A lot of people ask about preserving them, when to harvest and how to keep them.

I’ve done it automatically for so many years I hardly think about it anymore: toss the seed onto the ground, water it, watch it grow, pinch and snip for fresh and when it gets big or bushy, cut larger bits to preserve, let some go to seed to collect seed for next year’s harvest – except for the herbs that take two years to grow and harvest, like parsley.

When:

Most herbs grown for their foliage can be harvested in small amounts for fresh herbs throughout the growing season as soon as they are large enough to sustain such harvesting, and should be fully harvested before they flower. Pinching back the flowering buds can extend the harvest season and increase the bushiness of the plant, giving a larger harvest. If you wish to save the seeds, go ahead and let a few herbs flower and harvest the rest. If you want a second fall harvest from them, pinch back the seed heads but let the plant bolt a bit during the hot months, when the weather cools, the plants will refoliate and can be harvested until frost. (Basil, parsley, oregano, marjoram, thyme…)

Herbs harvested for their seeds go through three stages: green seeds, brown seeds, gray seeds, before the seed heads shatter and scatter. Harvest when they are brown or gray, before they shatter. (Dill, fennel, caraway…)

Herbs harvest for their flowers should have the blossoms harvested just before full flower if you’re harvesting them for the petals (for candying and salads) and crafting. If you’re harvesting the flowers for oils and pastes and syrups, harvest just after the buds open when they have their most intense flavor. (Borage, chamomile, violas, nasturtiums, squash blossoms…)

Herbs harvested for their roots should be harvested in the fall after the foliage fades, so mark them if you’re wildcrafting. Even if they’re in your garden, pushing in a stake beside them will help you find the root when you dig. (chickory, dandelion, ginseng, goldenseal…)

Tarragon and lavender should be harvested in early summer and sheared to half their height to encourage a second fall bloom.

Perennial herbs can be harvested until a month before first frost. Prune and do a final harvest then, so there won’t be any tender new growth when frost arrives.

How:

Most herbs get dried and stuffed into small jars. Others do better preserved as a paste, and still others do well as syrups. Freezing is a less than palatable option but acceptable for herbs that will be used in soups, stews, and sauces. Freeze-drying is an option but not easy for most home growers.

Drying Herbs:

During the herb harvest season, I’ll have bundles of herbs drying from various locations. Some of my bookshelves are industrial metal shelving with holes on the upright supports, and these are perfect for hanging herb bundles. I also fasten string to hooks in the ceiling and hang coat hangers from them – each coat hanger can hold 3 -5 bundles of herbs. My chandeliers and ceiling lights are perfect for suspending bundles of herbs.

I bundle a few stems (no more than a pinkie’s width on normal sized human hands – on mine, that’s thumb sized – about 4 – 6 stems) and fasten them with a rubber band, then slip a bent paperclip through the rubber band, on hook holding the herbs, one hook slipped into the holes of the bookshelves or over the string or chandelier or coathanger. There they hang until crisply dry, usually 2 – 4 weeks, when I crumble them over a sheet of paper and use that to funnel the herbs into their jars. I use old spice bottles I buy at flea markets and garage sales or half pint mason jars. For massive amounts of herbs, I may use quart mason jars.

Oven Drying: Arrange cleaned herb stems in a single layer on a cookie sheet with temperature set at 180° F. Heat for about 4 hours, keeping the oven door open the entire time (to let moisture escape). Stir herbs occasionally during this heating process. Store herbs in airtight containers once fully dry.

Cool air drying: Wash and dry herbs. Layer a cookie sheet with paper towels and then arrange herbs in a single layer. Place in the refrigerator and remove once herbs are completely dried (check daily).

Seed Drying: Tie a paper bag loosely around the seed heads, then hang to dry – about 3 – 5 weeks. When dried, shake the bags to release the seeds, then pour the seeds into a jar.

What herbs do I dry?

Bachelor button flowers

Basil

Calendula flowers

Catnip

Cedar tips

Chicory root

Chamomile

Dandelion root and blossom

Epazote

Hibiscus flowers

Hop flowers

Hyssop

Jasmine flowers

Kudzu root

Lavender

Lemon balm

Lemongrass

Lemon verbena

Marjoram

Mint

Oregano

Raspberry leaves

Rose hips

Rosemary

Sage

Thyme

Woodruff

Wormwood

Yarrow flowers

How to freeze herbs:

Wash and paper towel dry herbs. Mince the herbs with a knife, not in a food processor. The food processor minces it too fine. Spread out on a baking sheet and freeze. When the herbs are frozen, put them into a re-sealable freezer bag with as much air squeezed out as possible. When you take herbs out, squeeze out the air before re-sealing and putting the bag back into the freezer.

Frozen herbs are only suitable for cooking.

The basic herb paste recipe is:

4 cups herbs

¼ cup vegetable oil (olive oil, cold-pressed nut oil, sesame or safflower oil…)

In a food processor, I pulse these until a paste is formed, drizzling in small amounts of additional oil as needed. Some herbs need more than others. It makes between ½ and ¾ cup of paste. You can freeze them in ice cube sized dollops, or store them in tight sealing jars with a small amount of oil poured on top so no herb sticks up.

What herbs make good pastes?

Mints

Monardas

Lemon herbs (basil, mint, balm, grass, verbena…)

Hyssop

Basil

Parsley

Cilantro

ParCel

Celery leaves

Tarragon

Rose petals

Pelargonium leaves

Herb syrups are also a good way to preserve herbs.

Approximately 1 ounce of fresh herbs

1 ½ cups water

1 ½ cups raw sugar

Mix the water and sugar into a saucepan and heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Bring to a rich boil, then remove from the heat and add the herbs. Use a spoon to bruise the herbs against the side of the saucepan. Cover the saucepan and let the herbs steep for 30 minutes. Strain out the herbs and squeeze to remove as much moisture as possible from them, then discard the solids. Transfer the syrup to a sterilized jar or bottle. It will keep for a week in the refrigerator. It can be frozen for up to 10 months. It can be processed in a pressure canner and stored away from light for several years.

What herbs make good syrups?

· Anise hyssop: 6 to 8 sprigs with flowers, or a handful of flowers
Basil: 6 to 8 sprigs of anise, cinnamon, green or lemon basil; flowers are good
Bay: 10 to 12 leaves
Bergamot: 6 to 8 sprigs, or handful of flowers
Calendula: Petals only from 10 to 12 flowers
Chamomile: Large handful of flowers
Elderflower: 6 to 8 flower heads
Ginger root: 5 or 6 thin slices of peeled root
Lavender: 10 flower spikes or 1 tablespoon of flower petals
Lemon balm, lemon thyme or lemon verbena: 8 to 10 sprigs
Mint: 10 to 12 sprigs of orange mint, peppermint or spearmint
Rose: 1 generous cup of petals
Rosemary: 5 or 6 sprigs
Sage: 4 common sage sprigs; 6 fruit-scented or pineapple sage sprigs; flowers, too
Scented geraniums: 12 to 15 leaves, or handful of flowers
Sweet woodruff: 1 generous cup small sprigs and/or flowers
Tarragon: 6 to 8 sprigs
Vanilla: 1 bean, halved and split lengthwise
Violas: 1 generous packed cup violets, Johnny-jump-ups or pansy petals

Salt Drying

Fresh herbs

Kosher salt

OK, you can probably use any salt, but I prefer kosher salt because it’s flakier and seems to dry the herbs faster. Layer fresh herbs (cleaned, air dried, unbruised) between layers of salt, covering the herbs completely. Leave them until the herbs are thoroughly dried, about 3 – 4 weeks. Shake the salt off and store the herbs in airtight containers. The salt can then be used as a seasoning, so you get dual use out of this method. You can mix different herbed salts together – leave some of the dried herb in the salt to both look pretty and boost the flavor a bit. Most any culinary herb can be dried this way.

Sugar Drying

Fresh herbs

Sugar

I prefer raw or turbinado sugar for this. Do not use brown sugars or powdered sugars or stevia or artificial sugars. Granulated white sugar is good, too, if you use it. Layer the fresh, cleaned and dried, undamaged herbs with sugar, covering the herbs completely. Leave them until thoroughly dried – about 3 – 4 weeks. Shake the sugar off and store the herbs in airtight containers. The sugar can be used to sweeten beverages and in cooking or baking. Use sweet herbs for this type of drying: mints, violas, lavender, roses, vanilla beans, pelargonium leaves.

Butters

1 ounce of herbs

1 stick of softened butter

Chop herbs and mix with butter to taste. Divide up into single serving pats or cube sizes large enough for cooking. Freeze. Be sure to label them because if you make lots of different herb butters, they will all look the same once frozen. Thaw the single serving pats before serving, but the cooking cubes can go frozen into the pot or pan.

Oils

3 – 5 5” sprigs of herbs

8 ounces light vegetable oil (sunflower, safflower, olive, peanut…)

Rinse off the herbs and allow them to dry thoroughly. Slightly bruise the herbs and put them into the sterilized bottles. Heat the oil on low, just until warm. Pour the oil into bottles, over herbs. Allow the contents to cool. Seal bottle with a lid or cork. Allow to sit in a cool spot out of direct sunlight, for about 1 week before using.

Strain out any fresh herbs. Dried herbs can remain in the oil, but the oil will stay fresh a bit longer if these too are strained.

Oils should be used within 2 months, maximum. Straining out the herbs and refrigerating will help the oil last longer, but not too much longer than 3 or 4 months.

Good choices for herbal oil infusions include: basil, bay, chives, cilantro, dill, mint, marjoram, oregano, rosemary, savory, tarragon, and thyme.

Vinegars

2 – 3 5” sprigs of fresh herbs (a single herb or a combination)

OR

¼ cup dried herbs (single or combination)

1 cup vinegar

If using pungent herbs like garlic, onions, or peppers, use 1 clove or 1 small pepper per cup of vinegar – unless you’re making pepper sauce, then pack the jar with peppers, a garlic clove or two, a pearl onion or two, and then the vinegar.

To make: put the herbs in a sterilized jar. Gently warm the vinegar, then pour it over the herbs. Seal the jar and let it steep for a week or two. Strain out the herbs. If you want a decorative touch of herbs in the jar, add a fresh sprig or three of herbs to the jar.

Use these vinegars fairly quickly for maximum flavor. If kept in a dark cabinet, they can last up to a year.

Some vinegars are better with certain herbs, although any vinegar will work for most herbs.

White and white wine vinegar: borage, dill, savory, sage, basil, lavender, fennel, parsley, rosemary, tarragon, thyme, garlic, onions, peppers, chives

Red Wine Vinegar: basil, oregano, thyme, garlic, peppers

Cider vinegar: lovage, orange peels, raspberry, lavender blossoms

Alegar: peppers, garlic, onions, chives, sage, dill,

Rice vinegar: parsley, dill, savory, sage, rosemary, purple basil, tarragon, thyme, garlic

Use herbal vinegars for meat marinades, tomatoes or cucumber dishes, salad dressings, bean salads, potato salads, soups, stews, or sauces.

I have the leftovers for lunch today.

I don’t have a huge garden, and I certainly don’t put a lot of effort into it. In this heat, I water it twice a day, but in milder weather, I usually only water every other day or when I remember.

Almost everything I grow is either edible or used as a medicinal, and few people would recognize my “gardens” as food gardens. It’s nothing like the Victory Gardens of the wars.

I bought wading pools, cut drain holes in the sides, lined them with weed barrier cloth, and filled them with Mel’s Mix (from Square Foot Gardening). Then I planted them. One has strawberries and parsley in it. One has nasturtiums, dianthus, chamomile, and basils in it. One has peas, cornflowers, carrots, chamomile, and a squash plant in it. One has the mesclun mix and borage and dill in it.

I had a row of bags at the top of the driveway last year for potatoes and harvested those. I decided not to grow potatoes this year because I planned to paint the house and the potato patch would be in the way, but apparently, I didn’t harvest all the potatoes and so had a crop this year anyway. So I don’t paint until this fall. Ah well. It helps, being flexible and all.

I bought strawbales last fall as mulch and got all but one bale broken up and spread out before torrential rains hit – that last bale was then too heavy for me to move. And it stayed too heavy to move as it rotted on the inside. So I planted tomatoes in it to speed up the rot – and I have the best and most prolific tomato plants ever. They are looking rather scraggly and heat exhausted right now but they’ll perk up in cooler weather and I should be getting tomatoes clear up until November or even December. Right now, it’s producing half a pound of tomatoes a day.

Then I have a gnome garden – a large shallow clay saucer set on a pedestal and filled with Mel’s Mix and a variety of thymes, tiny sunflowers (they only grow 6 – 8 inches tall – so cute!), Corsican mint, and reindeer moss, along with a stone path, a couple of gnomes, and a wishing well. I get enough thyme, Corsican mint, sunflower seeds, and reindeer moss to last all year and to share from that tiny little garden!

I have rose bushes that set hips, so I not only get the delicious rose petals for candying, jam making, teas, and perfumery, I also get hips for more jams and teas.

I have raspberry canes (I am getting my second harvest off them right now – I picked a handful for breakfast this morning) under the bathroom window – it’s always good to grow thorny plants under windows and why not grow thorny plants that produce yummy fruit?

In the planter that forms one side of the front porch, I have a beautiful rosemary shrub and a lovely jasmine plant that’s twining up the trellis to the roof. The rosemary prunings are used for teas, cooking, medicinals, and perfumery. The jasmine provides blossoms to use for tea and perfumery.

Under the living room window, I have sage, oregano, sorrel, another rosemary, and wild strawberries.

Near the curb, I have an old redbud tree that provides me with delicious redbuds and redbud blossoms for tea, crunchy sweet/tart salad toppings, and snacks. Around it, I grow edible daylilies, edible chrysanthemums, edible daisies, edible tulips, edible irises, and crafty lamb’s ears. I also grow sweet scented stargazer lilies there.

Between the redbud and the cluster of wading pool gardens, I have a lavender bed with a bird bath in the middle. Lavender is used for all sorts of things and I’m thinking of expanding my lavender beds next year.

Those are the plants I have confined to recognizable “gardens” – containers that passersby would reasonably expect to contain plants.

Now, I have more edibles tucked all over my yard: wild violets that lend their blossoms to candying, salads, soups, and perfumery; plantain as a medicinal, dandelions for sautéing the buds, tossing the petals into salads and brewed into wine and medicinal, roots dried and ground for “coffee”, and new leaves to toss into a salad; purslane, lamb’s quarters, chickweed, spring beauty, oxalis, and clover to toss into salads and soups or to sauté with eggs.

I have cedar trees, and the needles make delicious teas and jelly. I have a mulberry tree and make mulberry wine and jelly. I have a pecan tree that’s now 10 years old and has yet to produce a single nut – it’s lived a very hard life and is still shorter than me. I expect I may have to uproot it and plant a new pecan tree if I ever hope to have pecans.

There’s always something growing to eat in my yard year round. I plan to add more, much more. My whole yard will be a grazer’s delight.

This fall, I’m planting a pair of hazelnut trees – a convoluted hazelnut for the looks and a sweet hazelnut for the nuts, and a pair of elderberries – a black lace for the looks and one for the berries.

Next spring, I’m adding a hedge of cherries with an undercover of lingonberries and wintergreen.

I’ll probably add a couple more wading pool gardens for more veggies. I technically have enough land to grow enough wheat to grind for my own bread each year, but I don’t want to do that.

I’m sure, if I did my gardening as a serious farmer and did all the “proper” things like soil testing and using fertilizers and weeding and planting in precise rows and stuff, I’d get a larger harvest.

Actually, I’d probably fail as an urban farmer if I did that – every time I’ve followed all the proper instructions for growing things, they died on me.

So I don’t grow things the “proper way”. I randomly toss seeds into the wading pool gardens and across the lawn. I water them once in a while and what grows, grows. I harvest what they produce and put up enough for the year and share the excess – and surprisingly, I do have an excess. I do want to add a couple of egg laying chickens to my yard once the big dog dies of old age – but that’s been my plan for the last 5 years and he keeps on living. He’s an Irish Wolfhound mix and the vet said that given his size, we could expect him to live about 6 – 8 years. He’s 14 now. It may be a long time before I can have my pair of chickens.

Yep. I am pretty much a growcavore.

The number one most important thing is actually two: hydrate aggressively and slow down. Take frequent small breaks and drink water or a sport drink while doing so. When it’s humid and hot out, you sweat off nearly half a gallon of body fluids an hour, so pause and drink at least 8 ounces every 15 minutes. Hydrate aggressively. Drink up before you start working outside, drink every 15 minutes, and drink some more when you’re done. Plan out how long it will take you to do what you’re going to do. Mowing the average suburban lot takes an hour, front and back, in cool, pleasant weather. When the temperatures hit 90 by 9:00 a.m. and the humidity is at 75% or greater, expect that to take twice as long. Now that you know it will take you at least 2 hours to mow and edge your lawn, fill up 10 eight ounce glasses with water or sport drink. Drink one before you haul out the mower and edger, drink one every 15 minutes, and drink one when you’re done. You’re working slower and you’re keeping hydrated, both of which will give you more energy for the rest of the day and keep you healthy and less likely to suffer from heat related sickness.

Do you work in the cooler early morning hours. There’s a reason you hear suburban mowers fire up at the crack of dawn – these people know that heat kills and it’s best to do the heavy yardwork when it’s coolest. Failing the early morning mow-a-thon, mow late in the day, an hour or two before sunset. If you’re lucky, you’ll have an evening breeze and shade.

If you must mow during the heat of the day, wear light clothes in a single layer. If you can, wear ones that are woven as sunblocking clothes or wash them in the RIT UV block wash that blocks sun rays to both keep you cool and prevent sunburn. Multiple layers trap heat and you want to be cool, so wear loose, single layer, light clothing. Wear a wide-brimmed hat with a sweat band in it. Wear long sleeves and long pants or skirt to protect from bug bites and small debris tossed in the air. Wear sunblock even if you’re also wearing UV blocking clothing.

Mosquitoes are sometimes overwhelming. The OFF fan sort of works – if you’re moving slow and there’s little or no breeze. If there’s a moderate breeze, use an insect repellant you apply rather than clip on. I prefer to drape mosquito netting over my hat and weight the ends with fishing weights. The breeze gets through but the bugs don’t, and I can lift it up for drinking those glasses of water lined up on the patio/porch (also draped in mosquito netting – who wants to drink bug water?).

Wear enclosed shoes. My daughter says she likes to mow barefooted and this is fine when you use a manual powered reel mower, but if you use a gas or electric powered mower, wear shoes. I like to wear heavy duty garden clogs. They rinse off easily and the protect the feet from broken twigs, small rocks and pebbles that get tossed up by the mower, stickers, and bug bites, not to mention the string on the weed whacker.

Wear goggles. For much the same reason you wear shoes, wear goggles to protect your eyes. Mowers toss up all sorts of small debris and weed whackers are worse. If you use a mulcher or a wood chipper, it also tosses fine debris into the air and small chunks into the air.

When you’re done with the yard work – eat a banana for the potassium and drink some orange juice or V8 Juice for a boost of energy.

And remember – work slower, hydrate often. Work in the early morning or late evening hours. Pace yourself.

Parking in the shade, rolling windows down, these don’t make the car cool enough to keep your child safe. Signs of heat stress and heat sickness are different in small children than they are in older children or adults. Sleepiness and crankiness are their most common signs – and people often shrug those off as common behaviors, especially since many babies fall asleep in moving cars and are often cranky when awakened, not signs of dehydration, heat sickness, or impending heat stroke.

At least one baby or toddler dies in a hot car each week from April to October. Most of the parents are good parents, caring and careful, but no one really teaches parents about car safety for babies and toddlers other than the car seats. And most of the teaching about infant car seats is directly counter to what parents need in order to keep their babies safe all the time – rear facing infant seats set in the middle of the back seat may keep the baby safe from air bags and safer in accidents, but they contribute strongly to forgotten babies. We don’t have any way to measure how often babies are almost forgotten – or are forgotten and the parent remembers before a tragedy happens and retrieves the baby at the last minute, but those instances are probably far more common than we’d believe.

There are things parents and caretakers of babies and toddlers can do to insure the safety of those babies and toddlers. Most of them are simple and easy to learn, certainly no harder than installing childproof locks and covers, or picking up things from the floor that might harm a child.

Here’s a short list of things people caring for and transporting small children can do to keep them from dying in a hot car:

1. Always put your bags, briefcase, and anything you need for work or shopping or visiting friends on the floorboard of the back seat. That way, you’ll always have to look in the back seat and will see the sleeping baby. Always put those things there even if you don’t have a child with you because the chances are high that if you aren’t in the habit of putting your things there, you might forget when you have a child with you and then forget to check the back seat – leading to the death of the child.

2. Seat the child’s car seat behind the passenger seat. When set in the middle or behind the driver’s seat, it can’t be seen from the driver’s seat and makes it easier to forget a child is there. Most babies who die in hot cars are positioned behind the driver.

3. If you routinely travel with a small child, keep a stuffed toy in the car seat. When you put a child in the car seat, place the toy in the front seat to remind you there’s a baby back there.

4. Ask that your child’s sitter or daycare phones you promptly if your child isn’t dropped off as scheduled – or develop a habit of calling them every day as soon as you get to work – even before you get out of your car – to either tell them your child is sick and won’t be in or to check that they’ve settled in.

5. Make it a habit to always open the back door of your car or to look in the back seat if it’s a 2-door car.

6. Never assume the person riding with you has taken the child out of the car seat.

7. Never assume your partner or other baby caretaker has taken the baby instead of you.

8. Put up signs and stickers to remind you about the baby – places like kidsandcars.org sell static cling decals to remind you to check the car seat. These only work as long as you don’t tune them out. It’s easy to overlook something that’s always there. For some people, though, this can be the difference between a living baby and a dead baby, so give it a try.

9. They finally make monitors that will alert you when you get out of a car if there’s a baby in a car seat. There are at least two. I prefer the ChildMinder System (babyalert.info) – it sounds an alarm if you walk away from a car and leave a baby in the seat. This wakes the baby and starts it crying so you have immediate confirmation that you forgot the baby. The other one (carsnkids.com) plays a lullaby, which doesn’t always wake the baby, so other people may prefer it.

10. If you do not normally take a child to day care or have a child with you when you shop – always tell someone else before you leave with said child and ask them to call you when you get to work or periodically as you are out shopping. Call the day care and tell them you instead of the usual person will be dropping the child off and if you don’t arrive, to call you in case you forgot.

As you can tell, communication is very important is preventing hot car deaths of babies.

And if you accidentally lock your keys and the baby in the car – hide a window hammer in the undercarriage to break a window (one not near the baby – the front passenger side window is the best one to break). A broken car window is so much easier to fix and so much faster – your baby has 5 minutes to live in a hot car at most. There’s no time to panic and try to flag people down to call 911 (because if you keys are in the car, your cell phone probably is, too) or for 911 to get there and unlock the door. If you have your cell phone, call 911 immediately and tell them you locked your keys and baby in the car and it’s hot and you need help ASAP. If you have to, break the damned window while you’re waiting and buy a new one. The baby’s life is worth it.

Anyway, here’s a list of safety tips for some common dangers lurking in the joys of summertime.

It probably sounds a bit stupid and trite to say this, but fireworks are dangerous. They go splodey. They involve fire and explosives and projectiles. These, done right, are beautiful, the ephemeral beauty that makes the heart leap and makes the mind joyful. The memory lingers fondly for all of one’s life.

And the damage done can also last for all of one’s life. Lost eyesight, lost hearing, burnt flesh and the scars left behind, burned homes and lost property and memorabilia, loved ones gone forever. These are the dangers lurking in the beautiful fireworks.

I don’t advocate outlawing fireworks. Rather the opposite. Leave people their fireworks, but spend time educating people on the safe use of them. By all means, pool money together to hire fireworks professionals and an emergency vehicle to have a community-wide fireworks display – you get more bang for your buck and a much prettier display. Families can do this, or neighborhoods, or entire cities. The larger the group of people paying towards the display, the better the display will be.

But we still want to do our own fireworks, those little Black Cats and Sparklers, if nothing else, so take a few precautions. Being blinded or bearing deep burn scars for life is going to taint your memory so do your best to prevent that from happening.

<b>Fireworks Safety</b>

<i>Wear eye protection.</i> And I’m not talking the cheapy plastic stuff that will melt onto your face. Get good quality fire-safe eye protection.

<i>Keep all fireworks away from young children. </i> Children under 5 lack the coordination and the discretion to handle fireworks safely and shouldn’t be allowed to handle them at all. This is common sense, but apparently, some adults are too stupid to think of it on their own. This includes Sparklers. Sparklers burn very hot to produce those sparks. For the young child, give them fiberoptic flashlights they can swish and swirl and get the same sparkly effect without the risk of burning themselves or your home. As the child ages, you can introduce them to fireworks ads apprentices, getting closer to see how it’s done and explaining the safety precautions you’re taking. Eventually, they graduate to Black Cats and Sparklers, and then to bottle rockets and other simple fireworks.

I think older children should be exposed to handling dangerous items with adult supervision and direction. How else are they going to learn?

<i>Read and follow instructions on labels. </i> Another no-brainer, and I’m surprised I have to point this one out, but there ya go. These directions include fuse times. Fuse times change from manufacturer to manufacturer and even from year to year, and fuse times are Very Important for your safety. By following the directions, you get both the maximum safety and the maximum pretty bang for your buck.

<i>Have a connected garden hose and someone manning the faucet and a bucket of water nearby.</i> If you’re just shooting off a few fireworks from your back yard, that’s all you’ll need to douse any inadvertent fires. If you’re pooling resources with neighbors and have a large amount of fireworks to shoot off, I’d recommend something bigger, up to an including hiring a fire engine or emergency vehicle to be there just in case.

<i>Use your fireworks outdoors in a clean and debris-free area</i> Another no-brainer, but worth saying for those who just plain didn’t think of it. This includes Sparklers. I don’t know where people got the idea that Sparklers are safe – they’re not. They’re pretty, and they’re fun, but they are not safe. My brother once burned our house down playing with a Sparkler indoors. My mother lit it for him, thinking it was safe for indoor use. Let me state it loud and clear: No fireworks are safe to use indoors. Period.

Enjoy your fireworks, but be safe in their use and be responsible. The best fun is to pool together with friends or neighbors for a larger display, and hiring pyrotechnic experts to assist you in putting on your show.

<b>Heat-Related Sicknesses</b>

<i>Never leave anyone in a closed, parked vehicle if it’s hot outside. </i> This includes babies and pets and any disabled people who have mobility or dexterity issues. A car heats up scary fast – in less than 90 seconds, a car can get lethally hot, even with windows rolled down and even when parked in the shade. There have been so many reports of babies being left in cars because parents forgot them and dying that this information becomes critically important. If you can rig it up, I think one of those seat belt type alarms that buzzes when the driver’s side car door is opened and a child is still in a child seat would be very helpful for those forgetful, distracted parents. And those day care and school buses that park with a child still on them needs some kind of counter or buzzer, too. Something to alert the driver that there’s still a child on the bus. Apparently we can’t depend upon them to physically look for children still on the bus.

<i>If you must be out in the heat, limit your activities to morning and evening hours.</i> Sometimes this is really hard to do, especially if you work long hours and have a HOA that rides you about your lawn. I honestly think they should people’s safety above looks, but we all know how shallow-minded HOAs are. They truly do care more about looks than about the environment, safety, or practicality. If possible, don’t live where there’s a HOA. Then you can be reasonable and safe about your lawn care.

If you’re playing, take a break during the hottest part of the day. Go swimming. Or seek shade and play quiet games like lawn chess, or better yet, go to the library or a museum where it’s cooled. Or the mall. Stay out of direct sunlight as much as possible. Deep shade is best, but dappled shade is better than direct sunlight. Use parasols and umbrellas to provide shade when you’re strolling around at fairs and festivals or just walking your dog. You can get pretty paper parasols at party supply stores. What you want is portable shade when there is no other shade to be had.

<i>Drink plenty of fluids, and if you drink sugary or alcoholic beverages, drink at least an equal amount of water for each sugary or alcoholic beverage you drink.</i> I know a lot of other safety sites will tell you not to drink carbonated, sugary, or alcoholic drinks in the heat, but realistically, people still will. Therefore, I say, drink an equal amount of water or sports drinks for each soda or juice or slushie/smoothie/float/milkshake drink or cocktail or beer you drink. Hydration is important in the heat.

<i>Use sunscreen.</i> Sunscreen protects you from more than the sun’s rays. Modern sunscreens also moisturize your skin which slows down dehydration. Not much, mind, but enough to make a difference between a very mild case of heat exhaustion and feeling great. And slathering on sunscreen may remind you to take a drink of water.

<i>While heat-related illnesses can affect anyone, infants and the elderly are especially susceptible. Check on them regularly.</i> Babies under 6 months of age shouldn’t be out in direct sunlight or the heat of the day anyway. Their bodies are still too new and fragile to take that kind of abuse. Their systems don’t reliably regulate their temperatures yet. If you must take babies out in the heat of the day, keep them shaded and provide some form of cooling for them. For both elderly and babies, I like those bandanas that you soak, or those ice chest or lunch box freezer mats wrapped in a towel to allow the cool to seep through without freezing their delicate skin. Spritzing them lightly with a mister fan can also help. And don’t leave them in an enclosed space, especially not a car, in hot weather.

<i>Stay indoors and, if possible, stay in an air-conditioned place.</i> The library, museums, malls, and community centers are all good places to go for coolness if you don’t have cooling at home. There are tips and suggestions for cooling your home if you don’t have air conditioning.

<b>Lightning</b>

I did a whole post on surviving lightning, but I’ll recap here.

<i>Pay attention to the weather. </i> Many times, weather stations will report when there’s dangerous lightning. Listen to that. If you don’t have a radio on or nearby, look up. Look at the sky and pay attention to what you see there. Don’t get so involved at looking at the ground or what you’re doing that you don’t notice when lightning, especially the dangerous cloud-to-ground streaks of lightning approach. Get to shelter. You can resume playing or working outdoors later.

There are four types of lightning strikes: the direct hit, the nearby hit, the indirect hit, and the flashover. The direct hit accounts for less than 10% of lightning injuries. The most common one is the nearby hit, where lightning strikes something near a person and the energy from the hit sprays over the person. The next most common one is the indirect hit, where lightning strikes the ground or water and the current is conveyed through the ground or water to strike the person even at a bit of distance. And the final hit, the flashover, is when the lightning passes close by and their sweat or moisture from water causes the air around them to explode.

The most common injuries from lightning are ruptured eardrums and neurological injuries that can cause long term symptoms like chronic pain, memory and sleep disorders, dizziness, muscle weakness, personality changes, and depression.

<i>If you are outside and far away from shelter when a lightning strike occurs, crouch down and get as close to the ground as possible. </i> Balance on the balls of your feet so the least bit of you touches the ground. Remember, the lightning can travel through the ground and hit you. The less of you to touch the ground, the safer you are. And if you can get to a hard-topped car, getting inside one is safer still. Not a convertible, because contrary to popular belief, it is the rubber tires that save you, it’s the metal shell of the car. Place your hands over your ears to protect them.

<i>Even if you are inside, lightning can still hit you.</i> Stay away from water, doors, and windows. You should also avoid landlines that have cords, plumbing lines and electric lines, and listening to music with a headset. I know one poor gentleman who has been struck by lightning twice while using the toilet in his house during a thunderstorm.

And if you happen upon a victim of a lightning strike, call 911. If the person is not breathing, perform CPR. Contrary to popular belief, victims are not electrically charged and are safe to touch.

<i>Food Poisoning</i>

The heat of summer can quickly spoil food. Spoiled food leads to food poisoning. Food poisoning makes you miserable for a few days. And it’s avoidable.

<i>Two Hour Rule</i> If the food’s been sitting out for 2 hours or more, throw it away. To keep the food longer, only set it out for half an hour at a time, placing it in a cooler in between. That gives you four times you can take the food out before you exceed the 2 hour limit. If your house is not air conditioned, don’t leave food out of the refrigerator for more than half an hour at a time and again, toss it after 4 times out of the fridge.

I recommend making smaller amounts of food so less is wasted.

<i>Use “one-use” spoons.</i> Provide a cup of water to put the spoon in after it’s been used so people won’t re-use it, or have large ladles to dish out the food that people won’t be tempted to lick or taste from.

<i>Cook meat to safe temperatures.</i> According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, ground beef and pork should be cooked to a minimum internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit, and chicken should be cooked to at least 165 degrees. The chicken temperature applies to the thigh if you’re cooking the whole chicken or the thickest part if you’re cooking chicken pieces.

Berries are fragile and will spoil quickly in the heat, often under 2 hours, so check them before you eat them.

Contrary to common belief, mayonnaise doesn’t spoil quickly unless it’s homemade. This is because store bought mayonnaise and creamy dressings have so many artificial preservatives in them and homemade ones don’t. If you’re doing a cook-out or a picnic, take only as much mayonnaise or creamy dressings as you will use and follow the 2 hour rule with it. Put them into smaller containers.

<b>Pools and Ponds</b>

<i>Children should be closely supervised, and very young children should be in sight 100 percent of the time they’re in or near the water. </i> Yes, even if this means you are physically holding them while in the water or eyeballing them constantly if not. It takes so little time for a small child to drown. How many times have you read a newspaper article that says, “I just looked away for a second” or “I just turned my back for a minute” and their child drowned? Don’t look away for a second, and if you must do something where you can’t see the child, take the child with you, get someone else to do it, or wait.

<i>Pools should have fences around them. </i> And they should also have close by lifesaving equipment – hooks, rings, first aid kit.

<i>Keep pool chemicals far away from the reach of children. </i> This should be a no-brainer, but again, some people, especially ones who don’t have children of their own and are entertaining friends with children, don’t think about it.

<i>For ponds, never go into the water unless you know how deep it is, and don’t let children enter it until you know how deep it is</i> This is very important, especially where children are involved. They drown so easy.

<i>If you, or a child in your care, fall and hit your head and you (or they) start to feel nauseous, lightheaded or lose consciousness, seek medical attention immediately. </i> This means a concussion at the least and a brain bleed such as the one that killed that actress this past year.

<i>If you, or a child in your care, fall and your ankle is in an awkward position and it starts to hurt, it should be checked by a medical professional. Children especially, are prone to greenstick breaks or damage to their growth plates and such injuries need immediate attention so the child doesn’t grow up with one leg shorter than the other.

<b>Sunburn</b>

Avoid it. That’s the best advice I can give. Don’t stay in direct sunlight more than 10 or 15 minutes at a time (essential for Vitamin D production), and seek deep shade as much as possible.

<i>Use sunscreen of spf 30</i> Or higher, but don’t waste your money on any spf higher than 50 because the effectiveness no longer outweighs the cost. Apply it liberally and often. Even if the sunscreen claims to be waterproof, re-apply after heavy sweating or when you get out of the pool. No sunscreen is waterproof enough regardless of claims. If you’re not sweating heavily and haven’t been swimming, re-apply every half hour you are in direct sunlight.

<i>If you do sunburn, cool the skin with tepid or cool water and apply aloe gel.</i>

<b>Pets</b>

Pets suffer from the heat as much as people do – and probably more because a lot of people don’t realize just how hot their pet is.

<i>Cars</i> A car can become lethally hot in less than 2 minutes for puppies, older dogs, sick dogs, or fat dogs. It’s a myth that a dog can survive in a car for under 10 or 15 minutes, especially when those “just a few minutes” turns into half an hour or an hour or longer. Most people don’t bring cats with them in the same way they do dogs, but cats handle the heat of a car even less well than dogs do. Small rodents handle it better, but they still suffer. Ferrets can’t take the heat at all. If it’s over 80ºF, ferrets suffer the heat badly. Don’t take your pet with you if there’s even the slightest possibility you will have to leave the pet in the car. No matter how bad their separation anxiety may be, they will survive it much better than being killed by a hot car.

<i>Shaved fur</i> It seems logical that less hair equals a cooler experience in summer’s heat, but it’s not true that shaving a pet’s fur will keep them cooler in hot weather. What it does is expose them to sunburn. Since dogs don’t have sweat glands, the fur offers them protection from the sun’s rays and it actually helps keep them cooler in much the same way the heavy all-encompassing robes of desert people keeps them cooler. The best way to keep long or thick-furred dogs cool in the summer heat is to provide them with air conditioning.

<i>Sunscreen</i> They make special sunscreen just for dogs and it’s important that if your dog is going to be in the sun for any length of time, where they don’t have ready access to deep shade, that you apply dog-appropriate sunscreen to their noses, ears, and groin area. Dogs can suffer painful sunburns and peeling. Don’t use people sunscreen on them, it contains chemicals that will make your dog sick. Use sunscreen formulated for dogs. Ask your vet.

<i>Heat Sickness</i> If your dog or cat is drooling heavily, they are suffering from the heat and are either already in the early stages of heat exhaustion or worse. Get them out of the heat and into air conditioning as quickly as you can, provide shade and place chill packs to their neck and groin. Do not douse them in ice water, this shocks their system and increases their heat problems as their veins constrict.

<i>Keeping your pet cool</i> They make some chiller bandanas and belly vests that are made from those water-absorbing crystals that work short term for keeping a pet cool. Tie them loosely around the dog’s neck and belly, where the dog cools off the fastest. These cool through evaporation, like sweat, and doesn’t cool them a lot, but it seems to cool them enough.

I have a service dog that accompanies me everywhere, which means he has to endure all kinds of weather. He tolerates heat less well than I do, so I’ve learned a few ways to keep him cool when we attend festivals and other outdoor events with sparse shade and no air conditioning or when driving in a car or riding on a parade float with no air conditioning. One of the things I did for him was create a mat that can hold those frozen ice chest ice blankets. He sprawls on these when he waits for me to do whatever I do and it’s hot outside. I also carry a parasol for him so he can have shade as well as the ice mat. When he’s walking about, I have made him “saddlebags” that carry the frozen lunch box inserts to keep him cool and I carry the parasol so he’s shaded. He wears “sandals” I made him so he doesn’t have to burn his paws on hot pavement – they are rubber soles that lace up his legs to hold them in place. Most dog booties are too heavy and hot for summer wear but his “sandals” are perfect. They also protect his paws from broken glass at these events. They are not good for walking in beach sand, though. I keep spare mats in a small ice chest so when one mat melts from the heat, I can trade out a fresh one for him. Three mats are enough to last a whole, hot day. I also provide him with plenty of water and I always treat him to doggie ice cream or frozen fruits. He likes frozen bananas and watermelon.

Even if the temperature is not hot, you can develop any of the following heat sicknesses if you are in direct sunlight for an extended period of time, if you are working hard outdoors if the temperature is mild or slightly warm even if it’s overcast, or if the humidity is very high and the temperature is low but sunny, and you are working hard outside.

Heat rash is a skin irritation caused by excessive sweating when your sweat glands are blocked, usually by greasy lotions or gels. It looks like little blisters or pimples that cluster in the creases and crevices of your body: elbows, arm pits, and knees, as well as the chest, neck, and shoulders.

You aren’t likely to die of a heat rash, but you will be seriously uncomfortable. To lessen the discomfort, avoid greasy gels and lotions that can block your sweat glands. Wear clothes that wick the moisture away from your body. Use sweat absorbing powders such as talcum and cornstarch. Some places recommend using antifungal sprays, but in my experience, they contribute to blocking the sweat glands.

For the same reason, avoid deodorants that contain anti-perspirants, as these will block the sweat glands and contribute to heat rash. Do use deodorants, but choose ones that don’t prevent sweating. If you’re worried about sweat stains under your arms, wear clothes that don’t show the sweat so much, use underarm pads, or wear sport weight sweat-wicking clothes. Also, be generous with the talc and carry towels to keep the area dry.

Heat Cramps are the next step in heat sickness, where the muscles develop severe cramping and pain, the body feels clammy – cool and moist. The cure for heat cramps is to drink fluids and seek shade and a breeze, if there is one. Wait until the cramps are completely gone, you’ve peed at least once, and feel energized again before continuing with any work in direct sunlight.

Heat exhaustion is also relatively harmless as long as you catch and treat it in time. Heat exhaustion is caused by dehydration. Symptoms include flu-like symptoms of joint aches, throbbing headache, chills, and weakness. They also include cool, dry skin (no body moisture to sweat) and a weak pulse. The cure for this is relatively simple: drink lots of fluids and find shade. A breeze (real or artificial) is a plus.

Drink until you start sweating again, then keep drinking. If you’re out in the sun and not sweating and not peeing at least every 4 hours, you’re dehydrated. Find shade and drink fluids. Water is good, water with electrolytes is better. Avoid caffeine and alcohol until you are re-hydrated, although if that’s all there is, then take it. Don’t turn your nose up at any fluids if you have entered heat exhaustion. Drink in the shade and stay there until you have peed and are capable of producing sweat again. And then keep drinking as long as you are in the heat.

Heat stroke is the most severe form of heat sickness and it can be quickly fatal. Symptoms include all the previous heat sickness warnings, plus the core body temperature has risen as high as 103ºF or higher, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, difficulty breathing, red dry skin that’s hot to the touch, hallucinations, disorientation, agitation, confusion, rapid pulse, and seizures, coma, and death. You want to catch it as early as possible. First thing is to cool down: get to a shady area, apply cool or tepid wet cloths to the armpits, back of the neck, and groin, followed by ice packs as the body temperature falls, and give fluids as soon as tolerated in the form of ice chips at first, then liquids.

The best cure for heat sickness is prevention. Wear hats, light colored lightweight loose clothing, and drink lots of water and drinks containing electrolytes. Take frequent shade breaks. Monitor how often you pee, and if it takes more than 4 hours –rehydrate, cool off, and rest until you are hydrated enough to pee again.

Other forms of sun sickness include a vast array of sunburns, from the light pink first degree burns that turn to a toasty brown to the angry red blisters with blackened edges of serious third degree burns.

You may think a mild, first degree sunburn is nothing, but it causes deep damage to the skin, allows you to burn faster and deeper next time, will cause premature wrinkles, and can lead to skin cancer. Even if you never get a serious sunburn, but you do get several mild sunburns a year, you can still get skin cancer.

We all need sunlight to create Vitamin D, but 15 minutes of sun exposure is sufficient to do that. After half an hour, the skin begins to burn and even if you get in shade or go indoors, the skin continues to cook. It may not start to redden until 2 to 6 hours after exposure. Just because you’re not pink yet doesn’t mean you’re not getting burned. The peak effects of the sunburn make their appearance 12 to 24 hours after exposure.

Even a mild sunburn can cause nausea, chills, fever, blistering (sometimes not apparent until the skin begins to peel away 3 to 7 days after the burn), skin irritation, headache, and dehydration.

The worse the sunburn, the stronger the symptoms. Sunburn can lead to heat stroke and a severe sunburn can lead to permanent scarring. Any of the following symptoms means you should contact a medical authority as soon as possible: severe pain, severe blistering, headache, vomiting, fainting, confusion, and/or fever.

Immediate self-care includes getting out of the sun, getting out of the tanning bed (for those who do that), and covering any exposed skin from any direct sunlight – even through a glass window. Apply cool compresses of water, equal parts milk and water, or Burow solution (available at most pharmacies) for 15 – 20 minutes, then changing for fresh compress and solution, and continue for up to 6 hours. You can take aspirin, ibuprofen, or naproxen for pain relief during this time. After the compresses, apply aloe gel – either the inner gel from fresh leaves or purchased gel from a pharmacy.

Cool, but not cold, baths are the only kind to take with a sunburn because warm or hat baths or showers can deepen the burn. Avoid bath salts, oils, and perfumes. Use a soft towel and pat dry, do not rub. Avoid all lotions and gels with topical anesthetic because you can become sensitized to them and even allergic. It’s not worth it for mild sunburns. Silver sulfadiazine (1% cream) can even be used cautiously on sunburned faces for strong first degree or mild second degree burns. For second degree sunburn, you may be given oral steroids. Steroid creams have not been proven effective so avoid them. In severe sunburn cases with blistering steroids are withheld to reduce the chance of infection.

Third degree sunburns may be severe enough to be admitted to a burn unit at a hospital.

Sun poisoning can occur at any level of sunburn – it’s like an allergy reaction to excess sun exposure.

Once such an allergy develops, it doesn’t go away. Treatment is similar to both sunburn care and allergy treatment. Once you develop sun poisoning, you can only have limited sun exposure – 15 minutes is enough to create vitamin D and still under the time when allergy symptoms develop.

The best thing is prevention – stay out of direct sunlight as much as possible and limit direct exposure to approximately 15 minutes of morning sunlight (the mildest sun of the day). When out in the sun for longer than 15 minutes, wear a wide brimmed hat and sun-blocking clothes with long sleeves and legs. Apply sunscreen to skin that is exposed, particularly the nose and tops of the ears. Sunscreen must be applied thickly and frequently. It is not waterproof, will sweat off, and does not provide all day protection. Re-apply every half hour and after swimming or heavy sweating. Be aware that antibiotics, acne medications, St. John’s Wort, and medications prescribed for skin conditions such as psoriasis can increase your sensitivity to sun and sunburning. All mind altering drugs, medications, and alcohol will diminish your awareness of pain and sunburning, so either pay extra attention, take extra precautions, or avoid these substances altogether if you are also out in the sun. Skin conditions such as herpes simplex, lupus, and porphyria will worsen after sun exposure.

Chronic sun exposure even for the purpose of tanning will cause early wrinkling, and may lead to increased skin pigmentation in the form of moles, skin cancer, and cataracts.

Minor, uncomplicated sunburns will heal within 7 days, and may have itching, peeling skin, and touch sensitivity during that time.

Your eyes are not exempt from sun damage. If you squint or your eyes tear up in sunlight, they are being damaged. Wearing sunglasses with a UV400 protection and a shade over them (like a sun visor or broad brimmed hat) can reduce or prevent sun damage to your eyes. Premature cataracts, sunburn to the whites and the corneas, pterygium (where tissue grows on the whites of the eyes), “snow blindness”, and macular degeneration are the most common eye damage from sun.

The best sunglasses are wrap-around with red, orange, amber, or yellow lenses that block 100% of UVA and UVB light. Even then, you still should wear a broad brimmed hat to shade the eyes. If swimming, wear snug fitting goggles. Wear them even on overcast days because the UVA and UVB rays penetrate cloud cover.

In all cases of sun sickness, limiting your exposure to direct sunlight (and cloudy sunlight) will reduce your damage from it. Wearing sunglasses, a wide brimmed hat, sunscreen, and sun blocking clothing will also reduce damage from sunlight when you have to be out in it and working. I’d suggest doing your heaviest and hardest work as early in the morning as possible and as late in the day as possible and avoiding direct sunlight during the brutal hours between 11:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. If the sun is hot enough to boil tomatoes on the vine, then it’s too hot to be working in.

Stress can make you fat, and the weight gained from stress is not good fat. It can hurt your health. Stress increases cortisol production; that increases insulin and makes you insulin resistant which changes how you metabolize food – and that makes you unhealthily fat.

When you are under stress, stop and take the time to eat well and to relax. You will probably need more vitamins and more calories when stressed, but you need to get them from healthier foods – more vegetables, more fruit, perhaps even more meat, and less sugar, salt, and/or starch. Don’t eat on the run or in the car, at your desk or in a hospital waiting room, or get food from a drive-thru. Take the time to sit down to eat from real plates. Take the time to cook a real meal. Take your time eating. I know you’ll feel as if you don’t have time, but if you spend the time here on this, you will feel better, stronger, and more capable. You will have the energy and fortitude to face your stressors and deal with them.

Eating well will reduce the effects stress will have on you.

2. Get rid of the guilt

Guilt is actually another form of stress. It’s the form that whispers to you that you don’t deserve anything because a loved one is ill, hurt, dying. But that’s not true. It’s sad that a loved one is ill, hurt, or dying, that they need lots of extra care and help. And it’s wonderful that you are there for them. But you aren’t <i>them</i> and you inhabit a physical body that needs care, too. Eating right will mitigate some of the guilt feelings, but you also have to do other things. If your loved one is paralyzed, you need to get enough rest and exercise to be strong enough to cope with the physical demands a paralyzed person can make on an able-bodied person – and that includes doing things you like that your loved one can’t do right then (long walks, for example, or a night out dancing). Just because your loved one can’t participate doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it. I repeat – you aren’t <i>them</i> and you have needs of your own. When you aren’t so racked with guilt that you destroy your pleasure in life, you’ll be in a better position to help them cope with their circumstances.

So eat well, take time to do things you love doing, and get plenty of rest. That way, you’ll reduce your stress and be better able to care for the other.

