Canoe Camping at Frontenac

This August we made two trips to Big Salmon Lake in Frontenac Park with our 3 and 5 year old children.  We decided it was a good midpoint between car camping and portaging. We just have too much gear and not the right kind of gear (ie tiny and waterproof) to manage a longer canoe trip this year.   Big Salmon lake is a beautiful alternative to car camping; you can park beside the lake and then canoe about an hour and a half to the end of the lake to campsite 5A and 5B, which are our favorite sites because of the great swimming in the shallow and sandy bay. We stayed 3 nights both trips, and went for hikes and boat rides from there. Ironically, the weather reports were completely wrong for both trips . The first time it worked in our favour because we thought we were going to be waiting out a thunderstorm or two, but it was sunny and hot the whole weekend! The second time, however, was  the opposite, we were expecting clear skies and got absolutely pummeled with rain. We learned a lot more about camping on that trip, I have to say. More about our tent, more about the gear and clothing we packed (I have a whole new appreciation for ‘quick dry’ clothing). My favorite most ridiculous moment involved – picture it – me, 2 am, outside my tent in the pouring rain, wearing only my raincoat, wielding an axe and a large sun umbrella, hacking away at the notch in the wood border to our tent site, in order to drain out the watery puddle that we had woken to find our tent floating in. So here is my camping tip for you all: ‘tent pads’ are worth checking out before you set up camp – is it in the shape of a bowl? if so, you might be in trouble. Next time, I’m bringing a small pointy spade to dig drainage canals if possible.

Frontenac is a great park for camping, even better for backpacking on the many wonderful trails. We’ll be back next year for sure.

Winter Wonderland

I love winter walks in the quiet woods. We brought the snowshoes to the Jack Pine Trail recently, but didn’t really need them as the path is always well-traveled. We followed deer tracks, fed the chickadees and bluejays, and explained to our disappointed two year old that the ducks had all flown south for winter!  Bringing a sled was a good idea for last half of the trip, when they decided to ride back singing Jingle Bells all the way.

Tips for soothing itchy bug bites

my campers!

It hasn’t been a good summer for the mosquitoes, but the deerflies have been revelling in the sun and heat.
Our family went camping with friends at Bon Echo Provincial Park over the August long weekend, and my daughter got everyone’s share of bites. I confess, I just thought there weren’t any bugs around because I didn’t see any, nor did I get bitten more than once or twice. However I soon realized, with that familiar pang of Mother-Guilt, it was because all the bugs were feasting on my 4 year old!
I had some homeopathic Ledum in my first aid kit, which is helpful for many types of bites and stings, but this time it didn’t relieve the itching. Ledum has helped her heal up from some very nasty bites before, but this remedy works best for the specific symptoms that come on when infection is looming – the bite takes on a bluish tinge, feels cold, but is better from cold applications.
The most common natural remedy is the tried and true baking soda paste. You can also add it to the bath, and it does relieve itching temporarily. We didn’t bring any.
We had brought along some ‘booboo icepacks’ with princesses on them, and those worked well at home, as a bit of cold takes away the itch nicely too. (At least I think it’s the cold that helps, but honestly, it might just be the glitter bespangled princesses that seem comforting) Icepacks, however, don’t really work well when camping, as we just couldn’t keep them cold enough.
Another thing to try is the oatmeal bath, which is very soothing and also good if what you have isn’t actually a lot of bug bites, but swimmer’s itch, which starts out looking the same!
We realized this after Dad came down with a whole bunch of ‘mosquito bites’ that arrived the day after we got home….

