Arts and Recreation

Coming Up at Nova Arts in Keene

Friday, April 10, Owsley's Owls!

Photo courtesy of Nova Arta

Then on Friday, April 10, Nova Arts presents Owsley's Owls Play the Grateful Dead. Join us for a double-dipped dose of Grateful Dead music as Owsley's Owls bring the iconic sound to life with both reverence and energy.

Featuring special guest Dave Rubin of Diamond Blues, the night promises a dynamic blend of psychedelic rock and blues influences. Together, these artists create an immersive live music experience that celebrates the enduring spirit of the Grateful Dead.

Doors open at 7:00 p.m. and music begins at 7:30 p.m.!

Access For All tickets available thanks to support from Savings Bank of Walpole. (Note: To purchase more than one Access For All ticket, each must be done in a separate transaction.)

Shows are all ages and seating is first come first served.

Tickets and more info available at www.novaarts.org/events

Nova Arts is located at 48 Emerald St, Keene, NH.

Financial Focus®

Ease the squeeze on your retirement income plan

Rising prices may not dominate headlines the way they did a year or two ago, but if you're retired, you're probably still feeling them. Even when overall inflation cools, the costliest expenses--like health care, utilities, insurance and property taxes--tend to rise faster than broad inflation numbers suggest. That creates a squeeze that can make you question whether your income plan is built to last.

Fortunately, you often can adjust without drastic cuts that affect your lifestyle. Start by understanding where the pressure comes from and how to build more flexibility into your plan.

Inflation hits retirees differently. You've likely noticed your grocery bill, prescription drug costs and heating expenses haven't returned to "normal." Even small increases compound over time and can chip away at your buying power.

If your income plan was created years ago, it may assume lower inflation or relatively stable price increases over time. Recent years have shown that's not always the case.

Why some income plans feel strained. Any plan relying on fixed withdrawals or rigid budgets can feel tight when living costs rise. If you're drawing from investments, you may hesitate to increase your withdrawals because of market volatility. And if you depend on fixed income sources like Social Security or a pension, yearly cost-of-living increases may not keep pace with your expenses. You might live 25 to 35 years in retirement, giving small annual cost increases decades to add up.

What you can do without sacrificing stability. A few adjustments can help you stay ahead of rising costs and maintain your financial confidence.

First, review your withdrawal strategy. Ask your financial advisor about flexible approaches that increase income when markets and portfolios perform well and pull back during tougher times. This protects your long-term plan with room to respond to rising prices.

Next, rebalance your portfolio. You may uncover opportunities to shift toward investments with more consistent income or better tax efficiency. Sometimes a small tweak can generate extra cash flow without increasing overall risk.

Finally, look at your income sources. You may be less affected by rising costs if you delay taking Social Security, work a part-time job, add inflation-protected bonds or create predictable lifetime income with annuities, if they're appropriate for your situation.

Don't overlook health care: Health care costs often grow faster than general inflation. Medicare premiums and out-of-pocket expenses can rise annually, and the need for long-term care remains a big financial uncertainty for retirees. Building health care-specific inflation into your plan now can help prevent surprises later. Any savings you have in a health savings account can help you cover health care costs. And many pharmaceutical companies offer financial assistance programs to help pay for costlier medications.

Stay flexible and informed: Today's retirements look different from those of even a decade ago. The key is staying flexible, reviewing your plan regularly and making small adjustments before pressure builds. A financial advisor can help you find the right approach to navigating rising costs without disrupting the life you've worked hard to build.

Gardening

Evergreen Selection, Planting and Care

Evergreens with interesting form and texture can serve as a focal point in garden beds.
Photo courtesy of MelindaMyers.com

by Melinda Myers
Screen unwanted views, buffer traffic and other noise, create privacy and add year-round beauty to the landscape with evergreens. Combine them with deciduous trees and shrubs, perennials and annuals for multiple seasons of beauty. Plus, enjoy the seasonal changes as well as visiting pollinators and songbirds.

Use taller evergreens as a backdrop for flowering plants. Their green foliage provides a beautiful backdrop for flowers and fruit-laden plants, ornamental grasses, and fall color. Create a focal point or vertical interest in a garden bed or landscape with evergreens that feature interesting form or texture. Group several together to provide songbirds with shelter and a safe place to raise their young.

Don't let a lack of space deter the planting of evergreens. Dwarf varieties are perfect for smaller landscapes and planting beds. Combine these with other small-scale shrubs, perennials and groundcovers for additional seasonal interest.

As always, match evergreens to the growing conditions and climate. Make sure the plants selected are hardy and will thrive in the sunlight and moisture provided. Junipers are heat and drought tolerant and animals tend to leave them be. Hemlock is one of the few evergreens that tolerates the shade and is available in a variety of sizes and shapes. Give these and other evergreens planted in an exposed location a bit of shelter from winter winds and sun.

Arborvitaes, yews, false cedar (Chamaecyparis) and rhododendrons are some of the favorite evergreens of gardeners and deer. Protect new plantings by surrounding them with a cylinder of hardware cloth sunk into the ground and at least four feet high. Applying wildlife protection, including repellents, before critters start feeding increases the chance of success. Consider applying an organic rain- and snow-resistant repellent, like Plantskydd (plantskydd.com), at planting. This odor-based repellent helps prevent damage and its rain and snow resistance means it needs to be reapplied less often. Just follow the label directions for the most effective control.

Make sure new plantings receive sufficient moisture during the first few years as they become established. Apply enough water to moisten the top 12 inches of soil when the top four to six inches feel dry. Individual trees need 10 gallons of water for every inch diameter of trunk measured at 4.5' high. Apply the water to the area under the dripline and several feet beyond for evergreens.

Spread a one- to three-inch layer of woodchips, shredded bark, leaves or evergreen needles over the soil surface. The finer the mulch material, the thinner the layer needed. Pull the mulch away from tree trunks and stems of shrubs, perennials and annuals. Organic mulches insulate plant roots from temperature extremes, conserve moisture, suppress weeds during the growing season and improve the soil as it breaks down.

Winter preparation starts at planting and continues into fall and even winter in milder parts of the country. Evergreens continue to lose moisture throughout the winter even when the soil is frozen or dry. Continue to water evergreens, moisture-loving plants and new plantings as needed when the temperatures are in the 40s, the soil is dry and not yet frozen or covered with snow.

Investing time in proper plant selection and year-round care will help healthy, attractive evergreens thrive for many years.

Melinda Myers has written over 20 gardening books, including The Midwest Gardener's Handbook, 2nd Edition and Small Space Gardening. She hosts The Great Courses "How to Grow Anything" instant video series and the nationally-syndicated Melinda's Garden Moment radio program. Myers is a columnist and contributing editor for Birds & Blooms magazine and was commissioned by Tree World Plant Care for her expertise to write this article. Myers' website is www.MelindaMyers.com.