For many Americans, working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic has provided a rare glimpse at the daytime activities of their pets. For the most part, dogs have proven easy to decipher. (Sorry Fido, but you’re hardly mysterious.) While felines, on the other hand, are anything if not enigmatic. We can’t understand what cats do within the confines of our homes, let alone what they get up to when they prowl the neighborhood....
Thanksgiving confession: I don’t really like pie. I realize this is quite the unpopular opinion. The raised eyebrows tossed my way when I politely pass each year are enough to make you think I’m the Thanksgiving version of the Grinch, but I’d rather pile on more mac and cheese than waste precious tummy space on a dissatisfying slice. We all have the right to design our own perfect Thanksgiving plate, pie or not....
It’s before 8 a.m. on a Saturday morning in October, but in the shadow of Jacksonville, Florida’s TIAA Bank Field, a flurry of activity unfolds across the parking lots and grassy fields in a patchwork of orange and blue, black and red. Things are waking up on the water, too. The St. Johns River meanders some 20 miles from the Atlantic Ocean past the stadium, and the Metropolitan Park Marina fills up fast in advance of this college football matchup between Florida and Georgia....
In the moments after Tom Brady announced his retirement from football “for good” this week, the news was flooded with stories about NFL stats, rings, and records. But one story, told by someone who knows Brady personally, seems to have gotten overlooked amongst the passing yards and touchdowns. Ashley Bragg Ryan, wife of Buccaneers safety Logan Ryan, took to Instagram Wednesday to pay tribute to another side of Brady—one that involves regularly volunteering at the Humane Society of Tampa Bay with his kids....
The most-visited national park in the country could do with some sprucing up. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is kicking off its annual “Fall into Volunteerism with Smokies Service Days” this weekend and is looking for volunteers to help care for the national treasure. The park will be hosting single-day events on Saturdays from October 24 through November 1. Park staff will lead the volunteer days that will provide “a unique, hands-on opportunity to help care for park campgrounds, historic buildings, and natural resources....
Sea turtle rescuers in South Padre Island, Texas, are dealing with a crisis of unprecedented proportions amid a record-breaking winter storm. A representative for Sea Turtle, Inc. told CBS News that they have rescued more than 4,000 cold-stunned sea turtles on South Padre Island as freezing temperatures continue to wreak havoc across the region. Volunteers have spent days transporting the comatose turtles to the town’s convention center, where conservationists are working to save their lives by gradually increasing their body temperatures—no easy feat without power....
Is “cheese lover” your middle name? Do friends and family joke that pizza is your pathway to happiness? Is mac and cheese its own food group in your house? Well, do we have the career opportunity for you. Whisps Cheese Crisps, the maker of can’t-get-enough cheese crisp snacks, is looking for a “Cheese Executive Officer,” and they’re paying in some ooey-gooey prizes along with some cold, hard dough, a total prize bundle valued at up to $5,000....
‘Tis the season for sugar, spice and everything… pumpkin. Fall hasn’t officially begun until pumpkin patches line the town and pumpkin spice lattes become the ultimate drink of choice. Embrace the fall season with a visit to the pumpkin patch with your friends, and claim the title for pun-queen when you post funny pumpkin photos of your #squashgoals on Instagram. Whether you’re whipping up a sweet pumpkin treat or carving faces in jack-o’-lanterns at home, we gathered up some of the most clever puns that are sure to get laughs all season long....
You see it in the description of almost every plant you want to use – “needs well-drained soil.” So what if your soil isn’t well-drained? What if it’s soggier than the home of “Swamp People?” Will anything grow there besides duckweed? Of course. Let Grumpy enlighten you. Hardy Hibiscus Many species of hibiscus like wet soil. They include hardy hibiscus (Hibiscus moscheutos), shown above, Texas star (Hibiscus coccineus), and Confederate rose (Hibiscus mutabilis)....
With Memphis to the east and Texas to the west, Arkansas often gets skipped in discussions of Southern barbecue—and unfairly so, for the state has plenty of smoky treasures to share. Stylistically, the Arkansas version has much in common with its neighbors across the Mississippi River. Ribs and rib tips are finished with a thick, sweet brown sauce (like the ones you’ll find in many Memphis joints), and beans and slaw are the requisite sides....
