A home listed by Full Circle Agent Michael Littleton is featured in The New York Times today in a story for their Real Estate section called, "What you get for...$210,000."

The article gives a snapshot of what you can get for that price in a few cities across the country. Click HERE to check it out!

Posted by Katie Throne

Full Circle

     It certainly doesn't look like the thermometer is going to drop around here anytime soon. If you're like me, you're thinking about how this early heat wave is going to affect your electric bill. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Energy Star program offers low to no-cost energy-efficient cooling tips to beat the heat. A typical household spends almost 20 percent of its utility bill on cooling, and by taking steps this summer to improve energy efficiency, you can save energy, save money and help fight climate change.

Try these simple tips to start saving today:

No-Cost

•  Program your thermostat to work around your family’s summer schedule—set it a few degrees higher (such as 78 degrees) when no one is home, so your cooling system isn’t cooling an empty house. With proper use, programmable thermostats can save you about $180 a year in energy costs.

• Check your HVAC system’s air filter every month. If the filter looks dirty, change it, but change the filter at least every three months. A dirty filter will slow air flow and make the system work harder to keep you cool, wasting energy.

• Run your ceiling fan to create a cool breeze. If you raise your thermostat by only two degrees and use your ceiling fan, you can lower cooling costs by up to 14 percent. Remember that ceiling fans cool you, not the room, so when you leave the room make sure to turn off the fan.

•  Pull the curtains and shades closed before you leave your home to keep the sun’s rays from overheating the interior of your home. If you can, move container trees and plants in front of sun-exposed windows to serve as shade.

Posted by Katie Throne

Energy | Heat | Tips | Budget

While reading the depressing daily reports on the worst oil spill in our nation's history, I found a heartwarming story about a young New York artist inspired by John James Audubon to help save the Gulf birds.

Olivia Bouler, 11, has already helped to raise more than $70,000 to protect whooping cranes and other birds who are threatened by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

A budding orinthologist who already knows she wants to study at Cornell University, Olivia was shaken by the growing disaster and wanted to do something. So she wrote a letter to the National Audubon Society and told them she had one skill to offer: drawing. “Eleven years old and willing to help,” she wrote.

Olivia is drawing birds and sending one rendering to every person who donates to oil relief efforts through the society. Learning of her effort, AOL donated $25,000 in her name to the Audubon Society and offered to host her portfolio at a site it maintains for artists. Cont...

Posted by Katie Throne

Gulf | Oil | Artist

The Barber Street Park Project is almost ready to move on to the design phase. Volunteers have explored and documented the site, and now have a good sense of the design challenges ahead. But there's a little work from the initial clearing phase to finish up, and this mostly involves removing a large pile of bush honeysuckle that was generated during the first two volunteer works days.

Project leaders are looking for volunteers to help them move the bush honeysuckle pile at the Barber St. site this Sat. June 12 from 10am to 2pm. Other touch-up work includes keeping paths clear of vines. Some trash pick-up may also be necessary.

The Barber Street Park Project is a volunteer effort to design and build a neighborhood park here in Athens on an empty lot on Barber Street. Located at the top of Boulevard, the site is well positioned to serve as a neighborhood focal point and could easily be integrated into a future greenway network and/or a rails-to-trails project.

For more info about this project and to find out how you can get involved, check out Dan Lorentz's great blog HERE.

Posted by Katie Throne

Boulevard | Athens | Park

We are proud to announce our sponsorship of the Athens Farmers Market this year. The Market is an organization of local farmers, craftspeople and volunteers working to make local naturally grown food, crafts and works of art available for the good of all.

Make sure you visit the Market, located at Bishop Park, Saturday mornings from 8am to Noon. Click HERE for more information, including a list of what will be available each week. You'll also see a link to the Market website at the bottom of our homepage.

Go get your veggies and support our local farmers!

Posted by Katie Throne

Athens | Food | Sustainable