**  Editors Note:  The following is an archive post, but with summer here and heat gripping much of the country, it never hurts to take a second to remind us how to be safe in the summer heat.

For those of us who work outdoors, summer is typically a welcome time of year.  Longer daylight hours, plenty of work, and usually nice weather in which to work.  But with summer often comes a few heat waves, and right now much of the country is in for a doozy.  Plenty of records being set, excessive heat waves, massive thunderstorms and power outages.

Even my trusty i-phone is feeling the effects.  I went to make a call earlier today at work, and a big yellow exclamation mark appeared on the screen with a brief message -- "Excessive Heat.  Please allow iphone to cool off before using."

Here in the Philadelphia area, we've had consistent temperatures in the mid to upper 90s, and the forecast calls for
continued heat through the next few days. Triple digits are even in the forecast for the weekend.

And as much as us outdoorsy types usually welcome the warmer weather, if we fail to take a few basic precautions, that heat can cause some serious health problems.  Even the fittest and most strongest can feel the effects if we're not careful.  Here are five basic precautions to take to avoid falling prey to the heat.

1.  Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!  Make sure to keep up with with water intake.  This doesn't mean waiting until you're thirsty to grab a drink, by that point the body is playing catch-up.  And it most certainly doesn't mean drinking lots of coffee in the morning or drinking too much alcohol the night before.  Avoid drinks with caffeine, sugar, or alcohol, this includes most energy drinks.  The best thing to do is "prime the pump" with plenty of water consumption in the morning, consistently throughout the day, and in the evening before bed.  It sounds cliche, but stay hydrated!

2.  Adjust the hours of strenuous activity, if possible.  Sure, it's our job to work hard during the day, but if we can get a little earlier start, or get the bulk of the heavy work done earlier in the day before the heat peaks, it will help.

3.  Take your time.  My best workers are animals.  Seriously.  They're big strong guys who are athletes and are used to pushing their bodies.  But even the biggest and strongest guys can fall victim to the heat if they're not smart about it.  Take a little breather between wheelbarrow loads or at regular intervals during digging.  If you wait until you're feeling weak or tired, it may be too late.

4.  Dress smart.  The best clothes to wear are loose fitting lightweight clothes that breathe and will keep the direct sunlight off your body.  The tendency is for guys to think that the less clothes they wear the better.  This is false.  Have you ever noticed that workers in the middle east tend to wear loose-fitting robes that cover most of the body, or that Central American workers often wear long sleeves or even long pants?  These guys know what they're doing.  There's a reason workers in the desert regions of the world don't go shirtless.  Keep the body shaded and out of the direct sun.  That doesn't mean wear a sweater or a jacket, but don't let the sun affect your body any more than need be.

5.  Listen to your body. If at any point during the day you're feeling excessively tired, light-headed, nauseous, or experiencing muscle cramps or headaches, take a breather.  Find a cool spot in the shade, drink a cool glass of water, and try to cool off and regain your strength.  For people who are used to pushing themselves, this may seem like a wimpy thing to do and you may think this shows signs of weakness or a poor work ethic.  To the contrary.  As a boss I'd rather have a worker who is taking care of themselves to remain productive, instead of pushing themselves to the point of being completely useless.

A few other quick heat-related notes.  If you are on any special medications, be sure to check with your doctor to make sure that you aren't prone to any additional heat-related side effects.  Diuretics and antihistamines in particular can cause additional problems if you're out in the sun or heat for a prolonged period of time.  And even if you're not working outdoors, make sure you check on the elderly, your pets, or young children to make sure they're doing OK.

We can't change the weather, but we certainly can control how it affects us.  Be careful out there!

If you’re like me, then you’ll find it hard to believe that Thanksgiving is upon us.

Personally, it seems like only yesterday that we were gearing up for the 2012 season, preparing estimates, setting the project calendar for the year and preparing to knock out some really nice projects.

It’s still a bit too early to recap the entire season – we’re still hard at work on some remaining projects before the winter arrives.

But Thanksgiving is a welcome opportunity to pause, take one deep breath before the final push of the season, and spend some quality time with friends and loved ones.

