Autumn and the Start of Cold & Flu Season

The weather has been crazy this year! Am I right? The temperatures have been all over the place. Now October is here and it seems like it's finally starting to feel like fall.

With all of the cold rain and shifting temperatures comes ... insert horror flick music... Cold and Flu season *cough*.

Oh boy! Time to buy stock in tissues!

On Saturday after soccer, we were driving to the library and Renee got stung in the belly by a Honey Bee.

She was so upset because

1. It was unprovoked
2. She knows how important honey bees are
3. She knew that the honey bee was going to die
and she wanted to make sure we knew she didn't do anything to the poor honey bee.

Poor kid! We felt so bad. While she didn't seem to have a big reaction to the bee sting, the next day she came down with this cold that has just been hanging on and making her feel miserable.

Cough, stuffy head, nose and sinuses... pretty much everything but the fever.

Some of my family's Go-To Cold & Flu Season Products:

• Honey
• Children's Tylenol
• Children's Advil
• Puff's Tissues
• Ricola Cough drops

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Dear Mother Nature: Bring on Spring!

I woke up at 5 a.m. to a robo-dial from our local school to say school was cancelled, then a text message, 2 emails and another phone call. Thank you! I got the message loud and clear.

Playing outside!

Lola, our Pomeranian

Here in Maine we have Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall and arguably the fifth season "Mud Season". I thought we were entering mud season as nearly all the snow had gone. This past weekend Renee was riding Dan, an older pony, and a kids 4 wheeler all over the place at her grandfather's.

Her first time riding all by herself. Renee and Dan

Just this past weekend Dan took off at a trot, ending in a bouncy ride with a fall in the mud. Oops!

The winter has been mild and the frost isn't as deep as it has been in past years. My fiancee is a Plumber's Apprentice, working for his Father and they do a lot more than dealing with sewage. When they dig up sewer lines, broken pipes and the like they oftentimes find the frost-line. Some places it's only 4 inches, other places it's been a foot.

We did not get to go ice fishing this year. The ice was too thin and the shacks on the river were pulled off so the shacks wouldn't sink, risking losing them to the waters and their owners being fined. We're used to hearing the neighbors snowmobiling up and down the roads or in the trails behind our house, even that was short lived, as they were limited to a few weeks.

Example of a Robin. Photo credit: www.wivelsfieldschool.org

My mother always said the first signs of spring were when you see the Robins. Today there were over 100 cancellations all over the state. I hope those robins she saw found a warm place to hunker down. When I brought the dogs and my daughter outside to play today, the ground was covered in a blanket of snow and sleet- perfect for snow-tubing; but, treacherous for drivers. The town's snowplows and sanders have been out in force.

Lola and JD love the snow: Playing just like 2 kids!

Dear Mother Nature:

Please bring on Spring! We've had a mild Winter here in Maine, but the shift from 50's and sunny to below freezing the next week and snowy is just crazy! It's hard on the wildlife and the people, especially the small ones who adore you.

Sincerely,
Our Nature-Loving Family

In the meantime we can dream of warm spring days, when the frost and snow are all gone. We're looking forward to a successful vegetable garden and adding a few more perennials to the flower beds that border our house this year.