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Sunday, December 29, 2019

Turmeric Side Effects

I am sharing my personal experience with taking Turmeric as a nutritional supplement. For me, I've had several concerning side effects that made me stop taking Turmeric.

It was at my annual eye exam that my ophthalmologist mentioned Turmeric to me as a anti-inflammatory nutritional supplement. Then, I had a visit with my primary care physician and he too mentioned Turmeric. I got to thinking, I'll have to look for it at my local Publix the next time I go shopping!

Looking through the nutritional supplements at Publix, I saw more than one selection and checked the prices. I opted to purchase NatureMade Turmeric Curcumin 500mg 60 capsules. I started taking it that same day and took it every consecutive day until I had taken 53 capsules over 53 days. That's when I stopped taking it and discarded the 7 remaining capsules.

Quickly into taking the Turmeric, I started noticing that I was becoming extremely aware of my GERD Gastroesophageal reflux disease symptoms. The worst symptom came with a difficulty swallowing with intense chest pain that made me stop and try to remain calm until the pain would pass. That would be accompanied with an acidy burning sensation or heartburn. Depending upon what I was eating, along would come the regurgitation of stuff which was pretty nasty.

Probably the most concerning side effect that I attribute to the Turmeric was joint pain along with muscle and possibly nerve pain. I was diagnosed with Trochanteric Bursitis over 9 years ago and suffered a severe attack in my right hip this past Summer. I allowed my doctor to give me a cortisone+ shot in my right hip and then things got really dicey! It felt like my nerves became inflamed in my lower back, right hip and thigh, down into my right knee. For several months I experienced crippling and limiting pain that seriously affected my mobility. As I have sleep apnea and now insomnia, I was having more difficulty trying to get quality sleep from my level of pain.

That pain from the bursitis and cortisone shot had finally started to wane before I started the 53 days of Turmeric. During the course of the Turmeric, I noticed that I started to feel more body aches and pain in my right hip, then in the front of my right thigh radiating down and surrounding my right knee. My left shoulder began to ache and soon so was my right shoulder. I had SLAP surgery in the left shoulder many years ago along with an episode of RSD, reflex sympathetic disorder, that required over 2 courses of aggressive pain management. My right shoulder was recently diagnosed with bursitis after I thought I tore a tendon from yard work.

I had thought I would have felt better from taking Turmeric, but I wasn't. To me, having such a combination of joint, muscle and nerve pain was beginning to make it difficult for me to perform my usual daily tasks around the house and garden.

Another interesting thing I was noticing was the amount of bruising on my arms and legs. I'd wonder what I was doing to have gotten such bruises.

Today I researched online the side effects of Turmeric finding a number of interesting online resources. I was wondering what side effects have been reported and if anybody can be allergic. For the most part, it has been reported that Turmeric / Curcumin supplements are generally safe. However, there can be some additives like black pepper extract (piperine) which can cause issues for some people.

I am hoping to report in about 30 days on all the side effects I have been experiencing to gauge if I have returned to a state pre-Turmeric. Fingers crossed!!

Monday, December 16, 2019

Yellow Mandevilla Host Plant of Oleander Caterpillar

If you build it, they will come! If you plant it, they will come. I'm talking about my experience with the beautiful yellow mandevilla vining plant and the oleander caterpillar. Years ago, in my Jacksonville, Florida backyard garden, I planted several oleanders. As they began to mature into beautiful leafy little tree-like plants, I witnessed an invasion of the oleander caterpillar. At that time, I didn't realize how beautiful the adult stage of this caterpillar would be and decided to totally remove all the oleander.

Julie's Garden Nature Walk - Oleander Caterpillar on Yellow Mandevilla
Julie's Garden Nature Walk - Oleander Caterpillar on Yellow Mandevilla
In 2017, I spotted a yellow flowering vine-plant at Home Depot and decided to buy it for my front yard garden in my Leesburg, Florida senior park home. The first several months of the yellow mandevilla, everything seemed pretty normal with it growing and maturing with pretty yellow trumpet-like flowers.

Flowering Yellow Mandevilla in Leesburg Florida
Flowering Yellow Mandevilla in Leesburg Florida
As the Yellow Mandevilla continued to grow, I installed a tall metal trellis to support the vines. It is a plant of the genus Allamanda in the dogbane family of Apocynaceae.

Flowering Yellow Mandevilla and Other Plants in Leesburg Florida Garden
Flowering Yellow Mandevilla and Other Plants in Leesburg Florida Garden
It was probably in early 2018 that I began to see the oleander caterpillars appearing on my Yellow Mandevilla. At first, there were only a couple, but it seemed that they began to multiply soon afterwards. Like, the word was out!

