Solar energy is all the rage these days. When people install enough panels on their homes, not only does their energy bill drop down to nearly nothing, but any energy beyond what they use is sold back to the energy company in their area for money. Solar technology is opening up a lot of avenues for eager entrepreneurs and people with money to invest. While the full applications aren’t quite known yet, it’s obvious the tech can be used to make all our lives more convenient. With devices like solar lights, buildings which were once lit up by burning coal or gas become clean.

                Installing solar lights around your home is pretty easy. Since they run on the sun, you don’t need to worry about adding cables, plugging cords into walls or knocking down plaster to install new wiring. All you do is place your lights outside, let them soak up the rays during the day, then watch as you have illumination at night. These lights, like all solar devices, operate on panels which soak up ultraviolet radiation and store it for later use, just like hard, black coal has energy stored inside of it. The energy is much cleaner so there is no nasty smoke.

                If you’re trying to do more than just light up your front lawn or a small garden, you will need much bigger, more powerful solar lights than the decorative ones found here. These run on the same clean energy storage principles as the smaller, outdoor lights, but they will need wires. Those wires will be running to a battery somewhere in your home where solar energy from rooftop panels is stored. This might sound complicated but it’s about as easy as running an extension cord from one room to another. The more lights you need, the more solar cells you should have installed atop your house.  Of course, if you're doing landscaping, it couldn't be simpler to install lighting.

                Even large-scale lighting can be accomplished with solar energy. Sports stadiums which are already huge in size can amass an awful lot of sunlight on a cloudless day. With that much power, running spotlights to keep a dark field bright during a game is easily possible. As long as the battery is big enough to hold enough energy, it can run as many devices as you want for as long as there is power. Using multiple batteries is a wise idea for purposes both large and small. Having backups is always a good plan and a couple spare batteries wouldn’t hurt you.

                The sun already does a fine job of lighting up our lives during the day. It only makes excellent sense to harness the same energy which is already there to light up the night when that burning ball of gas is out of sight. Solar energy is certainly cleaner than more traditional means of producing electricity but besides that, it’s much safer too. Because they produce literally no waste whatsoever, solar lights are an excellent alternative even to candles, torches or anything else you can think of for providing light. It’s time to get with the times and stop polluting so much.

People’s preferred pastimes are numerous. Some are active, like baseball, football, and other such team sports, and others, more passive, like stargazing or bird watching. These latter hobbies can be quite rewarding for their practitioners, since they require them to learn quite a bit about the subjects of their observation. This kind of learning can be difficult at first, but invariably leads to a relaxing and rewarding time spent with others knowledgeable about the subject later, or in its most rewarding incarnation, spent teaching. Here, we’ll look at a few different kinds of bird feeders, to help you get started on this often overlooked pastime.

Plastic Feeders

Plastic gravity feeders are perhaps the most common bird feeders, as they’re the easiest to set up and easiest to deploy. Gravity feeders have a hole in the top that’s accessible via removal of a plastic cap. Feed is placed into this hole until the cylinder is filled, and birds have access to the feed through either one or several cuts in the bottom of the cylinder. The main advantages to these feeders are the facts that they’re cheap, easy to deploy, easy to refill, and easy to clean. Some people don’t like these feeders, however, because they’re only suitable for a certain set of birds, and sometimes can be bad for the environment (if they detach in high winds or break apart during storms, for instance). Still, they’re a great beginner’s option, and most people just getting into birdwatching can’t go wrong with one.

“Pan” Feeders

Pan feeders are dish-like feeders that are filled with food and can either be hung or laid on a flat surface. These are good for people who want an up-close-and-personal look at their birds, are attracting a specific species of bird, or just like to be able to see the birds that fly in from a better angle than might be afforded by a mounted vertical feeder. The downside to pan feeders is that most have to be refilled quite frequently, as birds have direct access to feed. This also means they have to be cleaned quite frequently. On the upside, they’re good for attracting particular kinds of birds and their mates or relatives. Pan feeders are good for birdwatchers of any skill level, but are preferred by those who have some idea as to just what they want to see.

Birdhouse Dispensers

Some birdhouse designs incorporate a bird feeder as well. These are becoming increasingly common. The advantages to these are that they tend to be well made, attract many common and fun-to-watch birds, and are easy to set up and refill. The downside is that they’re really made for just one bird at a time. This makes them well suited for those who are just getting in to bird watching and want to learn each bird species as they go along. For pure watching, however, the gravity feeders are probably a better choice. These are great for kids, however, and that makes them popular purchases for parents.

Lawn Ornaments can transform an uninteresting lawn into a place that is vibrant and alive. All it takes is to follow some decoration tips on how to transform your lawn and make it another focal point in your home.

Choose Ornaments Designed to Transform Your Space

To create a really warn and inviting place for your family and for your friends, you must choose decor that produces a great feeling. The first thing to do before buying ornaments is to think of a theme and stick with that theme. If you are looking to create a warm space, choose ornaments with warm colors. If you are looking to create a vibrant space, fill your outdoors with ornaments that has lots of colors. Just make sure that you use the same color schemes or otherwise your lawn will look disorganized. Generally, just make sure that your ornaments will enhance the environment and not overpower it.

Choose According to Your Function

If your goal is to create a more inviting space for your guests you must choose ornaments for your lawn and decorations that would support your purpose. Try to create a space where your guests can enjoy the outdoors. Try adding a small water fountain or anything of that sort. The decorations and ornaments should be warm and inviting. If you want to go with simplicity then just decorate sparsely and according to your preference.

Choose Ornaments That Are Unique

One of the goals of decorating your home is to have fun. What is the use of decorating if it feels like a chore? Try to be as creative as possible. Choose lawn ornaments that are unique and pleasing to the eye. Try a decor that easily catches one's attention. Be bold and be daring but at the same time continue to follow your theme to create a unified look.

Choose Ornaments that can be Used for Specific Occasions

Ornaments can be changed as often as you like. It really depends on you. During Halloween, you can change your ornaments to match the occasion. Have some scary gnomes or anything of that sort. Similarly, if it is Christmas have some lawn ornaments that have Christmas themes like a Santa Claus statue, an elf or a reindeer statue. Just be creative. There are many ornaments to choose from that would fit any occasion.

Choose Ornaments with a Dual Purpose

The ornaments in your home need not be for the eyes only. It could also serve some function. For example try something like a bird bath that has some decorative function but at the same time it also creates an inviting space for birds.

Your lawn shouldn't just be a boring place. See to it that you take the effort to make your lawn as beautiful as the interiors of your house. After all, your lawn is another part of your home. By choosing the right lawn ornaments, you can transform your lawn into a place that is inviting, interesting and fun.