Q. I have an old shade tree in my backyard. That tree holds a lot of memories for me. When I was young, I climbed that tree and ate picnics in its shade. I think my father had the same experiences with that tree, but I never asked him when I had the chance. I inherited the house and tree and my children have also played under that majestic old tree and now their children play in its shade when they visit. The tree is ancient, but now it is not looking good. The past few years have not been kind to it. Some branches have begun falling and that worries me. I really do not want to cut it down, but think that will be necessary. Can you suggest any options?

A. It is unfortunate, but trees do not have unlimited life spans. They grow old and die just as we do.

It is true that some individuals in some species of trees may live for thousands of years, some for hundreds of years, but landscape shade trees rarely live that long.

Your tree sounds like one that has exceeded the life span for most landscape trees. However, as you have described, as they reach old age, they begin dying back and their falling branches can become hazardous.

Your first consideration should be safety for your grandchildren who play under the tree.

A qualified tree-care professional can perhaps extend the life of the tree and reduce the hazards it poses.

Many tree-care professionals will provide free estimates and descriptions of what they will do for your tree and give a prognosis for its continued growth. An arborist certified by the International Society of Arborists has studied tree care and passed tests regarding proper tree care, so if possible, contact such an arborist.

If the arborist can reduce the hazard and allow the tree to remain for several years, you can begin under planting with new trees that will ultimately replace the ancient tree. These should be planted outside the extent of the existing tree in locations where they have adequate room for root and top growth, but where they will provide shade where needed.

When the new trees are established, or when the old tree can no longer be made safe, there are several ways to extend its usefulness and prolong memories.

The tree may be cut down leaving a tall stump which can become a pedestal for a picnic table. The picnics of memory can continue at this old tree.

Originally posted here:
Yard & Garden: Options available when handling an aging tree

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) Once, in America, and not that long ago, yard vegetable gardens were as common as sidewalks to the front door.

Farming didn't necessarily have to be, and often wasn't, the resident's livelihood.

Gardens simply were part of the U.S. landscape.

Today, however, as those such as Wendell Berry and Michael Pollan have written, the populace has become divorced from its food sources.

Asheville's Sunil Patel wants to change that.

"We don't know anymore that the land is just as much a part of ourselves as our heart is," said Patel, 35, farmer and founder of Patchwork Urban Farms in Asheville. He started the company a year ago this month.

Patel's vision is to create an environment where the land that produces people's food is the land on which those same people already live, work and play.

Patel and Patchwork have obtained permission to use six plots of land through crop sharing. Those plots range from a tenth of an acre to 1.5 acres. They are located throughout Asheville and in Swannanoa.

Patel plans to form more land partnerships this year, he said.

Those partnerships function like what is commonly known as a CSA or community-supported agriculture, Patel said.

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Asheville man begins drive to establish urban farmers

European Champions Cup Pool 2 Leinster v Castres Today: RDS, 5.30pm TV: Sky Sports 2

Chances are that some tired old cliches will be trotted out about 5.30pm today when Castres go about fulfilling their obligations against a Leinster side expected to amass at least four tries and five points.

Bad travellers. Disinterested in Europe. Both observations are true, even if they havent given the entire first-team the weekend off, but they are accusations that shouldnt be swept over the wider French landscape anymore.

Only Castres and Montpellier, both of whom lie bottom of their respective pools, approach round five of the inaugural rugby Champions Cup with the air of dead men walking. That leaves four of their compatriots very much in the mix.

Toulon, Clermont and Toulouse all sit at the summits of their respective piles while a Racing Metro side devoid of Jonathan Sextons services for now sit one point behind Northampton, but hardly for long, given they face Treviso at home tomorrow.

That European form is mirrored at home, where Castres sit second from bottom in the Top 14. Montpellier lie mid-table knowing they could also find themselves immersed in a relegation battle every bit as quick as a push for the play-offs.

So, going AWOL in Europe may be distasteful but emptying their ammo on such manoeuvres would be grounds for court martial given their circumstances and Leinster coach Matt OConnor doesnt believe that is in any way devaluing the competition.

