Archive for January, 2012
With the sun shining as bright as it has been over the last week or so in London, there are few places anyone would rather be than outdoors. Tis the season of picnics, board rides and outdoor entertainment. If you’re planning a party and want to earn extra brownie points by incorporating sunshine, than why not do it outside? Some ideas are:
1. Afternoon picnic in the park:
Planning a picnic in the park for your friends doesn’t require much preparation, money or even thought. Call some friends, buy some fruit, cheese, bread, wine and beers and head over to the park with a nice big picnic blanket. For an extra activity bring some kind of ball to throw or kick around, and maybe some music- live or pre-recorded.
2. Backyard Barbeque:
Those people lucky enough to have a garden or terrace of some kind should go out and buy a barbeque immediately.
Barbequed food is not only delicious, but easy, social and the perfect thing to entertain with- best of all, men can do it too (wink)! Like the picnic, barbeque parties don’t have to be expensive or complicated, just buy some burgers, some buns and a few veggie options and you’ve got yourself a party.
3. Maypole party:
A great spring activity to do in big groups is the maypole. It is a tall wooden pole from which a number of coloured ribbons hang from the top. Each person grabs the end of one and dances around the pole to the sound of folk music. The maypole has its own set of traditions in places like Germany, Austria, Scandinavia, Britain, Ireland, and the U.S.
4. Organized sports:
For some sports might not seem like traditional entertainment, while for others it is more entertainment than a thousand dinner parties put together.
Arranging a big football game with a group of friends on a nice spring day is a great way to have fun, get some exercise, enjoy the sunshine and be all together. Afterwards you can all go out for some beers and food.
5. Water games:
Depending on your age (and/or maturity level!) you might want to group together your friends and have a massive water fight. In Thailand, New Years is celebrated over a number of days of water fights and there are honestly few things that could be more fun. If water fights aren’t what you had in mind, maybe get everyone together at an actual water park.
Of course, the nice weather can also be enjoyed on your own or in a small intimate group. Pagodas, chaise lounges, or even a hammock are all you really need to enjoy your garden.
Many family picnics are commonly held in hot sunshine weather. Either you stroll to the nearest public park or drive your way to it. Public parks are great picnic venues because there is plenty of room for everybody, lots of sunshine and fresh air, and best of all, it’s free.
Now if you want to enjoy outdoor meals and activities more often, but the public park or other picnic venues are anything but near to you, a good alternative to them is to do it in your own garden.
If you happen to have a large space, garden or backyard picnics could be just as great. Well, you may not have a new view or scenery to look at, but you can compensate for that especially if you’re creative enough.
You can organize a picnic just like any other picnic.
Picnics are usually whole day occasions, packed with lots of good food and fun activities like games and tracking.
After all, it’s a great chance to enjoy the outdoors, especially if the weather’s perfect. That’s why many picnics are held during spring time.
In the early times, family picnics can also serve as mini family reunions. You typically see large groups of people. Besides your immediate family, are uncles, aunts, grandparents, and cousins. Since this is a big event, it is best to carefully plan ahead of time. Food preparation takes in a lot of time that is shared by adults. Surely, dads would enjoy grilling while moms would prepare the salads and sandwiches.
And as you lay cover the tables with table cloths, you also arrange the platters with goodies. You could also prepare the picnic baskets and fill them with pies, cakes, fruits and other food stuff.
You can still do all that, with less the stress, minus the cost, and more convenience.
Garden picnics are so practical, whatever the occasion there is.
It’s great for birthday picnics, family reunions, and even for gourmet and romantic date picnics.
Imagine, if you forgot something, you can easily head home just a few steps away to get it. You have now more food options as the refrigerator is just inside the kitchen; you won’t be needing coolers anymore. You can easily change clothes if the kids are all soaking sweat. And you don’t have to worry about the restrooms.
You just need to lay tables and chairs and tents and big umbrellas perhaps. The number of things you’ll need depends of course on the number of attendees. And what’s more, you don’t even have to buy all these. You can borrow this from your friends or neighbors as well.
