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Today (June 1st) marks the beginning of hurricane season, which typically lasts through November 30th. Having lived in Florida for three decades, particularly through the record-breaking 2005 season, The Daily Kool family recognizes how nerve-racking this time of year can be. Anyone who has experienced the devastation from category 5 hurricanes like Andrew (1992), Katrina (2005) and Ike (2008) can attest to the importance of preparation this time of year.

Dream Home 2013 in Front Yard is house with classic Low Country style and reflects the natural surroundings; 90 percent of species are native to Kiawah and the South Carolina coastal region. For The home's gable ends feature long overhangs to provide shade. The undersides are clad in 1″x4″ V-groove Southern yellow pine soffit material that is protected with a marine-grade finish to give accommodate hurricane conditions and flooding, a foundation of Southern yellow pine supports elevate the home 10 feet above ground level. We can see for landscape architect there is added palmetto trees in the front yard to give the property a sense of permanence. Evergreen shrubs such as yaupon holly, wax myrtle, dwarf palmetto and Walter's viburnum give texture to the landscape. Among the most intriguing architectural elements, a powder-coated aluminum railing system, capped with sustainable mahogany, offers a subtle nod to nautical. Support piers, with exposed steel hurricane strapping, lend visual interest. PVC siding, designed to resemble century-old cedar shingles, contributes to the home's Low Country style and will prevent both water and insect intrusion. Palmetto trees with full heads provide shade and lend a mature appearance to the landscape. A drip irrigation system - a network of underground pipes - will nourish landscape elements with water for one year. Then plants will be weaned off the system. The front porch, an important Low Country architectural element, provides shade and prevents the sun from heating the home interior and putting a strain on cooling systems. Golden-hued garapa decking is naturally resistant to rot, decay and insect invasion.

A hurricane is the ultimate act of aggression from mother nature.  Its destructive forces can cause injury, death and an enormous amount of damage to property.

In August of 2011, Hurricane Irene swept through much of the East Coast and became the fifth costliest storm of all time. Overall, it cost more than $16 billion in damages. However, this does not take into account the long-term effects that it had on businesses.  Besides the physical destruction of stores and merchandise, the significant outages led to lost data, long recovery times and loss of revenue - all of which could cripple a business.

When natural disaster strikes, be it a hurricane, flood or fire, your thoughts turn first to loved ones and next to property.  Once family, friends and pets are secure, it's time to assess the toll taken on your home.

Our younger son is very afraid of the dark. In fact, his anxiety is so great, he insists on being carried into the house whenever we come home at night. The lack of street lighting in our neighborhood doesn't help...neither does the fact that our kid's going through another growth spurt and is definitely not a lightweight these days. We also tend to forget to turn on the outside light, especially when we leave the house earlier in the day when the sun is still shining. This is a particular sore point with our son, especially since the darkness makes it tough to see the keyhole on the front door and get us in the house quickly.