Your Window to the Outdoors
The meteorologists who forecast the outside conditions for the next few days have been hyperbolic about the coming cold front. After the rain and stormy weather, the temperature readings are predicted to noticeably fall in panhandle Florida and other parts of the country. Here in the northern hemisphere, it is January and cold weather is…Read more
The holiday decorations have been stored for next year and the revelry of New Year’s Eve has subsided. Life has returned to its humdrum pace, with one exception. For most, the holiday bills will soon come due. An air of anxiety arises every time the postman delivers the mail. Each unopened envelope has the potential…Read more
One thing about winter storms is they blow off almost any leaves remaining on deciduous trees. Every time a cold front arrives from the northwest, the winds pick up and the yard must be raked again. To conserve labor the homeowner could wait until all the leaves are down before raking, but procrastination can cause…Read more
With the holidays in the rearview mirror, the ads which reach prospective customers have shifted from discounted specials to heavily discounted leftovers. The good deals of a few days ago are now great deals, if you really need them. It is easy to get caught up in the buying frenzy when the purchaser has only…Read more
It will soon be the night before Christmas, and many a creature will be stirring in the house. Fortunately, it is not likely to be a mouse. The stockings are hung… somewhere in the abode with the hopes that Saint and Mrs. Nicholas got all their shopping done. The tree, either real or synthetic, represents…Read more
Winter of 2024/25 officially starts on Sunday, December 20, 2024. One can only guess if it will be harsh or mild by panhandle Florida standards. Along with the short days, the foliage’s color and leaf drop reflect the obvious. Still, there are native species which are displaying an emerald tint, at least for the time…Read more
It is a weird and perverse universal cosmic law which applies to every homeowner with a yard. This particular statute compounds all that is positive and correct and turns it into a negative. This is why if a slice of buttered toast is dropped, the chances of it landing with the butter side down seem…Read more
Clipping, clearing, pruning and shaping are all part of the cool season improvement effort. There are also a variety of projects which require penetrating beneath the soil’s surface into the mostly unseen realm of roots and rhizomes. The common tree or shrub root holds few surprises. A woody root appears as the subsurface equivalent of…Read more
Given the right environmental conditions all trees present some level of risk. The level a particular tree presents should be determined, and a decision should be made as to whether that level of potential risk is acceptable or not. When the solution is too costly, or if it is too destructive to implement and still…Read more
As the holiday season comes into the home stretch and with a frosty morning last weekend, the two common local native vines are displaying holiday colors. Some, but not all, have changed from green to red. Both creeper and poison ivy can be a bright cherry red during the waning days of autumn and early…Read more
