It can be amusing to observe your pet munching on a a clump of grass in the backyard, but if you see your cat eating grass, you probably also know that he or she is probably about to throw up. Cats lack the necessary enzymes to break down vegetation like grass, but often graze on it to purposely rid their digestive tract of fur, parasites or bones from any prey they may have been lucky enough to catch. Dogs eat grass too, but are less likely to vomit from ingesting it. (If a dog is eating grass on a regular basis, you may want to check with your vet to see if he or she is getting enough fiber.)
But while eating grass is fairly harmless habit for both dogs and cats, there are some plants that can be toxic to pets. So whether your pet roams the backyard, or your indoor pet stalks the houseplants, know what toxic plants for pets you should keep an eye out for and try to help them avoid.
While they look beautiful in a flower arrangement and can be a very attractive addition to your landscaping, lilies are especially harmful to cats (and certain species are toxic to dogs). Even small amounts of any part of the plant can cause severe kidney problems. Consider swapping out your Easter lilies for another early-blooming flower, or put vases and potted lilies in an area that’s inaccessible to pets.
Oleanders are shrubs with white, pink and red flowers. They’re beautiful, large shrubs that are native to the Mediterranean and thrive even in hot, dry climates. Yet even though oleanders are often planted along highways to block noise/pollution and are often incorporated into residential landscapes, all parts of the shrub are poisonous to pets (and to people). Oleanders contain compounds called cardiac glycosides, which can cause heart problems, hypothermia or death. If you have oleander at home, be very careful when pruning it to avoid leaving small, easily ingested pieces around your yard for pets or kids to find.
Sago palm grows in southern states and along the West Coast. It has a crown of shiny, dark green leaves on a thick shaggy trunk. Eating this plant can be fatal to pets in up to 75 percent of cases. Look for neurologic changes, seizures and liver failure. Symptoms can appear within 15 minutes to 3 days. All parts are toxic, but the seeds are the most dangerous. Keep your pets out of range of this palm if at all possible.
As marijuana becomes legal in more places, watch for this plant. Consumption of any part of the plant can cause mild neurologic signs (stumbling or altered mental state) or more serious complications, like seizures and even a coma.
Visit the ASPCA’s website (aspca.org) for a full list of toxic plants.
Life is like a thief to our souls
It pretends to offer us a million chances, a million dreams
But it is never really that way, or so it seems.
Life is so complicated,
Not by choice but rather by right
Some have a whole year, some have only a night.
Who is to say who deserves this or deserves that,
Why must it be this array?
Has everyone not came into the world, the same way?
Life steals all that it can
It pretends to matter, it pretends it doesn’t demand.
Secretly it plots and delivers each blow
I bet you all have experienced this,
I bet you all know.
Life shows us beauty, that lasts for a little while
It displays smiles on the faces of babies
But after that we only have mere traces,
Of the thing that once brought us that smile.
Our minds are the worst pawns in this game
They often forget,
But always seem to remember a regret
A shame, a forbearance, a pain.
That is why we all are the pawns in this crooked game.
Sure we have good followed by fair,
Sometimes we have wishes, but only if we dare.
We may all succeed in what seems a personal challenge or contest
But are we ever truly able to rest?
Will our legacies be enough?
How about all of our stuff?
Maybe just ourselves, will be enough.
Will having the upper hand,
Make us a very content and happy man?
In our courage or fame,
Will we be offered more of the same.
Is all that we are, under our birth name,
Or is it how we survived all our pain.
How we dealt with it,
How we rose despite it
What we learnt from it.
I am not sure
Sometimes even writing is a chore.
Perhaps there are other things for which to write,
Alright!
What is it with wine glasses? They always seems to break off near the stem when they drop. Which happens quite often in our house. Yup, we like to party. Not the drugs, sex and rock and roll kind of parties, mind you. More like big bonfires, drumming circles and kumbaja till the early hours of the morning. So when our wine glasses break, what do we do? We turn them into fairy garden cloches or make these awesome coconut planters. It’s way more fun than just throwing them away 😀
They look stunning as a rustic center piece and can be made in a few hours. So grab those broken glasses and some coconuts and let’s get cracking shall we 😉
First things first. Cutting the coconuts and getting all the yumminess out to use later.
