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Natural Awakenings Central New Jersey

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March Quotes

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Animals don’t lie. Animals don’t criticize. If animals have moody days, they handle them better than humans do. ~Betty White

A dog is a vehicle, you know; a dog is a window to Mother Nature, and that’s the closest species we have. ~Cesar Millan

Plans to protect air and water, wilderness and wildlife are in fact plans to protect man. ~Stewart Udall

An animal’s eyes have the power to speak a great language. ~Martin Buber

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The best thing about animals is that they don’t talk much. ~Thornton Wilder

My cat is my little soul mate. He’s not just a cat, he’s my friend. ~Tracey Emin

The love of gardening is a seed once sown that never dies. ~Gertrude Jekyll

To dwell is to garden. ~Martin Heidegger

In the seed and the soil, we find the answers to every one of the crises we face. The crises of violence and war. The crises of hunger and disease. The crisis of the destruction of democracy. ~Vandana Shiva

If we humans quickly learn that saving open space and wildlife is critical to our welfare and quality of life, maybe we’ll start thinking of doing something about it. ~Jim Fowler

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All gardening is landscape painting. ~William Kent

Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood. ~Helen Keller

The people who influence you are the people who believe in you. ~Henry Drummond

The only way to have a friend is to be one. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Tick Talk

Spring officially sprung on March 21. We have turned our clocks ahead. We are looking forward to warm winds, sunny skies and the smell of fresh cut grass. The daffodils and tulips have recently bloomed and we are just starting with the yard work that comes with the warmer weather.  Sadly, another season has started ramping up.  Tick season.

•             The best form of protection is prevention. Educating oneself about tick activity and how our behaviors overlap with tick habitats is the first step.

•             According to the NJ DOH, in 2022 Hunterdon County led the state with a Lyme disease incidence rate of 426 cases per 100,000 people. The fact is ticks spend approximately 90% of their lives not on a host but aggressively searching for one, molting to their next stage or over-wintering. This is why a tick remediation program should be implemented on school grounds where NJ DOH deems high risk for tick exposure and subsequent attachment to human hosts.

•             Governor Murphy has signed a bill that mandates tick education in NJ public schools. See this for the details.  Tick education must now be incorporated into K-12 school curriculum. See link:

https://www.nj.gov/education/broadcasts/2023/sept/27/TicksandTick-BorneIllnessEducation.pdf

•             May is a great month to remind the public that tick activity is in full swing. In New Jersey, there are many tickborne diseases that affect residents, including Anaplasmosis, Babesiosis, Ehrlichiosis, Lyme disease, Powassan, and Spotted Fever Group Rickettsiosis.

•             For years, the focus has mainly been about protecting ourselves from Lyme disease. But other tick-borne diseases are on the rise in Central Jersey. An increase of incidence of Babesia and Anaplasma are sidelining people too. These two pathogens are scary because they effect our blood cells. Babesia affects the red blood cells and Anaplasma effects the white blood cells.

•             Ticks can be infected with more than one pathogen. When you contract Lyme it is possible to contract more than just that one disease. This is called a co-infection. It is super important to pay attention to your symptoms. See link.

https://twp.freehold.nj.us/480/Disease-Co-Infection

A good resource from the State:

https://www.nj.gov/health/cd/topics/tickborne.shtml

 

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