Not really, he explained. Its the reality and the dynamics that are at play. There is no point wasting your resources when the stakes are so high in your domestic league and then youve got to make sure that you stay in the Top 14.

What is surprising about all this is that a Castres side that was good enough to win the Top 14 two seasons ago, and which lost the final to Toulon last summer, should find itself wallowing in the basement halfway into the season.

The departure of some key players has played its part in blunting their spears and undermining the foundations of success at a club that lacks the financial firepower, stadium capacity and population base of the big guns.

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OConnor pushing for a complete performance

Charleston, W.Va. A few snowflakes drift down on our hills this morning from an overcast sky that seems to promise more snow. The air is still, but very cold and the landscape seems oddly deserted. Even the cardinals have left the bird feeder and gone to roost, possibly in a warmer spot. It is a true winter day, and we also burrow back in our homes after doing the outside chores in a hasty fashion.

However, it is still a day, which the Lord hath made, and we need to rejoice and be glad in it. We have a warm home, food on the table (and sometimes under it!) and plenty of clothes to protect us from the cold. We need these winter days. When would we make the huge kettles of vegetable soup, update the family picture albums or sort out the cluttered desk drawers if we didnt have winter?

How else could we fully appreciate the miracle of spring, bringing alive again a cold, dead earth? Also, the pure, new-fallen snow, stretching across the fields in undulating waves, is lovely in its cold, austere fashion. Winter has its own beauty, with crystal, jagged icicles that form on the rock cliffs and pool into ice puddles along the ditch line.

We, as human beings, could not have sunshine in our lives all the time. What shallow, superficial people we would be! It takes adverse conditions and storms of life to build character. We are not immune to this worlds ills; its griefs and heartaches. It is in facing these things with faith in God and courage in our soul, that we grow into stronger men and women.

We would never know the depth of Gods tender compassion if we never had heartaches in this life. Without grief, we would never experience the sweet comfort and consolation that God extends to us. If our life were all sunshine, we would never have the ability or understanding to offer a helping hand to others who are suffering human woes and trials.

Just as the earth needs the different seasons, we too need the seasons of the heart to make us increase and abound in love one toward another. (1 Thessalonians 3:12) Only someone who has walked the same path can tell another person, I know exactly how you feel. I am thankful for the stormy seasons that we go through that create compassion for others who are suffering.

Mom used to tell me that when she was a kid the winters were much more severe. She said after the first snows came, the ground remained snow-covered all winter. Big Laurel Creek would freeze over with thick ice and remain that way until the spring thaw. Then the ice would break up and go out with a thundering, crunching noise that let them know that winter was on its way out. Im afraid these milder winters have spoiled us to the place where a blast of arctic air and the accompanying snowflakes are almost more than we can tolerate.

Those old-time winters produced a tough, self-reliant people who learned early how to weather lifes storms. Moms family, like many other families in those early times, has been a perfect example of hard work, honesty and integrity. People who live close to the earth seem to know the essential things of life love of God and family, their need of one another, and the ability to stand tall through the changing seasons.

***

We had a request from Frances Woods of Charleston, who is looking for the recipe for Brown Cake. Unless some older person knows of it, she says that the recipe is so old it cant be found. She would be very happy if someone has it.

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Alyce Faye Bragg column: Winter teaches us to weather life's storms

Sometimes, trying to return to sleep in those unsettling hours before dawn, I'll walk my mind through vanished sports landscapes.

The mental exercise required to dredge up details of once-familiar locales can induce sleep as effectively as any pill.

I might enter Connie Mack Stadium beneath the 21st and Lehigh portico, and walk through the clacking turnstiles and down the dank concourse, passing program vendors and dimly lit concession stands, until finally I am climbing a ramp to the lonely left-field bleachers.

Other times I'll exit a car in the vast parking lot at Brandywine Raceway, enter that busy clubhouse where the ever-hopeful chatter of prerace handicappers is as thick as the smoke and move on to a spot at the rail to watch the trotters and the glorious sunsets.

