Online Features
Lawn & Garden
Extend summer fun with expert outdoor lighting tips
From neighborhood picnics to kids' play time, summer means outside time. Much of that activity occurs during longer daylight hours, but darkness is also a great time to enjoy warm-weather days. How can you create an environment that extends the fun of summer past sunset?
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Tabletop gardens are edible centerpieces
Daydreams of fresh produce used in delicious sauces, salads and stir fries have many drawing garden plot plans and even starting seeds for future transplanting. Tabletop gardens are a fun and decorative way to expand into new planting opportunities.
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Invest in family-healthy diets by growing half your plate
This summer, consider adapting your family's eating habits to mimic the MyPlate graphic developed by the United States Department of Agriculture. Although most on-the-go families don't eat that many fruits and vegetables, it's easy to do, especially if you plant a garden and buy from local farmers markets.
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Ten secrets for grilling perfection
From the way the charcoal briquettes are arranged to finding that perfect set of tongs, every home grilling expert has his or her secrets. For many, grilling goes beyond just a practical warm-weather cooking method and it becomes more of an art form.
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Upgrade your outdoor space and increase value of your home
Whether you are looking for a way to increase the marketability of your home, or simply looking for a way to make your outdoor space more enjoyable, a deck remodel adds living space to your home and value to your house. And if you start your project now, you'll have plenty of time to enjoy it during the warmer months.
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Add tasty edible plants to your landscape
Window boxes overflowing with blooms, decorative pots lining the driveway with striking colors, and even a flowering vine climbing up the mailbox - the growing season have arrived, and it is time to decorate the landscape.
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Spring cleaning for your backyard pond
Spring has officially sprung. That means it is once again time to start your spring cleaning. While you may not be motivated to clean your house, now is the perfect time to start preparing your backyard pond or water garden for the warmer months ahead.
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Use gravity to grow with kids
Gardening creates fun and learning experiences through planting and cultivating seeds for small children who are inquisitive about everything. Feed their curiosity by growing with gravity.
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All-weather barbecuing: A guide to getting great smokehouse flavor
It's barbecue season, and no one's ever going to complain about a delicious cut of meat cooked over a hot flame, no matter how you slice it. But do you want to merely satisfy your guests' hunger, or have them talking for the rest of the season about that perfectly juicy and tender smoked pork they had at your house - and...
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The buzz on battling flying, stinging summer bugs
Summer picnic season is upon us, and that means it is time to grab the sunglasses, cooler and sunscreen, and head outdoors. But people are not the only ones who want to enjoy the warm weather. Flying, stinging insects like bees and wasps are abuzz, and make their presence known when collecting pollen and nectar as the we...
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By Marice Richter GRAPEVINE, Texas (Reuters) - The Boy Scouts of America voted on Thursday to lift a century-old ban on openly gay scouts in a major victory for gay rights activists, but the decision means a sea of change for an organization that depends heavily on faith-based groups. More than 60 percent of the group's National Council, comprised of some 1,400 delegates, voted in favor of ending the ban, effective January 1, 2014, the group said in a statement. A prohibition on openly gay adult leaders remains in place. ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The woman who interrupted President Barack Obama's speech on counterterrorism policy on Thursday is well-known around Washington as a perennial protester on national security issues. Medea Benjamin, a founder of anti-war women's group Code Pink, began demonstrating years ago on Capitol Hill, becoming an almost routine presence at hearings where high-ranking officials of the Bush administration appeared to talk about the Iraq war. ...
By Jeff Mason WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Thursday he directed Attorney General Eric Holder to conduct a review of Department of Justice guidelines for investigations that involve journalists and report back by early July. Obama has come under criticism for his administration's pursuit of journalists who have reported leaked material. In recent weeks, it emerged that the Justice Department seized Associated Press phone records as part of a probe into leaks about a 2012 Yemen-based plot to bomb a U.S. ...