Lurking in the water

With summer upon us and visiting area lakes and waterways many of us will undoubtly find things lurking in those waters. One of the most common lurkers that often hitch a ride out of the water with you are leeches. I get all girly at the thought of touching one but what must be done must be done when a child comes to you with an uninvited friend tagging along on their leg. I have found through my own experience that what I was taught was the correct way to remove a leech is actually not the safest way! So leave the salt in the cupboard and read on to find out the safest way to send the uninvited friend home.

 Here is what the experts from PBS NOVA have to say. It can be found here.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/body/siddall-leeches.html

Q: What is the best way to remove a leech (not being used medically) from the body? Chris Bonneu, Snohomish, Washington Siddall: Dear Chris, I get this question a lot. In fact, I described this in some detail for the "Worst-Case Scenarios: Travel Edition" pocket guide! The problem is not the leech, it's the bacteria in the leech's gut. Leaving aside the fact that salting a leech puts salt in the wound (generally considered a bad idea), or that burning a leech risks burning yourself (also suboptimal), salting, burning, or just plain pulling on a leech risks causing the leech to regurgitate into the wound it is feeding from. Leeches have bacteria growing in their gut. We're not sure why, but Professor Joerg Graf at the University of Connecticut has an incredible research program investigating this symbiosis. What's unusual is not that they have culturable bacteria—even you have bacteria in your gut—but that they have only one! Dr. Graf showed more than a decade ago that the bacterium Aeromonas veronii forms a nearly exclusive relationship with European medicinal leeches, apparently killing or excluding other bacteria. Our collaborative work has since shown that different medicinal leeches from Europe, North America, and Africa harbor just-as-specific symbionts, but of different species. For example, Aeromonas jandei is in Macrobdella decora, the leech you saw in the NOVA scienceNOW segment. So why does this matter? Well, various Aeromonas species are awfully good at living in blood—as you might expect given that's what they're doing in the leech gut—and if they get spit up into the wound, they'll live just fine in your blood. In fact, they have a huge temperature tolerance, growing just fine from fridge temperature to body temperature. Typically, in cases of leech therapy for venous congestion, it's important to give the patient the right antibiotic to prevent accidental infection. Knowing what bacterium is in which species could be critical in knowing what antibiotic is useful, so we're now frantically trying to understand how the diversity of leeches relates to the diversity of microbes. Most infections are local, but there's at least one case of extremely serious meningitis from leech therapy. The same risk comes from removing a leech improperly. Thankfully, there are two proven ways to remove a leech without risk of infection. The first is to relax, watch the leech, and admire its color patterns, and its biology while it finishes its meal. This should take less than half an hour. Thirty minutes well spent contemplating the complexities of life! If you're in a hurry, though, the other method is simply finding the head end and pushing it sideways until it releases the suction. Careful, though: The head end is the smaller end. Most people think the business end of the leech is the fat end, but that sucker is just used for holding on (even Dr. Tyson made this mistake in the NOVA scienceNOW segment). Find the skinny end and use your finger or fingernail to push it sideways off the bite point. Once it's released, you will bleed from the wound. That's okay. The bleeding is normal and is caused by the anticoagulants the leech puts in the wound. Then, just get it to release from the fat end the same way. And for Pete's sake, put it back in the water so it can lead a normal happy leech life!

HANDS

Photo a Day
Day #3
Hands

Here are two of the most precious little hands God has given to me to guide and cherish throughout thier lives. It melts my heart we I turn around to see them standing holding hands all on their own accord. The twin bond certainly is real.

Hoar Frost in the Northland

Again today we awoke to the trees painted with Hoar Frost. It was not a day where we were pleasently surprised with this beautiful display of God's handy work, as yesterday we awoke to dense fog and hoar frost that never lifted. Yes we had dense fog for well over 24 hours yesterday. But even if it had been foggy for a week I would not tire of the beauty achieved on bare, sleepy branches by a cloud that chooses to touch the ground on a cold day.

Our back yard looking toward the highway and a field of Poplar trees on the other side of the road.

The Spruce trees out back. I really enjoyed the beauty of these evergreens painted white. They look like they had been turned to stone by the Mouse King in the Nutcracker.

Trees in the horse pasture. It looked like a tunnel to walk down.

Again the back of our horse pasture looking towards the highway. It has been a very white scene the last few days.

I just LOVE the blue of the sky in these pictures. The contrast is completely untouch by editting. It was just that blue. I kept taking pictures of it because it just seemed so pure.

These pictures are of the Christmas lights hanging on the house still. I just wanted a couple pictures to show how much frost there is on everything.

WORDS

Photo a Day #2
WORDS

From the time I was 14 years old and read these words from Revelation 21:4
I have been comforted by them.
They have brought me peace knowing that this world is not all there is or will be.
One day all our troubles, pains, sorrows, and even death will be removed from our lives!

February Photo a Day Challenge

I have never atempted a Photo a Day Challenge before but I am going to this month. It is the shortest month of the year, I figure I have the best chance at finishing it with fewer days, right?

 So here is a list for the days of February.

And now today February 1st's photo.

I had intentions of getting my nice camera out to reshoot this picture when I took it on my ipod touch to send to a friend in Canada but, when I had a chance to go out and do it the sun had come out and the hoar frost had dropped from the trees. So today's photo will have to come off the ipod. It was such a beautiful morning and the view out the front door was beautiful with wide open spaces colored white and stretching before me.



Being the Invisible Mom

Yesterday I came across an article that hit home on many levels. I am going to post it here and then share my Invisible Mom Moment of the day.

Invisible Mother

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, “Can't you see I'm on the phone?' Obviously not; no one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible. The Invisible Mom.

Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this?

Can you open this??

Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, “What number is the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, “Right around 5:30, please.”

I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going, she's going, she's gone!?

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in.

I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, “I brought you this.' It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription:

To Charlotte, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.

In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names.

These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.

A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, “Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof, no one will ever see it.” And the workman replied, “Because God sees.”

I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, “I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.”

At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride.

I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.

When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, '”My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.” That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, “You're gonna love it there.”

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.

My Invisible Mom Moment

 

Earlier this morning Eli and Ellie started playing peek-a-boo. Man, they were giggling and laughing at each other it was fun to watch, but do you want to guess what my roll was in this fun? I was the not the mom, I was the wall or object that they were hiding behind and inbetween. My legs seem to be a great thing to hid behind and pop out of. As they played I just stood there and watched looking down on them. They clearly had no clue I was watching nor did they care, at that moment I was the object, The Invisible Mom. You know what? I was happy to be invisible to them at that moment because I got to witness the awesomeness of the twin bond that they share.

Our World Today



Our momma cat had her kittens almost 2 weeks ago. She had 5 one died, so there are 4 left. I cannot believe how fat these kittens are! The twins are in love with them and think they are the coolest thing since chocolate milk! I just thought I would share a bit of our day with the world.

Isn't this a beautiful image of innocent love?