Odds are that some, if not most, of the people will begin their Christmas sojourn today via a long drive or a trip to a friend’s Christmas party. Christmas Eve is notorious for sending people to the ER for falls and other calamities, so here are some tips to keep you safe this season.

1. Watch the walkways: Ice is perhaps the most dangerous natural phenomenon that can put an early end to Christmas celebrations. Make sure your walkway is well salted with rock salt, or at the very least, use sand or cinder to gain traction. Make sure to keep an eye on the ice when you walk across on the way to the car. If you’re the host, then please, use a doormat.

2. Don’t be afraid to take an extra trip: Humans are naturally impatient, and we will do anything we can to consolidate how many trips we take to the car. That includes piling presents to the point where we can’t see anything. We assume that since we have been taking this route to the car day in and day out for years that a seven-foot-high present tower won’t keep us from it. What ends up happening is you fall and the presents go flying everywhere as do you. Here’s a thought. Only take a few presents at a time and just keep going back. A few extra trips will be less time than a ER visit.

3. Don’t drink too much eggnog: It’s easy to get a little crazy at a holiday party. Eggnog is often spiked, and drinks of various forms are flowing freely, but it is important to drink in moderation and to choose a designated driver. You want your Christmas to be remembered for the fun memories and not for embarrassment and tragedy.

4. Take it slow: Winter can be a treacherous time on the roads, and people will be out in droves traveling from place to place. It’s important to take it slow and to keep an eye not only on the road, but also on the other drivers. Roads can be covered with ice and you may not know it, so just slow down and be careful.

Make this holiday season a safe one so you can enjoy friends and family outside of a hospital environment. They want you to be around for a long time, so please take the time to be a little extra careful this season.

Image Source:flickr.com/photos/betsyweber/2355138776

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Posted by CoolGreenGardens

The eastern face of Telegraph Hill looked wild and inaccessible, like El Capitan rising from the floor of Yosemite Valley. The rock face cascaded with ribbons of green, framed by the shimmering golden foliage of poplar trees. Fortunately, we weren’t going to need a Sherpa or oxygen masks to mount our assault – we’d hoof it a couple of blocks to the Filbert Steps and take the more civilized route.

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Posted by mgervais

Today’s photo is from Sheila Schultz in Denver, Colorado. She says, “What do you do with a tiny front yard in Denver with zero visual interest?  I created a rock garden with a winding…

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You often hear people mention the phrase the “bones of the garden.” It’s basically used to refer to the garden elements that provide some sort of structure. Many people refer to evergreen plantings as the bones since they add structure and don’t lose their leaves when the weather changes. Structures like arbors and garden shed could also be bones of the garden since they are more permanent fixtures that you can build the garden around. One other element that I like to think of as part of the bones of the garden is stone. Stone can do all kinds of things from building walls to creating patios or simply outline a garden border as in the picture below.

My stone border in the sideyard does two things:

1. It defines the garden space between my yard and my neighbor’s yard (the border).
2. It separates the grass pathway from the garden.

The stone is an element that is always there, doesn’t change, and won’t float away in any May floods!

Stone is often used for surfaces to walk on like in these stepping stones.  They aren’t set into the ground yet but will be soon once the weather warms up a tad! I like to add stepping stones into the grassy areas to allow people to walk through the yard without getting their feet wet in the morning dew (that’s usually just me though!) It also helps to formalize the pathways.

Stone bones can also be used as decorative elements in statues, water features, or in a plain ole rock stuck in a garden bed! What bones are in your garden?

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Over Thanksgiving we spent some time in Mt. Juliet at my in-laws home. I always enjoy traipsing around the woods near their house just to explore. I did that often as a kid at my grandfather’s house and I’ve always been fond of spending time in the great outdoors. Often I come home with rocks for my garden borders but I almost always can find a neat picture of some kind to share. The wooded area near their home is similar to the cedar glades that are prevalent in the region. Cedar glades usually consist of plants that can thrive in heavy limestone rock like cedar trees! Not far the east of their home is the Cedars of Lebanon State Park which is well known for its cedar glades.

While exploring I managed to spot a small winged creature that I’ve only seen twice before. It was a cedar waxwing. I saw one once in a crape myrtle tree at my parent’s house but years before that I saw several in the Smoky Mountains. The one I saw this weekend was high up in a tree surveying the land. It didn’t move much and allowed me to get the following pictures. I wish my lenses had a higher magnification to get a higher quality picture.

I’m sure there were more flying about somewhere since they like to travel in small groups.

It is very likely that they were in the area feasting on the bright blue cones of the Eastern Cedar (Juniperus virginiana) which are producing them in massive quantities this time of year.

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1. Step 1

   Make your shovel more user-friendly by adding floor wax to it before starting on your ice-packed driveway. The slickness will help the shovel glide through snow and ice and prevent snow from adhering to the shovel.

2. Step 2

   Apply rock salt to your driveway for an inexpensive way to help melt away the ice.

3. Step 3

   Use calcium chloride pellets to melt ice at lower temperatures than rock salt.

4. Step 4

   Choose potassium chloride when it’s not as frigid outdoors and temperatures are above 15 degrees F. It is less harmful than some of its fellow deicers.

5. Step 5

   Remove ice using another kind of deicing product known as magnesium chloride. It removes ice at extremely low temperatures and is better for the environment because it releases less chloride than other salt deicers. Additionally, it is less harmful to plants, concrete and other surfaces than some of the other options.

6. Step 6

   Melt away ice using a hand-held propane torch. These multifunctional units are also good for killing weeds and insects, so it will prove useful all year round.

7. Step 7

   Eliminate driveway ice in the luxury of your own home

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