Most Canadians grew up thinking of dandelions as weeds – to be eradicated as all costs. Their presence can invoke feelings of incompetence in those who pride themselves in a lush, even green carpet of grass. But bans and stricter controls of the chemicals we used to employ to kill dandelions has given many people a different view of these floral vermin.

If you are still in the ‘eradicate them’ mindset, there are environmentally-friendly options. Preventative measures are best. Leave grass clippings on your lawn to serve as mulch to prevent weeds from germinating - always a good idea. Leave the lawn long (6.5 – 7.5 cm. or 2 ½"-3"), and cover any bare areas with a good soil and grass seed mix.

An alternative to eradicating these yellow-flowered pests is to let nature take its course. To do this, do nothing! But be wary of the inevitable confrontation with an angry neighbour downwind of your home who doesn’t share this tolerant approach – dandelion seeds travel on the breeze.

Yet another option is to treat them as a crop and eat your weed problems away! Dandelion roots, flowers and leaves have many culinary uses:
• Dandelion root can be roasted as a coffee-substitute, or boiled and stir-fried as a cooked vegetable.
• Dandelion flower can be made into a wine, or as a cooked vegetable.
• Dandelion greens (leaves) can be used like spinach, or as a salad green with some ‘bite’.

For most Canadians, our refrigerators are on all day every day, which is why they represent a very significant portion of your home’s energy consumption. It’s even worse in summer when room temperatures go up and the fridge door is opened more often so we can quench our thirst.

But there is a way to easily lower your fridge’s energy consumption. Your refrigerator has a condenser and coils in the back that circulate and cool the air in the fridge. If the coils and condenser are not kept clean, dust build-up can dramatically reduce the system’s effectiveness and waste energy and money.

It is fairly easy to remedy, though. Just roll out the fridge enough to get to the back, unplug it, and vacuum the dust off both coil and motor. Then make a note on your calendar to do it again in 4 or 6 months.

Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ontario will once again play host to the Canadian Open Golf Championship from July 20th - 26th. The 7222 yard, par 71 track will test the ability of 156 professionals & amateurs.

Test your knowledge of our championship tourney with the quiz below (answers at bottom of articles):

1. The Canadian Open is the 3rd oldest national golf championship in the world, starting play in a) 1886, b) 1951, c) 1904, d) 1924.
2. The current Glen Abbey Golf Club layout was designed by a) Robert Trent Jones Jr., b) Tom McBroom, c) Jack Nicklaus, d) Mark O’Meara.
3. The last Canadian to win the tournament (1954) was a) Pat Fletcher, b) Bob Panasiuk, c) Jim Rutledge, d) George Knudson
4. The youngest player to make the cut (15 years old) was a) Dave Barr b) John H. Oke, c) Bob Panasiuk, d) Moe Norman.
5. The golfer who has been runner-up a record 7 times at the Canadian Open is a) Greg Norman, b) Jack Nicklaus, c) Lee Trevino, d) Fred Couples.
6. Only 2 players have won the Canadian Open 3 times; a) Jack Nicklaus and Lee Trevino, b) Lee Trevino and Sam Snead, c) Sam Snead and Walter Hagen, d) Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus.
7. One famous golfer who has not won the Canadian Open is a) Tiger Woods, b) Jack Nicklaus, c) Arnold Palmer, d) Sam Snead.
8. The record for the lowest round at the Canadian Open is 62 by a) Johnny Palmer, b) George Knudson, c) Tiger Woods, d) Greg Norman.

“One has fear in front of a goat, in back of a mule,
and on every side of a fool�
~ Edgar Watson Howe

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For many Canadians, summer and fishing go hand-in-hand. Fish are an important resource for us, providing food, industry and recreational enjoyment. If you are a fishing enthusiast, you know about the fish in your area and how best to catch them. But did j’a know these funky fish facts?:

• The sea lamprey, which has been sucking the life out of fish in the Great Lakes since the 1930’s, doesn't have bones – just cartilage.
• Pirate perch, found in Lake Erie and Ontario, have a unique characteristic: their anus is on their throat! Though it starts out in the normal position when the fish are born, it migrates up to the throat, between the gill membranes.
• Male fantail darters have fleshy, round tips on their dorsal fin spines which are used to clean their eggs and the surface of a rock where they will be laid.
• The winter flounder, found in the Canadian arctic, has up to 3% antifreeze in its blood to help it survive in water that gets as cold as -1.8 ^OC (29 ^OF).
• Sticklebacks, native to both marine and freshwater environments in every region of Canada, have a unique nest-building process. The male stickleback constructs the nest on the bottom and uses vegetation, algae and secretions from his own kidney to bind the nest materials together.
• Tunas, thresher sharks, and mackerel sharks are able to keep their muscles above the water temperature because of a slight difference in their circulation; as oxygenated blood passes into the core of the fish it goes through a heat-exchange system where the warm blood leaving the muscles transfers its heat to the cold blood coming into the core.
• Tilefish are hermaphrodites, an organism that has both male and female reproductive organs. They are born female, but become males later in life.
• Capelin enjoy sex on the beach! Each year in June and July they gather by the thousands on coarse sand or fine gravel beaches to lay lots of eggs – as many as 800 or more eggs in a square centimetre!

