OK....so this is what I decided to do. I was reading and a lot of posts stated having mulch and peat with soil-less mixtures, so I thought I'd add it to my already made soil mixture and see how that works. Since I had already planted some of my veggies in containers with the soil/compost mixture, I decided to repot them with the my new mixture of soil, mulch, peat, and compost (I already had soil/compost mixture mixed so taking it out was not an option. I will not be adding anymore compost to future mixtures.). I had read that it was ok to leave the peat pots on when I put them in their containers, but since I was told on the forums to remove the 'degradable' pots, I did that at the same time I was repotting today. I redid everything except my green beans and the only reason is because they are growing like crazy and I'd probably do more harm trying to uncage them. I don't want to cause harm to the one veggie that is growing successfully for me at this rate. I was going to repot my watermelon as well, but I'm wanting it to be stronger before I go messing with it again since I have lost 3 of the 5 original plants. I'm also starting over with my herb seeds since they have not done so well for me and the 2 herbs that have started are very small and do not look very promising to produce ANY amount of usable herbage. I also took all 4 of my tomato plants and separated the dead ones out and I was able to get a pretty little tomato plant that is all of 3 inch tall. I'm trying to be patient with it, but I'm not so sure I can be, so I started some new tomato seeds. I will do what I can to see if I can save it. Once I get some plants that are big enough I will post pictures of my "soon to be" sucessful 1st year! Anymore helpful hints or suggestions would be appreciated of course!!

Bush zucchini or melon plants are compact and have nice, tropical looking leaves held high on stalks, so are nice for a front garden. The flowers are a nice addition. Ditto compact cukes, except the flowers are too small to be of interest. The prettiest leaves, in my opinion, are watermelon. You can also find compact varieties of those, though they still tend to sprawl somewhat. They are pretty growing on a trellis or fence, though, and if you pick a small-fruited variety, you can put the fruits in cute little slings hung from the support! For tomatoes, pick a determinate variety, especially one meant for pots. You can still grow them in the ground, and they need little or no support. Some of the new varieties are pretty good. I used to grow "Patio", which was a very compact 18" bush loaded with small but good-tasting tomatoes. Don't know if it is still available. As for peppers and eggplant-- can't go wrong with them. They are just plain pretty no matter where they are planted, or which variety you use. Dayle Ann

Good Saturday Morning (26th), Everyone. Yesterday it was fairly warm for these Western North Carolina mountains - maybe 80-85. But, around 7PM I took the Miata out for an hour or so. To be honest the breeze felt a little cool - pleasant, but cool. A sign of things to come, huh. Today, I must mow. I wait until the neighbors have finished which was Thursday and Friday. I guess if they didn't do theirs mine would turn into a hayfield. We moved to the house in 1965. The road was gravel; the neighborhood consisted of four houses; dogs ran free; land was for cattle and hayfields; and we slept with windows open. We were the first house on the right. Now I'm the fourth house on the right and there's more than a dozen houses in the neighborhood. Times they are a changing as someone said. Great pictures, Gurley157fs. I think anyone would be impressed with the layout and picture content. You did well. Before my wife died we did travel along the North and South Carolina coastal area. We didn't camp. If you travel after Labor Day and after schools start back I'd suggest Oak Island. The beaches are almost vacant. The town is Long Beach. Although the motel is old we stayed at the Pier House Motel. I would metal detect and I would pier fish more just to talk to others doing the same as opposed to really catching anything. The place has a huge deck just steps up from the beach. My wife would read and walk the beach looking for particular shells. Things seemed so much easier back then. Saluda (NC) is closer to the foothills than to the mountains. It's a very small place and really about as convenient to S. C. as it is to places like Hendersonville and Asheville. I live a little west of Asheville but still in the same county. I consider Asheville the stepping off place to Western North Carolina. There's a lot of campsites all over. I drive toward Waynesville/Maggie Valley as often as I do Asheville. Sometimes I take a little roundabout way and drive to Cherokee on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Once above 5000 feet I stop at overlooks and try to absorb nature's beauty. Somewhere along the way I lost the ability to truly enjoy what I see. Many years ago I use to view a site; take a breath of fresh air; and have a rush of euphoria. I really miss that. Life sometimes seems unfair. Going west from Asheville I just think there's more to see. Of course if one drives about an hour NE of Asheville they can be on top of Mt. Mitchel (highest in the east). And, the Boone/Blowing Rock/Banner Elk/Newland area (Christmas trees and skiing) is very pretty but, for me, I need a little more to see. I've been to Harrahs only once but know it's there if I want to go. I've picnicked and watched whitewatering in the Nantahala gorge(sp?). Maggie Valley CC is on our monthly list of places to golf. From the back nine the views are pretty. They're building around the front nine and have taken something away. There's not much I don't like about Western NC. If you had specific questions I'd be happy to try to help. My Sumatra from Intelligentia is not as good as Starbucks, in my opinion. Starbucks Sumatra is organic and the beans come from like trees and like regions. I have yet to try the other two. No, what I've said doesn't sound much like a single's forum discussion, does it. I'm sorry. When one is alone there's no telling what may generate discussion. I hope all have had a good summer and that the rest of the year, and life, is enjoyable and rewarding. Gene

If you are only looking to cover the area right outside your door just to cross the river then what ^^ @Christopher CNC proposes is probably best. You don't have the height for sleepers or pedestals so a thin 1 1/2" thick patio block stepping pathway with lots of room between. So many questions if I was living there that the Association would be responsible for. Assume it is flat plate concrete construction rather than fiberglass deck over wood frame construction, otherwise the surface would be damaged from all the big stuff. Where is all that crap washing out to, and why so much - blocking some scuppers, leaving streaks on bottom floor walls, blocking storm drainage or causing the building to cleanout catch basins often? Seems there needs to be some regulations set for the good of the 8 pocketbooks . . .