Giveaway Winner! ... And A Message About Ticks

Today is the drawing for the Going Over 10,000 Views Giveaway Celebration!  My daughter was so happy to put all the names in a hat and draw the winner for me before she ran off to school this morning.   

And the winner of "Carrots Love Tomatoes" by Louise Riotte is ....

hoosier girl!

Congratulations!  E-mail me at my address below to send me your address and I'll get the book right in the mail!

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Now, a message about ticks. 

(May I add that simply looking for pictures of ticks made my lip curl)

We've had an unusually warm autumn and the ticks are horrible.    The family went for a walk and we found ticks climbing up our pant legs!  I went hunting, and even with all the necessary precautions, I still found a tick with it's head embedded into my foot.  

How do you get out a tick that's embedded itself into you?  In the past, I've tried the old standbys of putting a hot match to it's rear (didn't work) and putting Vaseline on it to smother it (I don't know about you, but I don't want to wait around for that nasty thing to smother - ugh). 

 I have found that the best way to remove a tick is to grasp the body firmly with a pair of tweezers and rotate counter clockwise (why counter clockwise?  I don't know, maybe because I'm right-handed, but it seems to work) while very gently pulling away with the tick.  You may have to rotate the tick body 5-7 times before it lets go.  Disinfect the site.  

I quickly run the tick to the toilet and flush it down because it seems that you can squeeze a tick really, really hard and it doesn't die!  This method of removing ticks works well with your dogs and cats too - if you can get them to sit still (the pets, not the ticks).     

Be sure to watch for infection of the site and particularly look for a telltale red bulls eye which indicates Lyme's Disease.  See a doctor if either of these things happen.

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srfitzg@zitomedia.net

Celebration Giveaway: Carrots Love Tomatoes

My blog went over 10,000 views and I'm celebrating with a giveaway!  

I have two copies of the book Carrot Love Tomatoes: Secrets of Companion Planting for Successful Gardening by Louise Riotte and would love to pass one on to a reader.  

You've heard of the Native American planting of the "three sisters" - beans, corn, and squash, plants who all benefit from being planted together?  Carrots Love Tomatoes takes that idea even further.  

Here is an excerpt from the book's back cover: "What Is Companion Planting?  It's just planning your garden to take advantage of the fact that vegetables and fruits- like people- have natural friends they prefer to be with.  And they help each other- like beets with onions or corn with pumpkins."

My copy is not in perfect condition (the copyright is 1975!), but it is in very, very good condition.

Blog readers leave a comment below this post and I'll draw names on November 30th.  I'll e-mail or contact the winner for the address where they would like the book sent.  Good luck!

Giveaway: Ramsign Classic Enamel Sign

When we lived in Europe, we would find that there were so many little things that would make the countryside particularly beautiful.  One touch we truly enjoyed was the enamel house signs.  They were big bold and clear and perfectly combine beauty and function.  Homestead Revival Blogspot is running a wonderful giveaway from Ramsign Classic Enamel Signs.  There are a number of choices and you'll have the opportunity to pick the color and style that best suits your home.  

For a chance to win go to http://homesteadrevival.blogspot.com/2011/02/give-away-ramsign-classic-enamel-signs.html#comment-form and follow the directions to type in a comment at the bottom of the blog.  What a neat opportunity!