8 DIY Backyard Projects To Do Today

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Today I have a treat for you.

Summer is the perfect time to turn your backyard into an oasis of tranquility.

Enjoy today's guest post sent to me by Anna Franco.

8 DIY Backyard Projects To Do Today

Once you have finished cutting the grass with your cordless lawn mower, you might look around and think there are a lot of opportunities to work on enhancing your backyard. The only thing holding you back is that you might not feel ready to tackle a large outdoor project. 

While the big projects can have a major impact, you could plan a variety of smaller projects that will do a lot to upgrade your backyard space. Read on if you are looking for quick DIYs that you can finish in less than a day. Many of these projects are so quick and simple, you could plan to do a few of them the same day.

Garden Bench

As long as you have the right tools and some wood, you can build a DIY garden bench in just a few hours. A good bench can enhance the décor in your backyard and it can offer a comfortable place to sit as you enjoy your garden.

Hummingbird Feeder

A DIY hummingbird feeder is a simple DIY project that almost any person can do. Once you have it finished, it is easy to make hummingbird nectar with a little bit of water and sugar.

Window Box

Window boxes are inexpensive and easy to build. Put one on any window and you can add space for growing flowers, herbs or vegetables.

Pallet Garden

Wood pallets can be repurposed for all sorts of projects. With a little bit of work, you can turn an old pallet into a vertical garden.

Bird Bath

A birdbath can be nice for attracting a wide range of birds to your backyard. Instead of buying one, you can find free birdbath plans online. Many of these plans are very simple for a project that can be completed in less than a day.

Rain Barrels

A rain collection barrel can be a nice functional feature to add to your yard. You can set them up to collect water right from the downspouts on your rain gutters, and then you can use the water for your garden. 

Potting Bench

A DIY potting bench can be a useful project for people who like to garden. It will make it easier when you are potting your plants, and this is a project that can easily be finished in one day.

Fire Pit

A DIY fire pit can provide a focal point in the backyard. Not only that, but it can also keep you warm if you want to spend time outside on colder evenings. With just some bricks or cinderblocks, you can have a DIY fire pit finished and ready for use by the end of the day.

3 Truths About Writing

I'm editing my manuscript with the hope of finishing next week so I can send it to the proofreader.

So how about a quote post today?

The general topic is what other authors have said about writing. For non-author readers, this may give you an idea of how we pursue this odd profession.

The writing of fiction is deceptive. It looks easy until you try it! —Jack Bickham

Totally true. If you don't believe me, sit down and try to write a scene about anything with a definite beginning and ending and what happened in between.

There are 3 rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are. —Somerset Maugham

You can laugh, but ask any writer how to write a novel, and you'll get some rambling words about how that particular writer goes about it. Every time I sit down to start a new book, I always wonder if I can write it. (I've written about 25 completes and many partials.)

Patience is the writer's ultimate virtue. Checks are always a month late, contracts take forever, and overnight success takes at least ten years. —Anonymous

In 2011, I went from selling a few copies the first month my first ebook was released to selling thousands every day of the month. I was proclaimed by many bloggers as an overnight success. In my case, overnight success took 18 years.

Takeaway Truth

In case you ever thought about becoming an author, arm yourself with patience and persistence and just write. Every day. If you're reader, not a writer, then give authors some understanding and support. Buy their books and leave reviews on the ones you love. Happy Over-the-Hump Day!

Green Thumb Secrets

I have a lot of pot plants indoors and out. I love my courtyard patio in front because it's so shady and that makes it perfect for several large pot plants including a key lime tree in a giant pot. We pick limes off that tree just about year round.

I've learned a few things about growing potplants from my mom. I thought I'd share a few tips, what I call...

Green Thumb Secrets

1. Most people either over water, or under water. The best way to check is to stick a finger into the soil about an inch down. If it's damp, it needs no water—unless the plant is outside.

