Category: Weather

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Gardens

Everyone loves a water garden. Whether it is a small one in a pot, or a large one in your yard, people are just fascinated by the ecosystem you can create with water and plants. Not only are they beautiful but they add a serenity to your garden that you will appreciate.

Making your own water garden in a pot is relatively easy and inexpensive. You have to find the proper container or pot first. It must be sturdy enough to hold a lot of water without collapsing or leaking. Glass, copper or galvanized metal are usually the best. Ceramic will work as well, but you want to stay away from terracotta. Terracotta will leak or just plain give out as it is not strong enough.

Next you will need to choose where you want it (making sure it has plenty of sun) and buy your plants and water garden soil and gravel. Make sure to buy a blooming plant as well, because it will make your water garden really look nice. The water in the garden needs to move to keep mosquito’s from breeding as well. You can click here to see water pumps that are available for just that.

If you are doing a large water garden, there are several things you must take into account. First figure out where in your yard it is safe to dig (ie no underground utility pipes) and then decide how large you want the garden to be. Some can actually be built above ground with wood and flexible liners, these are relatively easy to put together.

You can also make a floating garden, within your water garden, by building floating “decks” to plant your regular garden on. Of course you have to make sure they are wired to stay in one place so they wont damage your water plants, but it makes for a two in one garden and is very beautiful and takes up less space in your yard. That is a bonus for those who have small yards. If you build one of those above ground, it can be drained and moved later one, if you ever change residences as well. Double bonus, because after all that hard work in building and maintaining your garden, you really wouldn’t want to leave it behind if you don’t have to.

Choosing the plants in your water garden is very important. You don’t want to over crowd it and it will need “weeding” or “thinning” from time to time.  Make sure to remove any dead leave or flowers as well on a regular basis. If you don’t you will get too much “compost” at the bottom of the water and it will get choked and can clog the pump.

Most of all, enjoy the work as you do it and the rewards will be well worth it. If you plan everything ahead of time and have all of your supplies handy, you will be finished in no time at all. Good Luck !

 

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Holidays underway and winter storm

Been really busy lately as is usual for this time of year. Between sick kids and trying to get everything done for holiday shopping and the local food and toy collections, I barely have time to breathe. The house is fully decorated though, so that is one thing I no longer have to worry about. Not that the lights outside are likely to work well this weekend. The winter storm that is coming through is supposed to have lots of ice, so we will more than likely lose electricity. We had no electric last night for a few hours and it was not a good thing, especially with a sick child.

I am really glad we have a fireplace so we don’t have to worry about not having heat. It won’t be able to heat the entire house, but I can close off a few rooms and keep it relatively warm in here. That will go a long way to heating things up. Cooking might be a problem. I am digging out the camping gear just in case. That way if we need it to cook, we will have it ready.

I have plenty of candles and canned goods that can be quickly heated up, as well as lots of crackers and snacks. We will be okay through this. I am worried for people who don’t have the supplies and resources that we do though. I hope a shelter or two open just in case they are needed. I am also reaching out to a few people that I think my need our help. I will feel better knowing that their kids will be warm if they come to my house to stay for a couple of days or so. Other than that I have done all I can. Stay safe in the storm people.

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Roof leaks

Roof leaks are caused by many different things. Detecting them before they do any major damage can be a problem, because you generally do not realize it is leaking until visible damage has occurred. Most often you will notice a discoloration in the ceiling or wall near the ceiling depending on your paint of course. If you have a really dark colored paint on the wall, and it isn’t showing up in the ceiling, you may not find out about it for a very long time. That in itself can be bad.

Doing regular roof leak detection on your own, for missing or worn out, cracked shingles is the first step to preventing water damage to your home. Sometimes it can be as easy as banging a nail back in to keep it from leaking, other times a professional is needed to assess your roof and to make sure it is in tip top condition. One major reason for leakage is incorrectly installed flashing around chimneys, exhaust vents and such. This usually only happens from low quality work or a poorly done DIY job. Peak Roofing Systems in Frisco, TX have specialists for roof leak detection to help you find those leaks that are not readily apparent.