There’s a number of things that I really like about Thanksgiving as a Holiday, mostly centered around the four F’s– Food, Family, Friends and Football.  With the possible exception of the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving is perhaps the most American of Holidays, a holiday in which all Americans, regardless of age, religion, political leanings, or any other personal differences can all relax, enjoy quality time with loved ones and give thanks for what we have.  All with little pressure or financial expectations.

For our family personally, we celebrate the Holiday at home with my parents who live nearby.  The food preparation typically starts this weekend, culminating in an all-day gluttony of food on Thanksgiving Day.  In addition to the traditional turkey and fixings, we also supplement the food frenzy with my homemade crabcakes, mussels, fine fruits and cheeses, and of course the necessary assortment of pies.  Usually with some good wine and local craftbrews for those who care to partake. (Side note:  For craft beer lovers out there, I strongly recommend Dogfish Head’s Punkin Ale – an excellent seasonal brew from our brewing friends down in Delaware!)

And of course, no Thanksgiving weekend would ever be complete, at least not for us University of Michigan alumni, without the annual rivalry game between UM and Ohio State.  Go Blue!! (Another side note – we did a really nice patio project for a couple of OSU alums this summer.  So if you guys are reading this – you know who you are – I really enjoyed working with you and getting to know you better this summer, but I’m going to have to do some OSU bashing this weekend!  It’s in my DNA and I wouldn’t be true to myself if I didn’t. But we can still be friends once the game is over! – Just not this weekend!)

Anyway, whatever your traditions, and whatever college team you root for (even OSU, I guess…) I hope everybody has a great Turkey Day.  Happy Thanksgiving!

I know I promised everybody that I would post my summary conclusion to my recent hardscaping series this week, but sometimes life throws you a curveball or two, and ol' Mother Nature certainly threw a mean Barry Zito-esque curveball this week with the arrival of Hurricane Sandy.  To my loyal readers who were eagerly awaiting the conclusion post, fear not -- I'll post it for sure next week -- but I needed to step away this week to address the recent devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy.

According to the stormtracker maps I've seen, the eye of the storm passed a mere five miles from our home, right through the heart of Delaware County.  Thankfully, we're far enough inland that the storm had lost some of its gusto by the time it arrived in ol' Delco, but that's certainly not to say that its impact wasn't felt.

The eye technically hit around 8 pm on Monday evening, but the storm started rolling through Sunday afternoon.  By Sunday evening we knew we were in for a doozy, school had been called off for Monday and Tuesday, the stores were cleared out of the basic essentials, and everybody was prepared to hunker down.

Wind gusts reached about 70 mph as the eye rolled through Delco.  Strong, sure, but not nearly as bad as it could have been.  As the eye approached we watched the excitement from our front windows, occasionally even braving it by stepping out briefly on our front porch.  As bright greenish hue lights flashed in the sky, we at first thought it was lightning accompanying the storm, only later to find out that it was explosions of electric power transformers as people's power went out.

Thankfully, somehow or other our power never went out.  The same can't be said for everybody in our area.  We were a minority for sure.  PECO is reporting some 800,000 customers in the Delaware Valley alone who went without power for some period of time -- my parents who live a few miles from us were without power from Monday evening until Wednesday afternoon.

That picture up above?  That's about a block from my son's school, and that would be the reason school was also called off for Wednesday.  No power = No school.  The picture was actually taken on Thursday evening, and as you can see the tree that originally fell and took out the telephone pole had been cleaned up, but PECO was still monitoring the safety of downed wires as they awaited the crews to restore power.  (The school ended up cranking up the emergency generators for Thursday, limited power but better than nothing.  I guess they realized those kids needed to get out of the house!!)

From a work perspective, we're currently working on a retaining wall project with modular block units.  I made a point on Friday as the storm approached to make sure we were at a point where our work wouldn't be washed out.  Lower courses had been installed in advance of the storm and backfilled with gravel, but still I was a little nervous about just how much clean-up would be necessary after the storm.

Thankfully once again, the damage was minimal.  Sure the site was strewn with sticks and leaves, but no mudslides or washouts -- everything held up just fine. 