2. When that summer heat kicks in, increase the watering for your outdoor pot plants. Even if they're shaded, they still need some extra water because in hot weather, plants give off a lot of moisture that must be replaced. If not, the plant will droop. At worst, it may wither and die.

Part of my front patio

3. When you buy new plants, wait 6 to 8 weeks before feeding them. This will give them a chance to adapt to their new environment.

If you intend for them to live outside under a shade tree, start them there from the get-go. If it's to live indoors, do the same.

Don't keep it in the house then suddenly decide to move it outdoors.

4. Plants breathe through their leaves. If the leaves or dusty, they can't breathe and won't flourish.

One way to quickly clean a plant's leaves is to put it under a shower of lukewarm water. Let it drip-dry thoroughly before putting it back in place.

5. Don't use those so-called leaf polishes because that will clog the pores of the leaves. If you want shiny leaves, rub them gently between your thumb and forefinger. You natural skin oil will polish them.

My next patio tree? Bay Laurel sicne I bay leaves in cooking 

6. Another solution to get shiny leaves is to apply skim milk to the upper surface then wipe it off with a cotton ball. You have to remove the milk before it dries.

7. Hairy-leaved plants can be dusted by rubbing gently with a cotton swab or pipe cleaner.

Takeaway Truth

Do all of this, and you'll have healthy, flourishing plants—able to pass a white-glove test for dust!

Word of the Day: Gloaming

I just finished reading Devoted by Dean Koontz. He's one of my favorite authors because of his use of language.

Although this post isn't precisely a review, I will say I enjoyed the book very much. It had that same touch of magic as Watchers which is a marvelous book.

Sometimes, Mr. Koontz uses descriptive words that aren't ordinarily seen in books or heard in conversation.

In reading Devoted, I thought of words my grandfather used that also aren't used very often in today's world.

One such word was gloaming. It's such a useful  word that perfectly describes that time of day immediately after the sun sets, but before deep darkness descends.

An online source defines gloaming this way:

A poetic word for "twilight," or the time of day immediately after the sun sets, is gloaming. This is a word with a strong Scottish heritage, adopted from Scottish dialect during the Middle Ages and rooted in the Old English word for "twilight," glōm.

My grandfather's ancestry was Scotch-Irish so I'm sure his speech was influenced by his parents and grandparents, etc.

Takeaway Truth

This evening when the sun sets and night is falling, look outside and say: "Let's sit outside in the gloaming and unwind."

Happy Flag Day: Display Days List

Today is Flag Day in the U. S. A., and here's the list of Flag Display Days I promised to post.

You may know someone who has an actual flagpole in their yard on which they raise and lower the flag each day.

If you have a smaller flag, you may wonder when it's correct to display your flag, other than on Flag Day.

These are the standard dates that the flag can be displayed. You can also display it on other days as proclaimed by the President of the United States, and on "birthdays" of states, that is, the date the state was admitted to the Union, and on state holidays.

Flag Display Days

New Year's Day — January 1
Inauguration Day —January 20
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day —3rd Monday in January
Lincoln's Birthday —February 1
Washington's Birthday (Presidents' Day) —3rd Monday in February
Easter Sunday —Date varies each year
National Vietnam War Veterans Day —March 29
Mother's Day —2nd Sunday in May
Peace Officers Memorial Day (fly at half-staff) —May 15
Armed Forces Day —3rd Saturday in May
Memorial Day (half-staff until noon) —last Monday in May
Flag Day —June 14
Father's Day —3rd Sunday in June
Independence Day —July 4
National Korean War Vetrans Armistice Day —July 27
Labor Day —1st Monday in September
Patriot Day and National Day of Service and Remembrance (half-staff) —September 11
POW/MIA Recognition Day —3rd Friday in September
Constitution and Citizenship Day —September 17
Columbus Day —2nd Monday in October
Navy Day — October 27
Veterans Day —November 11
Thanksgiving Day —4th Thursday in November
National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day (half-staff) —December 7
Christmas Day —December 25th

Takeaway Truth

I was surprised by some of these dates. For example, I never thought of flying the flag on Thanksgiving or Christmas Days.

