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Making changes in your life to be more environmentally aware is vital.  Sometimes it means working to change a habit.  For me, one I am currently working on is giving up coffee drinks with single use straws.  We make these changes because we want a better, healthier world for all creatures including our beloved pets.  Going “green” with your dog isn’t as complicated as giving up single use plastic and future dogs will thank you for the greener world you left them.

Dulse and Rugosa is a company and of course we are going to sing the praises of our Maine Seaweed Shampoo for dogs.  It’s a great shampoo for all dogs but super beneficial to dogs who have skin conditions including hot spots, itchy patches or just plain old sensitive skin.  In terms of being “greener” there are two great benefits to our dog shampoo.  First, packaging.  Instead of a plastic bottle our shampoo is a round bar similar to soap and packaged in recycled tissue paper.  There is no plastic bottle to recycle.  Actually with plastic the correct term is “downcycle” because unlike glass or metal plastic can not be recycled into another bottle or container.  It gets “downcycled” into carpet or plastic wood.  Let’s say you use a bottle of shampoo every three months- that’s 4 less bottles per year.  Over time that really adds up to a great savings.  The second benefit is how long your doggie shampoo bar will last- way more than a month.  Of course it depends on the size of your dog and how frequently you shampoo but it will last much longer than any of your bottles of shampoo.  That’s good for the environment and your wallet.

Now for the poop bags.  It can be quite a problem because for most of us humans the first kind of plastic we give up is grocery bags.  But then what do we do with Fido’s poop?  The best blog I have read on environmentally friendly poop bags is from Dogster Magazine.  Their online article “7 Green Poop Bags Reviewed” was extremely detailed and well researched.  The author, Julia Szabo didn’t just examine the bag but looked at packaging, if plants were involved were they GMO as well a chemicals and biodegradability.  The article is a bit old, published in 2012 but full of useful information.

Then there is plastic used in all sorts of dog toys.  A great article to read is “Plastic and Your Pets” found on the Life With Dogs website.  One of the biggest problems for humans and dogs is the chemical BPA- Bisephenol A.  According to the author, Susan Stoltz, when you buy plastic toys packaged in plastic there is a greater chance of the chemical BPA being leached into the toy.  Then your dog chews it.  The FDA says BPA is safe but recently studies have lead to a few “cautions”.  It seems like one of the areas where time will tell but for safety choose some toys that are non plastic.  Tree Hugger has a great list of sustainable dog toys or maybe a stick from outside.

Living on a remote Maine island means a lot of lugging.  We lug supplies on to the dock and boat head out to Gotts Island and then from boat to dock.  We're not done, we still have to get everything up the hill.  So, if we don’t have to lug something we get pretty darn excited.  There might be a difference between “wildcrafting” and “foraging” but for this blog, I’m talking about finding things outside of the garden to eat.  

We’ll start with the ocean.  There are not as many fish as I would like but in late summer the mackerel start to run and boy oh boy are they fun to catch.  Most Mainers don't care for the taste as it's an oily fish but grilling fillets stuffed with dill and lemon is a dish fit for a king.

Then you go clam digging.   Digging for clams is hard work.  Carly loves, loves, loves to dig clams in just about any weather but it has to be low tide.  To dig clams you look for holes in the sand, jab your clam rake in and turn.

You keep all your clams in a hodge set in the water to rinse out any sand.  I get bored digging clams after about 15 minutes and go off to look for sand dollars and sea glass.  

You can also fish for lobsters. In Maine you can get a non-commercial lobster license.  This means you can set up to 5 lobster traps but you are not allowed to sell any of the lobsters you catch.  Yup- you have to eat them. It can be a real “hardship” if the lobsters are plentiful and you get very creative with different ways to eat lobsters.  My favorite is a lobster “s’more”.  Start by marinating lobster tails and claws in a spicy chilli sauce then finish the tails off on the grill.  Yum- the sugars caramelize and make you want “s’more”!

Mushrooms are great to hunt for.  It’s best to go with someone who knows how to identify mushrooms otherwise….yuck.  After a bit a rain, mushrooms pop up everywhere.  In fields we get puffballs which remind me of giant cultivated mushrooms.  A real delicacy is chanterelles.  They are super easy to hunt for because of their golden color.

