GROWING YOUR BUSINESS: These services are needed right now

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Growing your businessby Dan Beaulieu
Business consultant

No Job too small.

Even if you are technically now a “skilled laborer” you can offer your services and grow your business right now… Without any special tools, equipment, or skills. You just have to know how to work hard and let people know you are available.

I am talking about the so-called small stuff. The type of work that normally falls through the proverbial cracks of normal provided services.

The true essence of a business is to find a need and fill it.

Customers, home owners, small business owners, even other companies have those needs today. They need you right now if you can offer these services:

  • Small carpentry jobs from putting in a window to hanging shelves to, yes, even hanging things on the wall, to fixing a broken step or a broken window, people are looking for someone who can do this kind of work. The kind of work that the larger companies can’t be bothered to do. General handyman or woman services to do anything a home owner needs, just the small stuff like repairing a fence or a step.
  • Other small jobs of any kind. People need someone to paint their steps, paint their shed, or cut a few branches. All jobs that are too small to even call a larger company.
  • Cleaning out attics and basements and garages and sheds and other storage areas. People need someone who can show up, clean their attic, cart away things that are no longer needed and bring that space back to life. No special skills are required. All that you need is strong hand, back and ambitions. Even just hauling away and properly disposing of anything from old paint cans to old appliances. There are no easy ways to do this right now?
  • Detailing cars: the largest detailing companies are booked out for months. But the demand for this service remains high. People would be delighted if they could call someone to come to their house and detail their vehicles in their own driveway.
  • Taking in and storing window air conditioners in the fall and installing them in the spring.
  • Winterizing homes from taking in a storing outdoor furniture including properly storing that barbecue and grill.
  • Hanging Christmas decorations on the outsides of homes and businesses. And then taking down those decorations.
  • General house cleaning on a regular basis. There is a high demand for someone who can do this.
  • And there are dozens of other things you can do, other services you can provide.

Another thing to consider is that Maine has the largest per-capita senior population and many of these people can no longer do that kind of jobs that we’ve listed above. This particular demographic is looking for someone like you right now.

All you have to do is think about it. Consider what you would like to do and get started, you’ll be surprised how quickly you fill out your work schedule. There has never been a better time or a better way to grow your own business.

MY POINT OF VIEW: America’s first veterans were Revolutionary War soldiers

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by Gary Kennedy

So here we are with another year passing us by and searching for meaning. We veterans know who, what and why we are considered veterans. In general, those who have served in the U.S. Military are veterans. However, title 38 of the Code of Federal Regulations defines a veteran as “a person who served in the active military, army, navy, or air service and who was discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable”.

This definition explains that any individual that completed a service for any branch of armed forces classifies as a veteran as long as they were not dishonorably discharged. The most important thing to understand is veteran status. This is very important to the veteran but has no meaning to the general public. When the veteran is released from his military obligations he or she may be entitled to earned benefits, post military. At this point in time the veteran should locate the nearest “Veterans Administration” office and register any service related situation with a Veterans Advocate. Here also, he will receive information and advice as to what he may be entitled to. He will display his DD214 and perhaps show his military service and medical records. The veteran will be guided from there.

Now let’s take a look at how a veteran began and a little history of the veteran’s origin. In this country the making of a veteran basically began in 1775. This was the beginning of the Revolutionary War. This war began on April 19, 1775, and didn’t end until April 3, 1783; eight long years. We were a young country seeking freedom from mother Great Britain. She didn’t want to let us go so war ensued. The war was fought and won, but at great cost. We lost nearly 70,000 soldiers in this conflict. On the third day of April in 1783 our first veteran was born.

On April 12, 1861, the Civil War had begun. Before it was to end we would lose 364,511 Union soldiers and another 260,000 Confederates. History tells us that loved ones went to the killing fields to claim the bodies of their loved ones. This war ended on April 12, 1865. More veterans were created. They claim 25 percent of those who fought did not survive.

