Home Keeping The Plant-Eating Enemies Of Horticulture From Plaguing Your Garden 12:51 PM Maintaining a garden is one of the most soul-satisfying things a person can do. It connects us with Mother Earth. It surrounds and fills us with negative ions that can relieve our stress. It gives us a sense of accomplishment with the knowledge that we are feeding our families with organic, home-grown goodness. While we diligently cultivate our nutritious morsels, some four-legged creatures likewise want a piece of the action. Sure, they might be cute as they scamper from tree limb to tree limb, or hop through the yard like innocent little gremlins. But they are not innocent when it comes to your garden. If given the chance, each cute little critter can turn your delicate, magnificent garden into a scene of carnage. You may set out one morning to do weeding, or to pick beans, only to be confronted with the sheer terror of bulbs uprooted, spinach leaves that look like Swiss cheese, feces, and possibly wildlife-borne insects, discharged all over your garden.Keeping the Plant-Eating Enemies of Horticulture from Plaguing Your Garden The Best Defense When deer and other wildlife cannot access your garden, they will go searching for food in fields, meadows, and high grasses, as well as other areas where their food grows in the wild.Installing a deer fence is a sure-fire way to keep out animals that don’t belong in your garden. Durable, and environmentally safe, the right deer fencing will keep out animals that wish to create mischief, by consuming your plants and seedlings. Deer fencing won’t cause woodland creatures any harm but instead will divert them to other locations, to gather their food. The deer will more likely try to go under a deer fence than over it. Choosing a six-foot, or even an eight-foot-high fence, or pairs of low parallel fences, will cause the deer to think twice about scaling them, even if they are being chased, or feel threatened. The Worst Garden Offenders Deer - You may find deer grazing in your garden at dusk and at dawn. Because winters are hard on them, they seek out and focus on, only the most nutritious garden plants. They're hard to catch as they are nearly inaudible except for occasional grunts and mews. If you don't catch them, be on the lookout for deer droppings, and cloven-shaped hoof prints.Rabbits - Beloved and perky-eared, rabbits can wreak havoc on your garden. They will eat almost anything and can cause extensive damage if security is not in place.Raccoons and Skunks - Although sometimes happily satiated by feasting on garbage cans, raccoons and skunks will also dig through your garden, looking for insects, and grubs. They will also dig holes to make their dens.Squirrels - Both ground and tree squirrels pose a threat to your garden. Their typical MO is to create holes that are used either for their burrows or to store and bury nuts for winter.Prairie Dogs - While, indeed prairie dogs are capable of inflicting great damage to crops in a garden, they are helpful to the ecosystem. Their method of burrowing helps till the soil, thereby adding nutrients. If possible, finding a professional to trap, and relocate these critters, is the most environmentally beneficial and kinder way of managing them.Chipmunks - The famous of them all, chipmunks feed mainly on insects, seeds, grains, and nuts, but have no problem consuming seedlings and flower bulbs.Field Mice - Ingenious little creatures, field mice will do just about anything to get to a tasty morsel of food. They will disrupt plant roots, and snack on leaves, pull up roots and gnaw at them from underneath the soil. Despite being one of our most important tasks, co-existing with our surroundings can be challenging. We must cooperate with Mother Nature instead of working against her. However, that doesn’t mean that we have to share all of our hard work with the plant-eating creatures that live nearby.With the right tools, planning, and defenses, such as deer fencing, we can make sure that we are the only ones harvesting the bounty of our gardens while redirecting woodland creatures to other green areas of abundance.
