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Best Binoculars for 2022

Posted on September 2, 2022December 15, 2022 Camille Smith

Whether you’re observing wildlife on the lake, identifying constellations in the night sky, or just getting a close-up view of your surroundings, it’s essential to own a solid pair of binoculars. Depending on the activity, different features will be more important. For example, those interested in astronomy will want to pick binoculars with large objective lenses which produce powerful light-gathering abilities. However, for regular everyday use, you’ll want lighter binoculars with decent magnification. No matter your purpose, we’ve got a recommendation for you! Check out our top five best binoculars for Summer 2022.

Best for Day Hikes

For all those relaxing daytime hikes near your lake house, we recommend the Pentax AD 8 x 25 WP. There is nothing too glamorous about this pair. They’re not designed for serious birding or for examining subjects with precise detail. Rather, their assets are their compactness, waterproof coating, and relative inexpensiveness. They also have a multi-layer coating to ensure maximum light transmission.

Best for Spotting Wildlife

The Swarovski Optik SLC Series is an excellent option for viewing wildlife. At a higher price point, it’s certainly a worthwhile investment. The company that manufactures these binoculars created a signature quality lens called Swarovision, which offers a wider view for better peripheral vision. Another asset of the Swarovski is the sharp color and clear vision — perfect for getting detailed, up-close pictures of the wildlife in your backyard. Built with durable materials, these binoculars are also wear-and-tear resistant, so you can enjoy the views for years to come.

Best for Turbulent Weather

If a little stormy weather doesn’t stop you from looking out at nature, you’ll want to try the Athlon Optics Midas MD. These durable binoculars can sufficiently withstand humidity, dust, and intense weather conditions. Further, its focus dial can adjust reliably across a wide range of depths, allowing for sharp, close-up views. Its advanced coated lenses allow for better light transmission as well. And of course, given its design to withstand less-than-ideal weather circumstances, these binoculars are waterproof.

Best for Stargazing

Admiring the night sky is one of the great perks of owning a lake home. Away from the city, you can find much brighter constellations. For getting an even clearer view, the Canon 10X42L IS WP is a perfect choice. Due to the gyro-stabilization feature, they achieve an anti-wobble effect. According to Space.com’s review, this feature makes you “feel like they’re being held on an invisible tripod.” The downside to these binoculars is their bulkier weight, which is true for most binoculars designed for nighttime use.

Best for Sitting in Nature

For everyday use, the Olympus 10×42 Pro is a great choice for simply observing the natural world around you. Compared to other binoculars, these are relatively compact, lightweight, and versatile. With top-notch high-performance optics, they have amazing close-up abilities. Specifically, you can look at subjects as close as 1.5m away. Further, they’re waterproofed and nitrogen filled which prevents fogging. Although the power isn’t quite as strong as more heavy-duty binoculars, they are perfect for everyday use.

From wildlife to constellations, there’s no shortage of astounding aspects of nature. With these top binoculars for summer 2022, you can get a close-up view of all of it.

5 Reasons Not to Feed Wildlife

Posted on September 4, 2021September 2, 2021 Camille Smith

Photo courtesy of Sheila Fitzgerald via The Bulletin

It’s a quintessential image — a sunny day, a lake full of ducks, and families with children feeding pieces of bread to the animals. This idea may seem completely harmless; after all, the animals are happy, you get closer to nature, so what’s the problem? However, before you toss your leftovers towards the lake, consider these five reasons that feeding wildlife may not be the best idea.

You Could Get Injured

Besides putting up bird feeders during the winter months, you should steer clear of feeding any wildlife. Instead, animals should be observed from a safe distance. This is especially crucial with larger animals with lake habitats such as deer and elk. In 2018, one woman in Cortlandt New York suffered several injuries from attempting to feed a male white-tailed deer. For many of these animals, humans are seen as a threat, and your approaching them with food could provoke a defensive attack. By staying back and watching them, you’re keeping yourself safe and minimizing any disturbance of nature.

Animals Could Get Injured

Besides the risk of human injury, feeding wildlife leaves animals more vulnerable to injury and fatalities as well. In general, animals are most safe in their natural wild habitats where they can steer clear of risks that accompany proximity to humans. One of the biggest risks is roads — one of the major causes of wildlife mortality is being hit by a moving vehicle. When feeding wildlife, many people encourage animals to come close to roads, cross roads, or enter parking lots. Although it’s done under the guise of helping animals, this coercion actually leaves these creatures more exposed to danger.

Human Food Isn’t Healthy For Animals

Many people assume that by feeding wildlife, you’re helping the animals get their nutrients for the day. When animals are used to foraging for food, they might appreciate a nice meal from a human. But while the ducks by the shoreline may look like they’re enjoying those breadcrumbs, their digestive system tells a different story. Animals do not need “people food” to survive, and their bodies aren’t built to absorb it. Over time, this can have disastrous consequences. When animals rely on human food, they might become dependent on people to survive, thus making them more vulnerable to humans in general — including those who mean harm. Their natural fear of people, which often helps them stay alive, should be preserved.

