April 2018 Newsletter
Is your yard ready for spring?
Avoid heavy yard work in the spring until the soil dries out – foot traffic and hard raking can compact or disturb soggy soil and damage tender, new grass shoots. Once the soil is good and dry, give your lawn a good spring cleaning to encourage grass growth and discourage pests and diseases. Remove leaves and fallen debris, and gently rake to fluff up and separate the grass shoots.
In areas with heavy snowfall, leftover snow piles can smother the grass underneath and foster mold growth. As the weather warms, spread snow piles out with a shovel to encourage melting.
Avoid heavy yard work in the spring until the soil dries out – foot traffic and hard raking can compact or disturb soggy soil and damage tender, new grass shoots. Once the soil is good and dry, give your lawn a good spring cleaning to encourage grass growth and discourage pests and diseases. Remove leaves and fallen debris, and gently rake to fluff up and separate the grass shoots.
In areas with heavy snowfall, leftover snow piles can smother the grass underneath and foster mold growth. As the weather warms, spread snow piles out with a shovel to encourage melting.
Avoid heavy yard work in the spring until the soil dries out – foot traffic and hard raking can compact or disturb soggy soil and damage tender, new grass shoots. Once the soil is good and dry, give your lawn a good spring cleaning to encourage grass growth and discourage pests and diseases. Remove leaves and fallen debris, and gently rake to fluff up and separate the grass shoots.
In areas with heavy snowfall, leftover snow piles can smother the grass underneath and foster mold growth. As the weather warms, spread snow piles out with a shovel to encourage melting.
Avoid heavy yard work in the spring until the soil dries out – foot traffic and hard raking can compact or disturb soggy soil and damage tender, new grass shoots. Once the soil is good and dry, give your lawn a good spring cleaning to encourage grass growth and discourage pests and diseases. Remove leaves and fallen debris, and gently rake to fluff up and separate the grass shoots.
In areas with heavy snowfall, leftover snow piles can smother the grass underneath and foster mold growth. As the weather warms, spread snow piles out with a shovel to encourage melting.
If your lawn is already well-maintained, all you need to do is give it a light raking once the ground has dried out. However, problem areas should be addressed quickly, as they can stress your lawn and make it more susceptible to weeds and disease.
One common problem is uneven ground. Low spots cause poor drainage, while high spots are often scalped by the lawn mower. Since these situations create poor growing conditions for grass, grab a shovel, cut away areas that are raised, and fill in those that are depressed.
Another issue that plagues lawns, particularly in high-traffic areas, is soil compaction. This occurs when the soil becomes densely packed, making it difficult for grass to take root and allowing hardier weeds to take over. To test your yard for this problem, stick a garden fork into the ground. If the tines fail to penetrate 2 inches (5.08 centimeters), your soil is compacted and should be loosened with an aerator designed to remove small plugs of soil from your lawn.
Even if the soil is properly prepared, you can still have a problem with thatch, a tangle of above-ground roots common in dense, spreading grasses like Bermuda and Zoysia. In especially bad cases, a thick mat of thatch can make it difficult for water and nutrients to reach the soil. You can break up thatch with a specially designed rake or with a mechanized dethatcher for larger jobs.
What burglar's know about your home
If you want to keep yourself and your family safe here are a few ways of deterring burglars and would be break-ins.
1. Living in a poor section will definitely deter a burglar. Burglars aren't going to bother with homes that look like the people in them can't afford anything nice. So if you are thinking of buying a home for safety issues you can consider moving into a lower income neighborhood.
2. You can deter a burglar by looking like you can't afford to breathe the air around you. Burglars are looking for homes to break into that the owners are wealthy or at least have nice things. Keep your Jaguar in a locked garage without windows and drive an everyday clunker. Something from the 1990's would be good. Park it in front of your house for would be burglars to see.
3. Burglars like privacy. The best way to deter a burglar is to live on a clear cut acre with outside lights. Burglars like the dark and they like to be able to hide. Don't give a burglar the chance to hide or be in the dark. Purchase outside solar lights and place them around your house. Lights deter burglars.
Open areas deter burglars. Burglars need somewhere to hide. A yard free from debris and low to the ground bushes/shrubs or no bushes/shrubs will deter burglars quickly. If there is no way for a burglar to sneak in or out a burglar is less likely to choose your home.
4. Most homes are staked out before a burglary. Burglars like to rob more than one home if at all possible. Burglars drive around neighborhoods getting the feel for the streets and seeing who is home and who isn't. They may stake out homes once or for several months. If you are purchasing a home gated communities may be the safest if there is only one way in and out. No escape path will deter a burglar.
Another deterrence for a burglar is a community crime watch program or an area where people walk at night or is well lighted. Burglars like privacy so if there are people around burglars will be deterred.
5. Don't leave expensive items where anyone driving or walking by could see them. If you have expensive artwork or a 52 inch flat screen television don't leave the items near a window where burglars could see them if they are walking or driving buy. A burglar that knows what you have will know what he wants and it will make your house an opportune situation.
If your living room has big windows leave the curtains shut when you are not at home. Turn your furniture so no one can see what you have. If a burglar is unsure whether or not you have nice things he may not waste his time breaking into your home when he knows three doors down there is two computers, a big screen television, and a telescope. He would much rather have that stuff then not be able to get anything at your house.
6. Another good way to deter a burglar is to leave lights on even when you are not home. Burglars who think you are home or up won't want to be caught so they may go to the next house. If you have any way of automatically turning lights on and off you might want to use them. Leave the radio turned on, or the TV, so it looks that you are around.
7. Dogs and security systems deter burglars. If you have a dog it is best to keep it where the burglar can't see it unless it is a ferocious dog and then make sure you constantly walk it and have it on your front porch.
Security systems are also good to have. If you have a security system sticker in your window burglars won't take the time to find out if you really have the system or not.
8. The best way to deter a burglar is to not flaunt anything you do have. Burglars are more likely to hit homes they know have something than to hit a home that they are unsure of. Burglars don't want to waste their time so if you have nice stuff be careful of who sees it. Most times a burglar is someone you know.
Take a picture from all you valuables, serial numbers etc. It will make it much easier when you lose them.
FARMERS: When you want to identify crop in the bin, use micro confetti.
HOMEOWNERS: For valuables there is a invisible bar code as an option
In this economy crime will be going up. If you can take steps to deter a burglar then maybe you won't become a victim.
Tips for getting your house in shape this spring
Gutters: If you did not clean your gutters before winter begin, you should definitely do it now. Inspect your gutters for leaves and debris. Make sure nothing is clogging the gutters. If your gutters are clogged, water will overflow and damage your house’s siding. Other issues to look for are holes, sagging and loose or missing fasteners.
Roof: Grab a ladder and get on the roof! Harsh winds could have damaged your roof so look for loose or missing shingles. In addition, take a look at your chimney’s flashing. Assess if it’s peeling away or deteriorating. Tip: If getting on the roof is not possible consider using binoculars or your phone/digital camera to inspect.
Siding: The rain and snow could have hit your house hard this winter. So you must inspect for loose siding. If loose siding goes unchecked, water can get inside causing your support beams to rot. Keeping your siding clean is also important, because of the inevitable Spring showers, you want to keep your siding as dry and clean as possible. Clean regularly your siding to avoid mold and mildew.
Deck: Clean your deck! In order to start using it during the warmer dry days of Spring, depending on what is around your home, clean off any leaves or wash off any dirt that accumulated throughout the winter season. Tip: To protect your deck from moisture and UV rays, consider staining it and sealing it.
Just my thought,
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When there is no time to do it,
don't sweat it, forget it.
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When you refer us to a friend,
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