Listicle The 5 Best American Road Trips to Take this Summer 12:11 PM The USA offers every conceivable landscape imaginable. It is all part of the typical summertime experience. From mountain ranges and lush valleys to wondrous deserts, canyons, plateaus, coastal waterways, and historic sites; the country offers a bit of everything to road warriors. Now that summer is nearly upon us it is time to start planning your next summer getaway. America’s infrastructure can lead you to stunning locales but is your car as ready for the adventure as you are? Travel safely with the best car insurance coverage available. The exceptional customer service people at Freeway Car Insurance will help you update your plan allowing you access to the best and safest summer yet!Geared up? Let’s explore.The 5 Best American Road Trips to Take this Summer 1) The Turquoise Trail One of the most beautiful stretches of highway in all North America is the Turquoise Trail which is named after the turquoise mineral deposits that have been found and mined in the New Mexico area. 52 miles in length this stretch of highway runs between Santa Fe, and Albuquerque, with a sprinkling of interesting and offbeat towns in between. In 2000, the highway was designated as a National Scenic Byway – which means that the US Department of Transportation recognizes the route as having one or more of these characteristics: cultural, archaeological, natural, historic, scenic, or recreational. Visit Cerrillos was once a booming town with dozens of saloons, hotels, and pretty churches, it is now a ghost town, ready to be explored.via Flickr2) The Great River Road Looping and curving through 10 states, the 3,000-mile Great River Road follows the Mississippi River through a number of natural wonders, such as the Trail of Tears State Park in Missouri, and Nelson Dewey State Park, in Wisconsin. It is an amazing opportunity to become immersed in the history and culture that is life on the Mississippi River. Learn the history of the “blues” at the Delta Blues Museum in Mississippi, and stop at the Buffalo Bill Museum, in LeClair, Iowa. Another fascinating stop - Fort Snelling, in Minnesota, an old military outpost, where, today, they offer military history demonstrations, and activities. 3) Florida A1A If you love the beach’s warmth and the sunshine, you’ll love Florida’s A1A route which takes you from Miami to the Georgia state line, or vice versa, of course. Some of the amazing stops along the way include the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum, Amelia Island, the McKee Botanical Garde, and Daytona International Speedway, not to mention, dozens of spectacular piers and beaches. A favorite among the locals is the Cocoa Beach Pier; a great place for beginning and experienced surfers to catch some waves, as they are consistent here, much like the casual atmosphere of Cocoa Beach itself.via Flickr4) Route 66 This road is the quintessential slice of Americana. There have been songs written about it and movies filmed on it. This road extends all the way from Chicago, IL. to Los Angeles, CA. with so many fantastic spots along the way, including: the Meramec Caverns, Petrified Forest, and the Grand Canyon. Photo shoot, anyone? You will not want to miss the opportunity to tour the Cadillac Ranch. Ten Cadillacs which are half buried in the desert sit ready and waiting for visitors to spray paint their own individualistic art onto them. Don’t forget about the Route 66 Hall of Fame Museum located in Pontiac, Illinois. Here you’ll find virtually thousands of original historic pieces of memorabilia dating back to the days when Route 66 was truly iconic. 5) Million Dollar Highway in Colorado As you might imagine, this route offers a number of outdoor adventure opportunities and incredible vistas as far as the eye can see. At only 25 miles long and just a snippet of the San Juan Highway, this road packs a punch with people seeking adventure in the San Juan National Forest, and Molas Lake. There are ghost towns to explore like Animas Forks and in Silverton you can take a gold mine tour to level up your knowledge on how things used to be done. This highway got its high-priced name because it is one of the most scenic highways in the USA. With jaw dropping panoramic views this highway traverses up three mountains taking an uphill climb of about 11,000 feet!Now is the time to start planning your summer road trip. Getting your car in tip-top shape and making sure you have the insurance coverage you need to get to where you want to go, with serenity, and peace of mind, should be first on your list of things to do! Take your pick of the many magnificent highways America has to offer and savor the experiences you will embrace as you drive life’s highways.
Home Redecorating? Consider Storage During The Changes 6:31 PM Redecorating your home can be an enjoyable experience, but it's also one you'll want to be prepared for. That's especially true if the changes go way beyond hanging up some different artwork or changing the window coverings. For example, if you're painting some rooms, rearranging things, and changing your furniture, you'll need to be able to live in the house while you're doing all that -- or you'll need somewhere to stay. But what about all your things? You may want to consider storage while you're redecorating. Here's why. Redecorating? Consider Storage During the ChangesProtecting your things is important The things you own probably matter a lot to you. Plenty of people say that material things are "just things" and it shouldn't matter too much if something happens to them. They're replaceable, after all. While that's technically true for most items, it doesn't really address the heart of the issue. The cost of replacing your things if something happens to them might be more than you can afford. You also might have pieces that were handed down, that you refinished or created, or that are meaningful to you in a way. Naturally, you want to take good care of those items during the redecorating process. If you're looking for Storage in Los Angeles, you can find a lot of different options. But the goal is to choose a good location you can trust and feel comfortable with. Then you won't need to stress about whether your items are being cared for properly or not. Instead, you can just have peace of mind so you can focus on getting the job done and moving your things back into your home. Sometimes redecorating takes longer than expected Even if you don't plan on the period of redecorating, you may be surprised at the length of time it actually takes to complete everything you want to do. Making changes to a house is rarely something that stays on budget or gets done in the timeframe that was part of the original estimate. Because of that, you'll want to focus on having somewhere to put things during the process. If you just move them to another room, they're going to be in the way. That might not be a big deal for a few days, but it's also quite likely it'll take more than just a few days before you can return things to their original location. Having them out of place