HIGHLIGHTS
May 2014 Newsletter
CENTRAL KENTUCKY’S WATER SOLUTIONS COMPANY FOR MORE THAN 30 YEARS
Wilmore 859-858-4407 • London 606-864-7508 • Richmond 859-623-4700 • find us at www.highbridgesprings.com
SPRINGTIME IN KENTUCKY
TIME TO REACH FOR
YOUR GARDEN TOOLS
The latest from Paul Jones, host of Gardening by the Yard
• To remove the salt deposits that form on clay pots, combine equal parts
white vinegar, rubbing alcohol and water in a spray bottle. Apply the mixture to the pot and scrub with a plastic brush. Let the pot dry before you
plant anything in it.
FROM THE
PRESIDENT’S DESK
EXTRA DELIVERIES
W
hen it comes to water route
deliveries there is only one
perfect month left in 2014. By perfect we mean a month with only
one visit to each route.
To explain:
Most months of the year
because they are more than 28 days,
will have more than one visit to a
given stop on a route. April for
example, starts and ends with the
same two route days. The lone
remaining exception in 2014 is
November, as the calendar shows it
has four very nice and neat weeks of
water delivery routes tucked into its
30 days.
The reason for bringing this up
is to try and help our customers
understand why we bill them for
two deliveries in some months. The
simple answer is that every month
we go to one, or two, or three route
stops more than once. It goes on
(continued on back)
• Turn a long-handled tool into a measuring stick! Lay a long-handled
garden tool on the ground, and next to it place a tape measure. Using a
permanent marker, write inch and foot marks on the handle. When you
need to space plants a certain distance apart (from just an inch to several
feet) you'll already have a measuring device in your hand.
• To have garden twine handy when you need it, just stick a ball of twine
in a small clay pot, pull the end of the twine through the drainage hole,
and set the pot upside down in the garden. Do that, and you'll never go
looking for twine again.
• Little clay pots make great cloches for protecting young plants from sudden, overnight frosts and freezes.
• To turn a clay pot into a hose guide, just stab a roughly one-foot length
of steel reinforcing bar into the ground at the corner of a bed and slip two
clay pots over it: one facing down, the other facing up. The guides will
prevent damage to your plants as you drag the hose along the bed.
• To create perfectly natural markers, write the names of plants (using a
permanent marker) on the flat faces of stones of various sizes and place
them at or near the base of your plants.
• The next time you boil or steam vegetables, don't pour the water down
the drain, use it to water potted patio plants, and you'll be amazed at how
the plants respond to the "vegetable soup."
• Use leftover tea and coffee grounds to acidify the soil of acid-loving
plants such as azaleas, rhododendrons, camellias, gardenias and even blueberries. A light sprinkling of about one-quarter of an inch applied once a
month will keep the pH of the soil on the acidic side.
Caution: Along with beautiful colors and fresh scents, spring also
can bring unwelcome weather and allergies. See back.
The Other Side of Spring
PAY ATTENTION TO WEATHER, ALLERGENS
A
CHOO! It is that time of year when pollens predominate most everywhere, and Kentucky is no
exception. In fact, the 12th annual "Spring Allergy Capitals" report was released this month by the
Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA), and for the third time in the report's history, our
big neighbor Louisville, was ranked number one (up from fifth place last year).
"We should point out that even Colorado Springs, Colorado, which came in last at 100, is considered bad for allergies," noted Mike Tringale, Senior Vice President of External Affairs for AAFA.
The factors that go into the rankings are the area's pollen score, allergy medicine utilization and the
number of board-certified allergists.
W
HOOSH! Springtime often means tornado time, and that is something of which everyone needs
to be aware. Tornadoes are violent by nature. They are capable of completely destroying wellmade structures, uprooting trees and hurling objects through the air like deadly missiles. Kentuckians
know well the havoc these spring twisters can bring. Most weather stations do a good job of keeping listeners informed and it is useful to understand the terminology.
Tornado Watch - Tornadoes are possible in and near the watch area.Be ready to act quickly if a warning is issued or you suspect a tornado is approaching.
Tornado Warning - A tornado has been sighted or indicated by weather radar. Tornado warnings
indicate imminent danger to life and property.
FROM THE PRESIDENT’S DESK
(continued from front)
like this throughout the year –
except in November this year.
Some of our customers think we
are double billing them - and we are
- but only if we deliver twice. It happens almost every month but it
doesn’t happen to the same route
stop or to the same customers every
month – thank goodness.
The normal delivery schedule is
every four weeks, not once a month,
and sometimes there will be two
deliveries in one month. So if the
monthly charges are higher in a certain month check to see if your regular four-week delivery happened to
fall twice in that month.
//////////
With warm weather around the
corner—we hope!—Highbridge is
pleased to help our customers prepare for the summer.
Buy four cases of 12 oz. or 16.9 oz.
and get a fifth case FREE.
Now I think that is real COOL.
But you must act soon, as the offer
expires June 15.
Linda Slagel
Drips and Drops
Clever Little Trick . . .
This really works! Reuse your Highbridge water bottle as a no-drip
watering can. What you'll need:
• A lighter or matches
• Needles
• An empty, clean Highbridge water bottle
Heat the end of the needle and poke it through the
lid of the jug multiple times. You can vary the pressure of the water by using different sizes of needles.
Watch your fingers! You can heat the needle again
to remove any remaining plastic residue.
The Healthy Consumer Choice
The International Bottled Water Association points out that “In
today’s on-the-go society, most of what we drink comes in a package.
Consumers choose bottled water for several reasons, including its refreshing
taste, reliable quality, zero calories and additives, and convenience.”
Importantly, it notes the fact that since 1998, approximately 73 percent
of the growth in bottled water consumption has come from people switching from carbonated soft drinks, juices, and milk to bottled water.
What better evidence could one cite to support the idea that citizens,
and not their rulemakers, can usually be expected to act in their own best
interests when considering something as basic as liquid intake.
A Reminder to Think Local First
and Buy Local When You Can.
It Helps Us All