Polka Dot Wasp Moth on Confederate Star Jasmine
Polka Dot Wasp Moth on Confederate Star Jasmine
It was November 29, 2016, that I photographed my first Polka Dot Wasp Moth. It was found buzzing my Confederate Star Jasmine, another vine-like plant on a trellis in my front yard garden in Leesburg, Florida.

Polka Dot Wasp Moth Flying
Polka Dot Wasp Moth Flying
It would be not quite two years later that I would realize that this beautiful, unique moth started off as the Oleander Caterpillar! For that reason, I allowed probably hundreds of Oleander Caterpillars to obliterate my pretty Yellow Mandevilla as they progressed to adulthood as the Polka Dot Wasp Moth!

Oleander Caterpillar Eating my Yellow Mandevilla
Oleander Caterpillar Eating my Yellow Mandevilla
For more than two years, I watched my Yellow Mandevilla become the host plant to hundreds of Oleander Caterpillars.

Oleander Caterpillar Poop From Eating My Yellow Mandevilla
Oleander Caterpillar Poop From Eating My Yellow Mandevilla
In November 2019, I watched a thriving, healthy Yellow Mandevilla taken literally to the ground by the Oleander Caterpillar. That was when I decided I wouldn't let the plant come back for another season.

My Front Yard Garden in Leesburg Florida - Yellow Mandevilla on Right
My Front Yard Garden in Leesburg Florida - Yellow Mandevilla on Right
I've written another blog post about the Polka Dot Wasp Moth. It is truly a marvel of Mother Nature and definitely my favorite such moth. To experience such a beautiful creature, it is worthy of the experience with growing a Yellow Mandevilla host plant! I'm so happy I had this experience and would recommend it to you.

A great resource for wonderful photos and interesting information on the Oleander Caterpillar is hosted by the University of Florida.

Monday, July 22, 2019

Mystic Elsie Missing in Leesburg Florida

Missing Cat in Leesburg, Florida -- Mystic Elsie went missing Sunday, July 21, 2019. She is a spayed, with tipped left ear, black and white female cat. Her body is white with large areas of black on her top back. She is a very sweet and shy young cat.

I have cared for this little cutie for almost two years. She was approaching her second birthday and seems to have just up and disappeared out of the senior park. I don't want to think that a nearby neighbor somehow nabbed her and that she is no longer with us.

Mystic Elsie Sitting in My Front Yard Garden in Leesburg, Florida
Mystic Elsie Sitting in My Front Yard Garden in Leesburg, Florida
I pray to God if something nefarious happened to Mystic Elsie that she did not suffer. I've also been praying that she will return ... so I haven't been quite able to convince myself that a neighbor "took her out!"

Mystic Elsie Sitting in My Front Yard Garden in Leesburg, Florida
Mystic Elsie Sitting in My Front Yard Garden in Leesburg, Florida
I had worried a lot about the safety of Mystic Elsie because she was just so conspicuous with her activity! I know the nearby neighbors would see her walking up my driveway and sitting in the front yard garden looking up at my kitchen window, waiting for me to see her to know she was hungry!!!

Mystic Elsie Sitting in My Front Yard Garden in Leesburg, Florida
Mystic Elsie Sitting in My Front Yard Garden in Leesburg, Florida
A few months ago I had contacted a woman from LEASH and secured a TNR trap. I trapped her and took her to the Lake County Animal Care facility to have her spayed. She is A030402 and was spayed on March 13, 2019 through the Caturday program.

When I brought her home from the Animal Care facility, later that same day, I kept her inside in my Florida Room for four days to see if she could acclimate herself to being an indoor cat. I really hoped that she would want to stay inside so that I could provide her with a better life than outdoors. She did not handle being kept inside and wouldn't eat. I was heartbroken that I'd have to release her back outside and hope for the best!

Mystic Elsie Sitting in My Front Yard Garden in Leesburg, Florida
Mystic Elsie Sitting in My Front Yard Garden in Leesburg, Florida
I have cared for community cats for nearly twenty years, starting with a feral colony in Deercreek Country Club in Jacksonville, Florida. At that time, I had the support of my husband as we probably cared for up to 4 dozen cats. It was there that we learned of what some neighbors will do to community cats and I don't mean good things!!! Several of the community cats which had been spayed and/or neutered were trapped by an outside trapper. Supposedly, he relocated them to Ormond Beach. I can't help but think that wasn't where they were taken!