Shirley’s Bay Picnic

a breezy picnic spot

Although I’ve been cross country skiing many times through the trails at Shirley’s Bay, I’ve never explored them in summer. And what a treat! We enjoyed the diversity of the landscape. Meadows of wildflowers greeted us and provided a lesson in ‘succession’ too – these meadows are old farm fields which are now full of berry bushes and thickets, which provide much needed food and shelter for birds.  Eventually, the thickets will evolve into forest. The recent rain has brought out some new blooms, especially  the Queen Anne’s Lace. Fortunately, we didn’t spot any of the Giant Hogweed that’s been making news headlines – it is a poisonous flower that looks a bit like Queen Anne’s Lace, but has large, wide leaves and grows quite tall. If you touch it, apparently it causes severe rashes/burns.

We heard many unusual bird calls, and I’m sure birders would have ‘a field day’ there! We saw a gorgeous black butterfly with blue spots, which I haven’t been able to identify yet.
(Let me know if you have any ideas!)

can anyone identify this butterfly?

After a 20 minute walk through the meadows on the wider, flatter trail – which, by the way is suitable for strollers – we came to the shore of the Ottawa River. It is a rare treat to come across a wild patch of shoreline area so close to the city, and the water was low, so it was a bit like the ocean at low tide. The kids loved running around on the mud flats, (which are more solid than they look) and finding snail shells.We found fresh deer prints in the mud too, so the kids were following them all over the place and they figured out that the deer were coming from the woods out to the edge of the water, probably to have a drink.

the search for snail

We enjoyed a shady picnic and the cool breezes off the water were a welcome treat after the heat of the meadow. Cicadas were singing and all in all a really lovely adventure. There is a loop trail there, which we didn’t do, because it would be a bit long for my 2 year old. We walked about 20 minutes on the widest trail which went straight to the river, spent about 30 minutes there having a picnic and exploring at the water’s edge, then walked 20 minutes back. My 2 year old was sleeping in the stroller on the way back, having run full speed all the way there!

The Ottawa River at Shirley's Bay

We love Chickadees

I know they are not rare or unusual birds, but they are a wonderful introduction to wildlife for young ones. I love their  friendly nature and their call, it’s so cheery to hear them in the woods.   My 18 month old calls them ‘deedle deedle dees’  – I think he has chickadee-dee-dee mixed up with cock-a-doodle-do0!

We’ve found that chickadees like sunflower seeds the best, and the little yellow seeds they sell as ‘wild birdseed’ tend to get overlooked in favour of the big prizes. The Blue Jays love peanuts – so do squirrels – and the deer love carrots and other vegetables.

There is a wonderful book called ‘Stranger in the Woods’  with beautiful pictures of winter wilderness, deer, owls, cardinals, chickadees, porcupines, etc – about a snowman full of treats for the wild animals…a lovely story for kids by Carl R. Sams II and Jean Stoick.

Mud Lake

We’ve been lucky to have a beautiful November in Ottawa this year (wow I don’t think I’ve ever said those two words consecutively before – ‘beautiful’ and ‘november’).  Usually I find this grey, cold, dark month a bit hard to take, knowing that spring is so far off.

The Acorn club ventured out to Mud Lake for a lovely walk in balmy weather and there were lots of birds to see. We saw a Great Blue Heron, and a Pileated Woodpecker, and some Merganzer ducks.

Some birdwatchers were there with a fancy telescope so my four year old daughter was invited to take a close up look at the heron and the merganzers.

I couldn’t believe how fat the squirrels were, and how bold! But the toddlers really enjoyed feeding the chickadees, who landed right in their hands…

Natural remedies for the Flu

Despite all the media hype and scare-mongering about swine flu, most parents I know are doing a great job of not panicking. As we know, most of the cases so far are quite mild.  The flu is also very treatable with homeopathic remedies. A lot of moms are asking me about flu remedies, so I’m going to write a little bit about them here.

First of all, for those unfamiliar with homeopathy, it is a 200 year old system of medicine that used diluted ‘micro-doses’ of a substance to heal a specific set of symptoms. The remedies seem to stimulate the immune system to produce a healing response, when the symptoms are matched exactly to the remedy’s ‘symptom picture’.  The main principle behind how it works is called ‘The Law of Similars’ – which means that any substance is capable of producing symptoms at a high dosage, and the same substance can heal those symptoms in a microdose. It’s all about the size of the dose. As we know, not enough Vitamin A will make us sick, just the right dose is necessary for us stay healthy, and too much is a liver poison.

