July is Summer Safety Month!

Hello friends of Riverbend…I hope you all enjoyed a great 4th of July!  As we begin a new month and the temperatures begin to rise, I thought it would be a good idea to talk about summer safety during the month of July.

As the days of summer get hotter, we need to pay attention to a few things.  First, if you are going to be outside for long periods of time doing some sort of activity, like swimming, biking, or hiking, you want to make sure you have plenty of drinking water with you.  When you use up energy on hot days, your body can become dehydrated pretty quickly.  Water is the best thing you can feed your body when you are in the heat.

Sometimes, getting cooled off means making a splash in the pool.  But for all my young friends out there, be sure to ALWAYS have an adult with you before you get into the water, even if you know how to swim.  If you are boating on a lake or ocean, wear a U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket.

Summer is a popular time for people to go camping, and who doesn’t love a good campfire to roast hot dogs and marshmallows?  However, an unattended or unextinguished campfire in dry conditions can lead to an accidental forest fire.  A campfire should never be left to burn when no one is around.  And be sure to have plenty of water to douse the fire so it goes out completely.

So those are my summer safety tips about water and fire.  Enjoy your time outside this summer, but, as the Boy Scouts like to say, “Be prepared.”

Until next time, I’ll see you ‘round the ‘Bend!

Nature Dave