Hurricane Irene: Feeling Fortunate

The storm has passed, the skies have cleared, and the wind has died down. It is a bright and sunny Monday. Sunday morning – before the eye of the storm arrived – turned out to be the worst of the weather for Greater Hartford. That’s when the bulk of the rain came through, and the strongest wind gusts, though they did not approach hurricane strengths. The rain died out quickly as the storm moved north

Hurricane Irene Prep: Essential Supplies?

Since we’ve never been through a Connecticut hurricane before, nor have we been through one in a home we owned, we’ve spent the past couple of days preparing. We’re taking it seriously – this could be a dangerous situation. We’re most concerned about the large trees surrounding our home. Amy is worst-case-scenario-ing every tree near us falling on our house and the damage that will be done. Staying locked up in the house with her

Bat Adventures: Who is the Bat Man?

This post continues our story about bats in the attic… It’s time for the bats to go, but how does that actually happen? Who do I call to help me get them out? We keep a list of contractors and other service providers so that we have someone to recommend to our clients in any occasion. But there is nobody on the list for wildlife removal – somehow I don’t think the bug exterminators are

Bat Adventures: Unwelcome Guests

It’s time for our house guests to go. Not the relatives who are down for a visit, but the bats that have moved into our home. Last week was the final straw – we found evidence of them in the actual living area for the very first time. Previously, they had respected our space and kept their mess and activity confined to the attic area. We first discovered the bats a couple years after we

Goodbye Engine-less Lawnmower

June 2004: Amy and Kyle have just bought a home in Hartford, their first … it’s time for some yard work. I was very excited to have property to take care of for the first time since I worked summers during college as the maintenance guy for our Town Park back in Vermont. As you might imagine, the lawns up there are a little larger than down here in the City. The parks I maintained