How to Fly the U. S. A. Flag

Tomorrow, June 14, is Flag Day in the U. S. A., and I wonder if you know how to correctly display the U. S. A. flag?

The way you display the flag depends on the size of it.

Some of you—usually proud military veterans or their parents—may have an actual flag pole that, but most have smaller flags.

Whatever size of flag you may own, I hope you feel a surge of pride and patriotism when you display it.

How to Fly the U. S. A. Flag Correctly

1. Never let the flag touch the ground.

2. If you hang the flag horizontally from a pole attached to a building, the stars should always be away from the building.

3. If you fly more than one flag, for instance a state flag and a county flag, the U. S. A. flag should be in the center and higher than the others.

4. The flag should never be tied back or pinned in any way. It should always be allowed to fall free.

5. On Memorial Day, the flag should be displayed at half-staff until noon then raised to the top of the staff.

6. Never fly the flag upside down except as a signal of distress in times of extreme danger to life or property.

7. Never fly the flag in bad weather unless you own an all-weather flag.

8. The flag can be flown every day from sunrise to sunset.

9. The flag can be flown at night if illuminated properly.

Takeaway Truth

Tomorrow, I'll give you a list of Flag Display Days.

Deepfake: Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid

The day has finally arrived when you can't believe what you see on TV.

I read a rather frightening news article and wanted to tell you about it. Have you heard about Deepfakes?

I urge you to read the Deepfakes Are Going To Wreak Havoc On Society by Rob Toews, a Contributor to Forbes in the area of Artificial Intelligence.

As his tagline says, "I write about the big picture of artificial intelligence."

Briefly, the article begins with a description of a State Farm TV commercial that has since become one of the most widely discussed ads in recent memory.

The ad appeared to show footage from 1998 of an ESPN analyst making shockingly accurate predictions about the year 2020.

The truth is, the video clip was NOT genuine. It was generated using cutting-edge AI.

Toews says, "The commercial surprised, amused and delighted viewers. What viewers should have felt, though, was deep concern."

The State Farm ad was an example of a dangerous new phenomenon in Artificial Intelligence called deepfakes.

Deepfake technology can be used by anyone with a computer and an Internet connection to create realistic-looking photos and even videos of people saying and doing things that they did NOT actually say or do.

History of Deepfake

The word, deepfake, is a comibination of phrases, deep learning + fake = deepfake.

They first appeared on the Internet in late 2017 and were powered by an innovative new "deep learning method" called Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs).

Several deepfake videos have gone viral, and you may not even realize you were reacting with outrage at videos that were FAKES!

Examples: President Obama using an expletive to describe President Trump. Never happened.

Mark Zuckerberg admitting Facebook's true goal is to manipulate and exploit its users. Nope. Not real.

Bill Hader morphing into Al Pacino on a late-night talk show. Amusing, but you probably knew that was a result of video graphic technology.

Deepfake content online is growing exponentially. In 2019, there were almost 8,000 deepfake videos online. Nine months later, there were almost 15,000.

An interesting point is that deepfakes were first used in porn. So if you've ever seen a famous person in porn, think again if you believe they were really in a porn video!

How To Tell a Deepfake

Experts say is you look closely, you can tell, but I can't. Can you? Technology is advancing every day so pretty soon, no one will be able to tell.

Do you see the way Deepfakes can divide the country? They could change the outcome of an election. They could conceivably start a war!

The ramifications are frightening. They distort the truth, increase the divide between political groups, and undermine the safety and security of the people and the government.

In the article by Toews, he quotes Hani Farid, one of the world's leading experts on deepfakes: “If we can't believe the videos, the audios, the image, the information that is gleaned from around the world, that is a serious national security risk.”

Please read the article Deepfakes Are Going To Wreak Havoc On Society by Rob Toews.

Takeaway Truth

I can see why the late genius Stephen Hawking said in 2014, "The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race."