Category Archives: Guest Post

Choosing Garden Netting For Pests

After all the careful preparation in the spring and months of tending to your young garden, the last thing you want is to be overrun by pests before you can enjoy the harvest from your efforts. Whether it is insects, rodents, small animals, deer, or birds, the chances are that you would prefer to keep them from your vegetables and fruits in the garden. And while there are a number of good alternatives for keeping these uninvited guests out of your plants, one of the most effective is garden netting for birds.

Specialized netting can be used for a surprising number of applications in the garden. Not only can it be utilized to provide shade to your plants or support to your vines, but it is quite effective in keeping unwanted visitors from eating your crops. For whatever reason, most people tend to hesitate when it comes to applying garden netting in their own gardens.

A common problem for home gardeners is keeping birds out of their fruit trees and berry bushes. Bird netting is an excellent way to protect these fruits from the birds. Simply find a netting style that meets your expectations, drape the netting over the plant, and enjoy your crop when you want to enjoy it. The netting effectively keeps the birds from your crop, and can integrate quite seamlessly into the flow of your garden design.

For many of the insect problems that the average gardener faces, a combination of natural sprays and garden netting is often sufficient to keep these critters away. For your plants that will allow a protective layer of netting, draping the nets over the plants is quite effective in keeping larger bugs from infiltrating your plants.

Whatever your pest problem, there is likely a netting that will help to protect your garden. If you find yourself faced with pests, don’t be afraid to take action. You’ve worked hard on your garden, take the time to protect what you have created.

A Rainbow of Jade Stone Color

Jade, a name which is used for both the minerals nephrite and jadeite, is a stone which can be extremely valuable. This stone can vary in hardness from 6 to a 7 on the Mohs scale and can have a wide variety of colors depending on the type of stone and content of foreign minerals contained within it.

Nephrite jade, the softer of the two jades, is actually the toughest of both. It measures a 6-6.5 on the Mohs scale but due to its tough, interlocking crystalline structure, is much tougher to break. It is said to come in less colors than jadeite, yet has a very large range (not just the stereotypical green which comes to mind when people think of jade as a color).

Jadeite is the harder of the two jades, and measures a 6.5-7 on the Mohs scale. This stone is more valuable due to its rarity. It only comes out of Burma in commercial amounts while nephrite is found all over the world (though produced in commercial amounts in British Columbia).

The colors of jade vary depending on its mineral composition. When there is a content of iron present in jade it can appear red, orange or yellow. When graphite and iron are present the jade can appear black. When chromium is present the color of the jade stone can appear green. When there is no foreign mineral content, and therefor just pure jade, the jade stone will appear white.

The color of the piece of jade can affect its price. Today, green jade is considered much more valuable. In the past it was white jade which was the most valuable to the Chinese due to its purity.

Though jade can appear in green, blue, white, red, black, orange, yellow or violet (just to name a few of the colors) the shades of each color can vary enormously. Due to this fact the price of jade is also determined on how vivid and striking the color actually is. Value is not only determined by the jade stone color but also by its translucency, depth and if any fractures are present.

Activities to do Near Arches National Park

Arches National Park is set among the red rocks of Utah’s southern desert making it a great hiking and camping destination.  It is home to Delicate Arch, featured on license plates in Utah, and one of the most famous rock arches in the world. There are plenty of activities for the family or outdoor adventurer to enjoy, including hiking, camping, and mountain biking.

Hiking trails lead visitors to the 200 plus sandstone arches in the area and the trails vary in levels of difficulty for all hikers.  You have so many places to explore while hiking Arches National Park you could hike for days and not see everything.  The most popular trail is by far Delicate Arch which is a 3 mile round-trip trek across the desert’s slick rock.  The path is anything but shaded and the hot sun beats down unmercifully on hikers.  You should heed the park’s advice and bring lots of water on this trail; you will need it when the summer temperatures are 100 degrees or more.  The Fiery Furnace is another good hike, but one that requires a permit and a ranger to accompany hikers.  If there aren’t enough trails here for you another national park is nearby, Canyonlands.

Delicate Arch, Arches National Monument, Utah

Delicate Arch, Arches National Monument, Utah

Arches national park is located near the city of Moab and the Colorado and Green Rivers.  Adventurers in the area can enjoy all of the water activities that are available like river rafting down the white water rapids.  Families can head over to enjoy calmer waters if the rapids are too much.