Mystic Elsie in My Front Yard Garden in Leesburg, Florida
Mystic Elsie in My Front Yard Garden in Leesburg, Florida
I am heartbroken thinking about what might have happened to Mystic Elsie. I recently told a nearby neighbor how I worried about her because she was such a sweet thing and just so conspicuous with her activity.

MYSTIC ELSIE AS A KITTEN


Mystic Elsie as a Kitten in Leesburg Florida - March 31, 2018
Mystic Elsie as a Kitten in Leesburg Florida - March 31, 2018
In addition to having Mystic Elsie spayed, I was feeding her a couple of times a day. I know many nearby neighbors could figure that out without me telling them that. I just can't comprehend that someone could harm such a sweet animal.

Mystic Elsie as a Kitten in Leesburg, Florida - April 11, 2018
Mystic Elsie as a Kitten in Leesburg, Florida - April 11, 2018
In hindsight, I should have intervened earlier to have Mystic Elsie spayed and brought inside as a pet. I have a senior female tabby cat named Boots who is just turning 11. Boots is the kind of cat that needs to be in a single cat household. That would be the reason I held back on trying to bring in another cat like Mystic Elsie!

Mystic Elsie as a Kitten with Litter Sibling Black Cat - May 9, 2018
Mystic Elsie as a Kitten with Litter Sibling Black Cat - May 9, 2018
Please God bring Mystic Elsie home ... I miss her. Please God don't let me know that my instincts are correct in that a neighbor harmed her. I need to get this thought out of my head; i.e. "What did YOU do?"

Thinking back over my time here in this senior park, I have heard a lot of stories about neighbors harming the community cats. A cat was found under a vehicle nearby after eating poisoned food that a neighbor put out. She told people she was allergic to the cats and had them walking through her carport ... so she decided to poison them!!

Another nearby neighbor told me how she knew that people in the other side of the park were trapping and killing the community cats. She learned that before she moved into the park over seventeen years ago!! She had a couple of cats and was warned to keep her cats inside.

I recently heard about how the TNR cats, because they have tipped ears, were being trapped and then dropped off in the Ocala National Forest!!! I'm telling you, it's sickening what's happening here.

This senior park has been touted as pet-friendly, but that just isn't so for community cats.

OTHER MISSING CATS


I moved into this senior park in December 2015. I've gotten familiar with well over a dozen community cats, and probably closer to two dozen. I've often wondered, "where did they go?" when I realized, "gee, I haven't seen that cat in a while!"

Gray and White Male Cat Missing - Probably Father of Mystic Elsie
Gray and White Male Cat Missing - Probably Father of Mystic Elsie
There was a cute male cat that used to roam around the yards from the park office over through my yard and about a block area. It was a dark gray and white cat that obviously resembles Mystic Elsie. In that photo from August 2016 you can see his coloring. Many times, if I went walking over to the park office, I'd see him approach me as I walked, and then stop and look at me. He was quite a cutie! I'm thinking the last time I saw him was maybe September 2017 ... he just up and disappeared and then I realized "gee, he was just gone!"

Black and White Male Cat Missing - Probably Brother of Mystic Elsie
Black and White Male Cat Missing - Probably Brother of Mystic Elsie
There was another black and white cat that came from the same litter as Mystic Elsie. He had a bit more black than Mystic Elsie with his left leg being black and more black markings on his face. In the photo above you can see him in my back yard along with a gray tabby with white paws. I would see this black and white cat usually passing through my yard or in the yards behind me or across the street. I assumed it was a male cat. I'm thinking it's coming up on a year since I have seen him around! Poof, just vanished!!

MYSTIC ELSIE RETURNS 4 DAYS LATER

July 25th, four days later, I was more than a little surprised to be standing in my carport early morning and then hear a sweet little meow. I looked to the front yard garden, and there was Mystic Elsie. She usually gets her first feeding of the day at 7:09am. And, here she was, like usual ... BUT with an injured paw as she was limping. I'm not sure if she got fire ant bites or maybe stepped into a thorn from someone's garden.

Mystic Elsie Returns July 25, 2019
Mystic Elsie Returns July 25, 2019
As I know a neighbor has put out poisoned food and killed a cat previously, every day that I don't see Mystic Elsie, I get concerned for her welfare! Since she went missing and returned, I am not seeing her like I usually do. She is later in the morning and sometimes not till early afternoon does she come by to feed. I'm thinking somebody has coaxed her inside and is keeping her. They probably don't realize that Mystic Elsie has a caretaker!!

UPDATE! It is January 19, 2020. I have heard much being said in our senior park by some of the residents claiming there are a lot of cats again. It has been mentioned that someone is now trapping the cats and relocating them. Another person has voiced their support offering that they have given that trapper $10 for gas money. I've heard about community cats being trapped and dropped off in the Ocala National Forest and now some mysterious island in Eustis, Florida. Such inhumanity to these community cats is more than a little concerning!

When I first moved in, several neighbors told me about a resident putting out poisoned cat food and poisoning at least one cat that was found dead under another resident's vehicle. I then heard about someone putting out dixie cups with peanut butter and poison in the bushes on the main boulevard. Somebody found a dead cat under a golf cart near the office and clubhouse. Another cat was found nearby the office that appeared to have been hit and killed by some vehicle.

Somebody has been trying to trap opossum. And then squirrels have been the target of trappers ... supposedly being drowned if not poisoned! Cats, and now opossum and squirrels OH MY. It doesn't stop there. Ducks!! Supposedly it is ONLY the Muscovy ducks being aggressively targeted after the golfers in the park complained about poop on their 9-hole golf course. The Muscovy duck eggs were being smashed. Someone remarked about not seeing any more of those Muscovy ducks. How about the other birds and ducks? I've personally seen a wood stork with a wounded foot ... did somebody put out some kind of trap that snagged that bird? We've also got Sandhill Cranes, Black-Bellied Whistling Ducks and Mallard Ducks ... are these people also stomping on their eggs?

It sure doesn't sound "friendly" to community cats, birds and wildlife in this senior park.

Wednesday, July 10, 2019

Florida Ringneck Snake

On the morning of July 9, 2019, as I happened to glance out my kitchen window, I saw it. "Hmmm," I wondered "could that be a juvenile black rat snake?" I couldn't tell from the distance so I came outside with my camera. I tip-toed to the snake at the side of my driveway and it quickly recognized my presence and started to scoot.

Florida Ringneck Snake in Leesburg, Florida
Florida Ringneck Snake in Leesburg, Florida
I've previously seen a Juvenile Black Racer Snake on that same driveway, but this one looked a bit different. I was thinking it was a juvenile snake that I hadn't seen before.

Florida Ringneck Snake in Leesburg, Florida
Florida Ringneck Snake in Leesburg, Florida
I had noticed that it seemed to have a light necklace-like band or ring around its neck. After trying to approach the snake a few times, it started to behave most curiously.

Florida Ringneck Snake in Leesburg, Florida
Florida Ringneck Snake in Leesburg, Florida
The snake began to crinkle-up with little waves throughout its body. And, then I noticed how the tail was curled up as in a corkscrew or trying to look like a rattle of the rattlesnake. I could then tell that it had an underbelly that was red-orange.

Florida Ringneck Snake in Leesburg, Florida
Florida Ringneck Snake in Leesburg, Florida
I left the snake at the edge of my driveway near the street, hoping it wouldn't take flight across the street and get run-over by a golf cart or car.

Coming inside, I Googled "black snake Florida" and glanced over the search images. I immediately spotted a similar snake with a red-orange belly. Ah! Florida Ring-Necked Snake, according to the University of Florida reference. There was or is no doubt in my mind that this is my snake!

I learned that this snake is generally six to seven inches to a max of ten inches. I didn't measure the snake per se, but can easily say it was definitely ten inches if not a little more. I'm not sure what it had been eating, but it has a diet of "earthworms, slugs, insects, tadpoles, small frogs, salamanders, small lizards, small snakes." I can say pretty much all that is in my front yard garden and yard with the exception of salamanders ... not sure I've seen any of those here in Leesburg, Florida!!

PREVIOUS SIGHTING

I didn't remember right off that I had previously seen a Florida Ringneck Snake here in Leesburg, Florida. Going back through my snake photos, I came upon this one and now knew it was a ringneck snake. It was back on October 16, 2018. I also saw this one on my driveway. Looking at the ring on this previous snake, it appears to be a different one.

Florida Ringneck Snake in Leesburg, Florida
Florida Ringneck Snake in Leesburg, Florida
"Diadophis punctatus, commonly known as the ring-necked snake or ringneck snake, is a harmless species of colubrid snake found throughout much of the United States, central Mexico, and southeastern Canada." --Ring-necked snake Wikipedia reference.

The Florida Ringneck Snake is a secretive snake known for its nocturnal behavior. It was later in the morning that this snake appeared on the side of my driveway. Since we had some very strong downpours, it probably came up for air. This snake is slightly venomous with rear-facing fangs. I could see the feisty posture of the snake as I approached it.

Thursday, June 13, 2019

Earthstar Flower Shaped Fungus

This morning I was out in my front yard garden doing my normal morning routine. I pick up leaves and things which blow into my mulch along with weeding and pruning. As I approached the three Firecracker plants at the West edge of my garden, I noticed something extra at the base of the plant nearest the house. My favorite mushroom, if you can have a favorite fungus.

Earthstar Flower Shaped Fungus
Earthstar Flower Shaped Fungi -- Geastrum triplex, Collared Earthstar
If I had found only one of these, I probably would have thrown it in my white bucket and continued on. However, finding four of these Earthstars grouped together made me want to photograph them and do a blog post! These are actually referred to as Geastrum triplex, Collared Earthstars.

Firecracker plant with earthstar fungus
Firecracker plant with earthstar fungus
That's the Firecracker plant that was supporting these four fungi! Off to the right, on the ground, you see a 16-inch stone walkway. To the right of the last stone is an area getting too much water from the downspout. This morning I put an extension on the downspout to direct that extra water into my grass.

Earthstar Flower Shaped Fungi front side
Earthstar Flower Shaped Fungi -- Top Side
Earthstar Flower Shaped Fungi -- Back Side
Earthstar Flower Shaped Fungi -- Back Side
It was three years ago that I saw my first Earthstar mushroom. That was on the other side of my yard and actually coming up near the lot line of the house that backs up there. Once I observed my first Earthstar, I started to see more and more of them, but always as singles. I'd pick them up and thought they seemed interesting, like little button flower-shaped mushrooms. It wasn't until today that I began to research them!

Scientific Classification:

Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Basidiomycota
Class: Agaricomycetes
Order: Geastrales
Family: Geastraceae
Genus: Myriostoma
Species: M. coliforme

"The genus is monotypic, containing the single species Myriostoma coliforme. It is an earthstar, so named because the spore-bearing sac's outer wall splits open into the shape of a star." --Wikipedia reference on Myriostoma.

I've long been a fan of Wikipedia and will try and find that reference when I want to immediately find out information about something.

"The order contains the single family Geastraceae, commonly known as "earthstars", which older classifications had placed in Lycoperdales, or Phallales." --Wikipedia reference on Geastrales.

As I did a Google image search for "flower-shaped fungus," I was seeing Myriostoma and Geastrum saccatum that represented other fungi that looked like what I had. Digging a little further, of course you see where those are the Genus and Family respectively!

The earthstars are pretty cool looking fungi. I much prefer them to two other types of fungi that I saw a lot of in my Jacksonville, Florida gardens. Those rather obnoxious mushrooms were the stinkhorns which were quite smelly and rather an orange color. Then, the rather horny stinkhorn I saw a few times was the Phallus impudicus. Woah, on those. I actually picked up a Phallus impudicus from the back yard butting up against my side yard golf cart path area. Pretty curious.

This is a photo mosaic of the pretty curious FUNgi I found on the edge of my East side yard where the neighbor's house backs up to mine. I believe it is a male. What do you think?

Phallus impudicus I presume?
Phallus impudicus I presume?
This curious speciment was quite rigid whereas those I was finding of the same species in my Jacksonville Florida garden were softer and more flexible!

Thursday, June 06, 2019

Harvesting Seeds from Tropical Milkweed Seed Pods

Have you ever tried to harvest the teeny seeds from the seed pods of Tropical Milkweed? I have! Let me tell you that the first year I grew Tropical Milkweed in my front yard garden, I watched the seed pods open and disperse little cottony white parachutes with a teeny seed at the bottom. They'd blow everywhere and I'd find a lot accumulated on the rugs in my carport. The next year, I had a plethora of seed pods and cut off a few. And, then the Monarch caterpillars showed up and seemed to love eating the seed pods.

Monarch Caterpillars Eating Tropical Milkweed Seed Pod
Monarch Caterpillars Eating Tropical Milkweed Seed Pod

Monarch Caterpillars Eating Tropical Milkweed Seed Pod
Monarch Caterpillars Eating Tropical Milkweed Seed Pod
This year, it started off kind of funny with me harvesting the seeds from a seed pod. I had come out to my front yard garden to water plants and check the Tropical Milkweed for Monarch caterpillars. As I looked closely rather in the center of the plant, I saw what looked like an unusually flat, brown and white caterpillar!! Looking at it later in the day, I thought the same thing and what was it exactly. I started Googling and could just not find such an insect or bug. Take a look at the picture below ... what do you see??

Is that a Brown and White Caterpillar on my Tropical Milkweed?
Is that a Brown and White Caterpillar on my Tropical Milkweed?
The next morning, I was still seeing what I thought was an unusually flat brown and white caterpillar with two antennae on the bottom as it appeared to be upside down on the Tropical Milkweed leaf. It took another morning for me to finally notice that there was white cottony stuff emerging from that area ... Oh my goodness, that is the inside of a split seed pod. I had no idea that I had caught the seed pod in an early opening where all the cottony substance and seeds were flat.

Tropical Milkweed Seed Pod Opening with Seeds
Tropical Milkweed Seed Pod Opening with Seeds
On May 13, 2019, I started the process of harvesting seeds from the cottony substance inside Tropical Milkweed Seed Pods. In the photo above, that is the same seed pod that I thought was a brown and white caterpillar!!

Tropical Milkweed Seed Pod Opening with Seeds
Tropical Milkweed Seed Pod Opening with Seeds
Mother Nature is quite remarkable! Look at the intricacy of the composition from the inside of the seed pod.

Tropical Milkweed Seed Pod Opening with Seeds
Tropical Milkweed Seed Pod Opening with Seeds
I had put the seed pod to dry in my shed. Working with the seed pods, you want to be in a dry place and not outside where a wind gust can grab the cottony parachutes and put your seed in flight!!

Two Tropical Milkweed Seed Pods Opening with Seeds
Two Tropical Milkweed Seed Pods Opening with Seeds
When I did my first harvesting of seeds from the seed pods, I actually had two of them!! I found it is easier to have the cottony substance release the seeds if they are dried for a while.

Two Tropical Milkweed Seed Pods Opening with Seeds
Two Tropical Milkweed Seed Pods Opening with Seeds
Wow, take a look at all the seeds AND cottony substance. I kept having to wipe my hands in a paper towel as my fingers were getting really sticky and I couldn't separate the cottony substance from my fingers. It was a sticky wicket for sure!!

Two Tropical Milkweed Seed Pods and Harvested Seeds of One
Two Tropical Milkweed Seed Pods and Harvested Seeds of One
After a lot of concentrated work, I was able to separate all the tiny seeds from the cottony substance and was ready to work on the second seed pod.

Harvested Seeds from Two Tropical Milkweed Seed Pods
Harvested Seeds from Two Tropical Milkweed Seed Pods
Looking at the two piles of harvested seeds from the Tropical Milkweed Seed Pods, can YOU guess how many seeds there were in each pile??

TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT THE SEEDS

Harvested Seeds from the First Tropical Milkweed Seed Pod
Harvested Seeds from the First Tropical Milkweed Seed Pod

Harvested Seeds from the Second Tropical Milkweed Seed Pod
Harvested Seeds from the Second Tropical Milkweed Seed Pod
Before I started counting the seeds in each pile, I was guessing that there surely had to be about 50 or so tiny seeds in each seed pod. I was pretty close when you think about it. In the first pile, I counted some 85 ... now I think I might have been high on that count. In the second pile, I counted some 65! So, 85 plus 65 equals 150 with an average of 75. I would estimate that 70-75 seeds could be what you would expect in an average seed pod.

LET'S PLANT THOSE SEEDS!

I have bunnies in my yard like you wouldn't believe. Last night it was 8:50pm when I stepped outside to anticipate perhaps a little rain for us. I stepped to my sunflower garden area behind the shed and heard a sound from the front yard. I glanced down my golf cart path side yard to the front. A bunny hopped into view, then a second, and then a third. Bunnies!! The bunnies will eat your seedlings and munch on your flowering plants.

With anticipation of bunnies in my garden, I took poundable edging and made a rectangular planting area for the Tropical Milkweed seeds in my front yard garden.

Tropical Milkweed Seedlings Emerging on June 3, 2019
Tropical Milkweed Seedlings Emerging on June 3, 2019
I started seeing little seedlings emerging fairly quickly. Looking closely at the tiny leaves, I thought, "some of those look like Vinca!" I have some pink Vincas here and there in my front yard garden and if you've ever had them, you'll notice that they can spread like you planted seeds here and there. So, I need to keep checking on the seedlings to see how many of those are indeed Tropical Milkweed.

Have you ever harvested the seeds from the seed pods of Tropical Milkweed? Who seriously knew it could be so interesting. That cottony substance is silk soft and a miracle of Mother Nature for sure!!

