Pickled vegetables in a mason jar. Homemade salsa. Craft ketchup. Each summer, people use a variety of home food preservation methods to make their garden harvest last all year, and many of them involve acidifying food with vinegar. But with low-acidity vinegars becoming increasingly prevalent, cons...

Storms can strike at any time, so having the right outdoor power equipment on hand and keeping safety in mind is important, says the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI). Home and business owners should think ahead before foul weather or a power outage occurs. “Any season can be storm season,” s...

It’s no accident that a person who dominates those around him is often called the “cock of the walk.” The same aggressiveness that makes roosters the effective leaders and protectors of the henhouse can also make them a pain in the butt, often intimidating not just the flock but their poultry farmer...

Fireflies evoke a feeling of magic and wonder; elegant blobs of light dancing and blinking in the summer night. Everything about fireflies hearkens back to a time long past. Imagine living on Earth 75 – 130 million years ago. Dinosaurs tromping and roaming. The air is hot and humid. There are no car...

The adage “Rome wasn’t built in a day” dates all the way back to the 12th century. Though the saying is now nearly a millennium old, its message – that time is necessary to create great things – is as true in now as it was in 1190. Building great communities takes time, but that process is often esc...

The pond that we dug when we built our home is not very large but it has been the source of many hours of fun. When we converted a wet tractor-eating area into a pond, there were no great plans for a fishing pond, but it was soon filled with insects and enough frogs to keep three boys busy for hours...

Parks & Trails New York (PTNY) and the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation (OPRHP) have announced the release of the NYS Greenway Trails Progress Report (August 2021 – December 2022), which outlines the accomplishments made, the projects initiated and the funding secur...

A new court sport is sweeping the nation, and it isn’t tennis or basketball. According to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association, 4.8 million people played pickleball in 2021, marking a nearly 15% growth in the total number of players from the year prior. As it grows, it becomes more and more lik...

Some of us are guilty of scrolling through real estate websites, perusing properties we have no intention of buying. It’s the biggest version of window shopping you can engage in. Looking at the photos of that eight-bedroom, seven-bathroom mansion on the coast is a fun form of daydreaming. But when ...

June is National Dairy Month! And many people recall the slogan “Milk, it does a body good.” But as different health fads have emerged since that slogan was first uttered, including an increased availability of dairy alternatives, dairy has been somewhat pushed aside, leaving many people to question...

Volunteering is a great way for people to give back to their communities. Many people give back out of a desire to help others, but those same individuals may acknowledge that volunteering benefits volunteers most of all. Various studies examining the benefits of volunteering on volunteers have been...

Spinach packs quite the nutritional punch, making it a favorite of people who want to eat healthy without sacrificing flavor. Spinach contains carotenoids such as beta carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin which can help to prevent inflammation, reduce cancer risk and prevent potentially harmful eye condi...

Few people look forward to chores around the house. Though adults may not be excited by the prospect of mopping the kitchen floor or folding the laundry, their lack of enthusiasm no doubt pales in comparison to their children’s opinion of chores. Chores can play a vital role in kids’ development. Ac...

Grilling was one of the first responsibilities I inherited in my house during the summer. Along with being trusted to mow the lawn, it was a rite of passage and I remember my dad talking me through the basics as young as 11. Grilling season is as American as apple pie, baseball or the Red, White and...

The allure of the great outdoors compels many people to hike, kayak, fish, and engage in myriad other activities in the fresh air. The call of nature can be difficult to ignore, but inclement weather can quickly turn a fun day under the sun into a race to escape the elements. Regardless of which act...