lol! the brain out of the Operation game 2) a muffler 3) paint brush 4) coin purse 5) watch 6) Mr. Potato head 7) vitamins 8) chocolate kisses 9)turtle neck sweater a coat long underwear gloves heat plane ticket PICTURE of brug cuttings Halloween candy candy jar sign for the beach greeting card ribbon paint brush stapler piggy bank candle eraser juniper berries dental floss hole punch corkscrew nose ring notepad notebook rock garden journal labels plant ties plant tags knife face mask cough syrup knife incence funnel padlock watering glass bulb scrub brush jig-saw puzzle fireplace matches Basket Brush Cheese slicer Citrus juicer Coat hook(s) Dice Door stop Egg slicer Fruit slicer Garlic peeler Garlic press Glue gun Grocery bag holder Letter opener Music box Night light Organizer Safety pins Soldering iron Splatter guard/screen Tongs Torch Trivet Yarn Book Bumper sticker Comb Coupons Drain stopper Extension cord Harmonica Key board cover Key chain Pencil/pen holder Plastic cups Popcorn Pumice Rainbow Ring Safety glasses Sling shot Slinky Spray bottle Star Telescope Tent Tissue Towel sorry for repeats!

Jane -- what a coincidence! Last winter, we had to replace our well casing and pump. The old well (ca 1959) was in what I assume is a "well vault" (underground, sunk in a cavity). That, it turns out, is now a violation of code, at least around us. In fact, the well head HAS to be a minimum of 18 inches off the ground and any contractor who does work on an older well without one is obliged by code (law?) to replace a flush or sunken head with a raised one. I was sick, since our well is about 12 feet away from the FRONT of our house, sitting right under a huge maple in the front yard. We did request a plain (not blue) cap, so ours is a fairly inconspicuous gray. Because it was relatively close to the house, we chose to expand an existing foundation bed to loop around it in a freeform sort of curve, and are planning -- when budget permits -- to plant low, shade-loving shrubs throughout the bed, mixing them with hostas but ensuring that the well head itself has shrubs, not hostas, around it. I'm leaning toward a mix of azaleas and leucanthoe (the latter being evergreen), something with a natural, open shape, mixing some of the larger-leaved hostas in with them but relying on the shrub structure right around the well head (the hostas -- which were my interim fix this summer while I tried to figure this out -- conceal the head beautifully all summer, but of course are of no use in the winter...) I've never had good luck with ground-cover junipers or I might try those. I actually think if there were enough branch structure, I wouldn't really notice the head in the winter even with deciduous shrubs. (NOTE: we will NOT be using the wonderful, sprawling euonymous we have elsewhere, which our local deer -- who have been blessedly inactive up to now -- completely defoliated last night! Mother Nature's "hard pruning"!) Our well contractor suggested the fake rock strategy, or a birdbath over it, but given its location (amazing we still HAVE a well with those maple roots!), both options seemed as if they would look absurd. (Naively, I never know what those lone "boulders" in otherwise boulder-free yards were all about! I always thought they were just oddly prominent rocks! ;) So low shrubs it will be. A neighbor with a very old Colonial with a well equally close to the house and equally IN the front yard has planted a somewhat incongruous-looking trio of boxwoods around it; that has convinced me that I want low shrubs with a naturally open, sprawling sort of look, not a group of stiff little soldier shrubs guarding the well head. On a positive note, I've gotten quite used to seeing it and it bothers me much less than it did initially ... and there is something comforting in knowing WHERE the well actually is, which we never knew before this adventure. We just knew it was "out front" somewhere and hoped we never had to dig it up ... I now find myself trying to guess where the wells are when I drive around our town... the old houses often have no visible evidence of wells, though you know they have them somewhere; the new ones uniformly have little blue stumps ;) So long story short: you might want to consider changing your "rock circle" to a more free form bed, then fill it with a variety of plants/shrubs with relatively shallow roots. I'll be watching this post to see if anyone else has creative solutions! Good luck!!

Look at this picture of a gazing ball stand. Just make it longer and the base wider to offset the height inbalance. I would pour some cement down the tube after I assembled the base to make it very bottom heavy. If you don't want to buy this pattern, I can tell you how to make it really quick. cut your base plate( 3rd pc) cut 2nd pc with a hole in the center slightly larger than pvc pipe, then cut 2 pieces of wood to fit inside of your pvc pipe ( you will save one for the top), predrill holes along the bottom edge of the pipe fit the smallest one inside the pipe screw it in, attach the 3rd pc from the bottom into the 1st pc. slip the 2nd piece over the top of pvc pipe, attach from bottom of 3rd pc. run your wiring, fill with cement about 1/3 of the way up, assemble your light kit on the extra sm pc of wood, place screws 1 in below the top edge of the pipe make sure they are long enough to support your wood, then attach the pc of wood with light kit the same way you did the sm bottom piece and you are good to go. If you want you could make the bottom and top match, or just add the small one. I am including a picture hope it makes more sense, because I am not explaining this too clearly. It shouldn't take you more than 1/2 hr to assemble this. It sounds alot harder than it looks. I am making some of these to hold my bird houses and bowling balls. I have some really large thick floor tiles I am going to attach them to and then imbed the tiles under soil so they aren't affected by the wind outside. If I can explain it any better for you or if you want me to I will draw up exact plans if you send me measurements. I am attaching my hand drawn instructions here I will attach the gazing ball stand in the next one. Good luck Dena Here is a link that might be useful: instructions

It turns out even transparent roofs shades a lot of sunlight, Tracy. Before I installed the panels on my pergola I had to double the bug screen where I have my semi-dormant winter growers. After the roof installation I then had to remove the extra screen. Gladys' hoop house looks like it has double-wall polys so while it is bright, that's still a lot less harsh than direct sun. I should've warned you, sorry. Every time I get plants from Arid Lands I email them back to find out if they have been in a hoop house or under direct Arizona sun. Pagan