A good illustration is the common onion. When we chop an onion, most of us experience watering eyes and a runny nose. The onion, when prepared as a homeopathic remedy called ‘allium cepa’ is often used to alleviate cold and hayfever symptoms.

Homeopathy is very individualized. If 10 people came to me with the swine flu, I would likely prescribe 10 different remedies.  I’m going to give you a few examples of commonly used remedies, but keep in mind that there are hundreds of possible remedies that could cover a case of flu, depending on the individual.

I can give you a recent case of swine flu as an example.  A 13 year old boy, the son of a homeopathic student, came down with the flu over the weekend. He was quite ill, so she took careful note of his symptoms; he felt too hot but when he took off the blankets he was too cold; chills but not shaking, complete exhaustion, sour smelling perspiration, fever of 103, restlessness, fear he was going to die,  not able to sleep. He also had some nausea and stomach pain.

Now, when looking at the case, most of these symptoms are typical flu symptoms, covered by many remedies. We need to look at what is unusual, or unique. The mental state – being afraid he would die – is not common with every flu (although right now, with all the panic, we might see it more often); this fear combined with restlessness and chilliness points to the remedy Arsenicum album.

The next day the boy’s fever broke and he was walking around again and feeling much better.

Some  examples of flu remedies and their symptom pictures are included below; keep in mind that all the normal flu symptoms (fever, cough, aches, etc) can also be present for each remedy, but what I list below is the unusual, that which makes the picture unique

Arsenicum album

• patient feels very cold, restless, anxious when alone, wants company . Wants everything tidy and orderly. Very thirsty but drinks in small sips, cold water aggravates the stomach.
• may have gastro-intestinal symptoms, vomiting and diarrhea
• thin, watery, acrid, burning, excoriating discharges
• burning pains better from heat
• dry fever, burning heat, midnight, hot but feels cold internally
• dry cough, can be asthmatic, wheezy. Can be loose in day, dry at night
• feels worse for cold drinks, cold food cold air; worse at night
• feels better for heat, warmth, warm food, warm drinks

Gelsemium

• patient is drowsy, dull, heavy, weak, and aches throughout the body.
• trembling of limbs, lack of coordination
• intense aching and muscular soreness.
• fever, with chills up and down the spine, thirstless. Milder than Aconite fever.
• wants to lie down and be left alone
• cough is hard and painful, with shooting pain into the ear when swallowing.
• there are paroxysms of sneezing with excoriating discharge,
• worse for damp heat, humidity, sun, emotions, bad news, 10 am
• better for perspiration, open air, closing eyes, profuse urination

Eupatorium perfoliatum

• violent deep aching pains in the bones, feel as if they are broken
• bruised sore feeling of chest, back, limbs
• restlessness but it hurts to move
• worse – cold air, morning, lying on painful part, motion, coughing
• better – getting on hands and knees, lying on face, sweating, conversation

Baptisia

• the typical flu picture, with exhaustion and aching limbs
• feels that his arms and legs are disconnected, scattered about the bed
• the parts rested on feel sore and bruised
• offensive odours of sweat, breath, discharges
• dark red discolouration – face, mouth, throat
• gastro-intestinal symptoms, esp fetid diarrhea, brown coating on the tongue

You can see how these remedies, even though they are all flu symptoms, are unique to the individual. It can be quite tricky to differentiate between them, even for an experienced homeopath, and I do recommend seeing a professional homeopath or taking a short course in treating acute conditions before you try to self-prescribe. I’m writing this to get the information out that there are alternatives, if you or your children do come down with the flu. Likely it will be mild and not need to be treated, but if it’s moderately severe the homeopathic remedies can help a lot.

