Well, now that we’re half-way through the month of February it’s time to begin preparing our lawns for the coming spring. After all, crocuses are already in bloom in many areas and the robins have just made their first appearance of the season here in the mid-Atlantic states. Getting an early start will mean having the most beautiful lawn in your neighborhood!

Here are a few tips for getting your lawn ready for spring:

1 – Prune the branches of your fruit trees just enough to give them a good shape. Be sure to remove any dead twigs as you go along.

2 – Gather up and dispose of the pruned branches along with any branches that fell out of the trees over the winter months.

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Living (and loving) Life

Like most items with moving parts, locks need to be lubricated from time to time in order to keep them working smoothly.

It’s usually pretty easy to tell if a lock needs lubrication because if it does you’ll have a difficult time getting the key to slide in or out of the keyhole, and occasionally the key won’t turn the lock once it has been fully inserted.

The most effective way to lubricate the inside of a lock is to squirt a little graphite into the keyhole, then insert and remove the key a few times to spread the graphite around and onto all the little parts that comprise the locking mechanism. Next, turn the key a few times and you should notice a big difference right away.

Graphite typically comes in a small tube with a pointed tip that is designed specifically to be inserted into a keyhole. You can pick up a tube for just a few dollars at any hardware or home improvement store. You can also get it at most auto parts stores or other establishments that make spare keys.

If I remember correctly, I bought my last tube of graphite in the Tire & Lube Express (TLE) section of our local Wal-Mart, but you can also get it online at Amazon.

Trees are absolute treasures that can provide shade and atmosphere to most any lawn, but older, unhealthy or damaged trees pose a serious risk to any structures they happen to be near –  as well as the things and people inside. Here are a few questions that can help you determine if the time has come to remove a tree from your property:

1 – Is the tree old and fragile, causing it to shed branches every time a storm passes through?

2 – Does it appear to be hollow and/or unstable at any point between the trunk and the canopy?

3 – Has a recent storm broken it off or split it into two or more sections?

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If you live in an area that is prone to frequent power outages you have probably given serious thought to buying a generator. I purchased and installed one at my home several years ago and I can tell you that it’s a real blessing having power when all of your neighbors are sitting in the dark and shivering in the cold.

Backup generators typically come in two varieties: portable and permanently installed. Portable models have the advantages of being less expensive and, well…portable. They also have their disadvantages as well. Most portable generators run on either gasoline or diesel, both of which are expensive and can be somewhat dangerous unless the unit is properly set up and used.

In contrast, permanently installed generators typically run on propane or natural gas which tend to be safer and cleaner burning than gasoline. Permanent models are also the best choice for powering an entire house because once they are connected to the home’s wiring there is really little else to do except for routine maintenance. The disadvantages of buying a permanently installed generator are the extra expense involved with purchasing the unit and paying an electrician to do a professional installation (which is strongly recommended).

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If your lawn looks boring and blah, there’s an easy way to give it a ton of character: Install a decorative windmill!

Windmills have been around for centuries grinding wheat into flour, pumping water out of low-lying areas, generating electricity and adding beauty and motion to landscapes. The decorative variety are typically quite inexpensive, and with occasional maintenance they tend to last for years.

My fondness for windmills blossomed way back when I was a little girl growing up on my parents’ rural Wisconsin dairy farm.We had three windmills pumping water from a nearby stream into a series of small ponds that the cows drank from. I would stand for minutes at a time watching those beautiful blades spin round and round, whirring and working their magic on both the ponds and my psyche.

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