July 28, 1914, World War I began which took the lives of 116,708 and left 204,000 wounded. This ended on November 11, 1918. We were now getting familiar with the word “Veteran”. On September 1, 1939, World War II began and before it was to end 670,846 died and 405,399 were wounded. Those remaining became the new “Veterans”. Next came Korea on June 25, 1950, until July 27, 1953. This was long enough to allow 40,000 to die and 100,000 to be wounded.

Would you know it, we decided the country of Vietnam needed to be free from Communism. This was on November 1, 1955, and ended April 30, 1975. This involved Cambodia and Laos. We spent 20 years trying to change Vietnam but failed in our attempt. However, we did create more “Veterans”. I guess we didn’t have enough so we went to the aid of Afghanistan on October 7, 2001, to August 30, 2021. This would be another 20-year war which cost us 2,456 American lives. There were 20,752 of America’s finest wounded. Also this war led to many U.S. soldiers committing suicide. Currently, I don’t know why our troops were so affected by this particular war. I am currently searching for answers to that dilemma. In any case, we ended up with more “veterans”. The last one that I will mention is the Gulf War, which runs from August 2, 1990, to February 28, 1991. Two hundred nineteen men and women died, more “veterans”. There were other skirmishes that I haven’t addressed and my figures are only a good approximate; they are close enough for purposes of this article. I guesstimate around 1,520,226 deaths and approximately five times that in wounded. That’s a lot of sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters as well as others sacrificing to keep us and others free. So we have a million and a half posthumous veterans and many millions more who were lucky enough to make it home. Home is the key word and it’s still free and safe thanks to veterans; we continue to keep conflict off of our shores.

Believe me, if we didn’t have veterans we would be speaking another language by now. When will we and the world learn to live and let live? Greed and corruption continue to take the front seat and so we must continue to create “veterans”. I am a veteran, yet every night I pray for those in harm’s way, especially our veterans. My time has come and gone as is the case of thousands of others. We must rely on the strength of others now, as they will eventually do. At this point in time it’s the way of things. We need to pray for a world of peace. Until that time, God Bless our future veterans. Pray for them; thank them for serving our country and for watching over us. God Bless our veterans and God Bless America.

FOR YOUR HEALTH: Tiktok Trend Exposes Dark Side Of Vaping

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Vaping is so toxic, it can put young vapers in the hospital and even on life support

(NAPS)­­—Chest pains. Ventilators. Collapsed lungs. Life support. Young people are warning each other about the dangerous and painful effects of vaping by doing what they do best – sharing their personal stories on TikTok.

One 23-year-old TikToker went viral in July 2022 after posting a video about her painful experience from lung surgery after her lung collapsed. Vaping contributed to her health problems which left her hospitalized and using inhalers for weeks post-surgery.

“When I woke up from the surgery I asked the nurse if this is what death is… it was one of the most horrific pains I have ever experienced.” – @gracejohanna

Social media is filled with examples of young people exposing the damage that vaping has done to their bodies. Many are sharing photos and videos from hospital beds, speaking up about the scary health crises they’ve faced from using vapes, and pledging to kick the habit for good.

“It’s currently 4:30 am I was fine last night until suddenly I couldn’t breathe and had chest pains. 5 years of vaping and I’ll never touch it again” —@bellaspresent

The tobacco industry makes vapes in kid-friendly flavors that mask the harsh taste and high nicotine content of the products. A staggering 96% of California kids who vape use flavors—and once they’re addicted it can become a lifelong struggle. The tobacco industry’s plan: get customers addicted to vapes, and they are likely to try their other products. Teens who vape are three times more likely to become daily cigarette smokers.

Tobacco industry organization front groups like Foundation for a Smokefree World have worked hard on slick PR campaigns to convince people that their vaping products are much safer than cigarettes. The result: a tobacco industry-created youth vaping epidemic. Marketing these products as safer lured many young people into a lifetime of addiction and disease.

The tobacco industry tricks young people into thinking that vaping is “safer” than smoking but it only takes some scrolling on social media to see firsthand the damage vaping can cause. Young people are fighting against the tobacco industry’s manipulation and deceit by exposing the truth about vaping and reaching an audience of millions.

