Who’s ready to make this the Best Summer Ever?
You, over there with the sweat pouring off your forehead? No?
How about you, the one waving the utility bill that says “$657.83” in the little box? Oops. Probably not. How about that guy over there, alternately pulling out his hair and little brown tufts of what used to be his lawn? Guess not.
OK, so summer can have its challenges. But with a little help, they’re surmountable, and we can go back to sipping cool drinks during the gorgeous evenings and enjoying the fact that the only coat we’ll be using for a while is likely to be made of paint. So, here is our Guide to Making Summer Swell.
Cool your home without cranking up the air-conditioning
Unfortunately, there isn’t much you can do when summer swelters.
Jeff Smith, a Fresno, Calif., spokesman for Pacific Gas & Electric, suggests keeping close track of the forecast. Many weather Web sites offer hourly temperature predictions, so residents can know when to open their windows and when to shut them.
“Shut the blinds and curtains,” Smith says. “Keep that cool air inside.”
Beyond that, the common sense that PG&E offers year-round applies during summer. Change your air filter every month. Shade your air-conditioner. Seal the doors and windows as snugly as possible. Ceiling fans are useful – until the air is warm.
If you have a large home, consider a second, smaller air-conditioning unit that cools just one room. That may be cheaper than chilling the whole house.
Improve gas mileage
There is little you can do about high gasoline prices. But Aaron Gold, the cars guide at www.about.com, has suggestions to improve mileage
Keeping your tires properly inflated and using a clean air filter are basic strategies.
Washing your car, particularly its underbody, can make a difference in its longevity. While you’re tidying up, empty the inside of your car, too. Many people let odds and ends pile up. It doesn’t take much to acquire an extra 50 pounds of junk in the trunk, and the more weight your car hauls, the more gas it uses.
New wheels and tires can improve handling and may look cool. But if they’re wider than the stock tires, chances are good they create more resistance and decrease fuel economy.
Finally, consider the joys of fresh air. Summer nights are a great time to roll down the windows and let the breeze wash over you. At higher speeds, though, the air-conditioning may be more efficient than the added wind resistance from open windows.
How to prepare your child for camp
Susan Inglese, co-founder of the Web site www.funcampstuff.com, says getting the most out of camp requires planning and the girding of emotions. Fortunately, being organized will keep you and your kids so busy there may not be much separation anxiety.
Packing properly is essential. Include pre-addressed, stamped envelopes, an address book, stickers, stationery (both personalized and not – kids like to trade), a family photo and an item that can be autographed by bunk buddies. Autograph pillows are popular.
Pack with your child, so he or she knows where everything is.
“When I sent my child the first year,” Inglese says, “halfway through the camp season, I hadn’t received any letters. That was because she couldn’t find the stamps.”
She likes to secretly pack a small gift her child will find later or mail one ahead of time to camp. Sending your kid on overnight stays with grandparents or neighbors during the weeks leading up to camp is another good idea. That way, he or she is used to waking up without you around.
Send several little bottles of soap, shampoo and other toiletries rather than a large one of each. They’re easier to carry, and if one gets lost, your kid still will have more.
Find a water bottle with a wide mouth. It’s easier to pack ice into one. Send anything that glows in the dark. That’s always a big hit when it’s lights out.
If phone calls are allowed during camp, schedule them early in the day. That way, campers will hang up and run off to other activities, rather than head to bed with nothing to think about other than being homesick.
When your child comes home, unpack his or her trunk outside.
“You never know what you might find in there,” Inglese says. “You can find bugs and ants and dirt and sand. You really don’t want to bring that into your house.”
Avoid jet lag
It was all over the news last month when Argentinian scientists concluded after a study with hamsters that Viagra may help reduce the symptoms of jet lag.
But if you can plan ahead, you don’t need to go chemical when you travel across many time zones.
Larry West of about.com suggests matching your sleep patterns to the schedule you will keep at your destination. Changing your bedtime an hour a day should help.
Sleep on the plane if it’s night at your destination. But stay awake during your flight if it’s daytime there. Avoid dehydration, which exacerbates jet lag, by drinking lots of water but cutting back on drinks with alcohol and caffeine.
Arrive a day early, if you can. If not, you can always reset your watch on the plane. You may not feel any better, but at least you’ll know what time it is.
How to keep your lawn green
This is one of the most vexing problems for those homeowners with popular fescue lawns during summer, because as soon as they see a brown spot on their lawn, their inclination is to pour more water on it.
Leonard Ichimoto, retail manager for Belmont Nursery in Fresno, says that’s often the opposite tactic you want to take.
“Overwatering leads to leeching out of nutrients, so the grass gets rather pale,” he says. “It leads to a lot of fungal diseases.”
Ichimoto’s strategy to greener pastures is threefold:
Turn the sprinklers on and note how long it takes before water starts running off the grass and into the gutters or street. Anything longer than that, and you’re wasting water.
Take a pipe or small gardening tool, and dig a small hole into the soil to see how deep the water is getting. Do this in several spots. If the water isn’t getting down into the soil, the lawn’s roots aren’t following. You may need to aerate the ground. This is particularly important if the grass is sloped or covering mounds, where water tends to run off and collect in low spots.
Mow every 7-10 days – at the proper height. Fescue can be cut short in the winter. But since it benefits from a little shade, leave it longer (21/2-3 inches) during summer.
If you’ve done all this, and you still see brown spots, you need to determine whether you’ve got a fungus or (more rarely) lawn moths. Simply grab a handful of the affected area. If it easily comes out in your hand, it’s moths. If it’s still rooted, it’s likely a fungus.
Get a fungicide or insecticide, as needed. Fungicides control the problem but won’t cure the diseases.
“They’ll go back to a spore stage,” Ichimoto says. “So it’s sitting there, waiting.”
Fortunately, summer will pass, and that’s when your fescue is likely to thrive and the fungi die off.
Ichimoto offers a couple more tips: Use low-nitrogen fertilizers that say “extended growth” somewhere on the bag. People naturally want to green up their grass right away, but this isn’t healthy for the lawn. Avoid ammonia sulfate.
“It’s the Twinkie food of lawn fertilizers,” he says. “It gives the lawn a buzz for three weeks, then the lawn goes crash. Not the best thing.”
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