and I have a very strong immune system. Ditto my parents and their parents.


One study (and there are more):  http://healthland.time.com/2012/07/09/study-why-dogs-and-cats-make-babies-healthier/

A Bit of a Corollary to Previous Post

What might be viewed as a plus by many is that there appear to be way fewer wasps this summer, I've seen maybe two so far. Wasps have always come to drink from the buckets of water I put out, and no doubt consume any mosquito larvae they find...  Well, I have seen one mosquito so far this summer.  And Lancaster in the summer, particularly in yards like mine full of vegetation and many sources of still water is a paradise for mosquitoes.  None this year, no mosquitoes and no larvae in any of the six containers of water outside, three in front, three in back for any creature who needs a drink. I do not use pesticides of any kind, never have, never will. Where are the wasps, where are the spiders?

No spiders, not one this year, though there must be some as I have walked through a long strand of web on more than one occasion. But no spun webs. Not one spider, indoors or out.

What I do have in abundance, far greater abundance than any other year, are flies and ants. Both are a natural prey of both wasps and spiders.

There is only my own front and back yards to measure by, both of which are full of vegetation tall and short, vegetables, flowers, small trees so I don't know what others may be observing.  This lack of insect life is alarming to me, almost scary.

Nature has the ability to keep itself in balance. Man has the ability to upset that balance, even destroy it.  I wonder why he is allowed to do so.

"Pull one thing in Nature..."

Every day in summer I search my garden looking for signs of caterpillars, bees, butterflies, Lady Bugs, Praying Mantis, Lacewings, any small creature put on earth to do a job, a job for which they are eminently qualified. This year there are none, not one.

In massive fields growing our food they spray millions of tons of insecticides and herbicides every single year, and the dust continues on to cities, towns, rivers, lakes. That poison kills not only "bad" bugs, it kills the good ones. It kills not only bugs, it kills birds, bats, and every beneficial insect and animal life that depends on them for food - all vital, all necessary, all magical parts of an ecosystem designed by Nature to be perfect.

And to add to that insult,  Roundup and other poisons are sold for home owners who are too lazy or too stupid to pull weeds or encourage natural predators - aka birds, snakes, lizards, bats to their yards, instead preferring to kill those small beasts lest they be drawn for a moment away from their cell phones, video games, "reality" TV, game shows, sporting events.  Science has taken a back seat, and believe me, it is intentional by our government and major corporations... keep the people entertained and anything can be done to them with little opposition. And those who do protest will be labeled as "radicals,"  "enemies of the people," "crackpots."

""When we try to pick out anything by itself we find that it is bound fast by a thousand invisible cords that cannot be broken, to everything in the universe."  ~John Muir

Things Made of Stone

Things made of wood, even things made of brick, steel, and stone -

They all disappear in time.

But plastic, plastic never goes away, not ever.  Not plastic cups, nor Styrofoam, not utensils or straws,  not plastic clips holding the end of plastic bread bags, nor the tiny plastic inserts in everything electronic, or your container of pills, or plastic food wrap, containers, jewelry and shoes; nor the plastic in cigarette filters...yes, there is plastic even in those. And though plastic may appear to disintegrate, it doesn't, it simply gets ground by abrasion, washed out to rivers, lakes, oceans ending in the stomachs of whales, dolphins, all manner of sea life, including birds. And all that life dies because their bellies are full of plastic, not one single nourishing bit of food.

Why on God's earth would man ever allow the travesty, the evil of plastic to be produced when there clearly was never an "exit strategy," a method or plan for disposal? And now that the evil of plastic is so widely understood why does man allow it to continue to be produced in massive quantities?  Technology exists to replace ALL uses for plastic.  

What on earth goes on in the minds of intelligent beings, in the minds of compassionate beings who care about this planet and all life on it to allow the continued production of billions of tons of plastic - all of which will remain long after all life on this planet has died?

Mom

I know we had a rocky off and on relationship for most of our years. There are so many ways a child can be hurt, so much damage can be done that cannot be resolved or washed away with time. A lot of resentment, anger, pain that must be internalized, swallowed when you are young, but there simmering a whole life long.

In my memory now and in my heart, I cherish how often we laughed together. There were so many moments of laughter, the day we were out of food (and money I think) and you threw open the cupboard doors with great drama and said, "what shall we have for dinner?"  In the cupboard one can of string beans and one can of chili. We both collapsed in laughter. That is a memory I value.

You took away fear. You took away fear by never succumbing to it.

I miss you

I need a dog

Male/female I don't care, but must be fixed. Will not bring more puppies into a world already overflowing with unwanted dogs.

She must at least be eight years old; younger and there is a danger I may die before she does and her being whisked into a shelter will put her at considerable risk as few people will adopt an older dog.

I do not care if he is "pedigreed" or black or a bully dog. He must be respectful with the three bosses already here who happen to be cats. Fairly laid-back cats.

The black cat - callie, the orange cat - gulliver, the big striped cat - slim. Barn cats in their former lives, they are never allowed outside and seem perfectly happy about it.

Millie died two nights ago, a couple weeks before her Lucy died.  They were both old, very old, but still they are gone and I miss them so much. Especially after I go to bed at night - no one there now to curl up by my legs or with her snout resting on my shoulder.

So I need a new old dog - one who hopefully will enjoy a walk every morning and for the rest of the day be content to couch surf. One who will never be left alone for long or crated, but who will get lots of hugs and ear rubs and feel safe forever.

The Truth About Factory Farming