Hello, Posse!
I hope you are all having a wonderful week and are enjoying some nice weather. It finally stopped raining here (knock on wood!) for a while and we have been enjoying some sunny days. We broke down and bought a portable air-conditioner for the apartment. We just couldn't deal with another summer with just fans. This is one that chills the air with ice packs in a water tank and works surprisingly well. The benefit to this type over the units that have coolant in them, is this doesn't have to be vented to the outside, so we can run it anywhere in the apartment.
One thing I am not looking forward to about finally having warm weather after so much rain, we know mosquitoes are coming! There always has to be a downside somewhere, am I right?
I have never been fond of using harsh chemicals on my body to keep bugs away. Several years back I learned to make some homemade bug repellents and thought I would share a few here with you.
These are all fairly easy to make but the first is by far the easiest. If you are having a BBQ or have a firepit going, simply add a few plants to the coals and let them smolder. Things like lavender, sweet grass, and citronella are all natural bug repellents. You will be surprised how well this will help keep the area around the grill or pit clear of bugs.
Now, if you are looking for something you can put on your skin, you will need some essential oils that are approved to be used topically for humans.
What you will need:
A small spray bottle (preferably dark glass, many health food stores carry these)
Your essential oil (choose 2)
lavender (mosquitos, flies & gnats, ticks)
eucalyptus or lemon eucalyptus (mosquitos, ticks)
citronella (mosquitos, flies & gnats, ticks)
sage (mosquitos, )
thyme (Ticks)
peppermint (flies & gnats)
spearmint (flies & gnats)
There are others but these are a good place to start
Witch Hazel
Mix your essential oils and Witch Hazel at a 1:10 ratio. So if you put 6 drops of Lavender oil and 4 drops of eucalyptus oil in your bottle, you will have 10 drops total of essential oils. For the ratio we are using, you will need to add in 100 drops of Witch Hazel to the mix. Be sure to shake well before spraying.
And now for the legal stuff . . . Disclaimer: This is not medical advice or in actuality, advice of any kind. We are just sharing ideas here. As with all things like this, it is advisable to review ingredients with your doctor before applying them to your skin. DO NOT ingest these ingredients. If you try this recipe, by doing so you automatically agree to hold www.StephenBurckhardt.com as well as any and all persons associated with the site, blameless for any adverse reactions you or a loved one might have up to and including death.
If you want some more all natural bug repellant ideas, I suggest checking out Wellnessmama.com and their homemade bug spray recipes. (<--- click here to go) they have a lot of great ideas on this site. You might want to give them a try.
One great thing you can do in summer is sit outside on a nice day with an ice cold drink and read a good book. Part five in my serial, Into the West: To Save Them All is in the editing phase right now and will be coming soon! Part six Into the West: Last Showdown is almost written. I just have a bit more to go. I stopped writing it to get part five formatted and edited so I can get that to you to read while I finish up writing part six. It is going to be a good summer for The Into the West Saga Serial! Keep watching my social media for all the updates.
