Got Tarantula? and Updates

My Halloween Tarantula -- Trick or Treat?

We are getting a taste of cool Southwest Desert weather.  The temperature dipped into the high 40s (F) last night and is projected to only reach the mid 70s (F) today.  The temperatures will be warmer after today-- back into the 80s (F) during the days and into the 50s at night.

Yesterday I found a tarantula outside my gate.  It showed up to scare me for Halloween!  I have only seen a few tarantula's in the wild. This is a small one.  There are about 850 different species of tarantula in the world. Only about 48 species of tarantula are found in the United States.  Their colors vary from black, to reddish brown, to tan.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with the tarantula, it is a hairy spider.  The one I found is about 2 inches long.  See the photos.  Tarantulas have 8 legs and 8 eyes set in two groups.  Below the eyes is the mouth.  Tarantulas have fangs and I am told their bite can be painful.  They also have barbed and irritating hairs on their abdomens.  It is said that the females sometimes kill the males after they mate, like a black widow spider.

Some cultures eat tarantulas.  I imagine they are crunchy as they are exoskeletal creatures.  Tarantulas shed their exoskeleton.  Some folks keep tarantulas as pets.  I think keeping the exoskeleton would be more trouble-free.

Update 1:  As you read in previous blogs, I AM still waiting for the arrival of my replacement Omega VRT350HD vertical juicer.  I shipped it back to the company over 2 weeks ago.  Since then, I have been perfectly happy with my old, 16 year old juicer with which I make my daily quart of mixed vegetable juice.  It does not clog, is fast enough to clean, juices quickly, and does well with celery, which the Omega 350HD did not. 
Update 2:  As you read in a previous blog, Jeweler who did not pay me the correct amount for the "scrap" gold he bought has finally sent me a check to make up the difference.  He told me some more fabricated facts in an effort to save face.  Old saying:  A person who steals would lie.  It is sad when professionals have to invent stories to cover for their misbehavior.   What a pathetic person!  I hope he does business in a more ethical way in the future.

Thank you for reading my posts.  Check out my previous posts and the Southwest Desert slide show at the bottom of the blog.  If you like to make smoothies or juices, get this free eBook and check out the site for other good, nutritional info.  You may need to cup and paste the link that follows:
http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?af=1383344

Be well and happy,
Southwest Desert Blogger
C. (c)2011

Having Fun With My Old Juicer

Still waiting for the replacement Omega VRT350HD vertical juicer to arrive.  In the meantime, I am juicing better than ever with my 16 year old juicer.  This is an older compact juicer.  It is small but does a good job.  It is centrifugal and fast.  It does greens if you put them through slowly and roll the large leaf greens such as kale and chard like cigars.  I first fold the leaf stem over the leaf so that it is in the center of the leaf, then roll the leaf like a cigar with the stem as the core.  Sometimes I need to push it all the way into the juicer with a carrot.  I have gotten an ounce or two with two very large chard leaves put through the juicer this way.  Parsley can be less productive though the juicer instruction book says to bunch it up in a ball and push it through.  The quality of the juice is smooth and pulp-free!  Heaven.

The old Juicer is eating up the celery.  I just cut the stalks in half lengthwise and out comes the juice -- no strings, no jams, nor errors.  The juicer produces a fine celery juice stalk after stalk.  I do not have to rotate the produce I insert.  I can juice all carrots (seems to produce more juice, certainly quicker than the Omega VRT350 HD), then switch to beets, celery, and a couple of handfuls of spinach.  The problem with the verbal Omega instruction to rotate the produce, i.e., juice one carrot, a 1/3 length of celery stalk, a piece of beet, a  piece of apple, then another carrot, celery, etc., is that one cannot measure the ounces of juice produced by a particular type produce.  How will I know when I have juiced one ounce of green juice or 4 ounces of carrot juice?  I think knowing how much green juice has been produced is important because I do not want to overpower the juice with too much green, yet want to get at least one or 2 ounces of green juice per pint.

