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Archive for the ‘The Great Outdoors’ Category

Some say internet marketing is the most boring business ever. Promoting sites, sitting in front of your computer screen all day long. No time being out in the snow riding the latest snow saucer and having fun while enjoying winter´s beauty.

From professional experience I can say it is only half true that internet marketing is boring. It does have its perks. I love doing layouts, chosing themes and publishing posts and pages. Creating content though I dread.

Maybe it is more of a summer job. Winter always calls for action and snow adventures like throwing snow balls, creating a snow man in the garden and just being up and about all together. A snow saucer is a cool choice for a sled. It´s much faster than a regular one and way more exciting.

photo credit: lori05871

Swimming pool activities are great ways to enjoy those hot summers! With a swimming pool you can jump and dive of diving boards, play chicken wars in the water, or even go down fast swimming pool slides. (more…)

There is still a major public disapproval over the use of synthetic grass in place of real grass in many situations and I can understand the thoughts behind the arguments. The idea that a man-made substance is replacing a living, growing plant goes against the grain.

But who’s to say a lawn is natural? If the house was built there would be no need for a lawn. The grass was planted in the yards around the house in an attempt to make the place look neat and tidy and visually appealing to our eyes.

In truth if the land that many of our homes and our constructed on were left undeveloped they would simply be overgrown with complex balanced network of vegetation that works well together. A grass lawn is actually a very poor substitute that this type of integrated environment and is in no way natural.

photo credit: rappensuncle

If you have ever been trolling fishing, or have been an angler for any amount of time, you know that using live bait to troll with is an excellent technique for ripping the trophy fish out of your favorite pond, river, or creek. Using live wild shiners is the best way, and you can catch all types of freshwater species using this bait. Largemouth bass, musky, walleye, catfish, smallmouth bass, and a lot more. There aren’t many freshwater species that won’t readily feed on wild shiners.

Presenting the bait to them in the proper manner is still key, even though you are fishing with live bait. The reason is, if you are drifting at 4-5 mph, you are going too fast for the fish. They aren’t ever going to come across a shiner booking it at 4-5 mph, so keep your speed in mind while you are trolling fishing!

What Does the Poison Ivy Plant Look Like? The Plant

Poison ivy is a vine that grows throughout the United States, Northern Mexico, and Southern Canada. What does Poison Ivy look like? The Poison Ivy vine may look like a shrub of up to 4 ft (1.2 meters) tall, or look like a ground-cover of up to 10 in (25 cm) high, or like a vine climbing any kind of supports. The Poison ivy vine may often have red “hairs”, and extensive hairy roots, but no thorns.

The leaves have 3 almond-shaped leaflets. The leaves are generally 1 – 8 inches (3 – 20 cm) long, but might be even longer. The color of the leaves varies, and may be green or reddish in the spring, green in the summer, and reddish in the autumn. Mature leaflets are smooth and somewhat shiny.

The Leaves have three leaflets and alternate on the Poison Ivy’s vine. The middle leaflet has a longer stem, in comparison to the 2 side leaflets. Sometimes the 2 side leaflets also have a tiny notch on each.

Poison Ivy’s flowers generally appear in May-July, and grayish-white berries – in August-November.

It’s important to note that there are 3 distinct types of Poison Ivy plant: climbing type, non-climbing type, and the hybrid type. Even though Poison Ivy is a vine that often climbs trees and walls, it might also grow as a shrub that does not climb anything.

Similar-looking plants include:

• Box-elder saplings
• Virginia creeper vines
• Western Poison-oak leaflets
• Poison Sumac
• Kudzu vine
• Blackberries and raspberries

What Does Poison Ivy Look Like? The Rash

The rash may be limited with just a few fine specks, or spread and cover large areas with large oozing blisters. Urushiol-induced Poison Ivy dermatitis has several stages of development, and it looks different within each stage.

At first Poison Ivy looks like a regular rash with reddish skin. Even at the early stages the rash is extremely itchy. Further, there may appear small “pimples” and bumps. These bumps start to fill up with clear fluid, and start looking like watery blisters. Fluid may start to seep out of the watery bumps and blisters. The affected skin may often be swollen.

Next, the slight redness may start getting worse, becoming vividly red, both, on the affected areas and around the affected areas. Next, the blisters may start turning brown, and develop crusts on top of them as the yellowish oozing fluid starts to dry. The oozing may be so bad that the bed sheets may get soaked at night.

Similar-looking conditions include:

• Heat rash,
• Another allergy-related rash
• Scabies (body lice)

What does Poison Ivy look like when the 2-3 week cycle of the dermatitis is complete? Many people do not have any remainders or any damage to their skin, while highly susceptible people or people who neglected proper treatment, may be left with scarring.