If you want to learn more remedies and how to prescribe them,  I’m giving a workshop on November 18th at 6:30 at Mother Earth Natural Health Store (see details on my website www.homeopathyottawa.com)

I also highly recommend taking vitamin C (60 mg for children over 4 years, and 500 – 1000 mg  a day for adults). And try to get lots of rest! (yes, I do know how difficult that part is!!)

ahh, September

September is possibly my favorite time for nature walks; the light seems golden and the sky turns indescribably blue. We walked and kayaked at the Chapman Mills Conservation Area on the weekend, and left feeling really relaxed. This time of year is so busy with school starting and lots of change, but we found getting outside really helped us feel grounded. We saw painted turtles this time, a real treat for both the kids and grown ups.

Chapman Mills conservation area is located just off Prince of Wales drive, south of Fallowfield,  but before Manotick. There is boardwalk that goes through the catttails, past huge weeping willows, and over bridges where you can look down at the Rideau River and try to spot minnows and crayfish. A real plus is the little canoe ramp/ dock, where you can put in your canoe or kayak. The whole trail is stroller and bike friendly too. There are outhouses on site, and a covered picnic table area, so it’s great for kids.

Chapman Mills Conservation Area

Closed Gentian - one of my favorite wildflowers

S’mores really do make everything all right

Foul weather, I keep telling myself, teaches us more about camping than fair weather does. As I listened to the rain pitter-patter on the tent at 12 am, I was at first feeling snuggly and cocooned in the tent; our two little ones sleeping soundly beside us. But at 5 am, I was wondering if we were going to float away; our cocoon turning into one more piece of flotsam in a massive flood.  I drifted in and out of dreams about water filling up the tent; and I couldn’t sleep for fear the kids were getting wet, I kept checking the ceiling for telltale drops of water. The next morning we were still dry inside the tent, but the corners were starting to leak and we couldn’t last the day. Note to self: next time remember to put a groundsheet under the tent. Next time remember to pack all the backpacks with waterproof linings even when not canoe camping.

I did remember to bring not just rain coats but rain pants for our still- crawling one year old, which was I was very proud of considering I packed all our gear in my usual sleep deprived haze. (Which explains the embarrassing lack of rain boots)

The other thing that saved us that morning was the kid-carrying backpack complete with rain canopy that I purchased on a bit of a whim from a consignment store. It was worth its weight in gold by the end of the day as we kept our little explorer out of the oh-so-tantalizing mud.

Now, I’m making things sound worse than they were- the first two days it didn’t rain at all. It was just really cold. Like wear-your- fleece- jacket- to- bed cold. And I couldn’t find my socks. (Note to self: don’t take the socks out of the pack and put them somewhere “handy” in the tent, because since you won’t sleep much, your brain will be too foggy to remember the “handy” place that you put them, or even that you removed them from your pack, and you will assume you forgot them at home.)  Next time I’ll remember to bring tuques and mittens for everyone, even in August.

I guess there’s nothing to be done about the ‘mommy angst’ that kept me up all night, first worried they were too cold and were going to die of hypothermia despite their fleece sleepers, and then terrified they would turn over and drown in a puddle of water. As you can imagine I was in fine shape the next morning to be operating the camp stove. But you hear stories of people getting superhuman strength in times of necessity, and let me tell you, somehow with  frozen fingers I managed to make a huge pot of hot coffee by 7 am each day!

Ironically, while packing I was most worried about our 3 year old daughter not having a bathing suit to wear for those long days at the beach (haha), as she had just outgrown her sunsuit. I went out and dropped forty bucks on a brand new one after scouring the city to find someone who still had any in stock (after all, June marks the end of summer in retail, to my endless frustration).  She did get to swim once, for about 10 minutes and then the shivering and blue lips set in and back on went the layers. But hey, “the water was warmer than the air” they said…

Now, in case you think we didn’t enjoy ourselves, I had better clarify; we had a great time. I attribute a lot of that to the company, as we camped with friends of ours who also have a 3 year old girl.  We enjoyed campfires, canoeing, and great meals with our friends. The setting was beautiful and we love being in the woods. I heard the wolves howling at 4 am, which was amazing, so I guess being awake had its advantages after all.