Wednesday, May 22, 2019

Content Scrapers and Black Hat SEO

In March 2019, I began to notice an unusual amount of daily traffic to my Google blog. I was accustomed to seeing the Google bots, active on various blog posts, using a host of different IPs, and usually visiting a particular blog post once and maybe twice. Around March 23rd, I began to see 3 IPs that were acting quite unusual in their activity and visiting particular blog posts numerous times in succession, making me think that somebody was stealing my copyrighted images and content.

It was because of that unusual activity that I began searching Google images to see if somebody had stolen my copyrighted images from my blog posts. That was like opening a can of worms and giving me quite the headache. I began finding so many content scraping websites with my copyrighted images and being indexed a bit too high in Google searches. And, many seemed to be hotlinking to my actual images in the Google blog posts!!

Content Scrapers stealing copyrighted content from Julie Ann Brady Google blog
Content Scrapers stealing copyrighted content from Julie Ann Brady Google blog

Referring URL of May 22, 2019
Referring URL of May 22, 2019
I noticed a curious visit from Israel on May 22, 2019 at 1:05am and then I saw the above questionable site showing a referring url to my Google blog. Hmmm!

The internet has become a minefield of non-authentic sites which fancy themselves as content farms "using" other people's original work to capture visits, often tricking unsuspecting visitors. Authenticity is an endangered species, being threatened by greedy, unscrupulous content scrapers. Please do not support these thieves ... when you see "Julie Ann Brady Blog" in the title or description, please be aware of the website you contemplate visiting. I don't recommend that you visit a non-original site with my content. Look for the ORIGINAL, authentic Google Blog, https://jaguarjulie.blogspot.com/ and support my work. Thank you.

DEAR GOOGLE CORPORATION : HELP!
I believe Google search teams pride themselves on getting it right; i.e., knowing the original content and copyrighted images that should be ranked. For sure, a blacklisted url with malware, anasfim, who is ranked high in Google image searches with my image and blog name, should be removed from your searches. And, another content scraper with that same stolen content is attachmax !

content scrapers anasfim and attachmax
Content Scrapers : anasfim and attachmax

DEAR MICROSOFT CORPORATION : HELP!
Reading Safer Web Exploration with Bing, I'm hoping your team will also be able to sort out the content scrapers, particularly the one ranking a bit too high in Google image searches with my image stolen from my Google blog. That site, anasfim, has also been blacklisted and has malware.

Recently I experienced issues with a top blog post of mine on Morton's Neuroma. Somebody submitted a "shocking content" report against that post. A competitor perhaps? Or somebody who had taken my copyrighted images and content to use? Another blog post of mine on Hollohaza Hungarian Porcelain was reported as violating policy. Why?

I have dealt with a number of high profile online sites hosting content thieves who have stolen hundreds of my copyright images and designs to use for their own purposes. It never ends.

CONTENT SCRAPERS WITH MALWARE!!!!!

I just found a website that has stolen my content with my review of Minute Maid Lemonade which set off my anti-virus software!

Website anasfim dot com  that stole my blog content and set off my anti-virus software
Website anasfim dot com that stole my blog content and set off my anti-virus software
Website anasfim dot com that stole my blog content and set off my anti-virus software
Website anasfim dot com that stole my blog content and set off my anti-virus software
Website anasfim dot com infected with URL:Blacklist
Website anasfim dot com infected with URL:Blacklist
OMG, and now we have the evidence on the black hat negative seo tactics being employed. Here are more content scrapers I have found with my images and written content!! Doing a Google Image Search for "julie ann brady blog" brings up these images of mine, using my blog posts and link information! Google has indexed the stolen content with my blog name.

Some websites that stole my images and are indexed in Google images
Some websites that stole my images and are indexed in Google images
If you look closely at the image directly above, a Google image search brings up 2 images out of 10 linking directly to my Google blog ... the other 8 are content scrapers and pinterest!! All my hard work so that some unscrupulous content scraper can steal it.

I've included a list of content stealing websites below. These websites stole content from the Google blog of Julie Ann Brady. This is the initial list, it is in NO WAY a complete list of content scrapers. It seems like a bad penny, more and more pop up each day!!