Finally, we’ll end with dessert- berries.  Wild Maine blueberries start to ripen in late July and depending on the weather continue until early September.  The berries are much smaller than bush berries and their flavor is sweet and intense.  Once blueberry season is over it’s time to think about cranberries.  We have just a few wild cranberry patches on the island and they are hard to find.  Our old dog, Vango was an expert cranberry hunter and always found us enough for our Thanksgiving cranberry sauce.

Yesterday at sunset, walking out the door of the Samoset, I overheard a little girl “from away” say to her dad, “Wow, I think I’m in heaven.”  The sun was just setting and it was gorgeous- so lovely social media posts were filled with shots of the red mingling to pink sky.  The family continued to talk about how you just don’t get views like this back home.

They are right, there is a reason Maine is known as vacationland and I consider myself lucky to live here.  Here are my top six reasons why I love Maine.

Beauty

Maine is just so beautiful.  I drive to work and marvel at my views.  I have roads I love to take because of ocean, mountain, sky.  The colors in fall especially as the sun hits the tress and shimmers in lovely blue light makes me wish I was a poet.

The Ocean

I see the ocean everyday and make a point to appreciate the changing seasons and moods reflected in the water.  Our local dog park is water friendly and I love to end my afternoons breathing in the salt air and watching dogs swim and fetch sticks.  Going to the beach with your dog is fun, here's a list of dog friendly Maine beaches.

Lobsters

We’re famous for lobsters here in Maine.  Coming home from Farm Markets there is always a traffic jam in Wiscasset- people are lined up for Red’s Eats famous lobster rolls.  Then there is the boiled lobster dipped in butter, lobster mac and cheese and even lobster sausage.  The Maine Lobster Festival happens every year in Rockland and this is an opportunity to celebrate all things lobsters.

Blueberries

Blueberry season starts the end of July.  Maine blueberries are tiny and sweet- full of flavor.  They are harder to pick than the highbush varieties but worth the effort.  The berries are “wild” and grow by bee pollination.  Blueberry pancakes, blueberry pie and more recipes can be found at Wyman's Blueberries.

Seaweed

Maine is number one in the country for seaweed harvesting and the cold mineral rich waters in Maine make our seaweeds valued worldwide.  Seaweeds are divided into three categories, green like sea lettuce, reds like nori and the browns like kelp.  Adding Maine seaweeds to your diet is a great way to get trace minerals and vitamins as well as a delicious umami flavor sensation.  Visit the Maine Seaweed Council for more details on amazing Maine seaweeds.

Farmer’s Markets

We are proud to be a Maine farm.  In Maine the slogan is “Get Real-Get Maine”.  Anytime you purchase from a farm be it vegetables, value added products like jams or skincare you are helping to grow the economy and protect our fragile environment.

The "dog days" are here- it's been hot in Maine for 2 weeks so I imagine it must be steaming in other parts of the country.  Our skin needs a bit of extra love with heat, humidity and sun exposure.

The Benefits of Scrubs

We all know how important sunscreen is but how do you get it off your skin?  After I shower my arms are still covered with a greasy white film.  Scrubs are perfect for removing sunscreen film.  They gently exfoliate and remove old skin as well as sunscreen and leave your skin looking polished and fresh.  At Dulse & Rugosa we add just a bit of nourishing oils so at this time of year it's often not necessary to moisturize after your shower.  

Scrubs can be made with sugar or salt, both make excellent exfoliants, it depends on your skin type and what you want from your scrub experience.  Sugar is gentler because it has "round" granules.  If your skin is sensitive sugar is for you.  Salt, can be a bit tougher and really helps get rid of dry skin buildup.  Another benefit of salt is it helps removes toxins from your body.

All our scrubs contain a blend of oils, hand harvested botanicals and wildcrafted Maine seaweeds.  The addition of Maine seaweeds means you are detoxing and restocking all your trace vitamins and minerals every time you exfoliate.  Regular use will leave your skin looking smooth and polished and function better because scrubs help increase circulation.

Scrubs are designed for shower use.  Try not to take super hot showers because the heat can dry out your skin.  

Heading to the Beach?

