Thanks to Clean Sweep for this episode of Tips from the Pros about problems house inspectors might not catch.

Chimneys are not just a way to create a comfortable and welcoming ambiance in a home, they are also a critical piece of the house that requires regular maintenance to avoid any safety issues. Home inspections are a common part of the buying and selling processes. Home inspectors do not have the same level of expertise in inspecting a chimney. Additionally, they don’t have the same tools as chimney inspectors. What are some of the common problems that they might miss?

Hidden Creosote Build-Up

Creosote buildup within chimneys is a significant concern and a potential fire hazard. However, it can be challenging to detect creosote accumulation without specialized tools...

Thanks to L. K. Benson for sharing with us.

Life Lessons from Jimmy Buffett

Our family was deeply saddened by the news of Jimmy Buffett’s passing on September 1st.  Jimmy’s life and music had a tremendous impact on many. This is evidenced by the outpouring of messages and support from celebrities and fans worldwide. Lyle and his family have been self-professed “parrotheads” for over 40 years.  In this article, Lyle shares a few of his favorite song lyrics and some of the many life lessons that Jimmy shared through his music.

Memento Mori

Jimmy’s death was another reminder that nobody is immortal and one day we will all die. It is summarized in the ancient Latin phrase “Memento Mori...

Need a last-minute gift? Thanks to the University of Maryland/Maryland Grows for this blog. This article suggests holiday gift ideas for gardeners.

Can you hear them? Tiny little elves are softly singing carols. The holidays must be around the corner.

Need Gifts?

If you’re scratching your head for gift ideas for the gardeners in your life, the Master Gardeners and I can help. Here are a few suggestions to make smiles wider and green thumbs greener.

Tools are cool. Yes, we say we really don’t need yet another tool. We lie. Our eyes light up at the flash of steel and the smoothness of a wooden handle. 

A Hori Hori soil knife – a multipurpose tool with a serrated edge and slight curve that digs, plants, cuts, weeds, and more – is a perennial favorite.

Thanks to Clean Sweep for this episode of Tips from the Pros on how to prevent chimney fires.

Every year in the United States, there are over 25,000 chimney fires. While not all of them lead to severe damage to the rest of the home, some of them leave people without a place to live at all. The good news is that there are many small ways that you can decrease the chances of having a chimney fire at your home.

What Leads to Chimney Fires?

Before you can prevent a chimney fire, it’s important to understand what the root causes of them are. One of the biggest causes is creosote accumulation. Creosote is a natural byproduct of using your chimney, although certain types of wood and behaviors can lead to more rapid accumulation...

Thanks to L. K. Benson for sharing this blog about retirement planning.

Retirement Planning

Webster’s dictionary defines retirement as “a withdrawal from one’s position or occupation or from active working life.” For generations past, that was probably a pretty accurate description of retirement. You worked hard, often for one company, got your gold watch, retirement dinner, and your pension, and then lived a life of leisure (typically not for too many years after retirement). 

But today, our perspective on retirement has changed dramatically. Most Americans no longer have a company pension to rely on in retirement. The average life expectancy for a male did not increase to over age 65 until the 1950s. Now it is close to age 80...

Thanks to the University of Maryland/Maryland Grows this informative article about getting to know your local mantis.

Q:  I’ve heard that not all of our praying mantis types are native. They’re all good for garden pest control though, right, or are some bad instead?

A:  Maryland is currently home to five species of praying mantis, but only one is native, which is the Carolina Mantis. The others are the European, Chinese, Narrow-winged, and Asian Jumping Mantids, with the latter being the most recent introduction...

Thanks to Clean Sweep for this episode of Tips from the Pros about choosing the best wood for your fireplace.

Choosing the Best Wood

After you’ve scheduled your fall fireplace and chimney maintenance, your chimney will be clean and ready for warm evening fires and safely enjoying time with friends and family. However, the small choices that you make every day can impact how quickly dangerous creosote builds up. What wood should you choose for your fireplace?

You Must Use Dry, Seasoned Firewood

When you cut down a tree in the backyard, it’s tempting to immediately repurpose it as firewood. However, that is not a good idea. Because trees are living things, they contain up to 45% water immediately after being cut down...

Thanks to the University of Maryland/Maryland Grows this informative article about trying to figure out what’s digging holes in the lawn.

Damage in the yard

With the transition into the Fall season, I often find myself feeling a mixture of emotions. I feel relief, that another growing season is coming to an end; sadness, that it went too fast; and excitement for what the next year will bring! I am sure that our animal friends also sense the need to prepare for the changing seasons. As such, over the last few days, I’ve been seeing some damage happening in my yard from an uninvited guest! 

Can you guess what caused this digging of the grass? This occurred in two different areas of my lawn over the course of a week...

Thanks to Clean Sweep for this episode of Tips from the Pros on myths about chimney cleanings and home sales.

Is it okay to DIY chimney cleaning? Are homebuyers really concerned about the safety of a chimney before signing on the dotted line? Can a home inspector detect all the potential issues with a chimney? If you ask these questions to a variety of people, you are bound to receive a variety of responses. However, there are correct answers to each of them! As such, let’s bust a few of the most common chimney myths as they relate to home sales.

Sellers Can Simply DIY Their Chimney Cleaning

This myth is just as false as it is dangerous for everyone involved. Any chimney cleaning or chimney inspection services should be completed by a certified and trained chimney sweep...

Thanks to L. K. Benson for sharing this blog about inflation.

Inflation is an important financial concept to understand and has always been a critical factor in our long-term financial planning analysis for clients. It can be difficult to grasp how rising prices erode the purchasing power of your cash when the inflation rate is low and you don’t see and feel the effects of prices rising on a regular basis. That is exactly the environment we have been in for almost forty years, which can be seen clearly in the following chart:

From 1983 to 2021, you can see a downward trend in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which is the most frequently cited measure of inflation. The average CPI over that time was around 2% and it rarely spiked very high above that...