Yard Whisperer

Here's the Absolute Cheapest way to Increase your Property Value

Hutch — Thu, 01 May 2008 19:29:11 +0000

BE NEIGHBORLY!! If your neighborhood has a reputation for being neighborly, it will raise you house value. Do simple stuff like mow their lawn while they're gone on vacation or hurt. Pick up your pet's poo. You could even help them with their fence or deck project. The better their house looks, the better yours looks. Plus if they sell their house and the price is increased because of some of the help you provided, it will mean stronger comparatives when you go to price and sell your house. Tell me your stories of how you helped indirectly increase your house's value.

EARTH DAY!!

Hutch — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 18:03:52 +0000

Well, today is Earth Day. It's a bit difficult to celebrate it properly here in Great Falls, MT due to the weather. Arbor day is coming up this Friday, and I hope the snow is gone and the ground is thawed. Otherwise, we'll have difficulty planting any trees.

GF Development Authority's New Website

Hutch — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 21:13:44 +0000

So I just noticed the G.F. Development authority has their new website up. At least the home page is. Nothing else is on it though. I was going to ask what their intention or policy, if any, is concerning wind power development? Anybody?

Moisture: Good; Coldness: Bad

Hutch — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 15:45:52 +0000

While I love the snow and the cold, I can't say the same for my plants. Short of covering all my shrubs and flowers with spare sheets, I took measures to keep my plants safe. I shoveled my driveway and piled all the snow on my shrubs in hopes that the extra snow would insulate them from the biting cold. Then I piled some extra snow in the flower bed. I don't know if that'll be enough.

SUV for Sale

Hutch — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 01:07:48 +0000

$19,000 for this 2005 Mercury Mountaineer. It has low miles, a V-8 engine, automatic transmission, AWD, in-dash 6-CD changer, heated leather, remote start, power everything, and has been well taken care of. Just give me a call or post a comment here. Thanks. (406) 868-7576

Start Watering your Lawn NOW!

Hutch — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 19:42:55 +0000

Get a jump start on the season. Set your sprinklers to water early in the morning so the water doesn't all evaporate. And water each section for a couple hours, about three times a week. Then take two pills and call me in the morning.

Church and State

Hutch — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 18:30:37 +0000

There is a very big difference between the separation of church and state, and the separation of God and state, or morals and state. The former is the idea of keeping organized religion out of politics. It stems from a fear of too much power over the people, much like king George V did when he ruled England during the war of independance. He was the head of state and the Church of England. One person making lay decisions and spiritual decisions. You see the delimma. However, the U.S. constitution does not say to keep God and state separate. Having 'In God We Trust' on a dollar bill is not the same as "In the Pope We Trust" or "In God We Trust... but only the Christian God". And after all, churches have a primarily positive impact on morality. And, call me crazy, but I could do with a lot less separation of morals and state.

Save Water

Hutch — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 22:29:19 +0000

I did some calculations on saving toilet water with one of those gray water systems. It uses water from the sink and shower drain to flush the toilet instead of clean water. Each toilet flush uses 5 gallons, and I figure a person uses the toilet 3 times a day, in a house with a family of 4, that's 60 gallons a day. So if you saved that for a year, that's 21,900 gallons. Now imagine every house in Great Falls being equipped with one. That's about 22,000 houses and a water savings of 4.818 million gallons. How much would 4.818 million gallons be worth to the environment? the taxpayer? the city? What would it mean to the rest of the nation if we were to pull it off? I'll do some more research about how much each system costs, and who will install them. Then I'll research how much the 4.818 million gallons would equal in dollars. I'll post a follow-up soon.

The many faces of Hillary Klinton

Hutch — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 21:54:57 +0000

Yes... I misspelled Clinton... just to see how many people really noticed.

Former President Clinton

Hutch — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 17:41:38 +0000

I'm going to try to be there tomorrow when the former president visits here in Great Falls, Mt. I was never a big fan of his (to put it mildly), but I'm still interested in what he has to say. Nevermind that he rode a wave of economic good times to get his popularity, the whole time he blinded our national security, turned a blind eye to Rwanda, showed Monica Lewinski his 'sock drawer', and gave American jobs to Mexico and China. I have to remind myself, it's the office I'm supposed to respect, not the person. I guess he does have a way with the English language, ie. he can pronounce words like nuclear and strategy... unlike our current president. I'm really ready for a fresh family tree to be in the oval office. There has been a Bush or Clinton in office for a generation now. Twenty years!! But despite my ramblings, I'll be there... restraining order be damned! I would invite my friend Cody to come with me if it weren't for the petition to keep him out of eye-sight... and the gene pool.