From the Editor — July/August 2019

Ah summertime, my favorite time of the year.

The beautiful green grass, the leaves on the trees, the colorful flowers — it’s all such a wonderful sight after a long winter of white.

There’s always so much to do during the summer months. Whether that means working in the yard, pens, coops, gardens, or other activities such as camping, fishing, picnics, weddings … there’s never a dull moment.

While working or playing in the outdoors, you may have an unfortunate encounter with poison ivy. Although not everyone is sensitive to the oils of this irritating plant, the poison ivy home remedies article from Jen VanBenschoten will come in handy should you break out in an itchy, painful rash.

If you have chickens and want to save some time each day, you’ll want to check out Romie Holl’s automatic chicken feeder plan. This is a low-cost, easyto-build feeder and will be a real time-saver for you.

I love herbs and each year I run out of garden space to plant all the types I would like to plant. So I was very happy when I received Rita Heikenfeld’s article, “Growing the Best Herbs for Containers.” Now I know which herbs I can successfully grow right on my deck!

I don’t know about you, but I will be making the most of every minute of summer because before I know it, the snow will be blanketing the scenery again.

I’m wishing you all an enjoyable summer. Remember to take some time to kick up your feet, relax in the shade with your favorite cool drink, and as always, feel free to drop me a line anytime.