February is named for the Latin word februum which means purification.

Start onions from seed now. They’ll be ready for setting out in April. Also, it’s a good time to start parsley indoors.

Prune fruit trees, berry plants and grapevines.

The use of garlic is mentioned in early Sanskrit 5,000 years ago. Garlic was buried along side King Tut and was eaten by Roman athletes and Egyptian pyramid builders.

When organic material used for mulch has been composted improperly, it may sour, becoming toxic to bedding plants and newly planted shrubs.

Dentist William Morrison and confectioner John C. Wharton invented machine-spun cotton candy in 1897. It was first introduced at the 1904 World's Fair as "Fairy Floss." 

One inch of rain on an acre of ground, amounts to 27.154 gallons of water.

Move houseplants to brighter windows but don’t place in drafty places or against cold windowpanes.

One of the earliest known vacuum cleaners was so large that it had to be hauled from house to house via a horse-drawn carriage.

When Baron de Coubertin designed the Olympic flag in the early 1900s, he was very intentional with his creation. At least one of the colors on the Olympic flag appears on the flags of every nation that competed in the games at the time. 

On January 4, 2022, Earth reaches perihelion, which is the point in the planet’s orbit where it is closest to the Sun at 91,406,842 miles.

Hypothermia is a condition when the body temperature falls below normal. If we’re too cold the body starts shivering. When shivering, our muscles are trying to generate heat to keep the body at the normal 98.6 degrees.

The albedo, or reflective property, of fresh snow is typically around 87 percent which can cause snow blindness. Wear your sunglasses even on a snowy day!

January is the best time to start planning your garden for the upcoming season. Send for seed and nursery catalogs and start sketching your garden on paper including what to grow, spacing, arrangement and number of plants needed. Order early for best selection.

Cardamom is a member of the ginger family with a warm, spicy-sweet flavor. It is great in desserts, baked goods and gingerbread, but also curries and pickled foods. Cardamom contains limonene, an antioxidant that’s believed to slow tumor progression and detoxify cancer promoting agents.

When it’s especially cold out, your door locks might stick. Hand sanitizer is always a good thing to keep on-hand to prevent the spread of germs, but it’s also super useful for heating up frozen locks. The alcohol in the gel acts as a natural de-icer.

Plantains and bananas are two separate species, but they belong to the same genus, Musa. Combined, the two are the world’s largest fruit crop.

To avoid a stray dog, walk away from it slowly and quietly. Never run away. Do not stare into the dog’s eyes. If attacked by a dog don’t run and scream. Stand still with your arms at your side. Don’t make eye contact or talk to the dog. If you are knocked over, curl into a ball and put your hands over your ears.

Spray your dustpan with furniture wax. As you dump the contents of the dustpan, the dust will slide right off.
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Patents for the first fax machine dates back to 1843; thirty years before the telephone was invented.