We prefer to buy our coconuts fresh, since it works out cheaper and I love the taste of the meat when it hasn’t been desiccated yet. It’s not so coconutty 😀 Did you know that the dried meat inside is called Copra? Me neither, LOL. Anyways to cut and clean the coconut you’ll need a glass (to drain the milk), hacksaw and a knife. Remove all the hair on the outside of the coconut. Don’t throw it away. You can use the hair to make these adorable miniature bird’s nests. Look for three little indents at the bottom of the coconut. One of the indents will feel more squishy than the others.
Grab a sharp knife and dig that little squishy indent and the meat behind it out.
Flip the coconut onto the glass and drain the milk. Once it’s empty you can use a hacksaw to cut it in half.
Scoop the meat out with a knife and save those inside bits for later. You can hop on over to my friend Jas’s delicious cooking site to get some amazing coconut recipes BTW.
Eye ball the thickness of the wine stem and grab a drill bit that’s a little bit thicker and make a hole in the bottom, center of the coconut half. You’ll only need to drill into one of the halves since the indents should be wide enough for the stem of the wine glass to fit into. Don’t forget to drill a few small drainage holes too 😉
Mix up some strong all purpose glueand attach the wine stem to the coconut half. We used Pratley Steel Quickset but any waterproof, non-toxic glue like E6000 should work.
To hide the glue we just used some of the coconut hair that we removed earlier.
Once the glue has dried you can start filling the planters.
We put succulents in ours. The spikey job in the picture above is a Gasteria Flow, I think. They’re often confused with Aloes, but they require less light and make ideal house plants. They get their name from the sac-like shape of their flowers, which are supposed to resemble a stomach, hence the name gasteria, 😀 Ours have never flowered so I’m not 100% sure. Pot the offsets in a small pot, using the same soil as the mother plant and put it a warm, bright spot. Add a little bit of perlite to the mix to help aerate the soil and help retain water. It also makes the soil much lighter.
The little trailing plant is a Crassula pellucida. One of my all time fav indigenous succulents. She’s super easy to grow. Just cut one of her trails off and stick it in the ground. Each little leaf produces roots and a new plant will form in no time.
So next time someone breaks a wine glass, don’t throw it away. Save the bits and turn them into coconut planters instead.
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People of all age groups suffer due to memory loss or frequent forgetfulness at some point in their life. Mental stress or unnecessary thinking, pressure related to personal as well as professional life, extremely hectic schedule throughout the day, etc. could be the few reasons for the same.
However, the best part is that a human brain can be trained, just like the body. The strength of a human brain can be enhanced, and performing mudras are one of the best ways to do so. Hakini mudra is a very effective gesture which is referred to God in Hindu culture and is associated with 6th Chakra. It guides your consciousness through your 6th chakra, also called the third-eye or pineal eye. This mudra is also recommended for many memory training and management programs.
If your mind is at the right place, you can accomplish everything. That’s why the successful people more focus on getting their mindset right before anything else. So, check out the benefits as well as the correct procedure of doing the Hakini mudra:
Step 1: Raise your hands and let them face each other without touching.
Step 2: Fold the fingers of both hands slightly inwards and let fingertips of both the hands touch each other.
Step 3: Ensure that your palms do not touch each other since the fingers tips will act as the only joining points for both hands.
Step 4: Focus your eye gaze on the third eye, i.e. at 6th chakra (at the center of the forehead).
Step 5: Inhale and let your tongue touch the roof of your mouth.
Step 6: Exhale and allow your tongue to relax.
Step 7: Take few deep breaths and let your mind to focus on the things you want to recall or analyze.
Thus, by placing the fingertips of both hands together, you connect the flow of energy between the two sides of your brain and body. Practice Hakini mudra for gaining memory strength and brain power for 45 min daily. Or practice it 3 times in a day for 15 minutes.
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