3. Resist "helpless hopelessness"

Sometimes, it’s really hard to accept help, to admit you need help, or even to define what sort of help you need even as you need it more than ever. I know that when I’m in a position where I need help, my first reaction is “I’m the strong one, of course I can do it!” My second reaction is “If I don’t do it, no one else will.” Then my third one is “Gosh, I do need help, but how can I ask for it?” And when someone <i>does</i> ask “What can I do?” my mind skitters over a hundred things that would help and won’t settle on any of them so I end up saying “No, thanks, I can manage.” And then I beat myself up inside because that was <i>stupid</i>.

That’s when I start feeling helpless hopelessness.

What works here is to be prepared. As a survivalist, I always recommend sitting down and thinking through any disasters that might happen to you, either because of where you live, the weather, the government, your neighbors, whatever. Then plan out how to prevent the worst of it, and what steps you need to take in case they happen. Then practice as much of it as you can, collect the equipment you’ll need to deal with it, and then you don’t have to think about it again unless it happens. And then you’ll be prepared.

So, before you find yourself in the position of caring for someone who is chronically ill or needs long term care (senior dementia, cancer, paralysis, muscular dystrophy, end stages of life, or anything like that), sit down and think about the things you would need to get done – babysitting, carpooling, routine car maintenance, grocery shopping, cleaning, mowing, and so on. Divide the list into the things you and only you can do and the things someone else could do for you while you concentrate on caregiving.

Then when something does happen and you become a caregiver, you’ll have a list of things you can draw from when anyone asks what they can do to help. Most of the time, the other person genuinely wants to help but hasn’t a clue what to do. Your list can make everyone happy.

4. Reject "hamster wheeling"

You know how hamsters (and other small pet rodents) will run and run in their exercise wheels but won’t actually get anywhere? Running worries, anxieties, guilts, and other unhelpful thoughts over and over through your head without getting anywhere is hamster wheeling.

Confront those thoughts. Write them down on one side of a 2 column sheet (or a 2 column word or excel document). You’ve got a choice of what to do for the other side of the sheet. By each thought you wrote down, you can mark it as a “hammie” thought – something you can’t do anything about and so it needs to be replaced with a thought that is a positive one. Example: Mom’s dementia is getting really bad / I made the house safer for her with new locks and safetied appliances. You can’t do anything about her dementia, but you can make her environment safer – boom, one hammie thought gone! Do that for all you hamster wheeling thoughts, worries, and anxieties.

When you find yourself hamster wheeling again, pull out that list. If your hammie thought isn’t on there, add it in and change it.

5. Surrender

I know when you’re the caregiver, you think you know what’s best for the person who needs care. That isn’t always true. Most of the time, the person being cared for not only knows what they need – they know what they want and how they want it done.

It is far less stressful to both of you to listen to the one who needs the care. And I do mean really <i>listen</i>. The person being cared for, even if that person is a child – has the right to make decisions about their care and to have those decisions honored.

If there is a conflict of care, listen to the one who is being cared for, then discuss it <i>with them</i> if you feel differently about the care they want. Example: the person for whom you are caring is elderly and has a host of different age related conditions and a slew of medications for them. You want them to take vitamins and change their diet so they may not need so many medications – and they don’t want that. Just give in. Let them take the meds they are taking and if you are determined to change that, talk to them slowly, one med and vitamin and food at a time. Maybe they will accept extra Vitamin B, and maybe they won’t. Don’t stress over it, don’t invest too much of yourself in this. It’s easier and happier for both of you to let the cared-for person get their way.

By incorporating these five things into your attitude towards caregiving, it will make the experience more comfortable and less damaging for the caregiver.

I’m thinking of ways to make being the cared for easier and more survivable, but honestly, there are far more ways to need help than there are to give help. Giving help is really simple in comparison to needing help.

Later, when I had children of my own, we had to pay to visit city dumps and there were zoning codes that prevented the children from wantonly building playhouses, forts, and pirate ships. In order for my children to get the skills I naturally learned, I had to artificially teach them in places far from home using only what we could find in nature instead of raided materials.

Things are even more restricted now that grandchildren are coming along – most wilderness areas are off limits or cost to visit, city dumps are regulated and visitors are rarely allowed, and zoning laws are even more restrictive and less child-friendly.

But – you can still manage to learn these important shelter building skills if you’re willing to scatter the materials very soon after building the shelter. Mind you, most of what I talk about here are for urban and suburban areas. Those who live in rural areas or have access to rural areas won’t have to go through the same procedures a city-dweller would.

The lack of access to wilderness areas and city dumps, and the harshness of zoning codes in cities and suburbs makes life – interesting – for those who want to learn how to survive without trekking far, far away or buying or renting more land – usually far away, but not too remote. For city folk, the best times to learn and practice these skills are fall and winter. That’s when trees shed leaves and branches and you can practice building debris huts.

A debris hut is pretty much what it sounds like – building a small shelter from debris, usually tree debris. The first thing you do is erect the frame – find one or two fallen tree branches or pruned tree or shrub limbs that are a couple of feet longer than you are tall and some shorter ones that are a bit longer than the distance from you bottom to the top of your head if you were sitting (I call these “torso tall”). Then find a bunch of shorter ones in varying lengths. The torso tall branches form the opening and the longer ones the spine of your hut. Make an upside down “V” from the torso tall branches and lean a longer spine branch from those to the ground. You’ll get a very elongated empty triangle with the ground forming one side and the spine and opening branches the rising edges. This is the skeleton of your debris hut, the frame that will support the rest.

Now, all along the sides of the spine branch, lay the shorter branches you gathered. This forms your walls. Pile it on thick – you want to fill it in as much as possible. Branches with leaves still on them are good, as are evergreen branches you pruned. You should end with a mound of tree branches that has an opening at one end and space for you to crawl inside feet first, so your head is at the opening end. This kind of shelter may be OK on a dry, still day, now you have to insulate it for warmth.

To do that, you pack the inside of the hut with leaves. You pile more leaves all over the outside of the hut and lay more branches on them to hold them in place . Leave the opening visible and don’t cover it up – that’s how you’ll get into the hut.

Getting into the hut the first time takes a bit of wiggling. Push your feet into the leaves you packed inside. They’ll crush around you as you push your way in. Once you’re all the way in, you shouldn’t feel any breezes at all. If it rains, you shouldn’t feel any wet spots inside. As the leaves pack down on the inside, you can add more. The leaves are your insulation that will keep you warm and block the wind and rain. For added warmth, find a shrubby thickly leaved (evergreen is best) branch to form a “door” once you are inside.

Kids love building and playing in these and once spring arrives, they can be chipped for garden mulch or bundled up and set at the curb for Big Trash Pick Up. Adults (in my experience) enjoy having a cookout with a few of these debris huts circling the (in a fire pit) bonfire. The huts can be built large enough for two. They make a fine party prop that is easily disposed of afterwards.

My kids built an entire neighborhood of these in my backyard – “homes” , “offices” , a “fort”, and a pair of “battleships”. Snow and ice only improved them as playhouses. By spring, most of them were usually mulched up enough to scatter around the yard and garden to feed the soil and the larger branches chipped right down so there was nothing to set curbside.

As you get experienced in building these debris huts, you can see how you can use other found materials in making them. Practice each fall and if you ever need to build yourself an impromptu place to sleep, you can do so with confidence. The same principle apply whether you’re using tree branches or rebar or framing lumber from a ripped apart house. Broken bricks, rocks, sheet rock sections, plywood, or cardboard can be used for the sides, and torn clothing and rags and damaged sofa cushions, leaves and newspapers and more cardboard can be used for the insulation. Wherever you are in the world under whatever circumstances, you can build a temporary shelter.

All this, from the humble little debris hut.

Food fraud has been around for as long as there have been food vendors. Most food fraudsters don’t want to sicken their customers, just to sell counterfeits that make them rich and keep the customer returning for more. They don’t want to get caught.

In the field of herbs, adulterated herbs have long been an issue and reputable herbalists know their sources. For us, look-alikes, and even taste-alikes, can be ineffective, produce the wrong effects or side effects, and may even prove harmful. We are very careful about the herbs we use. Many of us are expert wildcrafters and gardeners in order to get the right herbs. When we must buy, we know who our dealers are and where they sourced their herbs.

Food fraud contributes to allergic reactions and increased food sensitivities – when you don’t know that your extra virgin olive oil is cut with much cheaper peanut oil, when your peanut butter is cut with soy oil, when your cornflakes contain wheat, it can even prove deadly.

