Is it really possible to grow 100 bushels of potatoes in just 4 square feet of land? I always thought it took a ton of space to grow a bunch of potatoes, but TipNut is proving me wrong. What an amazing thing, to be able to grow that much in that little space. The amazing potato!
The Ant And Fly World: Far More Interesting Than You Might Think
My darling Squirrel Queen tells us this tidbit about ants and florid flies:
National Geographic has a story about female phorid flies that plant their eggs into the torsos of fire ants.
The eggs hatch, the larva feeds until it reaches the ant’s head resulting in zombie ants.
The head pops off, the new fly escapes and here we go again.
Why does it always seem like it’s the insect world that does this kind of weird/gross/interesting stuff? Can you think of any other examples that are from the animal world that are as strange as this is?
What To Do When Your Weird-o-meter Goes Off
My family and I had a great July 4th weekend. But something strange happened that I cannot fully explain since I have no proof, just a weird feeling. We spent some time with someone my husband knows only vaguely. The guy was really nice, was good to the kids, everything.
Yet, there was something strange about the guy that I couldn’t put my finger on. He acted in a generally appropriate manner, but I was weirded out by the whole thing. I was a little put off by him insisting my 8 year old daughter be allowed to light a firework, but again, it wasn’t way out there or anything. I just decided never to let the dude be alone with my kids, is all.
But then my husband said he felt the same thing. One of the things the dude said to him made him feel really awkward- the guy said “You daughter is really cute, I don’t mean anything by that, but she is really, really cute.” It wasn’t exactly WHAT he said, but how he said it. I don’t know. The fact that my husband and I BOTH were weirded out by it, means I don’t think we’ll be hanging out with dude anymore.
Have you ever been in a situation like this? How did you handle it?
To Comfort, Or Not To Comfort A Scared Dog
Image credit: http://www.swankpets.com/blog/
My dog Tiny is scared of everything. Most especially, fireworks. The first few years I had him, I tried to comfort him and bring him along with me, but I quickly realized that for him, letting him hide under the covers of my bed is the best thing for him.
I’ve been told over and over not to comfort my pets when they’re scared of something, as that “reinforces the behavior”. I always thought that was a crock, but not many people seemed to back up my argument against it. Finally, I found someone else who thinks that comforting a scared dog isn’t “reinforcing the behavior.” Awesome. Read the post, it’s very interesting.
What do you think, do you comfort or not comfort?
4th Of July: How Did Your Lawn Fare?
Image credit: http://www.turffiles.ncsu.edu
My dad has always had the nicest lawn of anyone I know. Naturally, we always go over to his house and beautiful lawn to do our fireworks. For years he’d complain that the fireworks burned his lawn (not really true, but we indulged him) but then he hit on the idea of spending the day watering his lawn before we did fireworks on it. It worked out well.
My own neighborhood does so many fireworks, it looks like a war zone. While I’ve never actually had a burned lawn from it, I do end up spending some time picking up artillery shell and bottle rocket bits. This year, it rained off and on on the 4th and it rained quite a bit on the 5th, so most of the mess was washed…somewhere….when I went to clean up my yard this morning.
How’d your lawn fare over the 4th? Have you ever had burned bits on your lawn because of the fireworks?
Sink Positive: Saving Space And Water One Flush At A Time
This innovative design for a toilet-sink is pretty amazing. Instead of clean water running into the toilet, the water runs through the sink to fill the toilet tank. The water that you’ve used to wash your hands is now water to flush the toilet with. Pretty cool, I think.
This is a Japanese design that has been popular in Japan for years but is just now making it to the US. Want more information? Check it out right here.
Happy Independence Day!
In honor, I give you Homer Simpson buying illegal fireworks:
Happy Independence Day!
In honor, I give you Homer Simpson buying illegal fireworks:
Happy Independence Day!
In honor, I give you Homer Simpson buying illegal fireworks:
Happy Independence Day!
In honor, I give you Homer Simpson buying illegal fireworks: