Mass. Law has changed its regulations regarding smoke detectors, so in order to keep you and your family as safe as possible… Any battery-operated smoke detectors that no longer work or are older than 10 years must be replaced with detectors with 10-year batteries. The batteries are non-removable and non-replaceable. The locations of the detectors remain the same, go online, call your local fire department, or call me for placement. However, please don't assume that the batteries will last 10 years; they might not even work for one day, as I discovered a few weeks ago after buying several of the Kidde brand at Home Depot for a smoke inspection at one of my listings. Please test the batteries regularly; they won't warn you that they're getting old by "chirping."

Another reminder about English ivy, an invasive species, which strangles and kills trees. It's our local kudzu, all too evident in Cambridge, Belmont and Somerville, taking over gardens and climbing trees. At the beginning of the climb, the roots can be pulled from the trees; once securely attached to the tree or wedged within the interstices of the trunk, the roots of the plant need to be sawed to destroy it.