Sometimes the only time we have to enjoy our gardens and landscapes is after dark. So it only makes intelligence that we will unite that wish with the concept of outdoor lighting, particularly when you think the ease and low cost of installing a system yourself.

Outdoor illumination today is much more than a motion-activated highlight or lighting burning brightly by your front door. Carefully chosen lighting could make atmosphere by accenting your garden or drawing notice to a special tree or feature.

Besides the aesthetic benefits, lighting a dark space is one of the mainly important deterrents in keeping possible burglars and vandals away, illuminating potentially dangerous areas for visiting family and friends and, overall, making your goods safe and secure for all.

Cocoa Beach, FL — The Cocoa Beach Holiday Inn and the Brevard County Natural Resources Management Office would be holding a sea turtle friendly outdoor lighting workshop on Saturday morning (7/15) from 9:00am until 1:00pm 

Residents within 3 blocks of the beach, beachside builders & electrical contractors, beach side property managers and the universal public are all invited to study about the devastating effects that indecent outdoor lighting (light pollution) has on sea turtle populations. Sea Turtle populations are in decline throughout the United States. All species that reside in Florida waters are either threatened or endangered. 

Light pollution is a major contributing issue according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Attendees at the sea turtle friendly outdoor lighting workshop would learn how to securely light properties near sensitive coastal areas using turtle friendly outdoor lighting products that have a minimal impact on surrounding wildlife. The Turtle Friendly Outdoor Lighting Workshop would be presented by State of Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) lighting experts Dean Gallagher & Meghan Conti and U.S. Fish & Wildlife (FWS) lighting expert Lorna Patrick. Turtle friendly outdoor lighting specialists, Starry Night Lights founder and president, Anthony Arrigo would be on-hand to discuss his industry leading collection of turtle friendly outdoor lighting solutions. Call (321) 633-2016 ext. 52431 or email for more information. 

• The grill is always the center of mind in any indoor or outdoor kitchen, so it’s best to place your grill downwind, far from the nearest door to the house. This would keep smoke away from your house. Keep a clear path to the fridge for quick, easy trips. 

• Be weather-aware. Grills might be building to withstand weather, but not all you need for your outdoor kitchen would be. Use only appliances and electrical fixtures built for outdoor use, and use-weather-resistant building materials. 

• Determine how frequently you plan to have gatherings so you could decide how much to spend on your outdoor kitchen. Quality gas grills could go for less than $500 or as much as thousands of dollars. Choose what’s right for you. 

• Do not get caught in the dark (or left out in the cold). In addition to lighting your kitchen work space, brighten up the backyard as well. Refer to outdoor-lighting ratings and lighting plans to get it right. Stay warm on cold nights with a patio heater.

Six teenagers were struck by lightning and killed while listened to radio commentary of a World Cup soccer match, officials in India said today. 

Seven soccer fans were group around a radio in their hut listening as Argentina beat Serbia-Montenegro 6-0 on Friday.But a massive thunder-storm began and a bolt of lightning hit the tin roof of the hut in the isolated village of Kesar in West Bengal state, said Pravat Misra, the district magistrate. 

All seven were banged unconscious and six died on the way to hospital. The condition of the existing teenager was not immediately known. 

GAITHERSBURG — California residents adore their sun and every year when June rolls around they get a bit cranky! June gloom is a weather model of warm, inland air clashing with the cold Pacific; make a marine layer that usually lasts all day. Gloomy days upset people’s interior body clocks and could rob people of their energy, enthusiasm, appetite control, and sex drive. Scientists have found that light is the major synchronizer of your inner body clock. Exposure to sunlight or to non-natural light of sufficient brightness within fifteen minutes of awakening could aid in anchoring daily (circadian) rhythms, and may help people feel better. The light, transmitted through the eyes, sends desires to the tiny cluster of brain cells in the pineal gland which function as internal clocks, governing sleep, wakefulness, and mood. Free information is available by calling: Winter Blues Information Network, 1-888-SAD-AWAY (723-2929). For information about light therapy devices,

contact: The Sun Box Company, 19217 Orbit Drive, Gaithersburg, MD, 1-800-LITE-YOU (548-3968), http://www.sunbox.com, e-mail: sunbox@aol.com.

Entertaining moves outdoors as the period serves up balmy nights that attract guests onto the patio or deck. 

If you’re setting the stage for an outdoor soirée, plan to create lighting a focal point. Illuminating an outdoor space has the sensible advantage of lighting the way so guests don’t topple into the shrubbery, plus it could add a magical effect to your party. 

A lucky few have outdoor lights hard-wired into their scenery. For the rest, outdoor lighting could be challenging. Kris Bohmker loves outdoor gatherings, but her multilevel deck in Overland Park could be treacherous in the dark. 

“Instead of huddling under the porch light, I use ambient lighting all around the deck so I could use my whole space for entertaining,” Bohmker says. “Plus, it’s so romantic to look out over a candlelit garden.” 

Using candles and other provisional lighting sources, Bohmker creates enchanting outdoor environments. Guests are welcomed to her home by candles that float in the birdbath near the face door. Bohmker scrubs the birdbath, and then adds fresh water and a dozen floating candles that are inexpensive and obtainable in a variety of shapes and colors. Bohmker favors white flower-shaped candles because “they look like gardenias.” 