and in the way can quickly get frustrating. It's all too easy to accidentally damage something Whether you're investigating storage options in Los Angeles or trying to find another way to keep your belongings out of the way of your redecorating efforts, it's very easy to damage something by accident during your work. By removing the items from your home entirely, you're reducing your risk of paint on the couch cushions or a big gouge in the top of the table, because things are in the way.If you have items all over the place when you're trying to redecorate, your chances of accidentally damaging at least some of them are going to rise. Of course that's something you want to avoid, and that avoidance is made much easier by moving everything off-site. There's a small risk in moving them, but not as much as there would be if they stayed in the house during the work. You may not have enough space in your house Not having enough space, and wanting rooms or open areas to look bigger, could be a big part of why you've decided to redecorate. When you're already tight on space, though, you probably don't want to cram things from one room into another one -- even for a little while. That's why looking for solutions for storage in Los Angeles can be such a great choice. You don't have to crowd your spaces with all kinds of things, and you can still use the rooms in your house that you're not redecorating. That's a great way to have some peace and enjoyment in your home, even if you weren't sure how you were going to get any of that during the time the work is getting done. You'll make your insurance unhappyDepending on what kind of changes you're making and how you're moving things around to keep them out of the way, you could accidentally create a liability issue. That could mean problems with your insurance company, if you get hurt during the redecorating and need to make a claim. It's best to reduce those risks and avoid those types of problems. Overall, having storage is the best way to make a redecorating project in your home easier. You'll have less clutter, more room to move, and a lot more peace of mind, so you can complete the project and get back to enjoying your home again.
Listicle Top 7 Things You Can Customize For Your Upcoming Wedding 5:25 PM Are you planning and looking for a few ideas to set the tone for your dream wedding? Do you want to create the wedding atmosphere that you love? You have the perfect ring and the perfect fiancé that you're ready to spend the rest of your life with. Now it's time to plan the wedding. You want to make your wedding day memorable. It should be symbolic of everything that you and your partner stand for and you want to share that with your guests. When preparing for one of the most momentous events in your life, it's important to ensure that your wedding represents who you are. Whether you decide to look in your local wedding shop, check out an upscale boutique recommended by a friend, or hire a wedding planner, you can turn your dream wedding into reality. Below is a list of things that you can customize for your wedding day.Top 7 Things You Can Customize for Your Upcoming Wedding Venue Booking the perfect venue at the perfect location is key to having a successful wedding and reception. You can have a destination wedding in Bali or the Maldives or simply reserve your local church, community center or national park. Adding your personal touch to the venue can make your loved ones feel the love you and your fiancé share. Large chandeliers, a personalized dance floor engraved with the couple's initial, and a playlist of your favorite love songs to mark the day are just a few things that you can make your own. Flowers Is there such a thing as too many flowers? Not at all! Whether you choose roses, carnations, peonies, lilies, daisies, gardenias, or orchids you can never have too many flowers. The type of flower you pick says a lot about you and the day you hope to have. You can decorate an arch, create a flower wall for guests to take memorable pictures or lace the aisle with flowers paired with candles to light the way for the bridal party as they make their way down the aisle.Having the perfect bridal bouquet for the bride and her bridesmaids and the perfect boutonnieres for each groomsman can add a special touch to the wedding. Decorations Deciding on your wedding theme can be exciting, challenging, and stressful. Start by picking the colors that suit you and your fiancé, then choose the style you are going for. You can go for a modern rustic look that consist of a more earthy feel. This is composed of earth tones such as shades of browns, beiges, and greens. A tropical theme can give you the feel of a destination wedding. Have lots of tropical plants and bright colors to give you the calm resort-style feel. You can go for a traditional black-tie style with the classical high chandeliers paired with impeccable table placement of fine china plate settings, champagne glasses, and triangle napkins with diamond napkin rings. Invitations How do you plan to introduce your union to your invitees? Sending “Save the dates” is a great way to get the word out about your wedding before sending out your invitations. Adding a personal photo gives your announcement the perfect introduction of the happy, powerful, and perfect union that you and your fiancé have. Invitations can be sent in different forms. You can choose a classical paper invitation or an e-invite through email that can save time and money. Signature Dish and Signature Cocktails Celebrated your wedding with your guests through signature dish and cocktails. Picking a spicy, sweet, or savory dish can add to the ambiance of the wedding. This dish can be a traditional family dish or something you and your fiancé like to share. The signature dish could be accompanied with a signature cocktail that shows your personality. Mixing your own cocktail can impress your guests and make them ready to celebrate all night long. Attire From the wedding dress and groom's tuxedo to the bridesmaids’ dresses and groomsmen’s suit, the color scheme and combinations are essential to achieve the planned look. Aside from picking attire for the bridal party, you can request your guests to wear clothes according to your theme. If you decide to have a wedding around Valentine’s day for example, you can request your guests to wear red. For a Christmas wedding, they can wear red or green or even winter white, if you’re bold! Favors Wedding favors are memorable gifts given to your guests. This small gift that everyone receives at your wedding will be forever cherished as a symbol of your union. This can be a wine glass highlighting the names of the newlyweds and the date of the wedding. It can be an emblematic item representing the love that the couple shares, such as a candle representing how bright the couple shines. The wedding favor can be as grand or as minimal as you would like for it to be. What are you planning to customize on your wedding? If you're already married, what details of your wedding did you personalize? Share away in the comment below!
