Archive for the ‘Red Claw Farming’ Category

Ten Wonderfully Superb Bed and Breakfast Inns

Saturday, January 23rd, 2010

If you’re not very familiar with Bed and Breakfast Inns most have some features in common. Whether small or massive, the inns are usually quaint and very comfortable. Many feature cozy fireplaces, beds with exquisite headboards and posts, spa tubs, large-screen TVs, and polished antique accoutrements. Many of the inns are endearingly rustic or tastefully elegant. Because of these commonalities, I do not list off such details in the following reviews.

1. Rabbit Hill Inn showed up on more than one or two top ten lists of Bed and Breakfasts; this I found to be quite unusual. Most travel writers have strong opinions that differ significantly at times, but some apparently reached a consensus on Rabbit Hill. Nestled in the Northern Vermont mountains, the inn is a perfect place to enjoy afternoon tea, walk the ten acres of wooded trails, or take a dip in the spring-fed swimming pond. At night you can read by the fireplace or gaze up at the stars, which seem more brilliant here than anywhere. You will be treated to a candlelit breakfast with fresh baked treats, apple cheddar crepes or perhaps a cheddar and roasted red pepper egg Napoleon drizzled with sundried tomato anglaise and rosemary potato galette. Whew! That’s a mouthful. And don’t even get me started on their dinners. You have to stay at least once at Rabbit Hill.

2. Napa Old World Inn is right in the middle of the Napa Valley and Sonoma wineries of central California and is comprised of four buildings— the main house built originally in 1874. Napa Inn is known primarily for two things: Friendliness and heavenly food. You are treated better than mom ever treated you. Fresh-baked chocolate cookies greet you upon check-in, there’s a 5:30 p.m. wine and cheese social hour, and then an array of devastatingly decadent chocolate desserts awaiting when you return to the Inn in the evening. Then wake up the next morning to a two-course gourmet breakfast, and then it begins all over again. Come for the featherbeds and warm fireplaces, stay for the food.

3. The Inn Above Onion Creek is located on an 88-acre spread in the hill country of Kyle, Texas. The inn was built in 1994 to resemble a late 1800s Texas homestead, meticulously planned with pampered guests in mind. It is rustic and antique—and extremely comfortable. Trouble is, it’s too easy to be distracted from the beautiful hill views out of every window. What with the Spa, the fresh flowers in your room, the hot breakfast with fresh-squeezed orange juice, the luscious three-course dinners, the romantic extras, it gets a bit difficult to concentrate. But you’ll just have to manage. A great Inn.

4. Belle Hearth is in historic Waynesboro, Virginia, deep in the Shenandoah Valley. The haunting Blue Ridge mountains beckon as well as fine wineries, antique shops, art centers, museums, and the Wintergreen Resort. Breakfast is a fancy Southern affair served on rare china. Fresh fruit and herbs complement homemade biscuits, hot breads, and waffles. The main courses include excellent quiches, breakfast casseroles, and smoked breakfast meats.

5. The Inn at Harbour Ridge is located on the charming Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri. There are lots of place to relax: on your private patio, or on the dock, or in the gazebo. There are no less than fourteen golf courses in the area so take your pick and book your tee time. Then after golf have another kind of tea time—one to remember at the Inn. In the evening, take a romantic stroll at the Ha Ha Tonka State Park, and wake up the next morning to a piping hot breakfast.

6. Scarborough Fair B & B is located in the historic Federal Hill area of Baltimore, Maryland. From here, you can have easy access to the city’s most popular attractions. The accommodations are exquisite and so is the food. For snacks, try the Sea Salted Coffee Toffee bars or the Pumpkin Gobs. I must warn you, if you become addicted, I can’t help you. For breakfast, try the Sweet Potato Biscuits, the Vanilla Apricot Scones, the Blueberry Banana bread, or the Sweet Potato Waffles. You’re guaranteed to enjoy your stay at Scarborough.

7. The Berry Patch is near Chocolate Town: Hershey, Pennsylvania. If there is such a thing, it is a majestic log home with antique Victorian charm. Everyone these days seems somehow intrigued with Amish country, and here you are, right in the middle of it. Relax by a trickling pond, stroll the tranquil 20-acre spread, explore the Amish farm country, get pampered by the B & B staff. Fresh snacks are always waiting in your room, and, when you awake, there’s a full, hot breakfast of treats like strawberry-stuffed French toast or Oatmeal Peach muffins just waiting for you.

8. Carriage House at the Harbor is in a little town called South Haven, Michigan where lake breezes blow and a walk on the beach ensures that your appetite is piqued for a bountiful breakfast. Carriage House is obviously very proud of its food. The dishes are featured prominently on their website: Cranberry/Orange and Pecan Scones, Marmalade butter, Crème Brulee French Toast, Sage Sausage, Devonshire Cream, Artichoke Tomato Quiche, Apple Cake, Spinach-bacon Strata, Parmesan Potatoes… Those are just a few items on the list. Sit down and enjoy breakfast while sailboats and yachts skim across the lake just outside the window. Think people enjoy their stay at the Carriage House? Over 85% of guests rebook over and over and over again.