The same motif could be carried through to dining and seating areas. Bohmker fills large, clear glass bowls with water, and then adds a drop of food complexion and color-coordinated floating candles. This functions as a showpiece on the dining or buffet table. 

Bohmker also lights the method with an outdoor chandelier. She exposed out the wiring of a cast-off brass chandelier, spray-painted it flat black and stuck candles in the aged sockets. Hanging among tree branches, the result is that of a custom-made wrought iron fixture. A strategically positioned mirror hung behind the glowing candles reflects light and creates drama.

With spring lastly bringing warmer weather, some of us are preliminary to dust off the patio furniture and think concerning outdoor entertaining.

It’s a good time to think regarding outdoor lighting, as well. In fact, many of the same principles after great lighting for dining rooms could be applied to porches, decks, patios and verandas.

If you have an umbrella table, the options include tiny lights that attach to the spokes of the umbrella and larger lights (some of them solar) that attach to the pole and could shine up or down.

If you don’t have an umbrella,” says Moran, “there are bell-shaped lanterns, made of Sunbrella fabric, that are on a pole that goes up during the hole in the table.”

Another possibility for lighting up an umbrella: Pottery Barn’s beautifully patterned battery-operated paper lanterns ($14 in red or blue).

Strings of outdoor lights are an easy way to make glow. The options these days go far further than the typical Christmas-light or Chinese-lantern look and include lights shaped like dragonflies and even tiny crystal balls, Moran says.

Have a structure you could hang something a bit heavier from? Think about a chandelier-like wrought-iron fixture meant to hold candles.

Or, to cast warm candlelight on a table, there are votive holders intended to shield flame from the wind.

And there are all kinds of lanterns that can hang or sit on a table,” Moran says. (Pottery Barn has a great looking “Malta” lantern, in four colors, meant to hold a fat pillar candle. It costs $29.)

To bring extra pizzazz to an outdoor dining space, Moran suggests those backyard staples of 1950s cookouts: tiki torches, but not the cheesy bamboo models.

“We have torches made of solid copper that make an absolutely beautiful statement,” she says. “And they last forever.”

Make sure that mosquitoes are the only things, which get zapped in your backyard this summer.

Homeowners are using additional electrical appliances outdoors.Tiki torches, foam coolers and charcoal grills are life form replaced by table lamps, refrigerators, fans, electric boilers and flat-screen televisions.

About a third of the $220 billion spent on remodeling in 2004 was allocated to outdoor amenities, according to a survey conducted by the Hearth, Patio and Barbecue Association, a trade group.‘‘We’re extending the home into the backyard,” said Angela Mickalide of the Home Safety Council in Washington. ‘‘With that come all the appliances and the power to power them.”

About 240 people are electrocuted at home in the United States each year, she said. Many of persons wounded occur outdoors.People are using more power tools and lighting outdoors. They are creating outdoor living rooms,” said Anne Mayberry, program manager for the Electrical Safety Foundation International in Washington.Electricity is bringing more appliances and conveniences outdoors, but people need to be conscious of the potential hazards that come with it.

Special care should be taken to keep electrical cords, tools and appliances absent from pools, hot tubs, water features and wet surfaces.”Electricity and water just don’t mix,”Mayberry said.Moisture can render indoor appliances dangerous, even in secluded areas such as porches or gazebos.

Dampness is an issue,even in an area enclosed with a roof.The main thing for safety is that people should make sure that the tools and appliances they are by outdoors are manufactured for outdoor use.Extension cords and electric tools and appliances must be plugged into an outlet equipped with a ground-fault interrupter—a device that shuts off the power if current strays beyond the wiring.

All outdoor outlets must be ground-fault protected, she said. They also must be equipped with weatherproof covers.Consumers also are supposed to ensure that the appliances, extension cords and other electrical equipment bear the label of an independent testing group such as Underwriters Laboratories, Mickalide said.Outdoor lighting, hedge trimmers, power washers and electric grills may overload the outdoor circuit and create a fire hazard in the house, Mayberry said.

The below suggestions is given for using chandeliers and pendant lights in your villa:

Ceiling fixtures provide general illumination in a room. Pendants could be used to add light to specific areas, such as a table, kitchen sink or even bar.

In a dining room, the chandelier must be at least 30 inches above the dining room table.(It can go higher, especially if the ceiling is over eight feet in height.) The diameter of the fixture should be 14 inches less than the width of the table.

In other rooms, the correct size of the chandelier could be determined by adding the length and width of the room. The sum of those two numbers is the diameter, in inches, of the fixture you need. (For example, in a space that’s 15 feet by 25 feet, you’d look for a chandelier that has a diameter of about 35 inches.)

Consider proportion as well as standard formulas when you’re actually deciding on the size of a fixture.

For example, a chandelier selected based on dimensions of an average-size room might look too small if it’s hanging over massive furniture.

Fixtures don’t have to match throughout the house. Nor do they have to match the exterior style of the house.

New council powers to crack down on environmental crimes and anti-social behavior such as graffiti, fly-tipping and fly-posting are coming up to the force.

Measures under the Clean Neighborhoods and Environment Act 2005 allows the local authorities in England and Wales to issue £80 on-the-spot fines.

Obtrusive lighting