On a rainy day, there’s nothing I love more than plodding out to a local antiques store to peruse crowded booths and cluttered stalls, hoping to score a diamond in the rough. It’s satisfying to leave with the kilim rug that’s been rolled up in a forgotten corner or scoop up the set of scientific fish illustrations that nobody else has deemed worthy yet. Shopping in these places feels simultaneously like a treasure hunt and a rescue mission....
Peeps are getting personal! This spring, the beloved brand is offering fans the chance to “bring their sweetest cravings to life” through My Peeps, a made-to-order dozen of personalized marshmallow chicks just in time for Easter. The new chicks can be customized to taste, with a variety dipping options such as sprinkles, cookies, toasted coconut, chocolate and more. “Year after year, we’ve seen our fans take classic Peeps chicks to the next level by adding their own dips and toppings, which sparked the idea to create a convenient new way for fans to enjoy our Marshmallow candies exactly to their liking,” Caitlin Servian, Brand Manager for Peeps, said in a news release....
There’s no substitute for seeing a live show—the squeeze of your friend’s sweaty palm when the house lights first go down, the stage actor’s emotions making a Freudian leap into every cell of your skin, the oneness of a standing ovation as strangers are transformed into a collective soul. There is no substitute. But now, the lights on Broadway are dimmed through at least September 6th to keep actors and theater-goers alike safe amid the coronavirus crisis....
It’s been a busy time in the world of snakes! On the heels of the successful removal of a record-breaking Burmese python from the Florida Everglades, biologists in Alabama are celebrating a very different kind of snake-related victory. The Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens’ Orianne Center for Indigo Conservation (OCIC) successfully released 25 eastern indigo snakes in Conecuh National Forest over the weekend as part of the ongoing effort to reintroduce the threatened species to its native territory....
When Lauren Liess isn’t designing someone’s dream home; writing her blog, Pure Style Home; publishing interior design books (she’s written two so far); or raising five kids, three dogs, and the occasional gaggle of geese—yes, really—you’ll find her in the yard. “It’s cliché, but my garden is truly my happy place,” she says. Liess, who runs an interior design company with husband David in Great Falls, Virginia, likes an indoor-outdoor type of lifestyle and cites fresh flowers, good food, and music as a few of her favorite things—all of which are found at weekend brunches and afternoon gatherings hosted in her yard....
When crisp autumn air starts rolling in, take measures to protect your garden from the inevitable cold snap. To keep all of the hard work you did in spring and summer from going to waste, start preparing your plots for Jack Frost’s arrival. First, stay alert for freeze warnings in your neck of the woods. Determine frost dates in your area by consulting your local Cooperative Extension Service or consult online resources like The Old Farmer’s Almanac frost calendar....
As the coronavirus pandemic impacts communities across the country, more and more acts of kindness are inspiring us during these difficult times. As we initially heard through AL.com, the Eufaula Police Department in Alabama, is just one such example of generosity that’s warming our hearts right now. In a Facebook post on the Eufaula Police Department page from Mach 18, the police department wrote, “During this time of uncertainty, untested emergency plans and innovative solutions, we must think outside the box and remedy situations we didn’t foresee....
Hurricane Irma put Florida sinkholes back in the spotlight, but the Sunshine State has long been dealing with them, as have Texas, Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, and Pennsylvania. The New York Times reported that Land O’Lakes, Florida, where an enormous sinkhole opened up before the hurricane, is part of an area near Tampa known as “Sinkhole Alley.” Dr. Manoj Chopra of the University of Central Florida told an NBC affiliate in Orlando that the sudden increase in water levels caused by Irma produced great pressure, which can contribute to rapidly developing sinkholes....
Find a good chicken recipe and you’ll never be in want of dinnertime inspiration. Like our Classic Southern Pound Cake, Ina Garten’s mustard-roasted chicken recipe deserves to be committed to memory. It features a short but impactful ingredient list and pairs wonderfully with a range of sides, from a simple salad to roasted vegetables. But don’t worry, you’ll have plenty of time to try out new accompaniments because this is one recipe that’s bound to make weekly rounds on your dinner table....
We’re all about products that will help us simplify our hair-care routine (looking at you, dry shampoo) while still allowing us to put our best hair forward, and this all-in-one hair tool from Revlon does just that. The Revlon One-Step Hair Dryer & Volumizer Hot Air Brush claims to give you salon-quality blowouts at home by combining the shaping qualities of a brush with the heat styling of a hair dryer, allowing you to create volume and shine in one step....