TikToker @chocolatecandle26, who used vapes for more than four years, went viral with a video viewed 29 million times about being hospitalized for two weeks and ending up on life support. “When flavored air put you in the hospital for 2 weeks and life support for 4 days.” @chocolatecandle26

Vapes have been engineered by the tobacco industry to maximize addictiveness. Designed specifically for vaping, many of the most popular vapes use nicotine salts which deliver a highly concentrated form of nicotine with less irritation. In fact, a single Juul pod can contain as much nicotine as a whole pack of cigarettes. Nicotine is as addictive as heroin and rewires the brain to crave more of it.

Vaping is so addictive that young users start using more and more— resulting in serious damage to the brain and body. But nicotine isn’t the only danger. E-cigarettes contain toxic chemicals with health risks we are only beginning to understand. Similar to people who smoke, people who vape or use e-cigarettes are at a higher risk of chronic diseases such as cancer and lung issues such as asthma, COPD, emphysema, and bronchitis, making it difficult to breathe.

Vaping is known to increase risk of heart damage, and cause lung inflammation, and nausea. Chemicals found in e-liquid may impair the heart’s ability to pump blood and is linked to a dangerous respiratory disease known as popcorn lung. It’s nearly impossible for our young people to escape exposure to dangerous tobacco industry products. In California, there’s a store that sells tobacco for every 293 kids – that’s twelve times more stores that sell tobacco than Starbucks.

This is the moment to break the cycle of addiction. We have the power to create a better future in California and that starts with keeping Big Tobacco from targeting our kids for disease and death. Quitting tobacco is difficult. Anyone looking to quit vaping can text “I Can Quit” to 66819 or visit KickItCA.org to join the free text messaging program.

“Stop vaping before you end up in hospital. I always thought ‘it’ll never be me’. Here we are with lung inflammation and the worst chest pain I’ve ever experienced.” —@rosehajjar_.

LIFE ON THE PLAINS: Saturday at the movies

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Haines Theater

by Roland D. Hallee

This week we are going to take a hiatus from the pictorial walk down Water St., on The Plains, and look at some other things we did growing up in the 1950s and ‘60s.

Not everything we did occurred on The Plains. By the 1950s, the Maine Theater, on Water St., had been closed for some time, even though the building and the marquee remained. I remember my parents talking about the Maine Theater, but I never set foot inside.

So, as something to do – I think our mother did this mostly to get us out of her hair – we would look forward to Saturdays when we were each given a quarter, and off to the movie theater we went. Now, get this, for that quarter, we would get into the theater, and purchase a bag of popcorn and a soda. Unbelievable, right?

There were two venues to which we would go, the State Theater, on Silver St., (where Cancun’s is now, and Steve’s restaurant before that), or the Opera House. Back then, the Opera House had a “big screen”. The Haines Theater also existed, on Main St., but they didn’t offer any Saturday children’s specials. The Haines Theater was located across the street from TD Bank, today, next to the building that houses Selah Tea. It is now a small park.

At first, we would sit as close to the screen as possible, but as we grew older, we wanted to sit in the balcony. From that point, we could “rain” popcorn and soda on the kids sitting below. You had to be discreet, because on Saturday mornings, there were extra ushers on hand to try to keep the peace. Getting caught meant immediate expulsion from the theater, and you had better have a good story to tell your parents as to why you were home so early.

Again, for that 25-cents, you first had a series of cartoons, Tom and Jerry, Sylvester the cat and Tweetie bird, Donald Duck, Daffy Duck, Yosemite Sam, Elmer Fudd, Mickey and Minnie Mouse, and my favorite, Mighty Mouse, who wore a cape and could rip the heart out of any villain. He could also fly. Yes, cartoons were violent, but also funny. We didn’t really care, it was hilarious to see Daffy Duck get his beak blown off his face every week.

Randolph Scott and Karen Steele in Ride Lonesome (1959)

Following that, we got a news reel of current events. That is when the action started in the audience. We really didn’t know what was going on in the world, and, again, didn’t care.

Roy Rogers, Dale Evans and Trigger.