The biggest impact that I felt work-wise was the loss of one of my employees who is an Army Reservist.  Last Friday Russ was texted and alerted me that he was being deployed in advance of the storm to help with clean-up and emergency rescue as necessary.  When I texted him on Tuesday he told me that he would be out the remainder of the week and he wouldn't be home until this weekend.  I don't have details as to exactly what he has been doing, but I know there is plenty of opportunity for him to help out across the state.

And Halloween?  Well its relatively minor in the grand scheme of things, but as my kids heard the storm was approaching, they began chanting "Go away Sandy, we want candy!!"  Our town ended up having Halloween as usual, but many local municipalities ended up pushing back the trick-or-treating until the weekend, helping to keep police and fire personnel available for clean-up and rescue.

All things considered, we got lucky.  Personally, no power outages, property damage, or any other losses.  Across Delaware County... ? Sure there were plenty of downed trees, power outages, and even some small creek flooding.  But nothing too devastating.

No the real devastation was along the coastal areas, particularly the Jersey Shore.  The storm first made landfall right at Atlantic City.  And while the storm was technically listed as either a Category 1 or a "Post-tropical" storm (whatever that means), the real impact was felt not by the winds or the rainfall, but rather by the tidal surge in conjunction with the strong full moon tides.  Parts of the Jersey shore were completely wiped out -- boardwalks, fishing piers, homes, and businesses wiped away to nothing.

We've spoken with a few friends and neighbors who have Shore houses, and some don't have any clue as of yet as to the state of their properties.  And they're hearing it will be at least a week until they will be allowed to check them out. 

Our thoughts and best wishes are with everybody who has been impacted by the storm.  The best and most important news is that everybody stayed safe and human injuries were few.  And a special thanks and shout-out to all of our emergency personnel, whether you're a fireman, police officer, EMT, Reservist, National Guard, power crew, municipal worker, or any other professional working to keep us safe and as comfortable as possible.  Thank you!

We'll be back next week with the conclusion to my hardscaping series.

I walked out the door the other morning to go to work, and I quickly did a 180-degree heel pivot to return inside and grab my hoodie, which had been laying untouched in my workclothes pile since about mid-April.  Yup, the first of the fall chill had moved in, and while my hoodie ended up being shedded pretty quickly in the day, it was a surefire reminder that the fall season is upon us.

The sales and business end of my business tends to go in ebbs and flows throughout the year, and I’m experienced enough to know what to expect and when to expect it.  And once we get past labor day I typically experience a significant bump in new calls coming in.  Homeowners are back from vacation, the kids are back in school, and people start looking at the calendar and realize that winter weather is just a few months away (AARRGGHHH!).  Limited time to complete those outdoor projects they’ve been putting off.

And, true to form, the calls started coming in a few weeks ago.  It’s a busy time of year for me, between after-work client meetings, estimate preparation, and of course managing my projects during the bulk of the work day.  All simultaneously while getting the kids off to school in the mornings and shuttling them off to extracurricular activities like soccer and Cub Scouts.

Fortunately, we still have some scheduling availability remaining for the fall – plenty of time left to get that new fence installed or hardscaping project completed before winter truly moves in.

We typically work straight through until about mid-December, give or take a week or two depending on when Old Man winter wakes up.

So at the risk of sounding too “advertising-y”, I want to remind people that if you’re thinking about completing a project before the advent of winter, now’s the time to contact to us to get the project ball rolling.  Whether it’s a new deck, flagstone walkway, paver stone patio, garden walls, or custom-built wood fence, fall is a great time to get these projects completed, so they’ll be in place and ready to go come the first signs of spring next year.

For a free project consultation and estimate give us a call and we’ll be happy to see what we can do for you.

I love the outdoors.

It’s the reason I got into this line of work in the first place some fifteen plus years ago now.

But in conjunction with working outdoors all day, every day, there are some real risks.  And one of those risks that is quite real and scary is Lyme Disease.

A landscape designer I know through an online forum recently disclosed that he has been somewhat grounded this summer because of Lyme Disease. Fortunately it sounds like he caught it early, and the prognosis for recovery appears to be positive in his case. But not everybody is so lucky.

Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne illness in North America and Europe. Lyme disease is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi. Deer ticks, which feed on the blood of animals and humans, can harbor the bacteria and spread it when feeding. 
 