There are Public Health Concerns

Public health concerns are another key reason why you shouldn’t feed wildlife. Although human food is bad for wildlife, animals will tend to gravitate towards the most convenient food source available. If people are readily throwing bread crumbs, animals will follow the source. Over time, large groups of animals will clamor for the next piece of bread, creating “hangout” groups. But when too many animals are in one place, the chances of disease transmission to both humans and other wildlife increases. Plus, the overcrowding and competition for food elevates risk of fighting and injury among the same species.

What Can You Do Instead?

The impulse to feed wildlife makes sense. As nature-lovers, we want to see wildlife up close and in-person. However, there are other ways to have contact with wild animals that don’t cause harm. You could search local animal rehabilitation centers near your lake area. Volunteering is a great way to get involved in helping local species! You can also benefit wildlife by planting native plants in your backyard that fosters the ecosystem. At the end of the day, just remember that wild animals are just that — wild. As such, it’s our job to observe and appreciate them safely from a distance.

Protecting Your Pets: Animal Safety While Showing Your Home

Posted on March 2, 2018June 12, 2018 Staff

Not all loved ones walk on two legs.

In 2017, the ASPCA reported 78 million dogs and 85.8 million cats were owned as pets in the U.S.; and that doesn’t even include the birds, reptiles and a large number of other animal kept by Americans! In fact, nearly 68 percent of the country’s population owns at least one pet.

Just as important as keeping your human family safe, is the safety of your pets, especially when your home is on the market.

Try these expert tips for protecting your pet family members next time your home is being shown.

Stretch their legs

One of the biggest issues with showing a home with pets is the potential for these pets be let loose by mistake, whether from the house or yard.

A way to prevent this from happening is simply to remove your pet from the house while showings are taking place.

For some, this may be as easy as taking the dog for a walk around the neighborhood, if not with you, then with a neighbor or trusted friend.

The average showing takes about 30 minutes to complete.

This is plenty of time for you and your fur baby to stretch your legs and take in the scenic views of your lake while potential buyers check out your home.

This is also a great time to take your pup to the dog park, where he or she can run and play with other dogs instead of going on a solitary outing.

Your pet will be happy for the exercise, and your potential buyers will be happy to tour your home without distraction.

Post Friendly Reminders

For others, like cat, bird and reptile owners, going for a walk isn’t really practical.

Cat owners especially experience pet safety problems when showing their homes because doors are not always closed in a timely manner.

An easy way to ensure your cat doesn’t get let outside is to post signs on all the doors, kindly reminding guests that the cat is not to be let out.

These reminders should be easily read and featured at eye level on the backs of front, rear and garage doors. Reminders should also be posted on the front side of each of these doors.

By doing this, potential buyers and agents are kept mindful of your pet’s presence and well-being.

Additionally, reminders can be hung from bird, reptile and small mammal cages.

Though it is unlikely that someone would willingly open one of these, accidents do happen. Having reminders placed where they can be seen easily will also serve to keep guests aware of your animals’ safety.

Crate or Relocate

Some smaller dogs and cats can be crated while a home is being shown.

If going with this option, it may be beneficial to put the crate in a less trafficked area like a bathroom, guest bedroom, or garage.

In these areas, your pet is less likely to experience any undue stress or disruption. It may be a good idea to also cover crates or carriers with a blanket or something similar.

Additionally, posting a note on the cage or carrier asking potential buyers and agents to not disturb the animal will help keep your pet from unnecessary handling or attention.

It is also a good idea to let guests know that an animal is being kept in a certain area of the house.

This can be achieved by alerting the showing agent prior to the showing, putting a note on the front door of the house or by putting a sign in the area of the house where the pet is being kept.

For larger animals, animals with particularly strong odors or animals who make a lot of noise it is best to relocate while a home is being shown.

One potential solution is to enlist the help of a friend, family member or neighbor.

While the house is on the market, your fur, feather and scaly babies can stay with these people at their homes and in their care.

By leaving your pet in the care of someone you know, you can ensure they are properly taken care of, and most importantly loved.

Pet-cation

If finding someone you know to take care of them is not possible, there is still one last, more unfavorable option, and that is sending your animal family member on a vacation.

While it is certainly difficult to be apart from your pet for any extended period of time, for some, this is the best option.

Sellers who utilize this option include those who travel a lot for work, who are temporarily residing elsewhere while their home is on the market, and for sellers who are vacationing outside the state or country.

There are many animal resorts and spas your pet can enjoy. These facilities offer short and long-term boarding, pet grooming and other pet care services.

If you decide this is the best option for you and your pet, be sure to do your research about the best facilities in your area and any boarding requirements they may have.

For more tips, look to this expert list of things you should do before you board.

Paws, and Review

A few final things to consider when showing a home with pets include not keeping animals outside, chained up, or loose in the home or garage.

No matter the option you think is right for you, at the end of the day, your pets’ safety, happiness and well being is what matters most.

For more Lake Homes Realty pet news, feel free to read our Pet Travel, Invisible Fence and Must-Have Dog Toys articles.