Home How To Turn Your Bedroom Into A Relaxing Sleep Space 12:20 PM It’s no secret that trouble sleeping can lead to trouble in other areas of life. The absence of sufficient sleep could lead to a stressful, tiring and anxiety-inducing day. If you’ve been having trouble sleeping through the night, there’s a good chance your bedroom décor is partially to blame. Without realizing it, many troubled sleepers make décor choices that are anything but conducive to a peaceful night’s slumber. So, if a more relaxing sleep space is what you’re after, put the following pointers to good use.How to Turn Your Bedroom Into a Relaxing Sleep Space Invest in a Luxury Mattress Few items are as important to your sleep quality as a good mattress. Unfortunately, many of us have a tendency to hang on to mattresses that are well past their prime. In some instances, this is done as a result of pure laziness. Other times, people simply don’t wish to spend money on a new mattress – and to a point, this is understandable. Dependable mattresses generally don’t come cheap after all. It makes economical sense to get the most possible use out of your current mattress before investing in a replacement. Continuing to sleep on an old or lumpy mattress can have an adverse effect on the quality of your slumber and potentially result in back and/or neck pain. There are many areas in which it pays to be frugal, but when it comes to mattresses, cheaping out is liable to result in many uncomfortable nights. So, the next time you find yourself in the market for a new mattress, take care to limit yourself to dependable, high-quality options. Treating yourself to a comfortable sustainable mattress can do wonders for your sleep quality. It provides you with the perfect place to enjoy your nightly respite. Since luxury mattresses tend to have much longer lifespans than budget options, you may wind up saving money down the line.Get a Spacious Nightstand Getting up in the middle of the night can prove extremely damaging to your overall sleep quality. For many of us, having our sleep interrupted for more than 10 minutes makes getting back to sleep virtually impossible. Getting out of bed for any duration of time sometimes tricks our bodies into thinking we’re up for the day. Depending on why you get up at night, placing a spacious nightstand beside your bed may save you a great deal of trouble. For instance, if you frequently get up to get a drink of water or take medication, placing the necessary items on your nightstand can prevent you from having to get out of bed. This limits the amount of sleep you lose. If you regularly get up to answer the call of nature during the overnight hours, your doctor may be able to recommend effective treatment options. Be Aggressive About Decluttering A cluttered sleeping space is conducive to a cluttered mind – and a cluttered mind is conducive to troubled sleep. Unfortunately, bedrooms are often hotbeds for clutter. Between various handheld devices, dirty dishes and wayward laundry, sleep spaces are the most cluttered areas in many households. To nip bedroom clutter in the bud, make a point of keeping the space as clutter-free as possible. This means investing in a good clothes hamper in order to keep dirty laundry off the floor. It also entails bringing dirty dishes to the kitchen immediately after you’re finished with them. If your sleep space is awash with books, magazines and various other types of reading material, you’d do well to invest in quality shelving solutions. Keeping a tidy bedroom may come as a tremendous change of pace for certain people, but after a few weeks of enjoying a clutter-free sleep space, you’re unlikely to favor a return to your old habits. Improper sleep habits can turn your usual routine into an arduous chore. Increased irritability, decreased memory and difficulty functioning are just a few of the undesirable consequences associated with troubled sleep. Although certain sleep issues require a professional level of treatment, many of them are directly associated with our bedrooms. Unsurprisingly, healthy sleep spaces are conducive to healthy sleep habits. As such, anyone experiencing trouble sleeping through the night should make the necessary alterations to their designated sleep space.
