Flea, Tick and Mosquito Spray

 

My family is loving the milder weather in Northern California. Our dogs love the woods behind our house. On our first week here, we found a tick on our Labrador. No judging, but we always try to pick the healthy option and less chemical approach.  Therefore, we decided to get our dogs herbal/natural flea and tick collars. And I made a Flea, Tick and Mosquito spray.

14 oz. witch hazel

12 drops lavender

15 drops citronella

15 drops lemongrass

Simply combine in a spray bottle. Shake thoroughly and store away from heat and sunlight. In combination with their herbal collars, I spray them this every morning.  No more fleas and ticks.

I experimented and used the same formulation but used 2 oz. of Almond oil instead of witch hazel and made a repellent. I prefer oil based to use on my skin. To give it an extra kick - I added a couple of drops of peppermint (drives away mosquitos and other bugs). We have been using it for a week and no bites and I love the combination of the smell of lavender and the lemony aroma of citronella and lemongrass. The peppermint gives it a bit of cooling effect. May be used on insect bites too ;)

Welcome Spring :)

Bone Marrow Broth

I successfully canned Bone Marrow Broth! I have been researching online its benefits and there are many... like helps with joints, inflammation, leaky gut, good for skin and so on. Also, I found it was good for our fur babies too. So, I headed to my local butcher and got a couple of pounds of bone marrow.

I will revise this blog next time I make it and put pictures. First, I boiled a big pot of water and dropped all the bones in. I let it simmer for about 20 minutes or so. Then got all the bones and put into a baking tray and roasted it in the oven for 40 minutes at 450 degrees. I strained the water and saved it to give to my pets.

After roasting the bones, I put them in my pressure cooker (you may use a crockpot/slow cooker or stove cooking). You need to add some vinegar. I used apple cider to draw out more of the good properties from the bones. Filled my pot with water and I added a quartered onion, some carrots, celery, a couple of bay leaves, and sea salt. It is really up to you how you want to season your broth. I cooked it for 40 minutes in my pressure cooker. Natural release. Then I strained it and put in the refrigerator after it cooled.

The following day, I took out the film of oil on top and ladled them into my mason jars and canned them. I read that you can use the bones again for a second round of broth and it will still come out better than store bought ones.

You may freeze your broth, but I do not have much freezer space. Try it!

Klamath Falls, OR Vendors/ Farmers

Shop local....support your farmer. Below is a list of vendors in your area:


Eggs
Price: $2/doz, $1.50 if you bring your own carton
Contact: Shorty Ogden-Moles
Phone: 541-892-1188


Want your own egg container, here is one of the cheapest I found in Amazon. Click here.


*Please contact me if you want your products be added to this list.

Pressure Cooking

I love cooking from scratch. It gives me control on what I put in (makes me think healthy) and manage the cost. Slow cookers are heaven sent to me... dump and leave and 6 to 8 hours later - a great meal. Not until I discovered 'Pressure Cooking'. Geez, my 6 to 8 hours turned into 10 to 45 minutes. I can cook frozen food and have meal ready in like 30 minutes. Now I got extra time :)

Watch out for recipes that I tried. I share what I make and shop...so you can do the deals/coupons that I used to prepare the meal. Cool huh!


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