backyard

Eco-friendly, inlaw-friendly homes (video)

To home builder Kevin Casey's way of thinking, you shouldn't have to venture over the river and through the woods to get to grandmother's house. You should only have to walk across the back yard.

New Avenue Homes founder Kevin Casey is rethinking how we live by focusing on multi-generational living, where grandparents, parents, and kids share one piece of land with two homes on it. His company builds eco-friendly backyard cottages that are meant for the grandparents. SmartPlanet visits Casey on one of his construction projects in Orinda, Calif.

This video originally appeared on SmartPlanet with … Read more

As alternative energy grows, NIMBY turns green

Painting the Golden Gate Bridge yellow might cause less fuss than trying to install a wind farm off Cape Cod's historic coast.

But when you're trying to build where the wind is strongest or the sun is brightest, you never know what obstacles you may run into.

In Massachusetts, a proposed wind farm called Cape Wind was dealt a blow last Friday that will delay what would be the first offshore wind farm in the U.S. The Massachusetts Historical Commission agreed with local Indian tribes who claim that the location for the wind farm should be considered … Read more

Something for everybody with Weber Summit Grill

Everybody loves a backyard barbecue get-together. Having fun with friends and family only gets better when a grill is involved, Besides the enjoyment of spending time with the people you care about, a backyard barbecue offers the rare opportunity for everybody to eat exactly what they want. If somebody wants chicken, they simply throw it on the grill. The same goes for those who want burgers, steaks, or veggie burgers. No other form of social food gathering offers quite the individuality that cooking with a grill can provide.

Weber takes things one step further by offering the versatile Summit S-470 Gas Grill. … Read more

Rule the swamp with a scary, solar-powered alligator

When I was a kid, my family put a life-size plastic owl near our house to keep birds and squirrels away from the porch. (At least, I think that's why they had a life-size plastic owl near our house.) Unfortunately, I don't think it worked all that well, because last I heard, the cat had mauled it and thrown it into the hedge. I suppose it really wasn't that scary.

Consequently, the next time I'm desperate to scare away animals, small children, or the IRS, I'm going to get one of these instead. Because this … Read more