9. In 1777 a wonderfully-appointed Georgian, colonial mansion was constructed and, since the early 1900s, it has operated as a country inn-the Eastman Inn. It’s truly an elegant home, with fourteen guest rooms and great views of the New Hampshire White mountains. Every room is unique, some with the antique claw foot tubs, others with more modern conveniences. You will never enjoy the same breakfast during your stay at Eastman—every morning a new menu is offered. There’s never a complaint about the breakfast either, except that sometimes it keeps one roundly satisfied until dinner. There are summer activities such as hiking and biking and winter activities like cross-country skiing, ice skating, or sleigh riding. You owe it to yourself to relax here.

10. Windham Hill is a classically beautiful 21-room country house in the Green Mountains of southern Vermont on 160 acres of some of the most peaceful and restorative woodlands you will find. Like some of the other inns, it is perfect for a romantic getaway. Stroll the manicured lawns and gardens, play on the clay tennis court, swim in the heated luxury pool, ski or ice skate in winter, socialize over wine and cheese, take a private massage in your room, then enjoy a candlelit dinner prepared by the finest chefs.

For the life of me, I can’t figure out why people often spend in the neighborhood of $100-200 for a hotel room when they could stay in many cozy, luxurious Bed & Breakfast inns for close to the same fee per night, especially in the off-season. Look into some of these inns I’ve recommended and choose one just for the heck of it. My bet is you’ll be addicted from the moment you set foot in one of these gems.

Debra Fortosis is a professional travel agent. You can book travel on her user friendly website. She can even help you easily launch your own turnkey e-travel business.
Register for a free monthly vacation giveaway!
Book Travel: http://www.mndgetaways.com
Contact Debra: mndgetaways@comcast.net

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Decorating and Remodeling FAQ

Friday, January 22nd, 2010

Any righteous room theme for a teen girl?I’m looking for a good room theme to revise my room. I’d like a mature and music base room ((guitars, music notes, etc.)) I like black, pink, green, wan, red, and gray.Any sculpture tips?I bought a tall shelving unit but it’s made of that really cheap wood “stuff” (lol) and covered contained by a wall-papery thing to make it look similar to actual wood. And I hate that! I want to paint it but I’m not sure which kind of paint to use,…Any suggestions for installing tile and wood flooring surrounded by a 100 year antediluvian dairy farm house?Our house is around 100 years old, so you can imagine the floor is not so even. We want to replace the hearth rug with wood flooring and the kitchen linoleum with tile. 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HomeAVA.com

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RED CLAW! Raising the Giant Australian Freshwater Crayfish

Tuesday, January 19th, 2010

41dpYUU8 nL. SL160  RED CLAW! Raising the Giant Australian Freshwater Crayfish

Product Description
The Red Claw crayfish is a new and very promising aquaculture species. The Red Claw is very similar to the native American species, except that it grows to a HUGE size–almost to that of a lobster! There are several other notable differences, such as year-round breeding, awesome fecundity… often over 700 eggs per breeder! They also have a non-aggressive nature, which allows many more Red Claw crayfish to live happily in a given space than would the native American crayfish. This book is one of the few sources for complete information on all aspects of the culture of this lobster sized freshwater crayfish. Compiled from leading edge research direct from Australia as well as individual and University finding… More >>

RED CLAW! Raising the Giant Australian Freshwater Crayfish

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A Look at the American Scarecrow

Monday, January 18th, 2010

Creatures made of straw, dressed as goblins or other dark spirit forces have long been part of America’s agricultural lore. They were designed to scare away intruders like crop-eating birds and animals, as well as thieves who would steal garden produce. In some cases it was believed that as advocates scarecrows encouraged abundance. Throughout history there have been crop protectors who could invite in the divine blessings of the food gods like Priapus the Greek god of farmers. In all cases, whether welcoming or frightening, scarecrows had an important job to do; they took care of the crops when the farmer was away.

Historically, the scarecrow as we know it here in America has strong bonds of kinship with other scarecrow spirits around the world. As a crop protector the scarecrow was the elaborate Slavic “spirits of the field.” The Polish starch (spirit), for example, was reputed to use riddles and difficult questions on suspected thieves, with threats of disease for the trespasser who answered incorrectly.

The Russian field spirit polevoj passed from the forest to the field at midday and punished those he found doing damage to the crops.

Centuries before scarecrows appeared in the fields, however, the task of scaring crows was handled by children. According to “Scarecrows” (Storey Books) by Felder Rushing, Captain John Smith and his crew reported settlers in Virginia noticing “small rounded huts woven of vines and bark perched atop wooden posts. They soon discovered that one of the children’s main summer and fall chores was to hide in those small basket houses until crows and deer came into the fields to eat.”