Then came the feature movies, usually westerns: Tom Mix, Randolph Scott, Hopalong Cassidy, Gene Autry, and the most famous of all, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, and his horse Trigger. Of course, Roy Rogers wasn’t a true western. He did chase bad guys with guns and got involved in fist fights, but Dale Evans had a Jeep named Nellie Belle, and Rogers had a side kick named Cookie, played by Andy Devine. The most I remember about Gene Autry is that he wore jeans with rolled up cuffs, and sang a lot.

On occasion, they would have a horror movie. One that I can remember was The Creature from the Black Lagoon, which pretty much scared the dickens out of us. Fast forwarding to the present, I saw that same movie a couple of weeks ago on MeTV’s Svengoolie. That movie wasn’t so scary after all.

Saturdays began with rising before sun-up, complete our paper route, return home to do our weekly chores, usually dusting and putting away the weekly laundry. We would then leave the house to be at the theater by 10 a.m. The rest of the day was spent there, usually coming home after 4 p.m., when darkness was about to settle in or, sometimes, after dark. After supper, it was outside when all the neighborhood kids would gather for a round of “hide and seek,” now called “manhunt”.

We would then come home, get comfortable in our pajamas, and gather around the radio for that week’s episode of Gunsmoke, before retiring to bed.

With no television, yet, in the house, we surely found plenty to do on The Plains.

REVIEW POTPOURRI: Franklin Pierce

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Franklin Pierce

Peter Catesby Peter Cates

Franklin Pierce

The 14th President Franklin Pierce came from New Hampshire, was born with a silver spoon in his mouth having a father who was a big wig in state politics, started practicing law at 22, won a seat in the State House at 24, and became its Speaker of the House at 26.

He attended Bowdoin College, in Bruns­wick, where he fell in love with Jane Apple­ton, daughter of the college p resident. Unlike her gregarious husband, she was very religious, painfully shy and an invalid most all her life. She despised anything to do with politics and, like a few other former First Ladies, did not enjoy living at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue .

Jane Appleton Pierce

They had three sons; one died as a baby, the second at three years old, and the third, who was their absolute pride and joy and only living child up to when Pierce was elected president, was with his parents on a train from Boston to Concord, New Hampshire, in January, 1853, two months before the inauguration when their car went off the track down a ravine. Miraculously his parents escaped with minor injuries but he was crushed to death before their eyes at the age of 11.

At Bowdoin, Pierce was a classmate of Nathaniel Hawthorne and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

Later Hawthorne wrote a campaign biography of his good friend in 1853 and made the following observation:

“I have come seriously to the conclusion that he has in him many of the chief elements of a great ruler. His talents are administrative, he has a subtle faculty of making affairs roll onward according to his will and of influencing without showing any trace of his action….He is deep, deep, deep. ”

Unfortunately, others didn’t feel the same way. Even though Pierce abhorred slavery, he didn’t think, as did Millard Fillmore, that the federal government had any right to interfere in the South. He was pretty much more anxious to please others and blow the way the wind blows, following the advice of his father and party leaders.

Additionally, he was a close friend of Jefferson Davis, later President of the Confederacy.

In 1863 on July 4th, [after his time as president was over, he continued to be involved in politics] he gave a speech in Concord, New Hampshire, condemning the useless bloodshed of the Civil War just when word came in of the Union victory at Gettysburg. He alienated his supporters even further.

His wife died at the end of that year.

The next year Pierce took his friend Hawthorne on a trip to the White Mountains to help the writer’s frail health.

But Hawthorne died one night in an adjoining hotel room. At Hawthorne’s funeral, Pierce was snubbed sharply by the other New England writers and not included among the pallbearers.

In very poor health, Franklin Pierce died on October 8, 1869, at 65.

CRITTER CHATTER: Oh, deer! What’s up with that? – Part 1

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One antler and three-legged deer.

by Jayne Winters

While visiting Don at the Wildlife Center the other day, awaiting the arrival of a family of six baby opossums whose mother had likely been the victim of a car accident, we got to talking about one of the whitetail bucks that is a permanent resident at Duck Pond. I’d only seen him from a distance and was curious about his antler. Yes, you read that correctly. One. Antler.

