Simple tips to keep your backyard birds healthy this winter

Simple tips to keep your backyard birds healthy this winter Source: http://smithsonianscience.org/ What crunchy food did Americans spend $5.5 billion on last year—with sales that spiked before snow and ice storms? If you guessed birdseed then you may live in one of the 40.5 million households that participate in wild bird feeding in the U.S. each
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Winterize Your Tools – Step 5: Prepare Other Power Equipment

If you have a tractor, riding mower or other battery-powered lawn equipment, remove the battery and charge it completely. Store your equipment inside, and consider charging the battery once or twice over the winter. That way, it’s sure to be ready when it’s time to use it. For other equipment like leaf blowers and tillers,
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Winterize Your Tools – Step 4: Winterize Your Grass Trimmer

Remove all dirt, grease and debris from the trimmer using a stiff-bristle brush. Tighten all screws and nuts on your grass trimmer. Drain the fuel tank, remove the spark plug and add a small amount of oil into the cylinder. Pull the starting cord a couple of times to distribute the oil. Reinstall the spark
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Winterize Your Tools – Step 3: Maintain Your Mower

Before you give your lawn mower the season off… Remove its fuel by running the mower until it runs out of gas and the motor stops. Don’t just dump the fuel out. Change the oil and remove the spark plugs. Change the spark plugs if necessary. Reinstall the spark plug without connecting the ignition cable,
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Winterize Your Tools – Step 2: Check Handles

Check your tools’ handles for any splinters, breaks and cracks. Smooth weathered, rough wooden handles with a medium-grit emery cloth. Emery cloth doesn’t tear as easily as sandpaper. The handles should be smooth enough to slide your hand along. If the wood is very rough, first sand across the grain in a “shoe-shine” fashion. Then

Winterize Your Tools – Step 1: Check Blades

You don’t have to wait until the end of the season to protect your tool investment. It’s good practice to rinse your tools off after each use, dry them thoroughly and apply a light coat of oil to all metal parts. Use a stiff-bristle brush to clean stubborn, hard-to-remove dirt. If you make this a

Winterize Your Tools: What You’ll Need

Here’s what you’ll need to complete this project successfully. Before you begin, use the shopping list below to uncheck the tools you already have to complete this project. Then, print or save your updated list and bring it to your local hardware store, where an expert Hardwarian will give you the remaining tools and expert
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