You can also go mountain biking or off-roading in the area.  Many mountain bikers from all over the world come here to enjoy the trails offered and they also have various degrees of difficulty depending on your expertise. Many businesses in the area cater to visitors by offering ATV and jeep rentals for the area’s extensive off road trails.

Campers too will enjoy visiting here.  There are plenty of places to pitch your tent.  Just remember the area can be busy during the summer and holidays so make sure you reserve a campsite.  You don’t want to get there and find out there aren’t any spots left.  Also, temperatures are very hot in the summer but it does snow here in the winter.  You want to be equipped for whatever conditions you might face.

Regardless of the reasons you decide to visit this area you won’t be let down.  You will have plenty of adventures and can enjoy all the outdoors has to offer.

Camping and Food Safety

One of the most enjoyable things about camping is getting to enjoy the great food that can be prepared over a campfire. Many people also use their portable grills to supplement their cooking methods and there’s nothing like the taste of a juicy BBQ in the middle of the woods. But cooking while camping is definitely not like cooking in your home kitchen and as such, there are extra precautions you have to keep in mind to keep your food safe.

Your most essential piece of camping gear when it comes to food safety will be your cooler. You want to have a nice big one that you can use to store all your uncooked meats. Also think about bringing a smaller cooler just for drinks so that you don’t have to constantly open and close the lid of the larger cooler. Any meat you have should be firmly wrapped and packed tightly with lots of ice. Remember that block ice is generally better for camping than ice shavings, so use that if you can. You can also freeze certain things like prepared soups or stews ahead of time and these will also help to keep your cooler properly refrigerated. And if something has thawed you should cook it right away since there is no way to refreeze it properly without risk of germs developing.

Always make sure to cook your food properly as its better to over-cook something than to undercook. The wilderness is not the place you want to get food poisoning so keep a constant eye on your food to make sure it hasn’t gone bad. Camping tents are the perfect place to keep your cooler if you have set up in shade, so use your shelter for storage when appropriate. When in doubt, you should never eat anything that looks or smells suspect, so always bring an array of canned foods in case your meats go bad. Never sacrifice safety for hunger, and if you prepare properly by bringing adequate supplies, you won’t have to.

What to Look for in Tree Services

Most people enjoy the trees on their property. Unfortunately, trees can cause problems  like everything else. The good news is, its easy to protect your safety by hiring a quality tree services to deal with your trees.

These professionals can do all kinds of things, from cosmetic trimming, pruning, and if necessary the removal of a whole tree. Some companies are better than others. You could just go with the first choice you find, but you’re more likely to get the best when you look at different options. Different service companies have different qualifications and practices. Here is what you need to take into account.

Warning Signs

You should always investigate a company before you hire them. Dealing with trees requires a lot of responsibility. Stay away from unprofessional businesses or people, such as the local neighborhood handyman. A company that knows what its doing will examine your property and give you a free price estimate of the service before you hire them. If they want you to pay without providing this, grab your wallet and run in the opposite direction!

Trained Employees

Working high up with trees requires a lot of training to do right. In many areas, tree service employees need to go through a training program and be licensed. This generally requires many hours of both experience (with an apprenticeship) and classroom time. Make sure the company has licensed employees.

Legal Concerns

You do not want to be held liable if the company you trusted your trees to made a mistake that caused your old pine to fall on the neighbor’s house. If a company is legitimate, they will have liability insurance. This is way of saying “trust us, we know what we’re doing, and will take full responsibility for doing it right”. A good choice should have at least $1,000,000 of liability insurance. Workers compensation is a similar issue.

Without a good compensation program, an employee who injured himself working on your property might be inclined to hit you with a lawsuit! So make sure that the company also has compensation for injured employees.

Examine Multiple Options

To be sure you receive the quality if service you deserve, make sure to look at multiple options. Find at least three local companies that meet all these standards, and compare the prices. See how satisfied previous customers have been by searching for reviews on the internet.

Most of us would rather avoid thinking about the worst case tree scenario, but accidents do happen, so you need to be prepared for the possibility. Its better to take care of potential dangers now, than when they fall through your roof at 12:00 AM. There are plenty of companies out there who do know what they are doing. So as long as you do your homework, everything will turn out fine.

For more great information about all sorts of nature topics, you can check out The Nature Walk. Whether it be fast growing trees, lawn turf, or plant stands, we can tell you about it!