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Study Your Yard’s Sunlight Get started by recording how much sunlight your yard receives over time. Assess light patterns every hour or two throughout the course of a day, noting where shadows fall and for how long. Keep in mind that in spring, bare-branched trees may give the illusion of sunny spots beneath, but once they leaf out, they often create heavy shade during summer and into fall. Buildings and walls also cast shadows; consider those structures as you plot the sun’s path over your patch of earth....

It is also possible that your tree has apple scab – a fungal disease common on apple and crabapple trees that is ugly and prevalent in many parts of the country. Humid, rainy, and warm spring weather promote the growth of the fungus, which begins as olive green spots on the foliage. The spots soon turn black, elongate, and develop a velvety appearance. In midsummer, the leaves turn yellow and drop, leaving an unsightly skeleton of a once-lovely tree....

Until a few days ago, I’d never had a Florentine cookie that wasn’t store-bought. Then I saw an episode of The Great British Bake Off that featured Florentine cookies as the signature challenge during “Biscuit Week.” Watching the bakers create those delicate Florentine cookies (the British call them Florentine biscuits) looked difficult, yet I was intrigued by the process. Turns out, fans of the show were also curious. In addition to “florentine cookie,” terms like “florentine biscuit” and “what is a florentine biscuit” gained a lot of traction (+1000% for some) in Google Trends after the episode....

Step 1: Attach Jack Roof jacks provide a stable surface to work, increasing safety and making it easier to apply roofing. Ideally, locate a rafter below the sheathing. (You can usually feel sheathing nails, which are driven into rafters through the underlayment.) Attach a jack by driving two 16d nails (never roofing nails) into a rafter. Step 2: Secure Plank Slip whichever size board—usually a 2x8-inch or 2x10-inch—will fit snugly into the jacks....

The monstera, as it’s often called, is tropically native to Mexico, where it’s mainly prized for its fruit (hence the scientific name). But it also thrives as a houseplant: It doesn’t need much water, tolerates medium amounts of sunlight, and can grow impressively large. This is also a plant with a wide variety of names, many referring to its tasty fruit (“fruit salad plant,” “monster fruit”) and some to its leaves....

First, let’s start with what it is: chicory is the root of a blue-flowering perennial plant in the dandelion family. Some varieties produce leafy lettuces (aka chicories) such as radicchio, escarole, or frisée we commonly eat in spring mix salads. Historically, the industry around the chicory root began in Europe in the early 19th century when it was used as an extender to make coffee last longer. Around the Civil War, shipments of coffee in the United States were low due to Union naval blockades cutting off the port of New Orleans, and chicory worked in a pinch....

1 pound butter, cut into chunks and softened 1 ⅓ cup sugar 1 teaspoon salt 2 egg whites 1 tablespoon vanilla 4 cup all-purpose flour

Wrap the semicircular chicken wire around the frame, bending and squeezing the wire to fit snugly on the frame to form the top. Cut away excess wire and use needle-nose pliers to wrap cut ends around the chicken wire. Wrap the length of chicken wire loosely around the pot, forming a cylinder for the cloche bottom. Use needle-nose pliers to wrap any cut ends of the wire around the adjoining chicken wire....

I was blissfully unaware that people are going to bed sans sheet until my co-worker recently told me she doesn’t use one. In the winter, she uses a duvet, and in the summer, she just snuggles up with a blanket. I thought she was an anomaly until I read a survey from the bedding company Casper. According to the results, the majority of people don’t use a top sheet, and there’s a significant generational difference as to who uses one....

To Store: Layer unfrosted cookies between sheets of waxed paper in an airtight container; cover. Store at room temperature for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

Here, we’ll present the basic steps involved in the project. For more specific instructions, be sure to read the directions packaged with your fan. Editor’s Tip: To keep your family comfortable and energy costs low, set your fan to spin counterclockwise in the summer and clockwise in the winter. We all know how fans cool off rooms in the summer, but the clockwise motion in the winter makes cool air rise and redistributes warm air....

First consider your construction options: The beam can be a single piece of lumber, a built-up piece with or without spacers, or two pieces of lumber fastened to the sides of the posts. Local codes may help you narrow your options. Some localities consider a beam with spacers stronger than a single board, and others don’t. After code compliance your chief concern is how much the beam will show (and therefore how you want it to look) and the amount of space your plan allows for it....