After you’ve trimmed your trees up, go back inside and relax for a few days - especially if there are heavy branches.  By keeping the branches out for several days, they’ll dry out thereby will be lighter to move when you dispose of them, mulch, or put them on the curb for city pick-up (if your city does this).

Happy September!

When we first moved to our current house, the pine trees in the back yard were a hot mess.  In fact, it was clear the previous home owners paid no attention to keeping their yard trimmed back - even the hedge shrubs were about six feet tall.

The first thing we did was trimmed them to about 4 feet tall.  We didn’t want them so high that someone could hide behind them since our place is somewhat isolated.  After that all the trees were trimmed up so that we could walk underneath them without a branch hitting our heads.

Take a walk in a local park and observe … you’ll see that you can walk under trees and even magnolias, pines, evergreens, etc. can look gorgeous when their branches are not growing so that they touch the ground.  Though it’s a lot of hard work, trimming trees up will give your yard the “park-like” appearance.

For more information about the best time to trim, visit here.

We have a birdbath that we need to pay more attention to.  When it’s there, birds flock to it.  This was pretty neat, I thought, for a Friday Fun Video!

I tried to videotape our hummingbirds today as they now love our feeder since we used plain sugar and water.  No luck, though.  Have a great weekend!

We’ve heard for years that the forests of the Earth are disappearing at an alarming rate.  The new map created by NASA is the very first global map using a uniform method for measure that show the height of the forests.

The new map confirms that the world’s tallest forests are clustered in the Pacific Northwest of North America and some parts of Southeast Asia. Temperate conifer forests—which are moist and harbor species such as Douglas fir, western hemlock, redwoods, and sequoias—have the tallest canopies (over 131 feet high). Undisturbed tropical rain forests are about 82 feet high, around the same height as oak and birch trees.

It looks like my part of the country has a multitude of tall trees, but we’re about to lose a holly in my own yard that’s growing into the power lines.

H/T Les Jones.

From the site Epic Win: For the Win, the best chair for outdoors ever EVER!

Growing up we always had a big bountiful garden with green beans, corn, peppers, squash, watermelon, tomatoes (those were the best) and whatever else my parents were in the mood for when they picked up their seeds each year.  I always helped to freeze the corn, but never cared for the canning part.

The BEST, however, was eating the fresh vegetables!

The question is - can you really save money by planting a garden?  According to The Freelance Farmer, you can!

For 50cents, we could get a 4-pack of some slightly droopy veggies that were leftover from the initial purchasing rush the weeks before.  We bought broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, brussels, and kohlrabi.  We also paid less than a buck each for tomatoes, peppers, and a handful of onion bulbs.

Our initial investment of around $10 (including some bean, pea, squash, and watermelon seeds) will get us a sure profit on our cash spent — and little time has been dedicated beyond my husband’s initial tilling, planting, and fence-building.

I miss the home grown vegetables. I think next year I may try to build a box garden since my soil is too rocky to sustain one here.

H/T Being Frugal.

Photo by Di The Huntress via Flickr Creative Commons.

I’ve been practicing photography in my yard and in the yards of whomever I happen to be visiting.  With the flowers now in full bloom, my photographer’s eye is busy spotting great shots.  Here are some of my favorites.

Just like the I Can Has Cheezburger, Epic Fail, and the People of Wal Mart, I also love the Epic Win site.  Especially when I saw this amazing photo:

FTW!

With the heat wave that seems to be sweeping much of the country this week, please remember not to overdo it if you’re working in your garden or on the lawn.

What are the signs of heat stroke?  Dr. Weil’s Daily Blog reviews warning signs including:

• A sudden change in your mental status - confusion, hard time speaking
• All sweating stops
• Rapid and shallow breathing
• Racing heart
• Headache
• Red or flushed skin

If you experience any of these symptoms, call 911 and get inside or in the shade immediately.  Try to cool off including removing your clothing, spray or pour water over yourself (or a person in trouble) and then fan yourself or them.

Before you ever reach that point, though, be sure you have plenty of water with you.  Take frequent breaks … work five or ten minutes and then rest just as long (or longer).  If you don’t have to go outside in the miserable heat, don’t!  The weeds will be there tomorrow and the next day and the day after that.  Get to the yard or garden work when you can, but don’t hurt yourself over it!

Photo from Buncombe County Egov site, June 2008 issue.

Maybe I’m slower than others in my neighborhood, but I finally saw lightning bugs this week. Thousands and thousands of them.  When one accidentally gets in the house - unlike flies, mosquitoes, crane flies, or other bugs - I don’t swat them.  I try to catch and release these winged wonders.  I think they’re beautiful.  But my cat thinks they’re delicious.

Here’s what Aunt B. said about lightning bugs,

Last night, we sat out in the hammocks, catching up, and watching the lightning bugs. I’m still not convinced, completely, that they are lightning bugs. Their lights stayed on for too long and none of them seemed too interested in each other.

But in the end of her post she talks about the loss of a teenaged son of a friend.  Had it not been for the Internet, I would’ve never heard about it.  Instead, we’re connected and share somehow the Mom’s grief across the nation.

I hope a summer night watching lightning bugs will somehow someday someway help bring some peace to his mother.

Photo by DaveDeHetre via flickr creative commons.

From TheoGeo,

Unless you live on a hundred acre farm (okay, maybe one acre is a lot, too!), it doesn’t have to cost a lot to maintain a lush, green lawn.  The frugal trader over at Million Dollar Journey offered some real tips on how much it would cost to maintain the lawn yourself rather than hiring a landscaper,

Here are some of the costs of the materials from the local hardware store (like Home Depot).  Note that the materials are for a standard 50×100 city lot (in NL).

• Lime:  $5.99 per bag x 4 (2 applications, 2 bags per application) = $24
• Fertilizer: $16 per application/bag (3 applications) = $48
• Aeration: I own a 2 prong aeration tool, and only used in compacted soil areas: $20
• Spreader: $35
• Total: $127 first year, $72 per season after.

When he compared the price of a landscaper who charged about $400 per season, the $127 total price is pretty tempting.

I love walking around my yard with my camera.  Here are some photos from today… just for a fun Friday diversion.

and….

Have a great weekend!

You may or may not have heard, but in the middle Tennessee area, we experienced the 500 year flood in early May.  There was loss of lives and loss of property (in the billions), but never loss of hope. The communities have really come together to support each other - strangers helping strangers, people showing compassion and love rather than greed and barbarism.

That is the good that has come from a bad thing.  Also good are the beautiful flowers in Aunt B.’s yard that really blossomed hugely because of the satisfying drink of water they got.

Another interesting item I read on Aunt B.’s site was about what survived the flood,

Places that were unweeded suffered little loss of soil, if any. Places that had been weeded and fretted over? That’s where I lost soil. Large amounts of it.

I think this just proves that weeding is not only the worst part about gardening, but that weeds serve a useful purpose–they hold your soil in place.

There are flower weeds… maybe we should plant those in our yards when monsoon season returns next year.

Petunias are a hardy, yet beautiful flower that are ideal for early spring planting.  If the weather gets chilly, they can survive but petunias also do well on sunny, warm days.

Make sure they have plenty of water, but water in the morning or evening when the sun isn’t dangerously hot.  Petunias can be re-potted for planters on the porch or can be replanted directly into the ground.  What’s most important is they are in a sunny spot - the more sunshine the happier they are!