Make up some “Mint Mole Blaster” as follows: Begin by running a couple of big handfuls of mint stems and leaves through the blender with just enough water to make slurry. Then mix the blended concoction into a large soup pot full of water and simmer for about 30 minutes. This will make a concentrate that can be diluted to make about 6 gallons of mole blaster. Whenever you detect mole activity, pour the diluted mixture into mole holes and around the surrounding area. Irrigate lightly after application if the soil is dry. The key to success seems to be persistence. The moles evidently hate the smell of mint and if all goes well, the varmints will pack their bags and set up shop in your neighbors’ gardens.
I started growing mint just for this purpose. Since a mint plant can take over a garden, I chose to keep the plants in large pots. This way I always have a fresh and free supply.
This stuff definitely works! It may take a couple of days, but I can watch the mole hills get farther and farther away until they are completely out of the yard.
Ciscoe’s “Mint Mole Blaster” is really easy to make. Plus when it’s simmering on the stove, the whole house ends up smelling like fresh cut mint.
Here we have Ray on the left and Kurt on the right. Each one has mastered their very own distinct style of sword fighting. They meet in an epic battle at Kurt’s house. Who will win?
I came across this smoothie stand at the Great Peninsula Future Festival in Port Gamble, Washington. The festival was all about building a sustainable future. So this fit right in.
This has to be one of the coolest ways to make a smoothie I have ever seen! The bike is called a Fender Blender and is made by the people over at Rock the Bike. This is definitely going on my wish list!
Jennifer and I planned on visiting Port Gamble, Washington this weekend. It’s a cute little town on the Kitsap Peninsula. We found out just a day before going that this weekend is also when the Great Peninsula Future Festival is held there. The festival is all about “building a sustainable future”.
At one of the booths, I met author Michael Sterns. He’s writes books for children. He told us a little about himself and gave us a brief summary of his first book called Kokopella and The Butterfly.
Michael put a lot of thought into this book, from the size of the book to alternating the pages that the pictures are on. He told us he chose artwork that is very descriptive to make it easy for young children to “picture read”.
The Purple Haze Lavender Farm is probably my favorite. This place is just HUGE! They serve alcohol, have tons of vendors, and have live music that echoes through the fields.
You can’t leave the Purple Haze Lavender Farm without trying some of their lavender ice creams. My favorite flavor is the “lavender lemon custard”. Just the right amount of lavender. Tasty!
While at the farm, I met a guy named Sam who builds some awesome potting sheds. Jennifer and I have been looking at sheds for awhile, but haven’t found any as nice as his. Check out his website called Sam’s Workshop to see some of his work.
Also at the Olympic Lavender Farm, there was a booth that was selling lavender honey. Their honey came from the beehives that we walked by on the way in. This honey was actual lavender honey. Some manufacturers will take regular honey and then add lavender oil to it and call it lavender honey. Not these guys! Their bees visit the lavender plants right there on the farm.
Another thing I found interesting was these spinning wheels that are used for making yarn. I saw them at a couple different farms. They are wooden, handmade and human powered by means of two foot pedals. The contraption folds up and even has a little handle on top making it easy to carry.
