Maddie Hayes Naturals

(Insect Repellent & Lip Balm)

http://www.maddiehayesnaturals.com

 

 

Maddie Hayes Naturals (Insect Repellent & Lip Balm)

Maddie Hayes Naturals is a company that makes insect repellents and lip balms that were “inspired by one awesome dog, made for people.” Their dog Maddie Hayes survived a rough bout of tetnus and is a tough dog and inspiration to their company which is something I loved before even trying out their products.

 

 

Maddie Hayes Insect Repellent -Overview

My first impression was that it was a pump style bottle, not an aerosol that can blow away in the wind, in your face or on others. A pump style dispenser allows for control of the product, instead of wasting it. The repellent is DEET free and uses essential oils like Grape Seed Oil instead of filler products making it an Earth friendly product. I was surprised to see the final ingredient was catnip but was informed that it is more effective than DEET! Their website advises that the insect repellent is effective in repelling mosquitoes, black (biting) flies, deer flies, gnats, "no-see-ums", sand fleas & chiggers.

 

 

Application, Functionality & Scent

I knew I would be outside a lot over the 4^th of July weekend and was excited to use the repellent. I had just moved further out into the country and had noticed some mosquitoes and other bugs around more than I wanted. I pumped a small dime size amount into my hands and began applying to my leg. I put the repellent on one leg and not the other to do a comparison. A little does go a long way with this product and despite oils being used it was not greasy, oily or running down my leg. The repellent absorbed almost immediately into my leg and I didn’t notice it the rest of the night.

I set off fireworks and spent almost 3 hours outside at dusk and during the night when bugs are sometimes the worst. Not only did I not have mosquitoes biting my legs but as I sat on the ground, tail gates, and chairs I never felt the product. It was never sticky or oily; in fact I forgot I had it on. I didn’t get bit on the other leg either but with the repellent being so close to my other leg I’m sure it didn’t matter. The one leg test was more for the feel of the product on my skin; women will love how the oils make their skin feel soft and Grape Seed oil is a natural antioxidant too.

The other benefit of the repellent is the scent. Nearly all insect repellents that work have some odor or the company attempts to add a fragrance to cover the odor which makes it sticky or smell worse. The natural oils provide a light fragrance that isn’t overwhelming and gradually disappears with time, women (and men) will love the light scent and I only smelled it during the initial application. The only negative I could find about the repellent was that the light smell may not be 100% practical when hunting. Hunters try to be as scent free as possible and I am not sure how the animals would react to it. I’ll have to try it out during hunting season! The repellent is great for fishing or anything outdoors and back at hunting camp for sure though!

 

 

Maddie Hayes Lip Balm

The Maddie Hayes Lip Balm is my favorite. I never wear lipstick and rarely wear lip gloss or lip tint so lip balm is my go to product for my lips! The lip balm is made with shea butter and doesn’t contain petroleum or sugar (which I recently learned after speaking with the Maddie Hayes owner that sugar is the ingredient that causes someone to lick their lips). The application was smooth and felt light on my lips. It lasted for hours without reapplication and never got sticky.

Maddie Hayes products, both the insect repellent and lip balm, worked great and their products are Made in the USA which I proudly support.

 

Check out their products at their website http://www.maddiehayesnaturals.com and LIKE their FB page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Maddie-Hayes-Naturals/226985877368492

A Momma's Mission for Me

The influence of women in the outdoors is growing and we must all be ambassadors for them and the children being raised by them. Although I am not a mother myself I was influenced from an extremely early age by my mother about the great outdoors and I try to pass it on to any children I am in contact with. Although my dad was a gun enthusiast, I know my mom played a huge part in my love for the outdoors, especially being a woman.

Every summer our entire family would vacation at the same cabins on the gulf coast for weeks at a time. It was nothing fancy and we never had money for guided fishing trips or our own boat, so we fished off of a pier, all day and all night. The days were spent with my mom showing me how to tie chicken necks in a crab trap to lower into the water from the pier with the hopes of catching some big crabs, walking the sand bars, exploring the tiny shell islands, and always learning. Mom would teach me to slide or drag my feet in the water instead of walking to prevent stepping on stingrays, to watch the current for floating jellyfish passing by, and not to freak out when seaweed brushed across my legs. I learned strength and common sense from her.

I would watch in awe as she would throw a huge cast net with perfection to catch her own bait that I knew we would be using later that night. I would watch as she hurled the net into a perfect circle landing on top of the miniature perch and mullet she had spotted in the water. Her strength and dedication was definitely rubbing off on me. Occasionally, we would have to spend some hard earned money to buy bait, even after all day of trying to catch it, but mom always tried to prevent that. As the evenings would begin to near, mom would make me sit out at her spot on the pier with her tackle box and bait buckets while she would make a quick dinner for us. She had fished up and down that pier for years and knew which spot produced the most fish. I learned persistence from her.

Somebody was always ‘holding down’ her fishing spot at some point and rotations would start with me, my brother and my dad to make sure momma had her spot! I will never forget the moments I spent sitting next to her at that spot, fishing until the sun came up. Not only would I watch her fish for hours but stare as she would bait her own hook, remove her own fish, re-tie her own tackle, clean and gut her own fish, then cook it up for the family. If we ran out of bait and the fish were still biting she would task me to catch a small fish with my cane pole to use for cut bait. She was the real deal and I was learning and soaking it all up. I learned patience and self-sufficiency from her.

