In case you need a last minute gift that will give a little extra cheer to the gardener in your life, read on. Many full service garden centers, gift shops, as well as hardware stores have just the perfect tool or gadget that is sure not to overload Santa’s sleigh. Here are a few gifts that will warm the heart of even the Grinchiest of gardeners. Pruners and saws: Every gardener needs a variety of pruners. Hand pruners, lopper pruners, pole pruners, and snips come in a variety of sizes, colors and handle configurations. If your gardener has enough pruners…
Browsing: Commentary
I had the privilege of delivering the invocation at the graduation ceremony for Recruit Classes 50 & 50-A On Dec. 18. Recruit Class 50-A represented a group of prior service personnel that attended a reduced version of a normal rookie school, due to the fact that they came from other departments and had attended other rookie schools. Recruit Class 50 went through the entire training required for entry-level firefighters, without prior experience. Believe it or not, this experience took me back to my graduation from Recruit Class 16, in March of 1986. I really don’t remember a lot about my…
Hello and welcome back to the wonderful holiday world of the Dogpound. Well my faithful pack friends, we are at the end of another year and this is the last “new” issue for 2015. So for starters, Merry Christmas and God bless everyone as we celebrate this most wonderful time of the year. As of this writing I am about half way through my Christmas shopping, and I fully expect to be completed before midnight Christmas Eve (stores stay open late…right?). The selection can be limited at times but you would not believe all of the last minute bargains you…
You really do not know how far you can go until you go there. Maybe some of you know how to inoculate for foot in mouth disease. I’ve had my flu shot this year but not the much needed FIM vaccine. Sometimes we need to get angry to begin thinking about something. You can either slam your fist on the table or swear not to pick up this paper again or you ask your neighbor what he thinks and then you light your torches together. The castle is not that far away. For a newspaper, daisies or torches are welcome…
To the Editor: Well I see Mr. Gray’s interests have expanded from The Great Climate Change Hoax into attempted gun grabbing. His predictions in “It’s Over” (V. News, 12/09/15) are as crazy as the ones on climate. The goal is the same: big government control over every aspect of our lives. Despite much-publicized recent shootings, since 1981 violent crime in the U.S. has fallen from 594.3 per 100,000 people to 403.6 in 2010. Homicides have fallen from 9.8/100,00 to 4.8 in the same time frame. These are FBI statistics. Further, by the most conservative estimates, in the U.S. there are…
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, a boy was born. He grew up to become the most wonderful husband and father a woman could ask for, and as I write this we are celebrating his birthday. My husband’s birthday is today, and one of the greatest gifts this devout Star Wars fan could get is arriving at the end of the week, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens will be released in theaters on Friday and he could not be more excited. Of course he purchased four tickets a month ago. We are already scheduled…
Can a building with a sprinkler system burn? The answer could be seen in a Chester apartment fire, a couple of weeks ago. The next question is how? In this case, the news reported that the fire started on a third floor balcony. Balconies and attic spaces are normally not sprinklered. You must understand the workings of a sprinkler system, in order to understand this part of the explanation. Most sprinkler systems are wet-type systems, with water right to the sprinkler head. When the fusible link gives way due to heat, the sprinkler head begins flowing water immediately. The problem…
Hello and welcome back to the wonderful world of the Dogpound. As they say…it is the season and I am way behind on getting anything ready for Christmas. Even though I know it comes the same time every year, each year it just seems to arrive faster. Shopping is always a hassle and with so many stores and options to choose from…local store…big city store…on-line and so on. ..however, there is one thing I always look for in a store and that is good customer service. Speaking of customer service, I recently ran into one that did not make me…
Did you know that Paris was laid out 60 to 70 years after Washington D.C. Early urban planners knew that it was important that living spaces should be vibrant places where citizens could enjoy every bit of the environment. Andrés Duany, architect, urban designer, planner and author, has dedicated over three decades to pioneering a vision for sustainable urban development and its implementation. He has influenced planners and designers worldwide, redirected government policies in the U.S. and abroad, and produced plans for hundreds of new and renewed communities of enduring value. His protégés or those who study his work call…
The holiday season is notorious for adding a few unwanted pounds to most Americans festive frames. Holiday parties and family get-togethers tempt us with seasonal and calorie-packed treats and sweets that can quickly add up if not limited or resisted. But not all holiday snacks are unhealthy. Nuts have been an important staple of human and animal diets for thousands of years. By definition, the nut is a fruit consisting of a hard or tough shell around an edible kernel. The botanical definition has the additional requirement that the hard, stony or woody shell does not open to release the…