Picket Fence Weblog

… to my deck that is. Isn’t this lamp gorgeous? I should have taken a picture at night. It’s solar so there are no cords and you can place it anywhere. It has a bronze finish and offers up to 8 hours of light. It’s nice and solid too, so it won’t topple when it gets windy (as it tends to do where I live). It is supposed to be in the 90s this weekend, so it may be too hot to be spend a lot of time outside, but when it finally cools down a little at night, this light will be bright!

Until next time…. Ann

P.S. The beware of pet sign you see here is held up by our siding hooks. They hold a lot of weight. This sign is made of slate and it stays up without falling.

Gas prices just seem to be going up, up and up with no end in sight. One thing you can do to increase gas mileage is to make sure your tires are properly inflated. According to the fuel economy government web site, you can improve gas mileage by over 3%. That adds up to an eleven cents saving per gallon.

If you’re like me and have a hard time knowing when your tires are properly inflated, you may be interested in the Stealth Tire Minder - item 611418 - from www.shoppicketfence.com. Each cap replaces an existing valve cap The yellow or black indicators let you know when pressure is too low/high.

Saving eleven cents a gallon may not seem like a lot, but it all adds up.

Until next time… Ann

P.S. Feel free to comment with your own ideas on saving money on gas prices.

June 15th to be exact. Dads can be hard to shop for. I think its fun to shop around and find unique gifts that are useful, practical and will be appreciated. The Propane Tank Monitor is one such item. Not to generalize, but let’s be honest - dads are the ones who do most of the grilling. This handy item alerts you when it’s refuel time. I mean, there’s nothing worse than being in the middle of cooking dinner and run out of fuel. And the price is right too - it’s on sale now for less than $20 you can make your dad happy. Check out the rest of shoppicketfence.com for dozens of other dad friendly gifts.

“That outdoor grilling is a manly pursuit has long been beyond question. If this wasn’t firmly understood, you’d never get grown men to put on those aprons with pictures of dancing wienies and things on the front and messages like ‘Come ‘n’ Get It’”
-William Geist, New York Times Magazine

Until next time… Ann

The weather here has been beautiful lately. It’s almost as if we skipped Spring and went straight into Summer. I put out my deck furniture early. Flowers will go out in May. I bought an Outdoor Pillow to spruce up my patio table chair. It’s really comfy and can withstand the sun and rain. I’ll attach a pic so you can see how nice it looks. I think it’s great that you can now buy the weatherproof furniture, rugs and accessories that look as nice as the home decor you see on the inside of your home. Have you put out your deck/patio furniture yet? The time is here!

Until next time… Ann

For those of you itching to get in your garden, but the weather just isn’t cooperating, I know of one thing you can do. Put your mulch in. No need to wait for flowers - this is one step that can be done even if the threat of a freeze still exists. And don’t forget to put mulch around your trees. I don’t use regular mulch for that. I buy Mulch Rings. And for outside of my garden I use Rubber Border Edge. These are two items that you buy once and then use season after season.

Happy early gardening!

Until next time…. Ann

The weather is finally starting to turn! We had a week with temperatures flirting 70. Granted, this weekend it is supposed to be in the 40s, but I am choosing to ignore that fact. I did see that my tulips are starting to come up.

With the weather finally cooperating, you know that weekly lawn mowing is not far behind. That being said - now is the time to get your lawn mower out of storage and serviced. I think this year it is time to consider a Reel Mower. I will give you a few reasons why:

1) With gas prices soon to hit $4/gal. (do not even get me started on that!), it will cost you more to fill your lawn mower tank this season.

2) A Reel Mower is better for the environment and better for your lawn.

3) It’s great exercise!

So there you have it - my top 3 reasons to reel!

Until next time… Ann

Now that warm weather is finally on the way, my thoughts are turning to my deck. I know it is too early to buy flowers, but by the end of April I am planning on putting my deck furniture outside - no matter what!

One new addition to my deck this year will be these retractable awnings. I haven’t decided yet if I want to put them over where my back window is or over where my sliding door is. Decisions, decisions. Either way, I love the fact that these go up easily and cost about 70% less than other awnings. If you haven’t priced awnings lately, you are in for some sticker shock. These are very affordable and the quality is very good. I actually purchased them last season but never got around to installation. The green color set against my gray siding is going to look great.

Until next time… Ann

P.S. The second pic on the right is a pic of my deck from a few summer’s ago.

We welcomed the first day of Spring with temperatures in the 30’s. No surprise there. At least the sun is out. However, I know all too well the temperature fluctuations that occur this time of year, especially up North. We tend to get a lot of rain, especially in April - which, unbelievably, starts in less than 2 weeks. So, if April showers get you down, cheer yourself up with our fun Rain Boots. Even if it’s raining cats and dogs, you’ll be in style.

Until next time… Ann

“May you always have walls for the winds, a roof for the rain, tea beside the fire, laughter to cheer you, those you love near you and all your heart might desire.”

-Irish Blessing

Spring starts this week (Thursday to be exact). I saw my local town’s garden center is back open for the season so that is a good sign. Although around here, you can’t be safe planting til around Memorial Day. So, in the meantime, I have been tending to my indoor plants. I read a good tip recently on watering these plants. They suggest dropping a few ice cubes into the pot. As the ice melts, it waters your plant. How clever! If you want long term watering solutions, click HERE.

Until next time… Ann

“It’s spring fever…. You don’t quite know what it is you DO want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!” - Mark Twain

I would like to take the time to bring attention to the efforts of Karni R. Perez, a dedicated volunteer with The Louise Kreher Forest Ecology Preserve, an outreach program of the Auburn University School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, and coordinator of an exciting upcoming event in Auburn, AL.    The Preserve offers 110 acres of beautiful wooded hiking trails and other special features such as learning stations, providing surrounding communities with a wealth of nature and native ecosystems to discover, learn from, and enjoy.   You can click here to view their home page and pictures.

There is an event taking place there on Saturday, April 5 called GrOw GREEN.  The event is designed to draw attention to the positive aspects of going green.  The fun and information-filled event offers those who attend “a chance to better understand some current resource and environmental issues”.  Not only will the attendees get a chance to “enjoy a day in the woods” but they will also be able to learn tips to meet the daily challenges of being Green Minded.

The staff at Picket Fence, as well as everyone in the office of our parent company QCI Direct, would like to acknowledge Ms. Perez and the members of The Louise Kreher Forest Ecology Preserve for their continuing efforts to bring awareness to the public.  We have always done all we can here to be as green as possible and to try and spread the word.  Lately my blog efforts have been about the benefits of solar power, the celebrities who have become involved, and all the small ways we (as the general public) can do our part to conserve energy and be less wasteful.  The responses have been vast and overwhelming.  There are so many people out there with a voice and opinion, in both directions, about the US becoming a fore runner in environmentalism.  This is an extremely hot button issue all around the world.  Many countries have spent innumerable hours and capital on developing perpetual resources to be used.   But, for most of us, without thousands of dollars to spend on solar paneling, there are plenty of small ways to think green.

We have been developing our solar powered products category and released it last week. You can view that by clicking here.  We will also by teaming up with Ms. Perez by donating our greenest products to be given away at the GrOw GREEN event on April 5th.  It truly is the little things that make the biggest differences and this is just the start to a long line of “little things” that we plan to do to bring more attention to the growing environmental problems.  Going green may be the one way to improve on global warming.   Is that enough?  Is global warming a serious enough problem to change our lifestyle?

As always, Art.

P.S. Thanks Alicia!