Hello and welcome back to the wonderful world of the Dogpound. It has been kind of a rough week since my riding lawn mower bit the dust. I had mowed most of the yard and was anxious to the get the last part done out by the lane before the next series of storms blew into town. I fired it up in the shed, and she sounded louder than normal, almost like the muffler had a hole in it. I drove it over to the garage to fill it up with gasoline, and headed out to the lane hoping I…
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Ever heard of the Clean 15 and the Dirty Dozen? No, it isn’t the name of a movie or TV series. The Dirty Dozen are foods you should always buy organic because they are the most susceptible to pesticides and toxic sprays. The Clean 15 are foods that are OK to enjoy conventionally. The list was created by the Environmental Working Group, a national watchdog that researches and recommends products that are generally safe and those that have a high percentage of pesticide residues or are most often genetically modified. Organic produce will deteriorate quicker than conventional, so check for…
Hello and welcome back to the wonderful world of the Dogpound. I hope you enjoyed your three-day weekend. I also hope you took time out to honor those who have served and given their lives so we can enjoy the freedom that is denied to many in this world. God bless them and all who have served and are currently serving this great country. Since I am writing this in advance, I am not sure what I plan to do over the holiday, but I suspect it will entail lots of outside work, weather permitting. Speaking of outside, I need…
During spring, we have already experienced 90-plus-degree days. Every summer, we hear the tragic stories of children and pets being left in non-running vehicles. We know, from studies conducted, that temperatures can reach and even exceed 130 degrees inside vehicles. The time that it takes for a car to heat up is not as long as one may think. The human body is capable of managing heat, but only to a point. The younger or older a person is, the shorter the time before heat management shuts down and the body begins to heat up. In other words, a person…
There will, undoubtedly, be people that will fall out of boats this summer and drown. If that is true, what must we do to prevent it from occurring? Boating safety is the responsibility of every boat owner. Safety equipment on a boat is required to prevent the loss of life of any person on a boat. The problem is that although a boat has an adequate number of personal flotation devices, they are useless if no one puts them on. There are many people who get on a boat and cannot swim. A personal flotation device may be the difference…
Hello and welcome back to the wonderful world of the Dogpound. As I mentioned last week, I had the opportunity to go the Kentucky Oaks races at Churchill Downs, which is held the day before the Kentucky Derby. The rains had stopped, the sun came out, and it was turning into a pretty nice day to be at the track. After a few races, we decided to go down in the grandstand and grab something to eat. We went over to a booth and picked up a pulled pork sandwich, bag of chips and a bottle of water. The BBQ…
Hello and welcome back to the wonderful world of the Dogpound. I had the opportunity to go the Kentucky Oaks race, which is held at the famous Churchill Downs a day before the Kentucky Derby. I got an invite from a vendor to attend the Friday race, and I was in a bit of quandary on how to dress since he said he would be wearing a coat and tie. As most of you know, these races are known for the ladies who dress up in colorful dresses and hats, and even some of the men get into the act.…
A two-wedding weekend to remember My reason for writing this column is to educate my readers on a plethora of life safety issues. Fires, motor vehicle accidents and medical emergencies are happening every day. However, every once in a while, I get to write about something different. I recently attended two weddings, one that I officiated and one that I was invited to as a surprise guest; the first in Virginia and the second in West Virginia. The wedding in Virginia was at 1 p.m. and the West Virginia wedding was at 2 p.m. The Virginia wedding was a picturesque…
I listened as Chesterfield Fire Chief Loy Senter addressed the attendees at this year’s TRIAD meeting. He said the majority of emergency responses were for medical incidents and that it is important for everyone to ensure that their addresses are readily identifiable from the street. Whether a response occurs in the day or night, house numbers should be visible to emergency responders. The longer that it takes personnel to find your residence, the longer it will be for patient care to begin. If you have a mailbox at the street, then you need to have numbers that are reflective and…
Hello and welcome back to the wonderful world of the Dogpound. Unless you have been living under a rock, you know what is coming up this Sunday, and likewise, those who have read my articles over these many years know what I mean when I say, what you really need to give Mom this day is a four-letter word: time! You can give her candy, gifts and cards, and even take her out for dinner. That is all well and good, but what we are talking about is her time. This should mean that you have the cell phone turned…