About four years ago, Don got a call from a farmer who had found a fawn that had been injured by a hay mower, resulting in a badly damaged rear leg. He had been caring for the fawn in his barn and as the lower leg was literally hanging on by only its skin, had amputated it at the hock. Of course, Don took the fawn and assumed its care, knowing full well it likely wouldn’t be able to be released into the wild.

Although animals can adapt to getting around with only three legs, this little guy required additional attention and while not tame, has grown up in captivity. Its chance of survival in the wild, especially during the winter, would be slim to none. He would undoubtedly fall prey to a predator and certainly wouldn’t be able to “hold his own” against any other buck trying to establish its territory or compete for does.

I always learn something from Don and this week was no different. He told me that when a deer loses a leg, the antler on the opposite side doesn’t grow normally (if at all), which explains why this buck doesn’t have an antler on its left side: his right rear leg was the one amputated. Of course, I had to research this later and was disappointed to find the cause is unknown; several articles mentioned it may be related to nerve damage and changes in hormones, but there doesn’t seem to be any confirmed evidence of either.

Apparently, it’s very common for a serious injury to a back leg to impact subsequent antler development on the opposite side. It can be abnormal and/or stunted and will persist even after the leg heals. Odd antler growth on the opposite side is called “contralateral asymmetry” and if the velvet never sheds, the condition is called a “cactus buck.” The buck at Duck Pond has only the one antler and I noticed it’s still in velvet, even at this time of year.

During my research, I also learned that if antler growth tissue is surgically removed and grafted to another part of the deer’s body, an antler will grow there! So, it’s possible to surgically produce a unicorn deer or even a deer with 10 antlers growing out of its skull or any other part of the body. Mother Nature is absolutely amazing!

Although admissions tend to decrease at this time of year, Don continues to limit long-term residents by transferring many rescued critters to other rehabbers who have graciously provided assistance in their care. Please check these websites to see if there is a rehabber closer to you to help keep critter care at Duck Pond more manageable: https://www.mainevetmed.org/wildlife-rehabilitation or https://www.maine.gov/ifw/fish-wildlife/wildlife/living-with-wildlife/orphaned-injured-wildlife/index.html – Donald Cote operates Duck Pond Wildlife Care Center on Rte. 3 in Vassalboro. It is a non-profit state permitted rehab facility supported by his own resources & outside donations. Mailing address: 1787 North Belfast Ave., Vassalboro ME 04989 TEL: (207) 445-4326. PLEASE NOTE THE PRIOR wildlifecarecenter EMAIL ADDRESS IS NOT BEING MONITORED AT THIS TIME.

SCORES & OUTDOORS: Was this past October the warmest on record?

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Roland D. Halleeby Roland D. Hallee

The question has been asked: Was this past October the warmest on record?

To come to any conclusion, I did much research and came up with the same answer everywhere I went looking. October 2022 was the warmest October on record.

“October 2022 is definitely set to be by far the hottest October ever on record,” said Christine Berne, a climatologist. “It will ‘probably beat’ the last record in 2001 by 1°C. We could hardly believe it at first,” said the scientist. The temperatures recorded are very rare for the season. Her report was made prior to the beginning of November.

Also, according to CNN, as we rolled into November, scientists discovered last month was the warmest October on record globally.

The European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, which analyzes temperature data from around the planet, said October 2019 was the warmest in their data record, until this year, which goes back to 1979.

Globally, October was 0.69 degrees Celsius (1.24 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than the average of all the Octobers in the 30-year span from 1981-2010, Copernicus said in its report. Last month narrowly edged out the previous record for October, set in 2015, by only 0.01 degrees Celsius (0.018 degrees Fahrenheit).

“Temperatures were much above average in large parts of the Arctic, while much of western USA and Canada experienced much below average temperatures,” the report said.

This year has seen multiple other hottest-month records, including July, which Copernicus said was the warmest month of all on record, replacing the record set in July 2016. Every month in 2019 has ranked among the four warmest for the month in question.

According to Copernicus, 2016 through 2018 have been the three warmest calendar years on record.