The two girls built ‘osprey nests’ out of pine needles and rocks (the eggs)  and flapped their arms as they flew back and forth to ‘gather worms’.  They debated who would be the princess and who would be the chipmunk, and whether one could be a princess-chipmunk if one wanted to.

That’s really what I want to remember – the kids didn’t give a hoot about the cold or the rain, they didn’t have all these expectations yet, being only 3 and 1, so nothing disappointed them.They were just there, in the moment, enjoying the out of doors.  My one year old was just as delighted with twigs and pine cones as any of his toys at home. He went crazy for the birds, in fact he spoke his first word, and it was ‘bird!’ The girls collected rocks, called them osprey eggs and squealed with delight watching them ‘hatch’.  They roasted marshmallows, slept like they never do at home, and said the best thing about camping was the s’mores.

What’s in Baby’s Bubble Bath? Toxins to Watch Out For

These days we think we’ve got childproofing pretty much covered, right? We’ve got the right car seat, the stair gates are up, and we put our household chemicals safely out of reach. It’s no wonder parents are surprised to learn that many questionable chemicals are actually right in the bathwater with baby!

There is no law that requires a cosmetic company to prove that its ingredients are safe before marketing a product, and so it’s not surprising that many chemicals commonly found in baby washes, lotions, shampoos and creams have not been proven safe, and indeed there is a mounting body of evidence that certain chemicals may be harmful. What is still unknown is the combined effect of multiple exposures. Babies are lathered up with as many as 10 different products in a day – soap, shampoo, baby wipes, disposable diapers, lotion, fragrances, and diaper rash creams.

This chemical soup is particularly worrisome in baby products because infants are up to ten times more vulnerable to toxins than adults according the American Environmental Protection Agency, and children receive 50% of their lifetime cancer risks in the first two years of life. Dr.Donald Wigle, author of Child Health and the Environment, writes that exposure to toxins in infancy can cause “structural and functional abnormalities that range from subtle to obvious, immediate to delayed, and transient to permanent.”

Some chemicals to watch out for include:

Pthalates: used in many products including soft plastic toys, fragrances and lotions, and plastic wrap. Phthalates are suspected hormone disrupters, chemicals that can mimic estrogen and interfere with systems in the body that regulate sexual development, sperm counts and fertility. A 2005 study linked high phthalate levels to feminization of boy babies.

Parabens: used as preservatives in baby wipes, shampoos, bubble baths, and diaper-rash ointment. Parabens are suspected estrogen-mimicking chemicals and studies have linked them to breast cancer and lowered sperm counts. (Moms take note- check the ingredients in your deodorant).

1-4 dioxane:  used in many products including bubble baths and body washes. It is considered a probable human carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and a definite animal carcinogen by the National Toxicology Program. It may be in products that contain the following ingredients or partial ingredient names: “PEG,” “polyethylene,” “polyethylene glycol,” “polyoxyethylene,” “-eth-” (such as sodium laureth sulfate), “oxynol” “ceteareth,” or “oleth.”  An analysis by Washington’s Environmental Working Group found 57% of baby soaps may be contaminated.

Alternatives:

The good news is that there are many alternative products on the market that do not use these ingredients. It is also wise to remember that babies don’t need to be bathed every day and soap is often unnecessary. Fragrance-free products contain fewer chemicals overall. Instead of using commercial baby wipes consider a spray bottle with soapy water and a washcloth. You might also want to consider cloth diapers, because disposable diapers contain many chemical additives. If you use disposables, consider the environmentally-friendly brands.

The organizations below offer more information and alternatives:

Further information:

www.ewg.org

www.organicconsumers.org

www.cape.ca

www.safer-products.org

www.safecosmetics.org