If it gets too hot or the weather suddenly changes, you can easily get indoors. And because you did not carry too many things outdoors, it’s much easier to cleanup.
You can also do that at night, for romantic date picnics. Just set up a candlelit dinner table complete with furnishings and good food of course. Just make sure that you prepare the venue at least two days before the picnic. Clean the lawn, mow it, and water it thoroughly.
Outdoor Showers
Outdoor showers come in many varieties, styles, and price ranges. They are fun to use and make a great addition to many landscapes and vacations. You may wish to purchase a low end pool shower, a high end outdoor shower, or even a solar shower.
Low End
A low end shower is less than a hundred dollars. The water source is your garden hose. You hook it up and it pressurizes the shower. These types of showers are almost always unheated. That is ok because they are mostly used in the hottest parts of the summer.
Some people like the feature of a foot wash. Some of the lower end showers have a separate lower valve to wash off the feet and some do not. This is a nice feature because you will often want to wash your feet before you get in the pool. The shower head can’t get enough pressure to wash the feet because it is too far away.
High End
The high end showers can cost thousands of dollars. They are often made of stainless steel or chrome. These showers are often heated, as well. They are usually installed right into the pool deck. They are much more difficult to install because you need to run regular plumbing and electrical and/or gas to the shower unit. Most people will need to hire a contractor to install this type of shower.
Solar Showers
The solar showers are painted black to absorb the sun rays. They are passively solar. That means that the sunlight is absorbed by penetrating the water tank. Solar showers are not typically photovoltaic. A very inexpensive solar shower is a black five gallon bag of water.
Final Tip
Do you vacation a lot? It’s quite convenient and nice to bring your outdoor shower with you. At many remote locations you can hook up your outdoor shower and get the cleanliness you crave.
There are even portable outdoor showers that heat up quickly by way of propane.
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While gardening is a common hobby for people staying indoors, growing indoor trees is an even more interesting and challenging. Now the concept of growing flora, as big as trees inside the house sounds like an absurd idea. But, this is not a silly idea anymore as a Juniper bonsai tree can turn your dream of having greenery around the rooms true. However, if you are fond of undergrowth and tiny shrubs that grow like shamrock over the stones, then you can choose Juniper Procumbens nana.
Extremely beautiful to look at, both the plants make excellent additions in living rooms, bed rooms and balconies. You can either place them on your bedside table or beside the windows or in hanging plant pots in the veranda, they simply lighten up the ambience with their presence. A Juniper bonsai tree is a living miniature model of huge and old trees that have been surviving for years.
They fit comfortably in small plant tubs and yield fruits and flowers like a regular Juniper tree, only in smaller size. You can however, do a bit of decoration with the Juniper Procumbens nana by letting them sprawl around the stones and pebbles placed in the tub.
These beautiful floras are indeed very rare to see in homes and are highly appreciated by the visitors. Besides beautifying the rooms, they also purify the air of the room by generating fresh oxygen. As claimed by the scientists, a Juniper bonsai tree and a Juniper Procumbens nana are capable of filtering the pollution in the air and reduce the mal components in the air. Growing bonsai trees is a classic art that requires dedication, perseverance and love for green plants. The Procumbens nana shrubs are fresh green in color and look extremely fresh, hence, good for the eyes.
Normally, these bonsai plants do not demand too much of a maintenance job. They are to be watered once daily that can vary depending upon the type and requirment of the concerned plant. Those exposed to sunlight regularly do not require a lot of water. A maximum of 6 hours of sun exposure is enough for the plants to survive. However, you should check the soil of your Juniper bonsai tree to ensure that it has enough moisture for the plant. You should not let it go dry by watering religiously. Watering should be done in a way by sprinkling water from the top of the leaves without disturbing its soil base. The requirement of a Juniper tree and Juniper Procumbens nana differ, so you need to adjust accordingly.
However, bonsai trees can be grown outdoor as well. But, keeping them indoor keeps them aloof from the natural perils like worms, rain, snow, storm, heat, etc. that can harm the trees potentially. This species of trees is particularly very sensitive and needs protection from the harsh elements.