The 29th annual Great Backyard Bird Count, organized by the National Audubon Society, Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Birds Canada, takes place today (Friday, Feb. 13) through Monday, Feb. 16. Participants are asked to count all birds they see or hear in their backyard or anywhere they’d like for as little as 15 minutes (or as long as they wish) on one or more days of the event and report their sightings online at www.birdcount.org.

Dr. Kevin Dillard, certified arborist and Director of Landscape Management at Southern Methodist University, teaches you how to have a beautiful landscape in the shade, including how to analyze your site and choose the best plants for different types of light conditions, such as flowering plants, ground covers and grass. Sponsored by the City of Richardson.

If you’re a participant in Richardson’s recycling program, you may have wondered, “If steel and aluminum cans are acceptable, does that include aerosol cans?” The answer is no, aerosol cans are not acceptable material for Richardson’s curbside recycling program, because of fire danger they create if the can is full or partially full—a danger to staff as well as trucks and equipment.