I am currently growing a 12 inch diameter pot of wheatgrass.  I expect to test my new, replacement Omega VRT350HD with a handful of wheatgrass.  I am wondering whether I can replace some of the pricey greens with home grown wheatgrass.  I will have to experiment and see how much wheatgrass it takes to produce an ounce of juice.  From videos I have seen, it should be an economical trade off. [It did not go as expected as future posts reveal. The replacement juicer was a saddening disappointment.] Where will I grow a rotating crop of wheatgrass? 

Free Stuff for you: While we wait for the replacement VRT350HD juicer to arrive, let me give you a code for $5 off first purchase at www.iherb.com .  They sell nutritional supplements, raw supplements, raw and organic food such as tahini, coconut oils, energy bars, goji, etc., herbs, teas, organic and natural shampoos, conditioners, skin creams and lotions, cosmetics, dry skin brushes, Madre Labs acai and Cafeceps, soaps such as Dr. Bronner's, raw cacao, organic chia seed, hemp seed, seaweed, nuts, kelp noodles, oils, homeopathics, organic pet food, etc. at discounts.  They ship free for US orders of $20 or more.  They also ship internationally.  Just enter code WAL660 at check out.    Plus, there are helpful product reviews.   And more free:  iherb offers a variety of FREE PRODUCTS to sample, so be sure to select one with your order. www.iherb.com -- check it out.
Also download a FREE Juice and Smoothie Recipe eBook, and view hundreds of short videos on a variety of raw food and health topics on this site: http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?af=1383344

Just watching my wheatgrass grow,
Southwest Desert Blogger
C. (c)2011

Omega VRT350HD Vertical Juicer Update

After my last post I phoned the Omega company.  They were helpful.  I continued using the juicer and noticed huge amounts of pulp such that I have to brush and floss after drinking the vegetable juice.  The amount of pulp seemed to be increasing!  Also, carrots of a mere one inch diameter jam and stop the juicer.  I then put the juicer into reverse mode, and juicing can generally continue.

Finally I noticed that the little rubber-like flap that covers the pulp ejection spout becomes dislodged during juicing.  A huge amount of pulp and stringy material from celery and other vegetables ends up in the juice and clogs the pulp ejection port.  The pulp is really jammed into this area and difficult to clean because the area is very small -- to small to stick an adult finger into.  One has to try to pry out the impacted pulp with the special cleaning tool.  The tool is like a toothbrush with a narrower point at the end of the handle.  The pulp ejection port is a mere 1/2 inch high and 1.25 inches wide.  The tool is awkward to work with due to its dimensions.  I have to work the pulp out of this narrow chute by working from both ends.  It is difficult to clean and the tool's brush end will not fit into this area!  So Omega, what's the deal with the cleaning brush?

Omega said my overabundance of pulp is probably due to a defective flap.  They offered to send a replacement flap.  However, the flap is attached with a small phillips screw, and I may not have that size screwdriver.  Furthermore, I do not want to start disassembling a new juicer!  So, Omega will send the plastic part the flap is attached to -- ready to use.

I am packing the Omega in a box and using my old centrifugal juicer until the part arrives.

Sad and disappointed in this pricey juicer,
Southwest Desert Blogger
P.S.  To support this blog, use discount code WAL660 for $5 off first purchase at www.iherb.com .  They sell nutritional supplements, raw supplements (Garden of Life), raw and organic food such as tahini, coconut oils, energy bars, goji, etc., herbs, teas, organic and natural shampoos, conditioners, skin creams and lotions, cosmetics, dry skin brushes, Madre Labs acai and Cafeceps, organic soaps, raw organic cacao, organic raw chia seed, hemp seed, seaweed, nuts, kelp noodles, oils, homeopathics, organic pet food, etc. at discounts.  Currently, they ship free for US orders of $20 or more.  They also ship internationally.  Just enter code WAL660 at check out.    Plus, there are helpful product reviews.   And more free:  iherb offers a variety of FREE PRODUCTS to sample, so be sure to select one with your order. www.iherb.com .  Thanks.

You can also download a FREE Juice and Smoothie Recipe eBook, and view hundreds of short videos on a variety of raw food and health topics on the site:http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?af=1383344

C. (c)2011