For those of us who work in heavily wooded or grassy areas, the potential for getting bit by a tick is quite real.  Fortunately, not all ticks are carriers of the bacterium, so just because you’ve been bit or found a few ticks on your body doesn’t mean you’ll get the disease.  But the potential is there.

Deer ticks are no bigger than the size of a pin head. They live in brushy areas outdoors during the summer months, and feed on the blood of warm blooded mammals.  That means field mice, raccoons, skunks, your pets Fido and Fluffy, deer, and oh yeah – people!  That means when little Timmy Tick finally gets around to imbedding himself on your neck, he’s sharing all those fun bacteria that he's already picked up from all those other wild critters with you.  Fun stuff, eh?

So what can you do to prevent getting Lyme Disease?  Well for starters, wear long pants, long sleeves and hats. I know this isn’t always everybody’s favorite choice during the summer months, but if you can keep those ticks off you then you’re a step ahead of the game.  Bug spray can also help to keep the little parasites away.  Regardless of your apparel choice, be sure to check yourself for ticks at the end of each and every day.  Even though those ticks are quite small, they can balloon up to nearly bean-size once they start feasting on your blood.  Popular spots include your head, neck, groin, and armpits, although they’ll hunker down just about anywhere they can get blood.

Once you do find them, remove them carefully with tweezers trying to remove the whole critter.  If the head breaks off under your skin it could lead to a possible infection.

Keep an eye open for a rash or skin discoloration for a few days after removing the ticks.  One of the first signs of Lyme disease is often a “bullseye” ring around the spot where the tick landed.  As the bacteria spreads through your blood, other “bullseye” rashes could develop on other parts of your body, so keep an eye out for circle rashes even on other parts of your body.

As the disease progresses, other signs and symptoms may include fever and flu-like symptoms, fatigue, body aches, joint pain, neurological problems, bells palsy, impaired muscle movement, meningitis, and in extreme cases irregular heartbeats.

As scary as this all sounds, fortunately the prognosis for a complete recovery is quite high if the disease and symptoms are caught early.  If you have any suspicions or thoughts that you may be experiencing symptoms, see a doctor quickly.  The normal treatment includes antibiotics, usually in an oral form, but if the disease has progressed
a longer IV treatment may be prescribed.

Left undiagnosed or untreated, Lyme Disease can cause chronic joint pain, severe neurological symptoms, irregular heartbeat, and in severe cases cognitive defects.  It is certainly something to be taken seriously.

For more information on Lyme Disease and how to prevent it, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website at http://www.cdc.gov/lyme/.

And if you're reading this, get well soon pc!!

I have to admit, I’m swimming in tomatoes right now.

Well almost.  As tempting as it sounds to replicate the annual Spanish Tomatina Festival, where revelers take over the city to enjoy a city-wide tomato fight in Bunol, Spain, I usually like to find a slightly more productive use for the fruits.  Although we certainly have enough ammo to participate, and it does sound fun.
 
No, we like to eat our tomatoes.  And there is nothing that compares to fresh home-grown tomatoes. The mass-produced grocery store varieties don’t even compare.


Every May, I put about 30 tomato plants in our garden, consisting of about 8 to 10 various varieties.  And every July, as the plants start to fill out the garden I begin to think that maybe I went a little overboard.  And every August my concerns are validated as we harvest bowl after bowl of the juicy fruits on a daily basis.  That’s where we are now.

So what to do with these juicy little fruits?

Our entire diet from the beginning of August through about the mid to end of September is basically a vehicle for tomato consumption.  Salads, burgers, sandwiches, morning bagels, omelettes – you name it.  Tomato me up.

About half of the crop ends up getting cooked down and frozen – the base for mid-winter pasta sauces and chili cook-offs (If you’re lucky I just may share my award-winning chili recipe come this winter).

Sheila and I are both afficianados of good bar food.  I’m not talking about the frozen breaded fried stuff, but rather good simple recipes using fresh ingredients.  Two recipes in particular that are staples in our house during tomato season are our home-made nachos, and bacon bruschetta.  
 
