Rocking chairs add an old-fashioned feel to the residential porches along Officers Circle.

Ray Boren

FORT DOUGLAS Shaded on a summer's day by leafy trees and embracing spacious green parade grounds and a traditional bandstand, the white-trimmed sandstone dwellings and brick buildings along, and near, Fort Douglas' Officers Circle seem a model of all-American peace and order.

As a result, it is sometimes difficult to remember that today's serene enclave high on Salt Lake City's east bench was established exactly 150 years ago in 1862 amid the strife of the Civil War. Early on, the fort was itself a crux of what historian Brigham D. Madsen called a "cold war" and a key engine of the region's economy.

This was back when the Mormon settlers of Utah Territory, which only a year earlier stretched from the Rocky Mountains to the high Sierra Nevada range, were seeking to become citizens of what they hoped would become the State of Deseret. Brigham Young, the president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was their prophet and their political leader.

Col. Patrick Edward Connor, the founder of Camp Douglas soon to be Fort Douglas, named for the recent presidential candidate and late senator from Illinois, Stephen A. Douglas was the new representative of President Abraham Lincoln's U.S. government and military.

"Both individuals could be quite provocative, in words they used and in their actions," says Ephraim Dickson, curator of the Fort Douglas Military Museum.

That Utah cold war, "almost went to a 'hot war' in 1863 and 1864," Dickson says.

Perhaps oddly, President Young and Col. Connor conspicuously avoided one another. "They were the two most influential and politically powerful people in Utah though in real life they never met," Dickson says.

Dickson and Bob Voyles, the museum's director, are both deep into preparations for the post's upcoming, family-oriented Fort Douglas Day, to be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, June 16, and the annual Civil War Ball on the preceding evening, Friday, June 15, from 7 to 9:30 p.m.

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Fort Douglas celebrates sesquicentennial with a Civil War Ball, family day

By Kathy Van Mullekom Daily Press (Newport News, Va.)

When the tomatoes are finally planted and the beds are weeded and mulched, it's time to add the final touch of perfection - tropicals that give your porches and patios a little island mystique.

And, since tropicals typically come in basic plastic pots that can be slipped into boldly colored ceramic pots, they can instantly turn any outdoor space into a party place. String a few lights, light some tiki torches and your decor needs nothing but Jimmy Buffet music and some good eats.

When you remove a tropical from its plastic pot and plant it in a decorative container, make sure the pot has ample drainage holes. Use only good potting soil, not garden soil, which is too heavy. Fill the new pot with one-third potting soil. Remove the tropical from its container and tease or loosen any matted, circling roots. Place it in the new pot and fill in with more potting soil. Water thoroughly. If the potting soil settles, add more soil and water again.

Tropicals are heavy feeders, so regular fertilization with a water-soluble food meant for flowering plants, or a time-released granule mixed into the potting soil keeps the plants blooming. Some potting soils have fertilizer already mixed into them, but they are often only good for a few weeks.

During hot summer days, potted plants need daily, sometimes twice daily, watering because the soil heats up and dries out quickly.

Here's a glimpse at some of the new sun-loving tropicals you'll find from companies such as Monrovia (monrovia.com) and Hines (hineshort.com). Monrovia is found at independent garden centers; Hines is available at garden centers and stores such as Lowe's, Home Depot and Walmart.

Mandevilla Bride's Cascade. These summer-long flowering vines come in all colors, including a new white one called Bride's Cascade. The vigorous plant, which grows 15 feet long, needs a strong support system, including a fence, trellis or arbor.

Adenium Kissable Pink, aka desert rose. This carefree plant flowers all summer. Its bonsai-like appearance features twisted stems, oval-shaped leaves and large, bright flowers. When dry and dormant, the plant tolerates temperatures into the mid 40s; it can be brought indoors, kept dry and moved outdoors in spring.

Bougainvillea Bambino. These bougainvilleas reach 4-5 feet tall, and include Lauren with variegated foliage that contrasts nicely with large clusters of flowers spring-fall. Use them in containers and as hedges for real drama.

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Grow: Try tropicals in your home garden

08-06-2012 06:43 Archadeck of Fort Wayne builds porches of all shapes and sizes. Screened porches, covered porches, front porches and detached porches. Each built with the Archadeck difference that means quality you can see and feel. From expert designs to attention to ev

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Assistant City Solicitor John Flor looks for evidence to link the excess garbage with a particular property on a sweep of New Bedford rental properties.Natalie Sherman

By NATALIE SHERMAN

June 09, 2012 12:00 AM

NEW BEDFORD The crew of camera-wielding city officials that swept through the South End Friday in search of miscreant property owners snapped pictures of rotten food, ripped furniture, burned-out porches and abandoned properties and received kudos from residents even their targets.