Linoleum Flooring – We’re doing some renovating and I was surprised to hear that linoleum is an eco-friendly, durable and relatively inexpensive option for the floors. Planning some renovations yourself? Check it out.

Rainy Day Activities for Kids – This site has lots of ideas for those inevitable days when the kids are stuck inside.

Summer Learning – Children may be more comfortable on the net than we are, but the majority still don’t know how to get the most out of their computer or the net. Summer web-surfing is an excellent opportunity for kids to hone their skills. This site has lots of great ideas.

Low-Maintenance Cottage Guest – When invited to a cottage, guests needs to be prepared to help out more than when visiting a home because the cottage is supposed to be relaxing for everyone, not just the guests. Check out these tips.

Tennis Instructional Videos - Aidan, age 12, says, “I’m taking up tennis this summer. But I can’t serve well. This site has lots of videos of pros serving, showing you how they look at different stages of the serve. It’s a really good way to see how to do it right.�

Loon Calls – Victoria, age 10, says, “We’re going to spend 2 weeks at a cottage this summer, so I get to listen to the loons. I love the way they sound. But I didn’t know what their calls meant – until I checked out this site. You can even listen to examples of the different calls.�

Physical Activity Ideas – Sean, age 9, says, “This site is really good. It has all sorts of ways to get and stay active and in shape. That’s important because if you stay healthy you can live longer and have more fun living.�

Road Trip Boredom Busters – Jenna, age 8, says, “I like to go to Aunt Clare’s place, but it’s a long way away - it takes us 7 hours! So I play some games in the car. There are some good ideas on this site. My cousins will like them, too.�

Some of the most popular computer games around are the ones that come with Windows in most computers. The only complaint is that you can’t cheat. Or can you?

Solitaire - When playing three-card solitaire with real cards, players have the ‘option’ of picking up one card off the deck at a time instead of three. You can do the same thing in the computer version, too. Simply hold down the Ctrl + Alt + Shift keys as you click on the deck.

FreeCell – See what it feels like to win for a change. When in doubt of your next move, you can press Ctrl+Shift+F10 to bring up a dialog box that says User-Friendly User Interface. Three options will appear: Abort, Retry, or Ignore. If you click Abort, you win the game. If you click Retry, you lose the game. Ignore cancels the dialog box. After you make your selection, moving any card ends the game the way you wanted.

Minesweeper – Get the game to tell you where the mines are so you don't click on them. Start up Minesweeper, type xyzzy, press Shift + Enter and minimize all the other windows on your desktop. Now as you mouse over the blocks keep an eye on the tiny, uppermost left pixel on your desktop screen. If it’s white, it's safe to click. If black, it’s a mine to avoid.

Many home and household repairs require cutting of material to do the job. Avoid a trip to emerg and ease your cutting concerns with the following few tips to help make you cut more cleanly, accurately and safely;

Always use a sharp blade! It requires less effort which means it’s less likely to slip and more likely to yield accurate cuts.

Lock blades in! Ensure blades are properly positioned and that knives are properly and securely closed before use.

Don’t rush! When cutting thick materials, make several passes, cutting a little further through the material with each pass.

Don’t snap! Never bend blades or use them as screwdrivers or chisels. Blades are hard but brittle and snap easily, which is why you should always…

Protect your eyes! Wear safety glasses or goggles when working with knives or any other tools.

“Veni, Vedi, Visa: I came, I saw, I did a little shopping.� ~ Unknown

“My Wife always said she wanted to marry a millionaire. Well, she made me a millionaire. I used to be a multi-millionaire.� ~ Chi Chi Rodriguez

“Adam and Eve had an ideal marriage. He didn't have to hear about all the men she could have married, and she didn't have to hear about the way his mother cooked.� ~ Kimberly Broyles

“School is like a lollipop. It sucks until it is gone.� ~ Ashley Salvati