What To Do If An Uninsured Motorist Hits You 5:41 PM Usually, when you get into a car accident, the insurance company of the at-fault driver pays for the damages. But what do you do when you get into a collision with someone who doesn't have insurance?Even though most states in the US require drivers to have car insurance, some people still drive illegally without liability insurance. It can be a huge pain to get the money you need for repairs if one of these people hits you, so here's a quick rundown of the steps you should take to make sure you get what you deserve.What to Do If an Uninsured Motorist Hits You1. Stay calm.The first thing you should do is the same thing you do after any accident: stay calm and make sure everyone is alright. Car crashes are often extremely frightening, and it can be difficult to make smart decisions when you have adrenaline pumping through your body. Take a moment to catch your breath, calm yourself down, and make sure that you and your passengers are alright. Once you're sure that nobody needs to call an ambulance, then it's time to start figuring out the next steps.2. Determine fault. Where you live is relevant to this - are you in a tort state or a no-fault state? 38 of the 50 states in the US are tort states, which means that the driver at fault is the one who has to pay for all the damages. If you live in a tort state, it's obviously going to be extremely important that you make sure your insurance company knows you weren't at fault for the accident. If you end up on the hook for the collision, your rates could skyrocket. If you live in a no-fault state, your insurance company is going to have to pay for the damages to your car no matter what.3. Call authorities.Once you've determined fault, it's usually a good idea to get the police involved, especially if you suspect the other driver may be uninsured. Insurance companies are often skeptical of claims involving uninsured motorists since they don't have a way to confirm what happened with the other driver's insurance company. The best way to fix this is to have a police report. The police can act as a third party and confirm that what you're telling the insurance company is true. They can also help you to confirm whether or not the other driver is telling the truth about their insurance.4. File a claim.With your police report in hand, the next step is to go ahead and officially file a claim. You don't have to do this right away, but you should make sure it's done as soon as possible. Many insurance companies only give you 30 days to file a claim, otherwise, you get nothing. Make sure your insurance company has the police report you got from the scene of the accident so they can confirm what you're telling them. Try to collect as much information as you can about the other driver, just in case. This can go a long way for your claim.If you file a claim but don't get enough money to pay for your repair and medical bills, you may want to consider taking the other driver to small claims court. Whether or not this is a good idea will depend on your situation as well as theirs, so it's a good idea to talk to a lawyer before taking that step.
Beauty 5 Ways To Detangle Your Hair Without Destroying It 8:37 PM Your hair should look shiny, well-styled, and fantastic at all times. It makes you feel fantastic and confident too. Unfortunately, while movie stars never appear to suffer from a bad hair day, mere mortals do; the wind, rain, and many other factors conspire to make your hair tangled and even tired-looking. The good news is that you can detangle your hair without destroying it.5 Ways To Detangle Your Hair Without Destroying It 1. Plenty Of Conditioner The first step in detangling your hair is to reduce the tightness of your knots. You need to choose a quality detangling shampoo and conditioner, such as the ones in this Kevin Murphy range. The shampoo will ensure your hair is clean, leaving the conditioner in place won’t just nourish your hair, it will help to loosen knots. That’s going to make it easier to eliminate them and get your hair looking fantastic. 2. Wide-Toothed Combs After washing you need to dab your hair and let it air dry if possible. Wet hair is much more easily damaged than dry hair. You can then slide a wide-toothed comb through your hair gently. It will identify the knots and gradually remove them. It may take several strokes but it works, just keep the pressure gentle.3. Fingers Work Well If your wide-toothed comb isn’t getting the knots out you’ll find that your fingers are very adept at this. Simply run your fingers gently through your hair and you’ll find the knots start to fall out. Fingers are particularly good for this as they give you plenty of feedback, allowing you to pull through the knot without exerting excess pressure. Don’t forget, it’s best to hold your hair above the knot when you’re trying to pull the knots out. This will reduce the stress on your roots. Fingers are a good idea to use first and then move onto the wide-toothed comb or a detangling hairbrush to eliminate the last of the knot.4. Brush From the Bottom To reduce the stress on your scalp and help alleviate any knots you should always start brushing from the bottom. Ideally, start a few inches from the bottom and brush downward. It will make it easier to remove any knots. 5. Never Force A Knot The key to successfully detangling your hair is not to damage it in the process. All you have to do is be gentle and hold your hair above the knot you’re trying to get out. This prevents the hair from pulling on the roots, potentially pulling the follicles out. It’s normal to lose between 50-100 hairs a day but you don’t want to lose any more than you have to!Of course, in a perfect world, you won’t need to detangle your hair. Unfortunately, the reality is that, no matter how hard you try to protect your hair, it will get knots. The good news is that they can be removed without damaging your hair, allowing you to look fantastic, as always.
