Dr Copa

Winters here in New England are really hard on our numerous mailboxes. It almost seems as if the snow plows take great pleasure in hitting every single mailbox possible as they drive down the road. You can drive up and down almost all the roads in this town and not be able to find more than a dozen or so mail boxes that have not been dented or completely smashed, or at the very least, tilting precariously to one side. Even some of the commercial mailboxes are taking a beating lately.

I know that it is difficult for the plow drivers to pay close attention to where each mail box is, but I do think that the drivers could slow down just a little bit and try a little bit harder to avoid hitting them! The only ones that seem to be safe are the apartment mailboxes. I don’t know, but I’m beginning to suspect that the snow plow drivers all own stock in the companies that make our community mailboxes! So each one they demolish they are getting a kickback for the new ones that have to be bought to replace them!

Guest post by Kyle Jefferson

A lot of news articles lately have been dedicated to informing readers about how to prepare their homes for the upcoming cold weather. A lot of publicity has been made regarding how a lot of states are going to deny emergency funds for heat assistance to low income senior citizens. Many of the articles include a lists of home energy efficiency tips  to help reduce energy costs. Some of the articles recommend having a home energy audit performed; many electric companies will provide those audits at no charge to their customers.

If the audit shows a need for more insulation, sometimes a list of home insulation contractors can be found on the Internet or can be obtained from a local chamber of commerce if the homeowner does not feel comfortable doing the work for him/herself. In some cases doing home improvements that increase the energy efficiency are eligible for tax credits, so the expense of doing the work can be shared with Uncle Sam.

My wife and I have been talking about how to best dispose of our garbage. She would really like to compost and has been asking me for months to set up a compost pile.  She keeps telling me that the compost would be good for our garden.  We don’t have a garbage disposal: and I tell her that I’d rather just get a garbage disposal. Composting sounds like a lot of work, and I don’t feel like doing the work.  She tells me that garbage disposals are bad for septic systems, but I know lots of people with septic systems have garbage disposals!

I was reading an article on the Slate.com news website that discusses whether people should use garbage disposals or just put their garbage in the trash to be hauled to a landfill. The article assumes that no one has a septic system, and it recommends compost piles as the first and best choice, the garbage disposal as the second best choice, and putting garbage in the trash to be hauled to the landfill as the worst choice. I wish the article had addressed septic systems!

Just about everyone in my neighborhood was outside today, working on their yards. There were wheelbarrows and bags of mulch in every driveway or laid out across their front yards. The weather was perfect for working outside – nice and cool with a bright sun and a little breeze. Everyone was digging, clipping, cutting, mowing and spreading mulch. I wonder how many of my neighbors are using the rubber mulch like the professionals do?

It wasn’t until this year that I paid any attention to landscape mulch. The little bit of bark mulch that was covering the ground when I bought this house was getting thinner and thinner. At some point I was going to have to add mulch or replace what was there.

So I started doing my research. I talked to the neighbors about what they were using and what they liked. I went to the local hardware stores and talked to the lawn and garden pros. Then I talked to some of the guys that I saw actually planting shrubs and spreading mulch on the landscaping at the shopping centers and office buildings downtown.

According to the professionals that were taking care of the hospital grounds, the best landscaping mulch is made by the company named, Rubberecycle. It is not the typical bark mulch that you see in big bags at the discount stores every spring and fall. Rubber mulch uses recycled materials and outperforms the natural mulches. Once you look around and notice the rubber mulch, you’ll see it all around you.

The weather sure turned cool quickly. That should be enough to jump start all the trees up here to turning to their fall colors. Every September and October we enjoy a splendid color display from all the trees. There are bright reds, oranges and yellows that shimmer in the morning sun.

If it does not get too rainy, we should have about one good month of motorcycle riding weather before it gets too cold and the roads get too dangerous. Of course, the falling leaves make the roads dangerous in themselves. But if you are careful and watch your speed, driving through fallen leaves is a cool experience.