A litmus test. In chemistry, a litmus test is used to determine if a substance (gas or liquid) is acidic or alkaline. A pH of 7 is the neutral number between the two. A pH lower than 7 indicates an acidic substance. Higher pH numbers indicate alkaline substances. For plants, their desired pH is critical for normal plant growth. If soil pH is too low, the plant won’t yield its full potential, even if the right … Read more
Old equals new. I cleaned out the pantry the other day. In spite of my diligence in mouse-proofing our house, a bunch of critters outsmarted me and had a feast in the pantry. Oh, they didn’t get into food in sealed containers. They did, however, try to make a feast out of the shelf liners and left evidence that their intestinal systems are working fine. Now that everything is clean and back in place, guess … Read more
It can’t come out if it doesn’t go in. I heard these words often as a child: What goes in, comes out. That’s because our attitudes bred of boredom, anger, or laziness came out in work or in play. When I was a kid at home, there were words I never considered saying because I didn’t hear them. You know what happened. I grew older, became more exposed, and thus my vocabulary increased. Sometimes a … Read more
Hide-n-Seek One of our kids’ favorite games with their father when they were small was Hide-n-Seek in the house. They had more fun hiding from him and trying to find him when it was his turn to hide. I remember especially the day his two and three year-olds could not find him anywhere in the house. You’d think, as large as he was as an adult, it would be hard to find places to hide. After hunting … Read more
Finding proverbs. Proverbs. A book of power and punch. That’s because of the wisdom mined there. Children’s stories feature the wise old owl or a wise octopus [Rainbow Fish] that can bring relevancy to any predicament in the animal world. Children and animals alike find themselves looking for wisdom – and go to the person or animal who is guaranteed to be (usually) old and (always) wise. I suppose that’s because age brings experience, and with experience … Read more