Monthly temperatures over the past 12 months have averaged close to 1.2 degrees Celsius (2.16 degrees Fahrenheit) over pre-industrial levels, Copernicus said. A report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in November 2018 warned of impacts to climate and weather if warming exceeds 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) over pre-industrial levels.

This recent report came the same day more than 11,000 researchers from around the world issued a grim warning of the “untold suffering” that will be caused by climate change if humanity doesn’t change its ways.

Copernicus assesses that since the 1970s the overall average rate of warming of the world is around 0.18 degrees Celsius (0.32 degrees Fahrenheit) per decade.

CNN’s Emma Tobin, Ivana Kottasová and Isabelle Gerretsen contributed to this report.

The frightening part to all of this is that the warmest seven years have all been since 2015 (do the math); the top three being 2016, 2019 and 2020. An exceptionally strong El Niño event occurred in 2016, which contributed to record global average warming.

With the weather being so warm, does this qualify as an Indian Summer?

According to the definition, the answer is a clear “yes”!

An Indian summer is a period of unseasonably warm, dry weather that sometimes occurs in autumn in temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. Several references describe a true Indian summer as not occurring until after the first frost, which we have had.

Weather historian William R. Deedler wrote that “Indian summer” can be defined as “any spell of warm, quiet, hazy weather that may occur in October or November,” though he noted that he “was surprised to read that Indian Summers have been given credit for warm spells as late as December and January.” Deedler also noted that some writers use Indian summer in reference to the weather in only New England, “while others have stated it happens over most of the United States, even along the Pacific coast.

Why Indian? Well, no one knows but, as is commonplace when no one knows, many people have guessed.

Some say it was from the prairie fires deliberately set by Indian tribes; from raids on European settlements by Indian war parties, which usually ended in autumn; or, in parallel with other Indian terms, it implied a belief in Indian falsity and untrustworthiness and that an Indian summer was a substitute copy of the real thing.

But my grandfather, who could spin a yarn with the best of them, had the best I’ve ever heard.

It seems an Indian chief was concerned about a hunting party that was delayed in returning from a late summer gathering of meat for the winter. The year had been an extremely difficult one and the tribe needed the buffalo, deer and turkey meat for their winter consumption, and the hides for clothing and shelters. Fearing the crops in the fields would go to waste before the braves returned to harvest, the chief sat at his campfire and began to feverishly smoke a pipe, and did so for days, until the air was filled with smokey, hot air. Once the hunting party made its return, the air was still warm enough to gather the crops that had not been damaged by frost, that the chief feared would be destroyed by the impending cold weather. By warming the air with the smoke from his pipe, the chief, essentially, saved the crops.

There is a lot to think about here.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

Who is the New England Patriots’ all-time single season leader in touchdown receptions?

Answer can be found here.

SMALL SPACE GARDENING: Fall care of perennials

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The seed heads of rudbeckia attract seed-eating songbirds to the winter garden.
Photo courtesy of MelindaMyers.com

by Melinda Myers

As you transition your gardens from fall to winter, you may be contemplating a bit of garden clean up. Before reaching for the pruners and rakes, consider all the benefits and beauty of leaving healthy perennials stand for winter.

The seed heads of many perennials like coneflower, rudbeckias, liatris and bee balm attract seed-eating songbirds like finches, sparrow, chickadees, juncos, and jays to the winter garden. These winged visitors add motion and color to the winter garden. Best of all, you don’t need to refill and clean this natural food source.

Many of these plants provide homes for beneficial insects, including native bees and other pollinators. A variety of these insects overwinter in or near the stems of perennials.

Native plants have evolved with many of these insects, birds and wildlife and most provide homes and food for native insects, songbirds, and wildlife. Purple coneflower, liatris, rudbeckias, sunflowers, asters, goldenrod, yucca, and Joe Pye weed are just a few of these native plants you might be growing.

Enjoy the winter foliage of evergreen and semi-evergreen perennials by leaving them intact in the garden. Watch for and avoid disturbing the green leaves at the base of perennials like yarrow, Shasta daisy, and globe thistle.

