BEST AVAILABLE COPY THE HERALD OUTLOOK July IS The environment friendly gift Or how to get invited up to the cottage this summer by Dr Chant and Not everyone is lucky enough to own a cottage But unless you are a complete social misfit its more than likely that you will be invited up to somebody s sum place before Labour Day rolls around And once you have wrangled that precious there s a couple of simple courtesies or precautions you should take to ensure you be invited back For instance if you re expect to something cool and refreshing on those hot summer afternoons you should take along a case or two of your favourite beverage packaged in their handy returnable contain of course If you re partial to the barbecue a side of fresh salmon or a package of special ly marinated steaks might be appreciated And while you re being con siderate you might want to give some thought to making things a Utile easier on the main attrac of the weekend the natural environment They say if you love the wild you are always supposed to leave your campsite a little cleaner than you found iL In these pollution- conscious days with millions of us crowding into cottage coun try each weekend the adage should be taken a lot further than just packing out your trash and throwing an extra bucket of water on the So if you have a couple of dollars left over you might want to bring along a special ronmentally friendly gift for your hosts a token of appresia for rescuing you at least for a little while from the heat and the grime of a city in the sum Let your run loose for a while start with the envi ronmental problems that espe cially worry you and you 11 come up with a long list of gifts for the cottage owner concerned about pollu We ve compiled just a few to get you started Some things spring to mind immediately A number of stores are beginning to stock and advertise a wide variety of envi safe cleansers phosphate free detergents and biodcgradable soaps These are products that won t strain the scpuc system feed the algae in the lake or foam up all over the neighbours beach And even if there s a box already under the cottage sink a second one will never go to waste A pack of photo dcgradablc garbage bags bags that will break down in sunlight might make things a little easier at the local landfill site However a portable recycling bin with a tight for carrying bottles and cans and newspapers back to the city and its recycling truck each Sunday may make an even better gift A package of wildflower seed mix might be appreciated by the cottager who want to spend every weekend slaving over a lawn that looks luce a bil hard table or a golf green Leave enough grass for a game of bad minton or croquet and seed the rest with flowers or low grow ing ground cover Then sit back forget about mowing and weed ing and watering and watch the birds And while were still talking about plants some gardeners claim certain plants can repel some furry garden raiders The odour of nasturtiums for instance is reputed to be offen to and rabbits while still attracung humming birds The leaves are supposed to make a tasty salad too In the same vein deer dont like fox gloves moles don favour cas HOME OF FRESH FRUITS A VEGETABLES BOX PLANT 79 a 8778882 DAY CARE 12Mos Up 6am to6pm Pickup rnCC And Delivery Hot Luncha Snacks Games Music Lots of Toys Car Trips VERY REASONABLE RATES For Mors Information Call 8530370 WESTERN CARPET VINYL BROADLPOM VINYL TILE AREA RUGS FULL INSTALLATION DEPT FAST FRIENDLY SERVl 184GUELPHST tor plants and rabbits will avoid the dusty miller ornamental We can t guarantee they 11 work but everybody remembers a guest bearing flowers There a growing demand for the socalled natural pest control products such as earth a nontoxic abrasive that literally punches holes in bugs hard shells and a number of pest control soaps However some of die most effecuve pest killers are other bugs A praying mantis or a box of ladybugs or lace wing flics will cat their weight in or other insect pests everyday Thais an gift that keeps on giving If your hosts garden is being ravaged by larger varmints rac coons or possums or ground hogs and you can persuade them to evict rather than exter minate perhaps a live release trap would be welcomed Bait the trap they come in all sizes from chipmunk to bear size with a suitable delicacy and when the springs sprung deport the unwelcome guest a few miles down the road Unfort unately live traps are not ommended for uninvited visitors of the human variety For the fisherman a copy of the Ministry of Environments 1989 Guide to Eating Ontario MAID SERVICE WHOS BEST Sport Fish along with a good fish idcntificauon guide could hit the spot Or how about a package of hooks to make it easier to release the fish you don plan to eat anyway and a pair of longhandled fish pliers to remove lures quickly and easily without manhandling the fish too long How about a simple acid rain test kit for measuring the local impacts of this major pollution problem Or a water sampling kit for collecting clean simples for analysis by the local Public Health Laboratory The Ministry of it also publishes a very useful and free environmental nuntaal for cottagers Cottage Count ry that might round the package nicely The greatest weapon against is awareness mentai damage can be slow Continued on age THATSWHO WINNER ram ON IT UP TV SHOW COAST TO COAST Call Margaret VERY EASY VERY VOGUE PRICE UNTIL JULY 31 st SUMMER FALL FABRIC 20 OFF JULY AUGUST GEORGETOWN FABRICS 8772477 Georgetown Market Place OS80RN CUSTOM PLEATED SHADES MINI BLINDS 25 OFF FREE MULTICOLOUR STRIPING PLUS FREE INSTALLATION l 509 Street Norval Ontario am fon ran no obujaton shop at home 8776086