Over 3.7 Million people went to hospital ER’s last June, July, August. School’s out, adults are on vacation, bike riding, camping, swimming, cookouts, etc, etc. Keeping a few items of common sense in mind this summer may help keep you or your loved ones out of harm’s way. I certainly hope so.

-Wear a helmet on the bike, skateboarding, riding the scooter, atv’s, horses….studies say head injury risk is reduced by 85%

-Locked gate to your pool, pool alarms, supervise your young swimmers at all times

-No charcoal grills inside…charcoal produces carbon monoxide

-Playground safety… Falls account for 60% of playground injuries

-Install window guards to prevent children from falling from open windows in your home. Window stops will only allow windows to open approx. 4 inches or so. Keep furniture back so children can’t gain easy access to climbing up to windows.

-Avoid serious injury from trampolines, allow only one child on at a time. Kids under 6 should not be allowed on full sized trampolines.

-Use softer than standard baseballs and batting helmets

-Campers who need heat in their camper/tent be sure to use only heaters with a (ODS) oxygen depletion sensor which will shut down the heater if oxygen levels fall dangerously low.

-Yard work..keep small children out of the yard when mowing. Always turn the blades off when children enter the area.

Family:Asteraceae USE: Salad, cooked green,cooked vegetable, fritter, coffee. Young leaves can be eaten raw in salad or boiled. Young flower buds can be boiled and served with butter. Flowers can be used for fritters. Baked and ground roots can be steeped to make a coffee-like drink.

I enjoy sharing a little of my love for nature with all of you. Just to show you how much I care about your healthy eating ….. If your personal dandelion supply runs low this year, you’re always welcome to come on over and pick all the dandelions out of my yard.