Picket Fence Weblog

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.

Do you have nosy neighbors?   Do they like to  sit on their back deck and use your family as entertainment?  I know plenty of folks who have told me similar stories.  Not only do some of these stories include neighbors just staring, but some of these same neighbors wait until you come out so they can come over and talk.  It gets tiresome.  Short of putting up a hedge fence or an expensive yard barrier fence, there isn’t much you can really do.  Giant wooden fences that surround your yard can be extremely expensive and hedge fences are, well, ugly.

This Privacy Trellis is much better looking, can be used to grow hanging plants, and will protect you from the eyes of nosy meddling neighbors.  It adds a little bit of old world charm to your backyard, too.  If this doesn’t seem big enough for protect you from those prying eyes you can try the  Outdoor Privacy Screen.

Just trying to help you keep your summer fun between you and and the fence….

As always, Art.

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

For accent lighting and general accessory lighting it seems to be a waste of time to set up complicated wiring patterns . I know of a few people who have wanted to set up some lighting on their walkways to showcase what they are growing and the path to the front door, called in an electrician to bury the wires properly, only to have problems with it later that same season. It’s not impossible to set it up yourself, but there is a much easier way to do it, without breaking your bank and without having to bury wires and set up fixtures. By putting in solar accent lighting, you will save yourself money and time. Technology has made it much easier for us to accomplish those little things. Solar power is so useful and its there for the taking.

I have been writing about solar power a lot lately . I am a huge fan of perpetual resources. This includes wind, tide, and solar power. It’s not just about going green, its about making advances toward the future, for better, more efficient ways of electricity. It’s not an easy task and it’s some what of an uncharted territory for many of us. But there are plenty of small ways to do your part to help, such as my example at the opening of this blog.

Shoppicketfence.com is introducing a new category on the website. This category showcases some of the best solar products available on the market today. It’s a cutting edge way to accent your home and become the first on the block to do it without raising your electric bill.

Gather up the sun and get it done!

As always, Art.

P.S. Solar Power is making some headlines in Hollywood with big stars like Ed Norton and Will Ferrel. Click here to check it out.

I heard a great story the other day and I felt compelled to share it.

A friend of mine lives in the suburbs.  He has quite a bit of land behind his garage and this is the fourteenth year in a row that he has had a garden.  Each year it has gotten bigger and bigger.  The last 4 years though, he was growing a lot of vegetables to can with.  He also makes different sauces and salsa’s throughout the year and makes gift baskets with his creations to give away at Christmas.  He spent years as a chef before owning his own business, so he knows his way around the kitchen.

Anyway, over the last four years, he noticed that a few vegetable would always be missing. Not every night or anything, just once in a while he would go back there to dig up a carrot or grab a tomato or onion, and notice that some of them were missing.  He couldn’t figure out what he was up against since no pest repellent seemed to be working. I suggested a special camera that looks just like a flood lamp.  It sends a video signal to your television so you can watch what types of animals are getting into your garden.

I know that most people use them for security against  criminals, but this is just an alternate use. Anyway, I talked my friend into buying one.  I even helped him set it up.  He called me a few days later, he had caught the animal red handed!  It turned out, his next door neighbor, an old man into his 90’s, was helping himself to whatever he felt like that day.  When asked, the man told my friend, “not to worry, he’ll keep an eye out” for whatever is stealing the veggies.  My friend said he didn’t have the heart to blame the man.  So now, once a week, he leaves a basket full of vegetables on the mans front door step, no matter what time of the year.  He has never had his garden raided since, and the old man has yet to say another word to him.

I wonder if he’s still “watching out” for the culprit.

As always, Art.