Invention Convention

Patents recently granted to Medina County residents. Only county residents are included, although there may be additional people listed as patent grantees.

Patent for: Welding System and Method of Welding

Number: 11,673,202

To: Matthew J. Krueger City of Residence: Medina

Patent for: Fastener Device With Cam Assembly

Number: 11,673,242

To: Walter Heinrich Nagel, III City of Residence: Seville

Patent for: Method and System for Managing and Sourcing Materials and Services for Energy Retrofit Projects Number: 11,676,106

To: Rodney J. Seifert City of Residence: Medina

HOME AND GARDEN: DIG IT! Helpful Companions

by Michelle Riley

Companion plants are true life savers in the garden. Marigolds are well known for this trait as their strong fragrance is believed to repel aphids, mosquitoes and nematodes. They are regularly seen adorning the outer borders of vegetable gardens.

Companion planting is the art of pairing plants with a suitable companion who may attract beneficial insects, repel harmful pests, improve soil fertility, or possibly enhance flavor or growth.

A garden’s health can be optimized through companion planting while minimizing the use of harmful chemicals.

Tomato and basil are great examples as they both pair well in a meal as well as basil helps to repel tomato hornworms.

Carrots and onions planted together are known to enhance each other’s flavor, and the onions repel carrot fly which can destroy a carrot crop rather quickly. The carrots return the favor by helping to suppress weeds around the onions.

One of the oldest examples of these garden friends that benefit each other has been coined the Three Sisters: planting corn, beans and squash as a trio.

The corn provides a stalk for the beans to climb. Beans naturally fix nitrogen in the soil, which is a great benefit to the corn and squash. The large leaves of the squash plant help shade the soil around the corn and bean’s root system, helping to suppress weeds and maintain soil moisture.

Cucumbers and mammoth sunflowers make for fun companions and do not mind growing together. The sunflower offers a trellis for the cucumber and the cucumber shades the ground, which helps maintain moisture.

Nasturtium is a beautiful edible flower to add to the vegetable garden, especially paired with broccoli, cabbages, cauliflower, cucumbers, kale, melons, pumpkins, squash, zucchini, and more. Nasturtium can attract beneficial insects to the garden such as hoverflies who will seek out and destroy the aphids invading the prized crop. Nasturtium can also help to repel cucumber beetles, white flies and squash bugs.

When growing brassica plants such as broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage, adding thyme as a companion can help to repel cabbage worms, cabbage butterflies and loopers. In the garden as in life, companions make a difference.

Michelle Riley is a local horticulturist, landscape designer, and consultant. She is the founder of the gardening subscription service, https://theplantmall.com; https:// michellerileyhorticulturist.com; and https://neohiogarden. com. She also is the president of All About You Signature Landscape Design, Inc. Learn more about Riley at https://bit.ly/3BavKLk Riley can be contacted at Info@ MichelleRileyHorticulturist.com or by calling 234-678-8266.

HOME AND GARDEN: CRITTER CRAWL! When You Have Hairy Red Knees

by Paris Deeter

Mexican red knee tarantulas make wonderful beginner tarantulas.

They are docile, calm, and easy to care for and come from dry forests and deserts in Mexico.

To help them thrive, you will need:

• A 5- to 10-gallon aquarium: These tarantulas do not tend to get very big and large enclosures can cause them stress. House only one tarantula per habitat.

• Fake plants and hides: As a burrowing species, these tarantulas like to make their burrows under something.

• Substrate: Dry coconut fiber is the easiest substrate for this species. It holds burrows well and is relatively cheap.

• Appropriately sized live feeder insects such as Dubai roaches, crickets and mealworms. Always remove uneaten feeder insects so they do not harm the tarantula. Depending on the size and age of the tarantula, it will need to be fed every few days to once a week.

• A water dish: This can be as fancy as a specially made water dish or as simple as a bottle cap. Either way, make sure the tarantula always has water.

Tarantulas also go through a molting process.

This is how they grow. It is very important to not disturb a tarantula during a molt, as they are very vulnerable during this stage. Disturbing them can lead to death.

It also is important to note the lifespan difference between males and females. Males tend to live much shorter lives, around 10 years or so. Females tend to live much longer lives, around 30 years or so.

These animals make fantastic pets, and under the right conditions, they will thrive.

Make sure to always do your own research before purchasing a new pet.

Paris Deeter lives in Brunswick and has raised a wide variety of critters from spiders to rats. She welcomes questions and column suggestions, which can be sent to Joy@ BlakeHousePublishing.com with “Critter Crawl” in the subject line.

HOME AND GARDEN: VEGAN VITTLES Stuffed Sweet Potato

by Chris Pickens

This dish is not only easy, but packed with healthy fats, fiber and protein.

• sweet potato

• fillings: can include cooked lentils, quinoa, rice, flaxseed, and any frozen veggies

• toppings: can include mashed avocado with a drizzle of lemon juice (or guacamole), garbanzo beans and hemp seeds

Poke sweet potato with knife and microwave for 3 minutes(or until tender). Thaw frozen veggies in microwave. Slice sweet potato down the middle and layer filling on top. Place toppings on top of fillings. Bake for 30 minutes or until toppings are toasted and golden brown. Check at 15 minutes so as not to overcook.

Chris Pickens, a vegan since 2016, is a certified holistic nutrition coach, a health and wellness coach, a holistic health practitioner, and a holistic health coach. To learn more about Pickens, go to https://bit.ly/3FqhEId Email her at momof4chris@gmail.com, with “The Joy of Medina Attn: Chris” in the subject line.