Just because one area is wet, doesn’t necessarily mean that is where the leak is. Water naturally rolls downhill, so the leak could conceivably be elsewhere and usually is. If you have found the leak by the usual means, ie it’s coming through the ceiling, you need to get that repaired right away. Here’s the tricky part. The leak is fixed, but the damage caused by the leak needs to be addressed. Sometimes it is as simple as a little paint and either drying out or replacing the wet insulation. However, if the damage is extensive, it may take more work. I should note that any damage done in or near any electrical outlet, box etc..should not be attempted by you yourself. An electrician should handle drying out and taking care of that. Only then can you replace the drywall and paint the areas needed. With any luck, your leak didn’t extend down to your carpets, but if it did, the first thing you should do is open the windows to allow air to in to help dry them out. Even if it is only in a small area.

You don’t want to end up with mold, because that is almost impossible to get rid of. You can also use a wet dry vac or rent a shampoo machine to suck the water out of carpets. They will dry much faster that way. My personal experience with this actually came from a tree limb that landed on top of our own roof. It did no visible damage and we were relieved and thought all was good, until months later. In hindsight, we should have had the roof checked out immediately to ascertain if there was damage to begin with. It certainly would have saved us a lot of money, because our damage was extensive later on.

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Summer went quick

Fall is almost here and you can tell by the temperature. While there are still many hot days, the nights are rapidly cooling and it won’t be long before sweater weather has arrived. I have already see some of the leaves start to fall off of the trees. Seems like it has started a little earlier this year. Hopefully it doesn’t get real cold too quick. I would like to enjoy a lengthy fall. I like it when we can turn off the A/C and not have to turn the heat on yet. Perfect weather for open windows is always my favorite. Not too hot and not too cold.

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The sun came out

So the sun finally decided to show it’s face today and for some reason I cannot get these kids to go outside and enjoy it. They whined for three days about the rain and when it doesn’t rain, has no interest in the outdoors. These are the days that drive me straight up a wall…lol

 

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The trees

Well I am having some tree work done next week. The weather is nothing but thunderstorms all week and there are already branches down. I know that there will be a lot more, but there is no reason to start with it still raining. First thing Monday morning they will come and lean it up, as well as cut down any branches that need to be taken down. We used to do it ourselves but started hiring someone else because honestly, they have professional climbing gear and it is much easier for them to do.

This will also get our trees ready for the winter season that will be coming along shortly. That way if we have any ice storms this year, I won’t have to worry about it then. It will all be taken care of. I learned my lesson with that a few years ago when we had a large branch come down on the hood of one of the cars. Now we don’t take any chances. I wouldn’t want one to come down on one of the kids when they are outside, so it is best to be prepared. You might want to take a look at the trees in your yard and see if they need to be trimmed so that you don’t have problems with it later.

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Wow

This ice storm was really kind of scary. Fortunately for us it wasn’t as bad as they predicted. I was worried about losing power due to ice, but didn’t. I am prepared for storms like this though. I have a generator and fireplace to keep the house warm. I keep wood for the fireplace stocked up at all times. I don’t think we will have to worry too much about it anymore though. We are getting closer to spring with every day and have had a relatively mild winter so far.

It hasn’t been very fun for the kids though. They were hoping for some snow, so we could go sledding and build snowmen. That did not happen. We only get that kind of snow once every three or four years. Oh well, maybe next year they will get their wish.

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Beautiful

I love winter time, especially when it looks like this outside. I know that most people don’t really like snow, but it has never really bothered me.

I think that there is so much fun to be had in it, that I really look forward to it as much as the kids do.

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So beautiful

Beautiful
Pink Japanese Rain Tree

I think this is so beautiful. I would love to have one of these in my yard. I can just see it now, as it blooms in the Spring. It would look lovely. I am going to have to find out how much one of these are. That way I can order one and plant it as soon as Spring hits. I am sure they are expensive, but totally worth it.

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I want to visit this place

Right about now, I would give just about anything to be on this beach relaxing. Winter is fast approaching and I am not looking forward to it at all this year.

I have a sneaking suspicion that it will be a really  hard winter, since last year was very mild. We had a lot of rain and practically no snow or ice. Calgon take me away !