Honey and doggie wisdom in your new home

Environment

Buzzing into Sweet Retirement

I'm looking at retirement homes, but not for me, for bees. Did you know that the U.K. has a retirement home for bees? Yes, honey. Quite the 5-star sanctuary of sorts, Honeysuckle Bee-tirement is complete with little houses filled with flowers, lots of pollen, sugar fountains, and little bee rooms. What more could bees want as they take a tiny load off? How about chairs. They also have miniature arm chairs! Now that's more like it, posh and sweet. They'll be buzzing about it in no time. 

The goal from the company who kicked this off, Flying Flowers, is to start a nation-wide movement to protect the declining bee population. While we may not be hammering away creating another bee resort, we can do things on our own like plan flowers around our houses, set out some sugar water bowls, buy a home for solitary bees, and refrain from using pesticides to protect the health of the bees. Now, me? I'll be looking for tiny arm chairs. 

Doggie DNA

Woof Wisdom

Whether traveling with your dog, having friends over, or just day-to-day life, a trained dog is what we strive for. Imagine if our kids just ran wild without any form of structure and discipline (although some may say they do at times).

Many think of training your dog and get overwhelmed and stressed. Instead, tackle one thing at a time and give it time for your dog to learn it. Every dog is different. Patience and positive reinforcement is key. Meet them where they are along the journey.

You can start with the basics, like sit, stay, and come. These are kind of the holy trinity of the dog command world. Start with one command at a time until your dog masters it to help build consistency and confidence. Whether a puppy or senior, they have an attention span just like we do so try to keep the sessions nice and short, around 5-10 minutes. When leash training, Turid Rugaas provides a great explanation with photos in her book "My Dog Pulls, What Do I Do?" Use a friendly, calm, and assertive tone. After all, you want your dog to realize this is a good thing, not a punishment. Don't lose your cool. 

Positive reinforcement can take many forms like vocal praise, back scratches, and dog treats. Reward your dog immediately when your dog follows a command. That's the key - immediately after so your dog associates the trained activity to the reward.

Also factor in your dog's size, age, and condition when giving treats as positive reinforcement. For puppies, there are tiny treats that can be used for training. The size may even be desirable to an older dog because you also want to factor in the caloric intake to avoid potential health problems. Don't just look in an aisle. You can make healthy homemade treats at home, some of which you bake first in an oven and let them cool. Doing this also allows you to easily break them up into the small pieces you want for training.

Don't forget to add immediate verbal praise at the same time. It will be like an instant party for your dog when he does a command. Consistency is key so repeat often, if not daily, in small bits until it is a learned behavior for your dog. Start to taper those treats when your dog learns the command so he doesn't always expect treats. You can add in and eventually swap for verbal praise and scratches, or verbal praise and then playing with your dog and his favorite toy for a few minutes. 

So keep your cool, get your tone right, bond with your dog, and give it a whirl - a consistent whirl. Training doesn't complete in one day or two days or, well, you get the point. Good luck!

Artistic edge, new golf aspiration, and admirable stucco

Egg decor: Maybe I should stop throwing out egg shells. 
Gasping golfer: Heck of a hole in one.
Stupendous stucco: Can I get this in my house?

Culture

Print Your Pad: The Future of Housing

How would you like a customized house to be built for you in just a few days? I think by now many people have heard of 3D printers and how they can create smaller objects. Stretch that idea because now they are revolutionizing construction of houses.

3D printed houses are quite a significant technological advancement in the construction industry. They allow for greater flexibility in design and customization. How it works is large-scale 3D printing machines create the structural parts of the house using various materials like concrete, polymers, or composite. Layer by layer they create the house. 

Even more impressive is the timing and possible cost savings. It's possible to construct a house using 3D printing in a matter of days vs. months or years. In fact, some companies are able to construct a small house in 24 hours!  Also, there could be significant cost savings because automating a lot of the construction process means labor costs are reduced and material waste is minimized.

This makes 3D printing of homes a customizable, fast, and more affordable option which can be great in housing shortages and providing shelter in disaster-stricken areas. Let me add to my to-do list that I would like a house next week. 

Chuckle

The fib is B. Frozen lemonade was invented by Frank Epperson in 1905 when he accidentally left a mixture of lemonade and a stirring stick on his porch overnight, leading to the creation of popsicles.

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