Just last month, the city slapped a $50 fine on Richard and Toby Demello of Scott Street because the people living in the family's second property including their son didn't place their trash inside barrels on trash day.

"I paid it. I got no problem with that. I think they're going a good job," Richard Demello, 74, said.

Friday's survey was the Task Force's third since its launch in April. Previous mayors have also organized task forces to try to clean up the city's neighborhoods.

"The over-arching goal is to have more orderly, more vibrant, more livable neighborhoods," Mayor Jon Mitchell said. "Houses with numerous code violations obviously detract from the neighborhood's quality of life."

In the previous two sweeps, the city identified 200 code violations involving serious structural problems or safety hazards and issued orders for correction on 79 properties, according to information provided by Assistant City Solicitor John Flor, who heads the Task Force.

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Task Force conducts third neighborhood sweep

Make your homes stand out from existing stock by offering buyers one of these small-yet-deluxe plans. An outdoor fireplace? Check. Two levels of porches? Ditto. A kitchen with two islands? Sold.

Two levels of porches, clean lines, and modern amenitieslike the snack bar that seats fourmake this small home a contemporary classic. Best of all, at just 25 feet wide, itll fit a very narrow lot. The kitchen, dining nook, and entertainment room create a hub for family living, with more living and dining space in front and three bedrooms upstairs, all of which happens in just 1,586 square feet. See more images, information, and the floor plan.

When it comes down to it, floor plans are all about the kitchen and great room. This 2,138-square-foot plan delivers a spacious cooking space with two islands and a snack bar serving the great room. Just outside, an outdoor fireplace warms the covered patio. The first-floor master suite features a foyer to maintain visual privacy. A study sits on this level. Upstairs, two bedrooms can use the future rec room. See more images, information, and the floor plan.

With alluring detail and a striking Spanish tile roof, this 1,826-square-foot home has great street presence. Enter under a portico to find the great room, bathed in natural light. To the right, a sunny dining area flows into the angled serving-bar kitchen for ultimate convenience. The first-floor master suite includes a box-bay sitting area and a splendid bath with a spa tub. Upstairs, two bedrooms share a full bath. Bonus space above the garage can be used as a study, game room, home gymwhatever your buyer desires. See more images, information, and the floor plan.

Stone accents and decorative shutters put a rustic spin on this traditional home. A covered porch offers dual benches that are particularly handy for removing muddy boots. The entry leads to the two-story great room, lit by windows topped by transoms and warmed by a two-way fireplace. The kitchen and keeping room benefit from the other side of the hearth. On the far right, the master suite shines with a 10-foot ceiling and plush bath. Two additional bedrooms are upstairs and share a full bath with private sinks. See more images, information, and the floor plan.

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Luxury in Less Than 2,200 Square Feet

Homeowners in one Raleigh neighborhood will wake up to free groceries on Saturday, June 16.

Food Lion employees with be unloading 15 heaping shopping carts, rolling them up to peoples front porches and ringing doorbells.

Unsuspecting residents will be asked to help themselves to five items each out of the carts.

The name of the neighborhood is being kept under wraps, said Food Lion spokeswoman Christy Phillips-Brown. But doorbells will start ringing at 10 a.m.

The Saturday morning stunt dubbed Operation Grocery Drop is the latest of several marketing campaigns launched to create buzz about the Food Lion chain, which has struggled in recent years.

In January, Food Lions parent company, the Belgian conglomerate Delhaize Group, announced it would close 126 underperforming stores across its three brands 113 of them Food Lion stores, including one in Cary.

In March, Food Lion offered a double coupon promotion for two weeks in its Triangle stores. It was the first time Food Lion had offered double coupons in the highly competitive Triangle grocery market, where competitors routinely double the face value of coupons.

Last year, the grocer cut prices on 6,000 items, reorganized shelves, added shopping carts, increased staffing and made efforts to improve customer service.

Raleigh will be the first city to host the grocery giveaway, but the retailer will do it again in other locations, Phillips-Brown said.

In addition to the free groceries, residents will be given coupons for Food Lions My Essentials brand of products.

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Food Lion to give away groceries in one Raleigh neighborhood

NEWFANE The Reach Workcamps are coming back to Niagara County.

Next summer, possibly in July 2013, high school kids from all over the country will come to Newfane to work onporches, steps, wheelchair ramps, outhouses, painting and all kinds of assorted assignments.Its expected the teens will work on 60 to 100 homes in the county, providing $300,000 to $400,000 in improvements, but all for free.

This is the second time the Reach camps have stayed in Newfane. Board of Education Vice President Kelly Artieri said she spent an evening back in 2010 with a Reach group. Artieri was touched by the organization aenthusiasmof the of the teens.

I was brought to tears, it was the most amazing thing I have seen, Artieri said. Im so glad youre coming back.

