US History the West (Horses)

We finally got our art project done. We still have to make a soup, decorate pumpkins, and DJ has to do his first Biology lab. Last week was a crazy week, with outside activities. So, not much traditional school work got done, but still lots of learning.

Caitlin is studying the West this year. One of the fun activities in her book, the book can be found in an older post, and it is a good one, was to learn about the history of the horse in the west, and an art project. She did a blog post on the history of the horse, the Piebald. Her painting is the first one, and is a Piebald horse. She drew it first, then painted it. I think she did an amazing job. She actually can now use this painting to enter into the 4H fair.

Mine is an abstract, rather than the traditional horse type painting. I wanted something for Fall. I am really pleased how it came out, and will be available to purchase in my Etsy store.

Eastern Equine Encephalitis Warning From Alachua County Health Department

If you have children or animals, and live in the Alachua County Florida area, then you need to be more on alert of mosquitos than normal. The Health Dept has issued a warning for Eastern Equine Encephalitis which is carried by mosquitos. The video below is a good overview with good tips. The woman said usually only horses get infected but a chicken, horse and four humans have already died from the illness in Alachua County. Horses can be vaccinated and is highly recommended. Symptoms are fever, fatigue, dizziness, weakness, confusion, and headache. Similar to flu like symptoms, you would notice if your child was bitten by a mosquito might be harder in dogs. To prevent mosquitos dump standing water, don't go outside for long periods at dawn or dusk, and use mosquito repellent with DEET. Some small children DEET is not safe to use so always ask your pediatrician to be safe. I don't particularly like the bug repellents so we avoid the times of the day when the mosquitos are most active. Be informed and stay safe. To read the full story on the warning and other info you can go to The Gainesville Sun. If you have questions you can always call your local health department.