Lucky for you, I’m in a sharing mood, so here’s our recipes:


 Nachos
1 onion
15-20 whole garlic cloves
5 large bell peppers (it’s also the heart of pepper season right now, so feel free to play around with other pepper types too!)
10-15 jalapenos (depending on your taste for spice)
2 lbs of ground beef
2 cups of black beans
Tortilla Chips (Our local market makes homemade chips -- Nothing compares!!)
Shredded Cheese
Tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes
Avocado

Chop up the onions, peppers and garlic and sauté in olive oil.  Add ground beef and black beans, and continue to cook until meat is cooked.

On a large cookie sheet, place an ample of amount of chips atop a piece of foil. Layer with cheese, the cooked “slop” (We love this term for a lot of dishes, as unattractive as it may sound), more chips, cheese, slop, etc.

Cook at a low temperature in the oven for about 5 minutes – just enough to melt the cheese.  Slide the whole aluminum foil sheet, chips, slop and all, right onto a large serving plate. Once it’s on the plate, dump a boatload of sliced tomatoes and the sliced avocado on top.  MMmmmmm.  Yummy nacho-y goodness.  Enjoy! 
 
** This recipe feeds a lot!  You’re going to have leftover slop most likely. The more the merrier.  That means you get to have more nacho dinners (and use up more tomatoes) in the days to come.

Bacon Bruschetta
1 lb bacon
Olive Oil
Diced garlic
Basil (Oh yeah, it’s basil season too!)
Tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes.

This recipe is so easy it’s ridiculous.  Definitely our go-to dish for picnics and get-togethers.  And if you happen to be a vegetarian, just omit the bacon – still awesomely delicious.

Cook up the bacon and let cool.  Slice and chop up an ample amount of tomatoes and put in a serving bowl.  Take about two large stalks of basil and cut up the leaves into the bowl with the tomatoes.  Cut up your bacon into small 1” pieces and then add a spoonful or two of the diced garlic.  Pour about ¼ cup of olive oil over the whole bowl, and toss thoroughly.  Serve on some toast points, and you’re good to go!

So those are just two of the many uses for tomatoes we enjoy during this bountiful time of year.  If anybody else has any good suggestions, I’m all ears.

"One day there were three tomatoes walking down the street, a mama tomato, a daddy tomato and a baby tomato. Baby tomato is walking too slowly, so the daddy tomato goes back, steps on him and says 'ketchup!' "
 
– Uma Thurman, Pulp Fiction


 

For those of us who work outdoors, summer is typically a welcome time of year.  Longer daylight hours, plenty of work, and usually nice weather in which to work.  But with summer often comes a few heat waves, and right now much of the country is in for a doozy.  Plenty of records being set, excessive heat waves, massive thunderstorms and power outages.

Even my trusty i-phone is feeling the effects.  I went to make a call earlier today at work, and a big yellow exclamation mark appeared on the screen with a brief message -- "Excessive Heat.  Please allow iphone to cool off before using."

Here in the Philadelphia area, we've had consistent temperatures in the mid to upper 90s, and the forecast calls for continued heat through the next few days. Triple digits are even in the forecast for the weekend.

And as much as us outdoorsy types usually welcome the warmer weather, if we fail to take a few basic precautions, that heat can cause some serious health problems.  Even the fittest and most strongest can feel the effects if we're not careful.  Here are five basic precautions to take to avoid falling prey to the heat.

1.  Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!  Make sure to keep up with with water intake.  This doesn't mean waiting until you're thirsty to grab a drink, by that point the body is playing catch-up.  And it most certainly doesn't mean drinking lots of coffee in the morning or drinking too much alcohol the night before.  Avoid drinks with caffeine, sugar, or alcohol, this includes most energy drinks.  The best thing to do is "prime the pump" with plenty of water consumption in the morning, consistently throughout the day, and in the evening before bed.  It sounds cliche, but stay hydrated!

2.  Adjust the hours of strenuous activity, if possible.  Sure, it's our job to work hard during the day, but if we can get a little earlier start, or get the bulk of the heavy work done earlier in the day before the heat peaks, it will help.