Leave borderline hardy perennials intact to improve their chances of surviving a harsher-than-normal winter. The stems capture any snow and helps retain any additional winter mulch, both providing needed root insulation.

Remove any diseased or insect-pest-infested plants. Removing this from the garden in fall reduces the risk of these problems occurring next year. Discard do not compost this material as most compost piles do not heat up to high enough temperatures to kill them. Contact your local municipality for disposal options.

Remove hosta leaves once the fall color fades and leaves die to reduce the risk of leaf nematodes overwintering in the crown of the plants. It also eliminates a winter home for slugs and their eggs.

Wait for several hard frosts when cutting back perennials in the fall. In milder climates, wait for leaves to brown and dry completely. This ensures the plant has stored all the energy it produced in the roots for healthy growth next spring.

Use sharp bypass pruners to make a clean cut through the stem. Disinfect tools by dipping in rubbing alcohol or spraying with a disinfect spray to prevent the spread of disease.

Rake leaves into the garden over the soil surface around the plants instead of to the curb. Fall leaves make great mulch that moderates soil temperature, suppresses weeds, conserves moisture, and improves the soil as they break down. Plus, they are free.

Wait to finish removing perennials until spring temperatures regularly hover in the 50’s. This allows overwintering insects a chance to leave their winter homes. It also provides songbirds much needed food in spring before many of our plants begin producing seeds and berries.

Once the garden is set for winter, you can relax and make plans for the spring garden.

Melinda Myers has written more than 20 gardening books, including the recently released Midwest Gardener’s Handbook, 2nd Edition and Small Space Gardening. She hosts The Great Courses “How to Grow Anything” instant video and DVD series and the nationally syndicated Melinda’s Garden Moment TV & radio program. Myers is a columnist and contributing editor for Birds & Blooms magazine and her website is www.MelindaMyers.com.

FOR YOUR HEALTH – Tricky Treats: Hits And Misses For Young Teeth

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Helpful hints from dentists can make Halloween a little less scary when it comes to tooth decay.

(NAPSI)—As the leaves change to their seasonal shades and jack-o’-lanterns appear on doorsteps, Halloween candy begins to hit supermarket shelves. Fun and festive in color and shape, who can resist? To help when you make your sweets selection, dentists weigh in on healthier options that young teeth will thank you for grabbing. 

“Childhood cavities can be the result of too many sugary foods like candy,” said Kyle Dosch, DDS, Delta Dental of Washington’s dental director and member dentist. “The bacteria in the mouth feeds on the simple sugars and processed starches in sweet treats, creating an acid which weakens tooth enamel.”

Diet plays a large role in the health of children’s teeth and gums, and people who consume more sugary foods have a higher risk of developing cavities. With Halloween around the corner, it’s important to watch out for sugar consumption.

According to Forbes, the top Halloween candy in Washington state last year was Tootsie Pops. This year, dentists are recommending adjusting that favorite to options that are better for your smile.

Sweet Treats without the Tricks

When consumed in moderation, these candies are your best bet when you need to supply some sweet treats:

  • Dark chocolate has far less sugar than other candies and can be brushed off teeth more easily. Some studies have even found that dark chocolate contains compounds that can help harden tooth enamel and help fight plaque.
  • Candy with nuts helps break up the stickiness that can cause cavities to develop. The crunch which nuts add to chocolate bars and other candies can also help break up plaque already on teeth.
  • Sugar-free gum, such as Xylitol-flavored, has a natural sugar that fights off cavities and is a great option for a sweet treat that encourages saliva production while being less harmful for your smile.
  • Sugar-free lollipops, including Xylitol-flavored suckers, also encourage saliva production while they’re enjoyed and don’t harm teeth the same way hard candies do. 

