Carl Pettit is a writer and editor with interests ranging from international relations and political humor to the arts and modern media.
Carl Pettit
5 Ways to Get Your Kids Excited About the Backyard: Swings, Climbing Walls and More
If you want to get your kids outside, away from their Xbox or Wii, and interested in some of your backyard garden projects, you’ll probably need to be somewhat inventive with your gardening ideas. Pulling weeds and planting flowerbeds just won’t cut it for most of children. Think incentive here.
We have some ideas.
Create a Dog Agility Course in Your Backyard or Garden
Dogs, as the saying goes, are man’s best friend, so it's only right and logical that we might want to spend some quality time with our buds. Walks in the park and tossing the Frisbee on the beach are great, but if you really want to engage the human-canine relationship—and have a really good time while you’re at it—you might want to think about setting up a dog agility course in your backyard or g
4 Creative and Unusual Garden Furniture Ideas You Can Do Yourself
Sure, you could take the easy route and head on over to Ikea or your local lawn-and-garden shop and pick up a few pieces of outdoor furniture for your backyard. But if you really want to impress your friends and indulge your creative flair, you might want to consider some of these more unusual options:
5 Giant Games You Can Build in Your Garden
Sometimes gardens are for growing things, and sometimes gardens are for constructing massive playgrounds for you and your friends.
5 Ways to Mancave Your Garden
You can add a lot more to your backyard garden than border stones, flower beds and creatively shaped patches of lawn. If you really want to transform your outdoor sanctuary into something special, why not turn it into a mancave paradise?
Add an Outdoor Fire Pit to Spruce Up Your New Home
Nothing adds character to your garden—at least in a caveman-like, primordial sense—than an outdoor fire pit. This is an especially good way to add your own personal touch to your new house. It also might just make it the coolest one on the block...
10 Bizarre Thanksgiving Foods: Vegan Turkey, Gravy Soda and More
Bizarre presentation, unusual flavor and the “oddball factor” add new elements to this great tradition. If you're feeling playful and adventurous, you could add a few of these items to your menu.
10 Beautiful Late-Autumn Hiking Destinations
The weather may be getting a bit colder, but that doesn’t mean you have to hang up your hiking boots for the season. You still have plenty of fall left to head out into the countryside for some extended walks through America’s most stunning parks and nature reserves.
10 of the Best Canyoneering Destinations All Over the World
"Canyoning" to the rest of the world, known as "canyoneering" in the United States, is a sport that combines the adventure of rock climbing and bouldering with hiking and orienteering, as well as rappelling, cliff jumping and some very difficult swims.
Sweet Lips, Tennessee — The Real Story Behind the Name
Some towns don’t have a lot going on. They don’t have heavy industry, or Internet startups, or a booming population, or a prime location on a beautiful stretch of beach or a magnificent ski slope. Sweet Lips, Tennessee, may lack these things, but the folks who live there can definitely boast about their town's pretty "sweet" name.