Some frauds are easy to see – Wild Atlantic Salmon is an endangered species, anything labeled with it is automatically a fraud – but others are subtle. Can you tell at a glance the difference between red snapper and tilapia? Does sniffing milk let you know it’s contaminated with melamine? Is it really a good French cognac in your glass or a cheaper American brandy? Is your honey cut with corn syrup?

Sometimes, food fraud is unintentional – the seller takes the word of their supply chain that the food they are selling you really is what it’s represented to be. They use the faked food in their manufacture or in their restaurant. You and they are ripped off.

What can you, as a consumer, do about food fraud?

That’s where this article falters. Sure, it tells you to be aware of what your favorite foods look like and to be aware that an unusually low price could mean a faked food, but it stops there.

Let me carry it forward for you. If you followed the article’s advice, you’d never get to try new foods because you could only eat the ones you already know. I say don’t be afraid to experiment and price isn’t always a good indication of a faked food.

Being informed is always a good step in detecting food fraud, but you don’t need a degree in chemistry or biochemistry in order to get what you pay for. Know where your food comes from, when it’s in season, and what path it takes to reach you.

If you eat at restaurants, ask about their supply chains. Do they make their food from scratch on the premises, or do they use par-baked or pre-made foods from a food distributor or central processing plant? Chain restaurants are more likely to be serving faked foods than ones that know the supply chain from raw ingredient to the dish on your table. Their food is more likely to be contaminated with soy, peanut oil, or wheat without their knowledge. I remember when a new restaurant opened in town – a Brazilian style churrascaria – and when we asked what was in a dish they had on their menu, their cook (I can’t call him a chef) came out to tell us all their food arrived pre-made and needing only to be heated before serving and he didn’t know what the ingredients actually were because the boxes they came in didn’t list ingredients. Sadly we couldn’t eat there. The risk of getting food containing an allergen was too high.

As a consumer, don’t hesitate to ask. And if the cook/chef is unaware of the ingredients in the food they serve, leave. They’ll either learn what their food sources are or they’ll go out of business.

Don’t forget your ability to network with people who have similar food needs. They’ll know which restaurants know their ingredients. They may even know more about the ingredients than the employees at the restaurant!

As a food shopper for your home kitchen, you’ll need to do a bit more sleuthing. Buy your food from reputable sources. Investigate food manufacturers and compare labels. Network with people who have similar food restrictions, allergies, or sensitivities. They’ll know which manufacturers are the uncontaminated ones, which brands are the most reliable, and which fishmongers, butchers, and greengrocers are the most honest.

If possible, get to know the people who supply the food you eat – the farmers and ranchers at the farmer’s market or food coop or CSA you use. In fact, consider buying as much of your food as you can through your local farmer’s market, food coop, or CSA.

I am a locavore, but I am not rabid about it because I know that not all foods are grown in every location. And I’ve learned that not all farmers provide tasty versions of what they do grow. I’ve been disappointed by bitter, woody carrots, salsify being sold as parsnips, and dandelion greens being sold as mustard greens at farmer’s markets. I’ve even had someone try to pass off unripe mulberries as blackberries. You still have to be wary and know your sources even at a Farmer’s Market. Still, getting to know the people who grow or raise the food you eat is a good idea. If you make it personal for the farmer or rancher, they’ll make it personal to provide the best they can.

If, like me, you like exotic foods, you have to be extra careful in the source of that food. This is especially true of food you are trying for the first time. Again, rely on networks of food enthusiasts. These people will know where the food comes from, if it’s sustainably grown, if it contains contaminants or is fraudulently represented. Seek out specialty groups such as coffee enthusiasts, or tea aficionados, or beef eaters, or wild game cooks, or Aussie Fruit Lovers, Native Bean Lovers, or whatever specialty food grabs your tastebuds. Quality food magazines may introduce you to a new or exotic ingredient, but it’s the enthusiasts that will steer you to the food that is both exactly what it’s supposed to be and what you deserve.

Reciprocate. When you stumble across food that isn’t what it’s represented to be – dandelion greens masquerading as Japanese edible chrysanthemum, for example, or olive oil cut with peanut oil, or peanut butter made with soy oil, share that information. Post it on food networks, tell your friends, and send a letter to the food manufacturer telling them you dislike their adulteration. Notify the FDA, too, so they can add your information to what they already have.

Living in a community means taking responsibility. If you are going to trust others to give you valid, reliable information, then you also need to pass along valid, reliable information. The information doesn’t stop with you, it gets passed along.

And someday, in some utopian view of the world, there will be no more food fraudsters and all our food will be what the label says it is. Until then – research, read, learn, and share.

It’s never too early to teach your child what to do if they get arrested at school for normal behavior, as demonstrated by the arrest of the 5 year old.

So what do you teach your child?

Pretty much the same things you would do yourself, but the most important one is to teach your child to teach your child to tell he arresting police officer, “I want a lawyer.” School officials and police officers won’t call the parents, because they don’t think parents have any need to know their child is being removed from the school. In the case of the 5 year old, it wasn’t the school principal who called or the police – it was a guidance counselor who felt the need to inform the mother. Teach your child those critical 4 words – “I want a lawyer” – the police by law have to respect that regardless of the age of the arrestee.

The older the child is, the more you can teach, but start with those 4 life-saving words. “I want a lawyer.” Even a three year old can learn to say that. You may need to teach your three year old to say that if day cares start emulating schools and calling the police on minor disciplinary issues. Play-act it with toy handcuffs, or even real ones – those are easy enough to find at flea markets. When the handcuffs come out, teach the child to say, “I want a lawyer.” Make it a game when they are young, and re-enforce it as they age.

As they get older, teach them the following things:

Don’t argue with the police. That’s what the lawyer is for.

Don’t run.

Don’t touch the police officer – even to catch yourself if you’re falling. Take the fall.

Don’t talk to the police. If your child is old enough to drive and they are driving a car when stopped, they must show driver’s license, registration, and insurance, but they don’t have to say anything. If the child has been reasonably detained, police will ask for a name, and the child must give it unless they are afraid giving their name will make matters worse, in which case, they can plead the right to remain silent. The police will hate it, but it is their right.

Teach your child that anything they say – anything, no matter how innocent it may sound – can be twisted against your child so silence is the best action.

Keep your hands where the police can see them. If you think you need something in your pocket or backpack or purse, you usually don’t (unless it’s lifesaving medication, in which you explain calmly to the arresting officer you are ill and need the medication and let them get it for you.)

Don’t resist the arrest, innocent or not. The police are predisposed to believe everyone is guilty of something even if it’s not the crime for which they are currently arresting your child.

Don’t complain to the officer on the scene.

Don’t tell the police they are wrong.

Don’t tell the police you are going to file a complaint.

Do not make any statement regarding the incident at all.

Remember the police officer’s name, badge number, and patrol car number.

Write down everything you remember ASAP.

Try to find witnesses and get their names and numbers.

If your child is injured, seek medical attention ASAP and have them take pictures.

Take pictures yourself of any injuries your child sustains in the arrest.

If you feel your child’s rights have been violated, file a written complaint with the police department’s internal affairs division or civilian complaint board as soon as possible.

Your child does not have to consent to a search of themselves. Police may pat down the outside of your child’s clothing if they suspect a weapon, but they do not have the right to search further. That’s one of the things those magic 4 words “I want a lawyer” protects your child from.

Your child needs to specifically ask, “Am I under arrest?” – another important 4 words. If your child is under arrest, your child has a right to know why. And the police have to tell them.

If your child is given a ticket while driving, they do have to sign the ticket. It can be fought later.

If your child is taken to the police station, teach your child to remain silent and to speak only to a lawyer. If you don’t have a family lawyer, teach your child to ask for one – they have the right to a free one and the police have to tell them how to get one.

Don’t talk to the police even at the station – use those 4 word sentences: “I want a Lawyer” and “Am I under arrest?”.

I hope your child is never arrested by the police for such spurious things as bringing a toy to school or scribbling on a desk, but we have proof that schools will call the police over these trivial things and police will follow through and arrest your child instead of telling the school this is an internal school affair and not a police matter.

If your child knows what to do, the trauma is reduced. Not eliminated, but reduced. As parents, it’s our responsibility to teach our children how to survive, and this is unfortunately yet another thing we have to consider.