Before you head to the beach make sure you pack a wide brimmed hat.  I don't like hat head but keeping the sun ray's off your face is important.  And pack a salad.  Salads are a treat this time of year with all the fresh tasty produce but there is some scientific evidence that taking Vitamin C and E orally can help prevent sunburn.  The WebMD sight list this combo as "possibly effective".  Who really knows- but a salad rich in citrus, tomatoes and some nuts is sure to be tasty.  For some more food ideas to help ward off sunburn check out this article "12 Superfoods That Can Help Prevent Skin Damage".   If you do get a sunburn, try our Seaweed Packs for Sunburn and Stress.   We recommend wetting the seaweed and placing it directly on your sunburn, cooling, refreshing and oh so healing. 

 Wine and Chocolate for Great Skin!

After the beach, sip some wine.  

White can be especially refreshing but reds are more healing.  Reds contain "resveratol"a natural phenol.  This is important because resveratol is an antioxidant and helps capture free radicals.  Free radicals are bad because they go after stable molecules and cause havoc.  Which means red wine is a health drink!   If you want some summer red recommendations check out this article What Kind of Red Wines Should I Drink This Summer?  A chilled Beaujolais sounds yummy!  To be really healthy add some dark chocolate, rich in "flavanoids".  Falvanoids are plant based compounds rich in antioxidants.  Of course, moderation, moderation, moderation especially with wine and chocolate or you'll be needing our Hangover Smelling Salts the next day.

Have fun in the sun!

The 3 R's

Everyone knows the 3R’s- reduce, reuse and recycle but did you know the order of the R’s is important?  Reduce is the most planet friendly way to help our world and recycling is the least effective.

Single Use Plastic   

On a recent trip to the grocery store I checked out the salad dressing aisle.  My mind is on salads this month because it is easy, fun and tasty to eat lots of salad with all the wonderful veggies, fruits and flowers available.  There are a lot of single use plastic bottles sitting on the shelfs.  

One of the reason there is so much plastic in our lives is convenience.  In our busy lives we often look for time savers and plastic is the way most time saving items are packaged.  Bottled salad dressing is so easy to use.  Open and pour.

Why Not Make Your Own Salad Dressing?

If you have 10 minutes and a glass of wine you can make a delicious and tasty salad dressing- and you’ve just eliminated a plastic bottle form the waste stream.  And since most store salad dressing contains unnecessary and unhealthy ingredients the quality of your salad will improve with a simple homemade vinaigrette.

A basic vinaigrette recipe is ¼ acid to ½ to ¾ oil.  The fun part is deciding what acid and what oils.

Acids are basically vinegars.  Choose from red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, white wine vinegar, cider vinegar, rice vinegar and fruit vinegars.

Next pick an oil, you’re going to save quite a bit of money making your own salad dressing so splurge and buy a good quality oil.  The most popular is extra-virgin olive oil.  Other oils to try are Grapeseed, Canola and Nut oils.  The Nut oil works quite nicely with fruit vinegars.

The Difference Between Glass and Plastic Bottles

Remember when shopping for items look for oils and vinegars packaged in glass not plastic.  Here’s why- when glass is recycled it is turned back into glass.  It can be recycled over and over and it still turns into glass.  Plastic on the other hand can not be recycled into plastic bottles.  It can be turned into plastic carpet or plastic lumber but not a plastic bottle.  The term used to describe the reality of plastic recycling is “downcycling”.  

Once you’ve decided on your choice of acid and vinegar you need to find a bottle for your dressing.  Hopefully, you’ll be using this bottle for many years so pick a wonderful jar.  You can go out and buy a new bottle but it’s more fun and earth friendly to find one you can reuse.  Maybe a trip to your favorite antique shop- there a a lot of fun ones here in Maine.    

No Plastic Bottle Salad Dressing Recipe

¼ cup acid- your choice ½-¾ cup oil

1 teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon pepper

2 teaspoons Dijon or other mustard (optional)

First combine your acid, salt and mustard in a small bowl if you’re using a small mouth bottle or put in your wide mouth bottle and shake.  Add the oil slowly and continue to whisk or dump in the jar and shake, shake, shake.  Take a small taste?  Decide if you need more oil.  Store in fridge.