On other nights, the venue might be the Arena; Municipal Stadium; Convention Hall; or the cramped, linoleum-floored gymnasium at the bottom of that steep hill behind St. Pius X school in Broomall.

Sadly, since sports is no less immune to time's fickle nature than newspapers or malls, there's no shortage of stops on these nocturnal tours.

The drill leaves me wondering what now-popular landmarks, what games and traditions will exist only in the mind's eye a half-century from now.

Can Franklin Field endure many more decades as an outdated, little-used facility that sits on increasingly valuable real estate?

Will historic area clubs - and the game itself - survive the steep decline in golf interest? Will the paucity of U.S. stars kill tennis in America? What does the future look like for the Penn Relays, the Dad Vail Regatta?

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Giving 'Em Fitz: The vanishing local-sports landscape

Tree Removal, land Clearing, and Tree Service in Egg Harbor Township, NJ 08234
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The Formex design show in Stockholm. Photo: TT

Swedish interiors are world famous and this weekend the largest design fair in the Nordics, Formex, is taking place in Stockholm. Interior Designer and blogger Angeline Eriksson has had a preview of the top home trends it is showcasing in 2015.

Nordic and Neat are the two buzz words you need to know in 2015.

But while Nordic Neat appears to be the most popular trend, there is also a heavy influence of bold, refreshing colours that is not typically associated with Scandinavian design, and an overall feeling of cheerful 1950s optimism.

Materials are a key focus as sustainability is no longer a futuristic concept but a reality of our times. Traditional Nordic handicrafts are re-imagined using new techniques and colour.

These ideas are realised in three other trends: Nordic Essence, Nordic Motion and Nordic Folk. Here are a few examples of each future fashion.

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Four Swedish home design trends for spring

Denver, CO (PRWEB) January 16, 2015

StrucSure Home Warranty, one of the nations leading new home warranty providers and a member of StrucSure Risk Management Group, announced at the beginning of this month the addition of Gayle Schoonover as their new V.P. of Sales in the Midwest region.

We are excited to add Gayle to our sales network and feel she will be a valuable asset to the Midwest region given her industry experience and understanding of the marketplace, said Chris Macaulay, President of StrucSure Home Warranty. Gayles personal sales approach backed by her proven competency and dedication to the builder community will bring added value to our current and prospective member base in that region.

Im eager to reach out to builders with StrucSures risk management solutions and look forward to being a solid and proven resource to the homebuilding industry in the Midwest, said Schoonover.

With over 11 years in the new home warranty industry, Gayle truly understands builders needs and how to help protect them again construction defects, claims, litigation, and all of the risks and threats that builders face on a daily basis, said Jerry Thompson, CEO. As the building industry continues to thrive in the Midwest, Gayle positions us to provide hands-on risk management products and services in that area.

About StrucSure Home Warranty For more than 17 years, StrucSure Home Warranty has been providing builders, remodelers, and contractors with warranty products that deliver peace of mind. Our warranties protect our clients from expensive claims, liabilities, and legal fees and offers their clients peace of mind through third-party, insurance-backed warranty protection. Just like any risk management product, the hope is that you'll never need it, but when a problem emerges, you're glad you're covered!

About StrucSure Risk Management Group StrucSure Risk Management Group provides risk management products and services to businesses in various construction-related industries. Our family of companies includes StrucSure Home Warranty, LLC, StrucSure Insurance Services, Inc., Golden Insurance Company, RRG, and Four Points Re, SPC, Ltd. Together, these companies offer sophisticated financial and risk management services, including warranty programs, competitive insurance programs, insurance backing, and reinsurance and alternative financing vehicles.

Contact Adria Ellerbrock, Vice President of Marketing at (303) 806-8688 or visit http://www.strucsure.com and http://www.s-rmg.com for more information.

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StrucSure Home Warranty Hires Gayle Schoonover as V.P. of Sales, Midwest Region