HEALTH: HEALTHY TRAILS Ride Before You Buy

by Robert Soroky

Serious question: Have you ever bought a pair of shoes without trying them on first?

I am guessing not. And the reason is obvious: If you are going to be walking in them all day long, they better fit and be comfortable, right? So, why would you buy a bike without trying it on first?

It is amazing how many people tell me they do not ride their current bike because it is not comfortable. In many cases, it is because they do not understand how bikes are sized.

Bikes not only come in different wheel sizes, but a multitude of frame sizes as well, everything from extra small through extra large.

They also come in different geometries. In other words, certain bikes will sit you in a completely upright position, while others may lean you forward in a semi-relaxed or even aggressive position.

This is why test riding bikes is so important, because sometimes a bike that looks right to you might not always match up with your specific goals or it positions you in a way that is not as comfortable as you were hoping.

For example, you might be in the market for a bike that is lightweight, easy to move, does not have a lot of rolling resistance, and is fast. The best option would be a classic drop bar, 10-speed style road bike.

However, this style of bike also has a more bent over, aggressive riding position, and once you have had a chance to test ride it, you might conclude this ride position is not jiving with your body.

By comparison, if you hopped on a flat-bar road bike, which checks many of the same boxes, but now sits you in a slightly more upright, semi-relaxed position with a flat, stable handlebar, you may discover, much to your surprise, that this style is significantly more comfortable and something you would enjoy riding for much longer distances.

When you are ready to take that step toward buying a new bike, visit a bike shop that can explain the different bike styles and offer an opportunity to test ride various models to help you find the bike that makes you smile when you ride!

HEALTH: OF MIND AND BODY Notes From a Foreign Land

by Kelly Bailey

I ate my way through Italy and did not gain weight (and other things I noted spending two weeks in a foreign country).

Last month, I took a two-week vacation to Italy.

Italy is well-known for its vibrant and delicious food scene. You can find the best wine, pasta, olive oil, cheese, bread, prosciutto, and gelato in the world. So, I threw caution to the wind and ate my heart out, and this is what happened.

I did not gain weight.

OK, maybe I gained a little weight. But not nearly as much as I would have expected considering how much I ate and didn’t “exercise” at all. I owe this to the muscle I’ve built through weight training, and the next observation I am making.

There are a lot of hills in Italy, and I was dragging my little pasta belly up all of them.

I learned I am not a bottomless pit.

Like most women, I have a fear of gaining weight. The idea of letting myself just enjoy food without worrying, planning, measuring, or counting is blasphemous. What if I never stop eating? But I did.

I threw caution to the wind and ate whatever, whenever and however much I wanted.

Here is what I found: I did, indeed, overeat the first few days. But by day five I would nearly gag at the sight of cheese, bread, oil, or pasta. I would have done some dicey stuff for a salad or a fruit smoothie.

I noticed that Italians are obsessed with food quality. The processed food sections in grocery stores were very small compared to our gigantic displays of 9,457 different kinds of cookies, chips and cereals. Local meat, fruit, dairy, and vegetable options were plentiful and prominently displayed.

There are no gyms in Italy (at least not where we were). They do not seem to place value on exercising the way we do.

The Italians smoke, drink, and eat pastries and cheese without guilt. But I rarely saw any fat Italians.

In fact, they seem to be very fit, robust and happy. No doubt this is due to the walking, attention to food quality, relaxing and enjoying life (low stress), and eating less overall because they eat slower.

Takeaway messages: Laugh with your friends and family; eat with gusto but do it slower; walk as much as possible; make time for the enjoyment of life.

Robert Soroky is a lifelong cyclist who regularly participates in long-distance charity rides and is the manager of the Century Cycles Medina location. To learn more about Soroky, go to https://bit.ly/3Vof7DX Contact Soroky at robert@ centurycycles.com to suggest column topics, for further information or to chat about bikes.

A certified personal trainer and certified holistic nutrition coach, Kelly Bailey owns and operates Kelly Bailey Wellness. Find her blog, visit the Food Freedom page, and contact her at https://www.kellybailey.fit/ Learn more about Bailey at https://bit.ly/3B9HkGm Following any recommendations are solely at your discretion and responsibility. Consult your medical professional prior to undertaking any suggested diet, lifestyle or exercise change or routine.

Shaking Our Heads

by Amy Barnes

This good deed does not end the way we thought it would. In the Medina Walmart parking lot on June 16, a frail elderly woman was on one of the store’s electric scooters by her car. A man dressed head to foot in black leather with long black hair, a black hat and buckles-up-the-legs pants, started to walk past her.

As he passed, the woman called out to him, asking for help. He paused to find out what she needed.

She explained she was unable to return the electric cart to the store because she was not strong enough to then walk back to her car, so she asked him if he could return the cart for her.

He could be heard saying that he had never driven one before and was not sure how to. The woman explained the basics and soon he was off, heading into the store astride the cart, while the elderly woman drove away in her car.

This caught our attention, and it seemed like the perfect opportunity to award a good deed, as we do in this column, including awarding a gift certificate for a local store to the person who commits the good deed.

As soon as we were able, we followed the man into the store to reward his unselfish assistance for a stranger. It did not take long to find him.

Instead of returning the cart so that the next handicapped person could use it, there he was, tooling around the store, shopping, still riding the cart.

We watched as he, frustrated by people being in the way of the cart, agilely jumped from the cart, walked over to the item he wanted, and return jauntily to the cart, plopping the item in the basket before continuing his shopping without, apparently, a thought as to those who might come in the store in actual need of the cart.

There was no reward given that day. We were too busy shaking our heads.