3.  Take your time.  My best workers are animals.  Seriously.  They're big strong guys who are athletes and are used to pushing their bodies.  But even the biggest and strongest guys can fall victim to the heat if they're not smart about it.  Take a little breather between wheelbarrow loads or at regular intervals during digging.  If you wait until you're feeling weak or tired, it may be too late.

4.  Dress smart.  The best clothes to wear are loose fitting lightweight clothes that breathe and will keep the direct sunlight off your body.  The tendency is for guys to think that the less clothes they wear the better.  This is false.  Have you ever noticed that workers in the middle east tend to wear loose-fitting robes that cover most of the body, or that Central American workers often wear long sleeves or even long pants?  These guys know what they're doing.  There's a reason workers in the desert regions of the world don't go shirtless.  Keep the body shaded and out of the direct sun.  That doesn't mean wear a sweater or a jacket, but don't let the sun affect your body any more than need be.

5.  Listen to your body. If at any point during the day you're feeling excessively tired, light-headed, nauseous, or experiencing muscle cramps or headaches, take a breather.  Find a cool spot in the shade, drink a cool glass of water, and try to cool off and regain your strength.  For people who are used to pushing themselves, this may seem like a wimpy thing to do and you may think this shows signs of weakness or a poor work ethic.  To the contrary.  As a boss I'd rather have a worker who is taking care of themselves to remain productive, instead of pushing themselves to the point of being completely useless.

A few other quick heat-related notes.  If you are on any special medications, be sure to check with your doctor to make sure that you aren't prone to any additional heat-related side effects.  Diuretics and antihistamines in particular can cause additional problems if you're out in the sun or heat for a prolonged period of time.  And even if you're not working outdoors, make sure you check on the elderly, your pets, or young children to make sure they're doing OK.

We can't change the weather, but we certainly can control how it affects us.  Be careful out there!

It’s approximately 40 days until pitchers and catchers report to spring training.  That countdown is what gets me through the winter.

But in the mean time we have to survive the cold temperatures and most likely a fair amount of ice and snow.  And so does your hardscaping.

I get asked all the time what the best way is to keep walkways and patio surfaces ice-free during the winter months.  No matter what the surface material is, just a little bit of ice or compacted snow can really be a safety hazard.  Even a well-shoveled surface can become slippery quickly as the surrounding snow melts and re-freezes.  Something needs to be done.

But first, what not to do.  Remember these three words:  “Rock Salt, Bad.”  Sure it’s relatively inexpensive, and yes, it does keep the walkway ice-free.  But it also will destroy nearly any hardscaping surface.  Rock salt, or sodium chloride to be more precise, is extremely corrosive.  It will cause mortar joints to deteriorate, cause flagstones to flake, discolor bricks or stones, eat away at concrete, and potentially harm nearby vegetation.  And it’s bad for the overall environment.  And it can wreak havoc on your four-legged friends’ paws.  To summarize again, “Rock Salt, Bad.”

There are however a number of alternatives that can help keep walkways safe without harming the hardscaping, your pets’ health, or the environment. 

Most hardware stores, home centers, and even pet stores will sell some version of “chloride-free” de-icers.  The active ingredient in these products is generally Calcium Magnesium Acetate, or “CMA” as it’s sometimes referred.  A 20-lb bag typically runs in the neighborhood of $20, -- yes, it is slightly more expensive, but considering how you’re saving that big ticket patio you just had installed, a few extra bucks is well worth it.  There’s a number of CMA-based products out there, and they’re often marketed as pet-friendly de-icers.  Just ask your local supplier what they have available, and be sure to stay away from the chloride-based products.

And speaking of pets, another chloride-free alternative is good ol’ fashioned kitty litter.  Kitty litter does lack some of the ice-melting qualities of CMA-based products, it tends to work a little slower, but it is inexpensive and provides welcome grit and traction to any icy surface.

Basic sand is another inexpensive, environmentally-friendly alternative.  And since that dry-set paver or brick patio was swept with sand upon completion anyway, it certainly won’t hurt things as the snow disappears come spring.

Of course, there’s also my favorite strategy – keep your fingers crossed for a mild winter and repeat this mantra, “pitchers and catchers, pitchers and catchers, pitchers and catchers…”  Spring training (and warmer weather) is getting closer by the day!  In the mean time, stay warm and stay safe.