Love Your Yard This Autumn Season
It's Okay, Go Ahead... Have a Little Fun!
What an awesome season fall is here in Indiana! Now if you are thinking "yeah, but I have to rake all those leaves..." then we need to work on your attitude. Give yourself permission to have some fun, enjoy life and be grateful for the beauty nature gives us at the end of each year!
Here are some ideas to get outside into your yard and participate in real life...
Decorate
I'm not talking about Halloween decorations that you'll just have to take down in a few weeks. I mean fall decorations. Get some mums, pumpkins, cornstalks. Sit them in areas where you sit and can enjoy them. Often times we get caught up decorating the front of our houses for others to see. Decorate the backyard where we usually spend more time. You add flowers in spring, right? Now add some fall plants too!
Add a Fire pit
If you don't have a fire pit and you spend any time outside, you seriously need to consider getting one. I don't remember not having a fire pit. On weekends Steve will go out early in the morning start a fire and keep it stoked all weekend just in case we go out there. We also do a lot of cooking over the fire --- yum! What a great place to sit with family and fiends or by yourself even and just take in the change of seasons.
Go Camping... At Home
I think for a lot of people who don't camp regularly, camping sounds great but too much work. Packing, setting up camp, preparing for whatever, and tearing down. It's so much easier in your backyard. You're still outside, but with all the modern conveniences close by (not talking about your iPhone here.) Try it... loads of fun!
Create a Living Room... Outside
Have you done this yet? I'm not talking about a couple deck chairs sitting on your patio... I mean an actual living space. What does that entail -- privacy, multiple seats, tables, lighting, decorations. You most likely wouldn't have just a couple chairs and a tv in your actual living room would you?
Host a Cookout
There's nothing better than a get together to motivate us to spruce up our yards and finish summer projects! You have a great back yard... so share it with others! After you have that new fire pit of course. Don't forget to roast some marshmallows over that fire pit too! Check out these great campfire recipes from KOA.
Light Up the Night
In addition to your really cool fire pit, install some low-voltage landscape lighting. It creates an unbelievable effect. I love looking out my kitchen window at night seeing all the yard... well the important parts of the yard, illuminated. So I can enjoy my backyard at night even when I'm not out there. Plus this is the time of year when you really get to enjoy evenings outside with sunset being earlier.
Get Ready for Bird Watching Season
So, if you aren't into bird watching then you can skip this, but according to the U.S. census there are nearly 60 million American birdwatchers. Whoa! So get those feeders cleaned, stock up on some quality bird food, and maybe investigate ways to bring new birds to your yard. Migration has begun... who knows what you might see!
Give Yourself a Break and Quit Raking Leaves
That's right I said quit -- mulch them instead. Just chop them up with your lawn mower into dime size pieces and they will fertilize your lawn. Stop cursing your trees and thank them. At our home where we have no lawn, we do rake some of them from around the ponds and then spread them around other places for birds to forage and beneficial insects to live. Check out this article about how important leaf litter is for pollinators, butterflies and more!
Do yourself a favor and get outside this weekend or heck, this evening maybe. I know we are going to be out there for sure!
Remember Cool Ponds can help you make your backyard a special place. Stop in and see us -- we're always happy to share our backyard with you!
Written by Staci Wicker
Cool Ponds Co-Owner
What an awesome season fall is here in Indiana! Now if you are thinking "yeah, but I have to rake all those leaves..." then we need to work on your attitude. Give yourself permission to have some fun, enjoy life and be grateful for the beauty nature gives us at the end of each year!
Here are some ideas to get outside into your yard and participate in real life...
I'm not talking about Halloween decorations that you'll just have to take down in a few weeks. I mean fall decorations. Get some mums, pumpkins, cornstalks. Sit them in areas where you sit and can enjoy them. Often times we get caught up decorating the front of our houses for others to see. Decorate the backyard where we usually spend more time. You add flowers in spring, right? Now add some fall plants too!
If you don't have a fire pit and you spend any time outside, you seriously need to consider getting one. I don't remember not having a fire pit. On weekends Steve will go out early in the morning start a fire and keep it stoked all weekend just in case we go out there. We also do a lot of cooking over the fire --- yum! What a great place to sit with family and fiends or by yourself even and just take in the change of seasons.
I think for a lot of people who don't camp regularly, camping sounds great but too much work. Packing, setting up camp, preparing for whatever, and tearing down. It's so much easier in your backyard. You're still outside, but with all the modern conveniences close by (not talking about your iPhone here.) Try it... loads of fun!
Have you done this yet? I'm not talking about a couple deck chairs sitting on your patio... I mean an actual living space. What does that entail -- privacy, multiple seats, tables, lighting, decorations. You most likely wouldn't have just a couple chairs and a tv in your actual living room would you?
There's nothing better than a get together to motivate us to spruce up our yards and finish summer projects! You have a great back yard... so share it with others! After you have that new fire pit of course. Don't forget to roast some marshmallows over that fire pit too! Check out these great campfire recipes from KOA.
In addition to your really cool fire pit, install some low-voltage landscape lighting. It creates an unbelievable effect. I love looking out my kitchen window at night seeing all the yard... well the important parts of the yard, illuminated. So I can enjoy my backyard at night even when I'm not out there. Plus this is the time of year when you really get to enjoy evenings outside with sunset being earlier.
So, if you aren't into bird watching then you can skip this, but according to the U.S. census there are nearly 60 million American birdwatchers. Whoa! So get those feeders cleaned, stock up on some quality bird food, and maybe investigate ways to bring new birds to your yard. Migration has begun... who knows what you might see!
That's right I said quit -- mulch them instead. Just chop them up with your lawn mower into dime size pieces and they will fertilize your lawn. Stop cursing your trees and thank them. At our home where we have no lawn, we do rake some of them from around the ponds and then spread them around other places for birds to forage and beneficial insects to live. Check out this article about how important leaf litter is for pollinators, butterflies and more!
Do yourself a favor and get outside this weekend or heck, this evening maybe. I know we are going to be out there for sure!
Remember Cool Ponds can help you make your backyard a special place. Stop in and see us -- we're always happy to share our backyard with you!
Written by Staci Wicker
Cool Ponds Co-Owner
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