My point behind this personal story is how much my mother influenced me. My dad would come out and fish a little but the dedication I saw in my mom was beyond what I have ever imagined. It didn’t matter the weather (it was always windy on the pier) she was out there; we would always joke about how our hair would look after a night on the pier but it didn’t matter because we were having fun and providing fish for the family. I learned humility from her.

Young children will always want to be like their parents for at least a short period of time and it’s crucial that we as parents, mentors, friends and family seize those moments and make the biggest impact we can. It’s typically expected that the father or male figure hunts or fishes but I guarantee that if children see their mother or greatest female influence not only participating but dominating in outdoor adventures, it will remain engrained in their mind and influence them in a positive way. 

Magical Marlin Moment - Multiplied

 

Magical Marlin Moment - Multiplied

 

Two and half years ago in June 2011 my honeymoon trip to Cabo San Lucas for Marlin fishing became a reality. There were so many other adventures during that trip but the Marlin fishing trumped them all. We woke up early to get to the docks before sunrise, loaded up on the boat and got our bait and licenses. As we made our way into the beautiful ocean, we watched the breathtaking sunrise and our anticipation kept building for the adventure ahead. We helped the deckhand bait the hooks and throw out the lines and begin the trolling process.

We watched some flying fish as they skimmed the water, and even had a few moments where we could see striped marlin right on the top of the water but they just weren’t biting. They would throw the bait right in front of them and they would swim right to it, duck under it and swim off. What was going on? My heart was sinking as 7 hours of trolling in rough seas continued with the same disheartening results. It was an 8 hour trip and I was running out of time. With 10 minutes left of the trip the deckhand had reeled in all but 2 outriggers as we began turning to head back and all but given up hope.

At the very last possible moment one of the reels started screaming and peeling off line and my heart began racing. Could there be a marlin on the end of the line or would it be a small tuna and whatever it was could we get it reeled in without losing it? We were short on time so the deck hand helped me reel the fish in while my husband was recording every second of the excitement. As the deckhand horsed the pole backwards I would reel furiously down. It seemed like forever but when the fish got close the most beautiful sight I have ever seen in the water occurred. My striped marlin leapt out of the water in front of me with a magical aerial display that will be forever engrained in my mind. Please don’t break my line, please don’t snap the pole, just let me get this massive fish to the boat for pictures!

As the fish came closer I was ready to grab the leader, take pictures, and release the fish; however unbeknownst to me, the crew had different intentions. Most fishing trips like this are a catch and release style which I am completely ok with. To my surprise the deckhand took the necessary actions to bring the fish on board safely to take back to the dock. My jaw dropped as this massive fish was brought on board that I had fought and reeled in. As soon as the fish was landed we began heading back to the dock as fast as possible! They hoisted the marlin flag to signal our catch to the other boats and people at the dock.

As we unloaded the striped marlin and took his measurements and pictures I was overwhelmed. My Striped Marlin was 120 lbs and 8 feet 4 inches long and my smile was a million miles long. This was a dream come true for me and to share it with my husband was perfect. We were also thrilled to donate all of the meat to the locals to ensure it didn’t go to waste. We didn’t have the means to bring the meat back, nor had we planned on it, so I was satisfied with the end result of harvesting a fish to feed the community. This marlin has been my biggest fish ever caught to date! (and don’t worry we went out on another fishing trip during our honeymoon and my husband caught 2 large tuna, so he wasn’t left out haha)

 

Here is the Video of the Catch!

 

LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swBOjOtrTaE

 

Fast forward to Christmas Eve 2013 where the entire journey came full circle. Hubby and I had talked about getting a mount completed of the fish but it is an expensive process and something we just waited on. We were eventually blessed with the opportunity to get a full size mount of my marlin completed through a few friend and coworker connections. We sent him pictures and dimensions but never asked much after that. We knew he was busy with so many other orders and he wasn’t even sure if he still had a striped marlin mold. Time went by and the idea of it slipped to the back of my mind as summer faded and hunting season took over.

On Christmas Eve however, it was brought back to my full attention. As my family gathered, opened gifts, and shared memories, my husband said he had one more gift for me outside. They made me close my eyes as I was guided down the driveway towards the truck. When I was finally allowed to open my eyes it was a complete ‘shock’ moment. I gasped, covered my mouth with both hands and immediately started crying. I couldn’t speak for quite a while. I just stood and stared at the most beautiful sight of my Striped Marlin laying in the bed of the truck. I was truly surprised and in shock (I am a pretty hard person to surprise so this was monumental).

 

The Striped Marlin mount is not just a mold created from fiberglass but is a Striped Marlin that was caught in Mexico, placed in the sand and molded. Luckily, that fish and the mold were within inches of my 8ft 4 in marlin so everything worked out perfectly to fit the same size and weight of my fish. Because this mount was derived from a real fish, the fins have the same imperfections; rough, small cuts, and character; the bill is rough and slightly jagged, the gills are inconsistent but real, and he is beautiful and perfect to me.

 

 

Now that he is on our wall in our home, the ‘moment’ is complete. I didn’t think the excitement of the catch could be beat but the surprise of the mount was overwhelming. I am thankful every time I look up at it and remember all the blessings it represents and all the joy that was shared with that beautiful fish.

Ok I am going to attempt to create a blog page...we will see how it goes! I love writing about my outdoor adventures and needed a place to put them. For now you can find me on Facebook & Twitter

www.facebook.com/CamoCandaceCC
www.facebook.com/CamoCandaceCC2
Twitter: @CamoCandace