Scary Smile Candies

No candy is a friend to teeth, but these are especially bad cavity culprits. For your next Halloween haul, skip the sticky, sour and hard candies:

  • Sticky candies such as taffy, caramel or gummies are difficult to remove from teeth and can damage dental work in the process. A thin layer of the candy can coat the teeth and resist even the most powerful brushing, giving bacteria more time to enact tooth decay.
  • Sour candies can erode the enamel on your teeth, permanently impacting their color and natural resistance to tooth decay. As tasty as sour candies are, they can contribute to tooth sensitivity and are high in sugar. To help your saliva neutralize the acids in sour candies when you do choose to indulge, wait 30 minutes before brushing—it will prevent further damage to tooth enamel.
  • Hard candies such as lollipops, rock candies and suckers take a long time to dissolve in your mouth and you can run the risk of cracking a tooth. With high sugar content, hard candies provide the bacteria in your mouth with access to highly concentrated sugar levels that can rapidly decay your teeth.

Parent Tips for Trick-or-Treating Triumph

When your family does partake in Halloween candy, try to savor sweets at mealtimes as dessert. Eating candies with other foods helps wash away sugar and bacteria left behind by candy, especially with some sips of water in between to help wash it down.

“Offer a pre-trick-or-treating snack to your kids before you run out the door,” said Kim Trieu, DDS, a Delta Dental of Washington member dentist, who also teaches at the University of Washington School of Dentistry. “Eating a healthy snack or dinner before candy collecting helps avoid late night candy snacking sessions.”

Rationing the big Halloween haul to one or two pieces of candy per day helps kids see candy as a treat rather than a bottomless buffet. Chocolate candy can even be frozen and kept for six to eight months past the expiration date for candy treats all year long.

Make sure to get a good brush and floss in before bed on Halloween—to help keep the sugar bugs at bay.

Learn More

For more information about your oral health in general, visit Delta Dental of Washington’s blog at www.deltadentalwa.com/blog.

I’M JUST CURIOUS: Doggy information

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by Debbie Walker

I don’t know how many columns I have written, and I just recently realized I have never written anything about our pets. So… here goes:

I came across the most recent Reader’s Digest, and it has a great article about dogs and cats titled “What Pets Want You to Know”.

A professor from British Columbia stated that our average dogs have the mind equivalent to our 2 – 2 ½ years old child. The average dog can understand about 165 words. They are better with words about things (ex: a favorite toy) as opposed to ’emotion’ words (good dog).

Before your pup is six months old, they should have met 150 people and they suggest 50 different places (I don’t go to that many!) They should try out different environments, be familiar with different sounds and sights. Dogs that don’t, can grow up fearful and aggressive.

We all know our dogs have different barks. Our dog, in the middle of the night, alerts us to her concerns with the bark. There is no question that she is alerting us. There are also barks that tell you the dog is lonely. The barks may be a single string of barks with pauses.

Dogs also have their own version of body language; they provide you with clues as to what they want. (Ex: pawing at bottom of sofa to alert you there is something under the sofa they want.)

Dogs are very aware of your stress or tension. Many dogs will feel that tension and can in fact react with aggression. Our energies affect the people around us, don’t think for a minute it doesn’t affect your pet.

Have you ever wondered why dogs chase their own tails? It can be itchy; they can be reverting to their predatory nature, or they are just bored. It can also be a compulsive disorder.

When you come home and find your dog has made a mess and she tucks her tail and looks ashamed. She’s just afraid of your anger, guilt is not part of her makeup.

Dogs don’t feel guilt, but they do get jealous. If you have a dog, you know this.

If your dog has light colored or white hair, they have a higher chance of being deaf in at least one ear. The gene that causes the white coat is associated with deafness, just as is blue eyes.

Little dogs have shorter, more frequent dreams than the bigger breeds. This is proven by brain scanning just like with us.

There are studies that have shown some dogs can detect cancer just as there are some who know when a diabetic is going to have a problem.

For those who don’t know there are some wonderful websites of dogs and their antics as well as other animals. They can be very entertaining on these cold snow and ice filled days and evenings.

We have a dog in our house. She is a Walker Hound and Boxer mix. She has been a wonderful friend. She talks. If she wants something, she will carry on quite the conversation. I love it.

I’m just curious about your pal. I would love to hear your stories. Contact me at DebbieWalker@yahoo.com with your questions or comments. Thank you for reading. Have a great, healthy, and happy week.