Category Archives: Guest Post

The Difference an Inflatable Mattress Can Make

Guest Post:

If you are planning a camping trip this summer, you are probably looking forward to it. The one thing that you may not be looking forward to, however, is sleeping on the cold, hard ground on the inside of a tent. No matter how thick the sleeping bag is that you are sleeping in, it seems that it is never enough to keep you from waking up with a stiff neck and a sore back. This can be enough to ruin anyone’s outdoor adventure. For some the idea of sleeping on the ground is enough to plan on a much shorter trip. Simply because you will have to be without a good, comfortable place to sleep seems to make the trip a bit less enjoyable. For this reason, investing in an inflatable mattress can be a very good way to enhance your camping experience.

Inflatable mattresses are mattresses that are made of a thick vinyl or plastic material that you fill with air. Some of these mattresses are covered with a very nice pad on the top. These can be so comfortable, that you would never know that it wasn’t a real mattress you have just slept on. It is almost like sleeping on a huge pillow of air. They come in a wide variety of styles and sizes. They can be found in everything from a twin size mattress to a king size. A lot of these mattresses even come with a portable, battery operated, pump for ease of inflating when outdoors. They can usually be deflated very quickly because they are equipped with an air release nozzle that will allow the air out for easy deflation. These take up very little space when deflated and are easily packed away when they are not in use.

While planning your family’s next camping trip or vacation, you should definitely consider the purchase of one or more inflatable mattresses. It will give you a better night of sleep and will ultimately make camping outdoors a much more enjoyable experience.

How To Install Truck Bed Mattress

Guest Post:

Truck mattresses are not very different than your traditional spring King Koil mattress. And they are also not much different from the natural latex Englander mattress you have in your bed. Truck mattresses comprise of better more durable materials. They need to be designed to suit different sizes and shapes of different trucks. Truck mattresses can also be custom made to suit specific size. Though primarily designed for being used in trucks, they prove to be very good for camping tents or even for being used at home.

Depending on its size, shape and specific features the price can vary from $50 to $100. Usually truck mattresses are made from double boat valves that are sturdier than the pinch valves often employed in air mattresses. Often, a hand or battery operated pump is provided to facilitate its use. Be sure to measure the size of your truck to get natural latex mattress that fits perfectly.

Having received the truck mattress, follow these tips for its installation. First, you let it expand to its full natural shape for at least two hours before you start sleeping on it. Align the mattress with its bottom facing down and its slots sitting properly on either end. Ensure that your body doesn’t get in touch with the sides of the vehicle after you have fixed the mattress in your sleeping position.

Irrespective of its being a latex mattress or an air mattress, a good mattress in your vehicle allows you to sleep comfortably at night and you get up feeling fresh the next morning. It is good to have a break on a long highway, and with a mattress around you can afford to have a nap in the afternoon. Mattresses can be made to size and you can have one tailored to suit your size and taste. So make sure you take good measurements and you will have a perfect bed in no time.

How to pick the perfect goose call

Guest Post:

Goose hunting is a sport that has soared in popularity in the hunting community of late.  The reasons for this are somewhat obvious given the burgeoning population of both the Canada goose and the Snow goose.  Heck, when you look at the snow goose population they even have special seasons in the spring to try and curb the overall amount of birds due to them ruining the breeding grounds in Canada.  Another key thing that I think a lot of people miss when they assess the reason that goose hunting is so popular is the ability to use a goose call to bring the birds in close and personal.

A good duck caller can help bring birds close, but a good goose caller will assuredly put more meat on the table.  No doubt that the most important thing is to be in the right spot (as it is with all hunting), a person in the right spot with a poor call is going to struggle mightily.

So when it comes to picking the perfect goose call it is important to note your level of expertise.  If you are a new and beginning goose hunter you should try and go with the easiest call possible to blow well.  Invariably this will be a wood call and more specifically I would recommend the goose flute.  This call has a pretty good range and is relatively easy to call well with.

If you are graduating into a more deeper understanding of what a goose call can do, a short reed goose call is right up your alley.  This call is much harder for a beginner to use well, but the range and sheer number of calls possible is night and day compared to a standard goose call.

If you want to learn more about goose hunting and goose calling please visit www.shortreedgoosecall.com.

Starting an Organic Garden

Guest Post:

Contrary to popular opinion, pesticides and man-made fertilizers are not necessary to create an attractive and productive garden. Commercialized gardening chemicals can be dangerous, especially if you are growing food in your garden. Organic gardening is much healthier both for the plants and for the gardener who is working with them.

The first thing to do is pick an area that gets at least half a day’s worth of sunshine. It will also need to have good access to water and be able to drain well, or you could raise your garden bed a few inches from the ground.

To prevent weeds you will first need to dig and pull out any ones that are remaining, rake out the debris after you are done to ensure that the area is completely clear, you can wait a little while to see if any weeds sprout again. Afterward you should add natural compost to the soil along with greensand. The sand will help supply your soil with phosphorus, potassium, and nitrogen.

Dig up some of bed soil and mix it with the fertilizer, if the ground is clay you should add additional sand to it. Leave the soil for about a month so the nutrients can be properly distributed. During the meantime you can find organic mulch to place over the soil, ground bark or coconut husks work great for this.

You should also create a compost pile in the back of your garden. Any extra leaves, natural food waste, and anything organic can be placed in this pile. This will make for an excellent fertilizer with all the necessary nutrients. You will need to be careful when placing some foods on the compost pile as they may smell or attract rodents, some natural kitchen waste will be fine. Another great source of organic fertilizer is grass trimming from when you are finished mowing the lawn, they break down fairly quickly and are easy to handle.

Home Turned Green: resources for indoor gardens and outdoor gardens.

Diverse food for aquarium fish

In a previous post I touched lightly on the importance of giving aquarium fish live food. Live food provides a more natural and a more balanced diet than a commercially prepared fish food. The prepared foods should only be considered as a basic diet, not the total diet.

A typical way of feeding aquarium fish is to sprinkle a quantity of dry food into the aquarium. As the food slowly drifts to the bottom the fish try to get a share. If the fish are unable to eat all of the food, it settles into the aquarium gravel. Bottom feeders and smaller fishes will eat some of the settled food but if it is allowed to stay in the tank it will rot and foul even a large fish tank. Live food not only gives the fish more of the nutriments they need, it permits the fish to feed in a more natural manor.

Below I have listed some of the more common live foods that can be used in an aquarium. My list is by no means complete. It is intended as an introduction only. You can purchase these foods, or even collect them yourself if you wish.

BLOODWORMS & GLASS WORMS – are not worms but the larval form of a fly. Both larvae make an excellent food for mature fish but should not be in a tank with small fry; the larvae are capable of catching and killing the fry.

TUBIFEX WORMS – is probably the most used worm in an aquarium as most dealers stock tubifex worms year around. They can however be found in bodies of water that is rich in organic and vegetable wastes.

MICROWORMS – is a small worm that was discovered to be easily cultivated and made an excellent food for small fish. Other worms that make good fish food include the Grindal worm, White worm and the common earthworm. It is better to not make a steady diet of any one thing. Larger worms should be fed in smaller easier to swallow pieces. To avoid a mushy mess while cutting up the worms use a quick-freeze method. Quickly freeze the worms. When you want to do a feeding, take out the amount of worms needed and cut them with a razor to the desired size.

OTHER – The common housefly is also an excellent food for the fish tank Aquarium. Be aware that only the swatted flies are acceptable as fish food. Flies that have been killed with insecticides are poisonous to the fish that eats them.

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