Content stealing websites: anasfim.com, attachmax.com, tah-heetch.com, caroleneilson.com, listitdallas.net, flowernifty.com, theurbanwalker.net, bokehcambodia.com, michalschein.com, hasshe.com, litlepups.net, softballkelowna.com, thenewsleekness.com, thegolfclub.info, layout.alimb.us, studiofmp.com, freesongs4u.info, mitchj.info, lonneker.info, muzzikum.info, soggiorno.ayokonseling.com, keywordbasket.com, yousense.info, study5.info, lionelkearns.com, timaylenphotography.com, metanetworks.org

Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content
Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content
Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content
Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content
Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content
Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content
Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content
Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content
Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content
Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content
Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content
Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content
Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content
Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content
Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content
Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content
Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content
Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content
Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content
Website that stole my blog content
Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content
Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content
Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content
Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content
Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content
Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content
Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content
Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content
Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content
Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content
Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content
Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content
Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content
Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content
Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content
Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content
Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content
Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content
Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content
Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content
Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content
Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content
Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content
Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content
Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content
Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content
Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content
Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content
Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content
Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content
Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content
Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content
Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content
Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content
Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content
Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content

To understand what kind of shenanigans are at play, you might want to read 6 types of negative SEO to watch out for. Learn about the negative effects of link farms, content scraping, and forceful crawling along with some advice on how to stay safe from these unscrupulous competitive attacks.

COPYRIGHT REMOVAL

It is going to be tedious, but it looks like I need to report the content scrapers who stole my images. Google has a form, Report alleged copyright infringement: Web Search. We will be doing this next.

WHAT THE HECK IS PROD UHRS PLAYMSN ??

I noticed a visitor from Halifax, Canada clicking through to my blog post on the Monarch Butterfly, Caterpillar, Pupa and Egg. The entry string was quite strange, showing prod.uhrs.playmsn/judge. Googling that link brought me to a sign in page for UHRS.

Blog visit from prod.uhrs.playmsn dot com /judge
Blog visit from prod.uhrs.playmsn dot com /judge/Views/
judge?hitappid=74&mode=judge&toolbar=false&g=1&fromHitApp=1
And, after I clicked on that link to the sign in page for UHRS, I immediately saw another blog visit from Microsoft Azure in Chicago through IP 23.100.232.233. I've written about unusual activity I noted from 3 Microsoft IPs for a two month period of time. Could it be that they were part of this?

WHAT THE HECK IS CLICKWORKER AND MECHANICAL TURK ??

So, is all this most unusual activity on my Google blog connected to UHRS clickworker dot com activities? To understand what that is, as I never heard of such a thing, I was reading an article, Asking Microsoft for fair treatment of UHRS workers.

Oh wow, I noticed an article with a Clickworker Review where a user deleted their account after one day!!!

WTH is Mechanical Turk??? Looking into it a little further, I read an article, Inside Amazon's clickworker platform. Holy smokes, but I've seen Amazon visits regularly to my blog!

COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT

I first wrote a blog post, Help with the Content Stealers, way back in August 2012! At that time, I was a content writer on Squidoo. I had written hundreds of lenses and was including a phrase on my lenses, "do not copy do not plagiarize the contents of this page." Little good that did. And, now it is nearly 9 years later and content scrapers are more active than ever!

I have also been active for many years on Zazzle sharing my original photography and designs on thousands of cool products. So, now the content thieves were stealing the original designs to sell products on Amazon! Three years ago, in May 2016, I wrote about Amazon Design Theft of Zazzlers Art. I followed that blog post up with two more posts about the never-ending battle to stop the copyright infringements in the Amazon marketplace.

In September 2017, I found a website that had stolen hundreds of my copyrighted photography and images to offer as royalty-free images. Wrong! My blog post, Pinsdaddy Copyright Infringement, touched on the prolific thievery by that website. I heard from many other original artists who discovered that Pinsdaddy had ripped them off as well.

In October 2017, I wrote two blog posts, BlogCatalog Content Scraper and Blogarama Content Scraper. Both of those literally stole entire blog posts of mine, including original images, to feature on their websites and imply that I supported that. I did not support ripping off my entire blog posts to use on their sites.

In January 2019, I discovered something "new" in content thievery! Now, my Zazzle photography and designs were not only appearing in the Amazon marketplace, but also on Walmart! Holy smokes, but I never expected that Walmart would have so many content thieves ... It has changed the way I look at Walmart. My blog post, Copyright Violations on Amazon Walmart Google Shopping, demonstrated how the content stealers had branched out.

So, as you can probably guess, it has been a LONG time on the internet for me when dealing with copyright infringements and content scrapers. Will it ever end? Will Google and Microsoft be able to develop tools to discourage these thieves from continuing their work. Both Google and Microsoft really need to step up to the plate and stop indexing and ranking the thieves above the authentic and original content creators!!! Look for and support the authentic and original content creators. Amen.