Keeping up with falling leaves and Legos

November 08, 2006

Things are changing here in lovely South Jersey, as the cooler winds of autumn blow away the last fond memories of summer. For most of us, it is business as usual in autumn and winter, with life moving along at its normal breakneck pace. The only seasonal difference many notice is a bit less traffic congestion, unless they try to drive on the Black Horse Pike on a weekday afternoon.

Our everyday workload changes as the leaves turn, too. While just a few weeks ago we were busy sweeping sand out of the mud room, today we may be raking leaves. The snow shovel cannot be too far behind as the seasons cycle. Even more pressing, the winter holiday season looms on the horizon, poised to inflict our wallets with the traditional winter vacuuming.

Still, with a little preparation and a solid game plan, everything can be accomplished on time. That’s what brings us to today’s Untangled Web, a look at a few diverse websites that can help us keep up with our everyday tasks, prepare for the holidays, and catch up on local news.

www.landscaping.about.com  

I have cited the wonderful resources at About.com on numerous occasions. Today, with virtual rake in hand, I turn to http://landscaping.about.com/cs/landscapecolor/f/raking_leaves.htm for information to help those of us who find our lawns and homes inundated with fallen leaves keep up with the seemingly endless tide.

Raking leaves can be one of the homeowner’s most tedious tasks. It can also be one of the most productive exercises in home maintenance, lawn care, and garden preparation you will undertake all year. The trick is in how you approach the raking process. Before you even touch the rake, determine what you want to do with the leaves.

Lawns are most impacted by leaves. A healthy green lawn that spends too much time under a blanket of leaves can turn out yellow and unattractive in the springtime. Additionally, thatch buildup can stunt the growth of the lawn, leaving it in less than optimal condition. A good brisk raking can cure both of these problems at one time. Find more details at the website.

Mulchers can also benefit from a visit to this resource. A few tips in a handy FAQ section linked to the site offers advice on how to use those dead leaves to help your garden grow next season. For helping us get our worst autumn chore done right the first time, www.landscaping.about.com finds five frolicsome spiders leaping into a pile of leaves.

More mature readers who may be undertaking a challenging leaf-raking workout this season should consider consulting the AARP guide to safe raking at www.aarp.org/health/fitness/work_out/a2004-10-27-rakingleaves.html.

www.lego.com

OK, yes, I admit an affinity for playing with Legos. The blocks are a worldwide favorite, especially during the winter holiday season. That is your cue to go out and get all the Lego gifts you need right now, as the word of a global Lego shortage spreads across the Web like wildfire.

After some disappointing financial news, the cool heads at Lego headquarters in Denmark knew they had to make a few changes. Their restructuring resulted in production shortfalls that could lead to a dearth of these popular locking blocks in toy stores around the world.

With sufficient advance warning, there is plenty of time for you to seek out a local retailer and load up on Legos. The website offers a store locator that can help you find the best place to shop for Lego, Duplo, and the company’s popular “Star Wars” and “Bionicle” lines.

With help from information provided on the site, Lego lovers can do what they must to ensure that at least one adult will manage to tread barefoot on a Lego block again this season. For bringing a popular toy to fans worldwide, www.lego.com snaps together four spiders.

www.shorenewstoday.com/columns  

Has this ever happened to you? After a long workweek followed by weekend chores, you finally get a few moments to relax. Concerned and curious about affairs and events in your community, you want nothing more than to relax with a copy of your favorite regional newspaper, The Current, The Gazette, or The Leader. To your horror, you find that the week’s papers have already been recycled and you are left with lesser publications that merely provide halfhearted lip service to the great South Jersey area.

Fear no more. Your local news, features, and columns are just a mouse click away. It is with great pride that I invite you to visit the new columns website of Catamaran Media. Sure, this is self-promotion, and it is utterly without shame, but it is much easier for me to mention it here than to send out hundreds of e-mails to loyal readers.

You can now find the latest installments of The Wire and Untangled Web online, along with an archive of older columns for times when you want to take a look back. Those of you aching for a taste of South Jersey can pick up Rob Seitzinger’s Cape Cuisine column online, while local sports fans can keep current with a look at sports columns covering Atlantic and Cape May counties by R.J. Liberatore Jr. and Brian Cunniff.

Cathy Finnegan’s immensely popular On the Town and Nancy Rump’s Travels with the Gazette and The Current will also be presented online, along with Larry Savadove’s Savvy and the ensemble Jersey Shore Business Journal. With more columns to come as the site responds to reader input, www.shorenewstoday.com can be your first stop for local information. For helping the home team stay in touch, www.shorenewstoday.com/columns picks up five local spiders.

I am excited by the potential of this well-designed regional resource and proud to be a part of it from the inception. As the concept grows, your ideas and opinions are most valuable.  Please let me know what you think of the new columns website by e-mail to granese(at)juno.com.