Chase-Pitkin 

The inevitability of snow in our area is pretty much a given. If shoveling is the way you do it, you need to do it right to prevent snow-shoveling injuries. Use the proper shovel. There are two types of shovels: the pusher and the scoop. The pusher as its name applies, should be used to push snow and is best used when there’s only a couple of inches of snow or the snow is very light and fluffy. The scoop shovel is used when you’re digging greater amounts of heavier snow. Make sure you’re dressed for the job with gloves, …

Read more🌨️ Do-It-Yourself Snow Removal

Improving the appearance of your home with landscaping can add value as well as beauty. But good landscaping can also have another positive aspect. With just a little effort, you can turn your backyard into a wildlife habitat. While you may not object to sharing your garden with a bird or two, you’re not very likely to bring in a backhoe and rip up your yard to put in an environmentally correct wildlife refuge. However, it doesn’t take much to get your sanctuary started. If your landscape plan calls for trees and bushes to give you privacy, choose those that …

Read more🌳 Nurturing Nature

Your dog is a special part of the family. You want to keep him healthy and happy during the hot summer weather, and that means a little extra care. If you keep your dog outside during the day and you’re not going to be home, give him a well-ventilated doghouse in a shady spot. Make sure he has plenty of water. It’s very easy for your dog to tip over his bowl of water, especially if he’s on a tie-out. So put a second bowl of water in another area he can reach just in case. Better yet, fill a …

Read more🐶 Help your Dog Beat the Heat

Just as a frame complements and accents a fine painting, so a fence complements a home’s landscaping. A stylish fence can define space and provide an attractive backdrop for flowerbeds. Add a gate, arbor, or trellis bedecked with rambling roses and who can resist an invitation to enter. Not just a pretty face While a low decorative fence adds charm to almost any home, fences can also get serious. Taller fences keep children and pets safe within their own yard and provide a measure of privacy. They can obscure unsightly or unattractive views in the yard (or the neighbors). A …

Read more🏠 The Different Fencing Options

The heating season will soon be upon us and energy costs that have been rising all summer are expected to continue to go up. That means winter heating costs for homeowners here in the Northeast are also going up. Some utility companies have already started to raise their rates. In a previous article we gave you some suggestions to help you save on home energy use. Here are some additional tips for saving energy this winter: Replace Incandescent with Fluorescent Buy energy saving fluorescent bulbs to replace existing incandescent bulbs in your utility room, basement, workroom, home office, or garage. …

Read more❄️ Winter Tips for your Home

The holidays are here and we’re busy decorating our homes and getting ready to greet family and friends. It’s hard to imagine that anything could spoil this wonderful season of celebration. Yet, statistics do show an increase in fires especially from Christmas trees and fireplaces. Here are some tips that can help keep your family safe during the holidays. The Christmas Tree Look for a tree that is green with no brown or yellow needles (Needles shouldn’t break when bent between your fingers) Make sure the tree stand is the right size so the tree doesn’t fall over Keep your …

Read more🎄 Holiday Safety Guide

When winter closed in and the temperature dropped, you probably tightened your home with storm windows and weather-stripping. This in turn lowered the inside humidity. In fact, the humidity in your house could be drier than a desert right now. One sign of lower humidity is the increase in static electricity. You’ve probably experienced the shock when you touched a metal doorknob or even another person. The sparks can fly with an “ouch”! Lower humidity also means you’re more vulnerable to picking up germs and spreading illnesses. What can be done? You need to introduce moisture into your home and …

Read more🌡️ Low Humidity Woes

What can you do with that shady area of your garden? You could just plant Pachysandra; or, you could see it as a gardener’s challenge. With a little patience you can discover the mixture of annuals and perennials that are at their best in a shaded environment. Flowering Perennials Many perennials are shade loving and mixing different varieties can mean a season-long color pattern. Astilbe, Dianthus, Pansies, Black-eyed Susan, Spanish Blue Bells, Bleeding Heart, and Iris can all tolerate varying degrees of shade. There are over 19 different varieties of Hosta most of which do extremely well in shade. Buy …

Read more🌳 Gardening In the Shade

The fall season is here and it’s time to gear up for a new set of home improvement projects. If your home has a blacktop driveway, this is the time to add a coat of asphalt sealer. Before popping open that first can of sealer, there are some preparation steps you need to follow to get the most out of your efforts. Give the driveway a good sweeping to remove loose stones and debris and trim back any grass creeping over the edges. The oil and gas stains that have accumulated since the last sealing should be treated with a …

Read more🏠 DIY Driveway Sealing