I hope good things happen for the person who put this sign up.
There's already a small business coffee shop and a Dunkin' in the Rivera Beach community of Pasadena MD. Starbucks just finished construction one block from Dunkin'.
The people don't want it here and it shows.
There's a falcon the size of a robin that'll hunt your yard for free. And you can build it a house this weekend.
The American kestrel hovers over open ground and drops on grasshoppers, voles, and mice all day. It's the most widespread falcon in North America, found in nearly every state, and it's down by roughly half since the 1960s.
The reason is fixable: kestrels nest in tree holes they can't dig themselves, and we keep cutting down the dead trees that hold them. No cavity, no nest.
So give them one.
The whole box comes out of a single 8-foot 1x10. A 7¾-inch floor, a body about a foot and a half tall with a sloped roof you hinge at the top for cleaning, a 3-inch round hole up near the front, and 3 inches of wood chips in the bottom, since they bring no nesting material of their own. White pine, an afternoon, about twenty bucks.
Hang it 10 to 20 feet up on a pole or a dead tree at the edge of a field, pasture, or big open lawn, with the hole facing the open ground and pointed south or east. Put a baffle on the pole so raccoons can't climb to it.
This study tracked bass for two years—where they live, what cover they prefer, and if they go back to the same spots. The results? Game-changing.
https://t.co/MYB6FRpgOz
TIMELAPSE: Watch the transformation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool as crews drained, repainted, and refilled the iconic Washington, D.C., landmark.
Film: @EarthCam
The best mosquito repellent for your patio costs $20 and runs on a wall outlet: a fan.
Mosquitoes are terrible fliers with a top speed of about 1-2 miles an hour, slower than you walk, and they struggle to make headway against even a gentle breeze. Point an oscillating fan at your outdoor seating area and they'll physically struggle to get to you.
It works on two levels too. A mosquito finds you by following the plume of carbon dioxide you exhale, plus the heat and scent rising off your skin. A fan scatters all of it and erases the trail that leads them in. So it knocks them out of the air and helps hide you from their senses at the same time.
This isn't folk wisdom. The CDC notes that fans reduce mosquito landings, and studies have found that using a fan can substantially reduce mosquito bites.
Citronella candles offer only modest protection and are generally much less effective than a fan or EPA-registered repellents. Plug in a fan, aim it at the table, and take your evening back.