Reach Workcamps spent the summer of 2010 in Newfane, a move that was nessecary because of the c

onstruction being done at Lockport High School, the camps former Niagara County home. Reach did not return to the Western New York area in 2011 and will not return this summer.

The workcamps will stay in Newfane district buildings, at no cost to the district, for a pair of one-week sessions next year. Usually one-week programs, each Reach camp draws 400 to 500 teens from all over the United States.

Michael Boron, the director of St. Johns Outreach, said the agency receives requests from clients in need of house repairs, but are unable to afford them. Some are even called to housing court in the city of Lockport after being cited.

Theres not a lot we can do for them, given our limited resources, Boron said. This, on the other hand, provides us an excellent opportunity to service those low-income, home owning, taxpaying citizens of our communities and give them a better place.

Based in Colorado, Reach holds about eight to 10 workcamps across the country each year. St. Johns Outreach is the local Reach workcamp coordinator, which means it will locate homeowners in need of Reach help.

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Reach workcamps returning to area

This tiny world is in the garden of Andi Peterson of Lincoln. Fairy gardens have taken off with a certain age group but maybe not the age you might think. Below is a creation by Deb Kistler and granddaughter Sasha to give as a Mother's Day gift.

Courtesy of Andi Peterson

MULHALL'S CLASSES

11 a.m. July 21, for adults: Materials include a 12-inch pot and accessories. Cost: $45.

Some of us never outgrow playing with dolls.

Andi Peterson of Lincoln makes no apologies for the fairy gardens that populate her yard, front and back.

She doesn't have children or grandchildren, but she does have a childlike sense of wonder about the tiny world she created, sometimes on her own, sometimes with help from a friend.

Peterson isn't alone. Tiny gardens are cropping up in backyards and on front porches across the Midlands.

Children and adults are planting greenery no bigger than a pencil eraser in a landscape no bigger than a flower pot. Some of these gardens hold dollhouse-size benches and Adirondack chairs. Often they feature miniature birdhouses, thimble-size pots and stepping stones for imaginary visitors.

It's all part of a trend that's been bubbling for a while with kids who love Tinker Bell in Peter Pan and early-reader fairy books. But kids aren't the only ones besotted with fairy gardens.

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How does your garden grow? Very, very small

The battle lines of suburbia are demarcated by white picket fences, the battleground itself littered with landmines of leaves, grass, porches, and other ticking bombs set to square off neighbor against neighbor. Hey, asshole, why don't you try painting your shutters so our property values don't go down? And really, a bonfire on a Monday night? Some of us have to work, dickweed. And I like sleeping with the windows open, but all I smell now is your dumb fire pit.

This is how wars start, brimming with passive aggressive taunts and muffled vulgarities. All it takes is one spark to set off the fuse, and in suburbia, early-morning mowing is perfect tinder.

Let's go out to Ashtabula County via the Star Beacon and check in on two neighbors whose disagreement over some A.M. grass trimming might end up in court.

Deputies spoke to the alleged assailant, who gave a different story. The man said his neighbor began cutting grass around 6 a.m., and ignored his request to delay mowing until 7 a.m. The man admitted shutting off the neighbors mower and making remarks, but denied issuing any threats, he told deputies.

We're no history buffs, but we're pretty sure this is what started the Hatfield and McCoy feud.

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Early Morning Mowing Can Be Serious Business in the Suburbs

COVINGTON, Ind. Flags flutter from porches and line the yards at homes in this close-knit community. Businesses are flying their flags at half-staff in honor of a young man who gave his life while serving overseas.

People who knew Marine Lance Cpl. Joshua Witsman describe him as humble and proud to serve his country, as well as friendly and caring.

He had the most contagious smile youve ever seen and gave the best hugs ever, said Hannah Whittington, whos known Witsman for years. He was such a sweet guy.

The 23-year-old Marine was killed in military action in Afghanistan last week. A candlelight vigil will be at 9 EDT tonight on the lawn of the Fountain County Courthouse in Covington. People are asked to bring their own candles.

On Wednesday, friends will place 2,000 flags along the route from Covington to the Vermilion Regional Airport. Witsmans body is expected to arrive at the airport Thursday night, and services are tentatively set for later in the week, said Whittington, who is the girlfriend of Witsmans brother.

Whittington said she expects a large turnout tonight for the candlelight ceremony.

It will be great to see everyones support, she said. The community support has been amazing.

Suzy Strawser of Covington recalled a welcome-home held for the young man last May between his deployments.

He was really proud that people supported him so much. He was such a very humble person, she said Saturday. Now, our small community is making plans to line the streets and place flags out for himwhen he is brought back to Covington. My heart goes out to his family.

Larry Weatherford, owner of WKZS and WSKL radio stations based in Covington, said there was a pall over the town on Thursday and Friday. The parents, Tom and Kayla Witsman, learned of his death on Wednesday.

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City remembers Marine