It was noted that the children would then chase away the intruders, making loud noises and beating drums to keep them away.

Taking their cue from Indians the British colonists took to hanging strips of cloth and animal skins in their fields. In the 17th century these early scarecrows, dressed in discarded clothing, began to take on a more human form.

Thomas Jefferson included mention of three of them in The Farmbook, a farm guide he published in 1826.

By the 19th century the American scarecrow began to be used for decoration as well as for practical purposes. Creative expression became more commonplace and, as modernized farming techniques such as chemicals appeared on the agricultural horizon, these harvest figures evolved to take on a more ornamental and artistic nature including appearances in film.

The most noted is in The Wizard of Oz. There the scarecrow, looking much like the cornfield scarecrows of Kansas that are perched high upon posts so they can be seen above the corn stalks, guides Dorothy who is lost to the Emerald City where she finds a way to return home. But before that classic film came The Scarecrow, a 1920 silent film featuring Buster Keaton as a scarecrow that comes to life and gets in the way of machinery which has forever changed the agricultural landscape.

Today’s scarecrow can be found in numerous Harvest Festivals and school gardens across the country. Realistically dressed in the finest of clothes with hand painted faces and wire sculpted bodies, undeniably scary with sinister red faces and black claws,  or whimsically placed on bicycles or in family settings such as picnics, they create a unique garden landscape – on the front porch as well as in the garden – that is memorable.

Karen Pierce Gonzalez is publisher of folkheart press (http://www.folkheartpress.com) and author of “Family Folktales: What Are Yours?” and the soon to be released “Family Folktales: Write Your Own Family Stories.” Join her Folktale Conversation at http://folkheartpressblog.blogspot.com

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Getting RS Summoning Ingredients

Sunday, January 17th, 2010

Secondary Items Needed in RunescapeOnce you have the scrolls, the charms, the pouches, and the summoning points ready to summon, chances are the item will call for some secondary materials before it can be summoned. These summoning spells need extra ingredients that can typically be from drops, from purchasing on the Grand Exchange, or from careful foraging.

Non Stackable Charms

While these are called charms, they aren’t typical in the way that other charms are and are considered “materials”.Talon Beast Charm – These can be received in the minigames of Temple Trekking and Burgh de Rott Ramble.Abyssal Charm – These are drops from The Abyss creatures when killed.Obsidian Charm – These are drops from the TzHaar monsters when killed.Spinner, Torcher, Shifter, Ravager Charm – Purchased from the Void Knight Outpost.

Non Animal MaterialsWillow Branches – With a level of 30 in farming, you can grow Willows to cut these from.Water Orbs – Go to the water obelisk and charge an unpowered orb (level 46 crafting).Fishbowl – Made with crafting, level 43, from molten glass.Red Flowers – Grow these from mithril seeds or you can buy these from the flower girl.Potato Cactus – Gather in Kalphite Lair but not near the Kalphite Queen.Carved Turnip – (Level 42 Farming) Grow an evil turnip and carve with a chisel.Bagged Plant – Buy these from the Falador park garden supplier.Granite – Mine in the Desert quarry (level of mining-45).Bronze Claws – Smith these or buy from the Rogue’s Den Lost and Found.

Animal MaterialsVampire Dust – This is a drop from vampires throughout the area.Unicorn Horn – This is a drop from the various unicorns throughout the area.Yak Hide – The level 22 Yaks will drop yak hide when killed.Honeycomb – Take some insect repellent and gather from the Catherby beehives.Polar Kebbit Fur – Catch with hunting skill (level 1) and drop by the polar kebbits.Cockatrice egg – Takes level 25 slayer and dropped from level 37 Cockatrice.Dagannoth Hide – While on Waterbirth Island, these are drops from dagannoth kings and dagannoths.Goat’s Horn Dust – Get a horn as a goat drop and grind it, or it is a drop by scarab magi and locust riders.Raw Bird Meat – Catch a bird or buy at the Oo’glog store.Proboscis – Kill mosquitos to get.Chinchompa – With level 53 hunting skill, you can catch them at the Piscatoris hunting area.Kyatt, Larupia, Graahk fur – Trap them with a pitfall trap, hunting skill.Ruby Harvest – With a level 15 hunting skill you can net catch them.Raw Thin Snail – Either bought at general store in Burgh de Rott or killed in Mort myre swamp.Spider Carcass – Kill jungle spiders for these.Swamp Lizard – With a hunting skill of 29, can be net trap caught.Snake Hide – Bush snakes drop them, or skin a corpse in the Snake event.Swamp Toad – As a drop from tortoises or found in swamps.Tortoise Shell – Possible drop from tortoises.

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