By the time I left the library on Monday (shortly after posting), the snow was falling so thickly that visibility was about 50 feet. Driving with exceeding care, I llistened to the radio's weatherman still commenting that this area would have only the occasional and momentary flurry without accumulation. I pulled into the driveway observing that snow was sticking everywhere, just being slick slush on the streets. By evening we had 1 1/2 inches of flurry, and I was so happy to not be driving in it. Tuesday was 52* by noon, yesterday hung in the upper 40's and rained (1.8"). Today is blue skies, bright sun, in the 50's and rising. Weathermen are cheerfully predicting highs in the very low 30's for the next few days. The spring bulbs are all showing leaves and buds, the clematis all have fat leaf-buds, the forsythia is about to bloom, the johnny-jump-ups [violas] *are* in bloom ~~ pretty soon the grass will need to be mowed! I'm trying to remember where I read that article about the guy co-relating Baltic snowfall with DC's weather. At the time I read that he was saying to expect to a milder-than usual winter until late January and then February would be ~swoosh/shiver~ colder than normal with extremes of precipitation. So far he's right; we shall see. Meanwhile, I'll have the mower's blades sharpened, and the snow shovel oiled and ready for use.

If I understand correctly , you are saying that 8 HO T5 is better for growing plants then MH ? I certainly didn't say that. 8 54W T5 tubes are very similar in total light output, total energy use, lifetime, cost, and lumen maintenance to a single 400W metal halide bulb, assuming both are new designs and driven on modern electronic gear. My guess is that 1 430 watts MH is much better at growing plants then 8 HO T5. The main reason is penetration for MH is much higher then for the T5 even is both system is using approx the same number of watts. Correct ? You've been reading too many pot grower forums :) Those guys are so stoned they don't even know what penetration is, it just sounds good and there is this theory that metal halide is king because it has better penetration. Penetration is a measure of how slowly the light decreases with distance, and this is usually best for a high power light source mounted a long way from the plants (the sun is pretty good, try it some time!) and that describes a 400W HID pretty well. But a 400W total fluorescent system is just as good, provided with proper reflectors or baffles. So no, not correct. Also, don't read too much into what the aquarium guys say about penetration, they are dealing with very different issues trying to get light through water to the bottom of a tank. Let's say the MH needs to be replace 3 times more often then the T5, A decent metal halide run on modern switchgear can be run to failure, or say 20,000 hours of you don't like the idea of an exploding metal halide bulb. A T5 should also be run to failure, so I would compare them both on the same replacement schedule. Growers with crap old equipment may still need to replace their bulbs or tubes every 6 months but they really need to move into the 21st century. the cost would be similar but you would get better results with the MH. So my little brain is telling me that the MH solution is better then the T5 in dollars and efficiency (growing plants). Sounds to me like you already made up your mind which is best and you're trying to justify it? T5 bulbs are expensive, maybe you can buy a 400W metal halide bulb for the price of 8 T5s, maybe even for about the same cost as 3 T5s (replacing 3 times as often), but probably not a very good one. If cost is your main driver then use T8 tubes, just as efficient, need a lot of tubes but they only cost $2 each :) Metal halides are convenient and efficient in high power situations but there are not huge cost benefits over fluorescents, by all means use them if you don't mind running 100' of wire betwen all your ballasts and tubes! the light was not as intense, using the two T12's Well duuuhhh!!! Always compare like with like. 2x40W fluorescents is never going to be comparable to a 400W HID. If you compare to an 80W HID you may well find the fluorescents to be better since low power HID bulbs are not very efficient. Besides, the majority of T12 setups are far from modern technology, very inefficient and so not good light output. Even trying to compare maximum light intensity close to the bulb is not very relevant, sure the metal halide has a higher intensity two inches from the bulb but you can't grow plants two inches from it so what does it matter? 4 daylight T8's and mylar I use 4x36W T8s for an eight square foot growing area in winter, in my opinion it is the best solution for moderate growing spaces. I would use HID if I needed to light a much larger area and I use compact fluorescents in my small propagator.

Voles look very much like a Guinea pig but mouse brown. They are cute little "mouse-kez" but sure not a gardener's friend. Armadillos are harmless. If you get after them, they roll up into a ball like roly polies. They eat insects, but in getting after those lawn grubs and beetles, they dig up the whole yard. However, they do get rid of the lawn grubs really effectively, and by summer, the yard is mostly healed and you'd never know it looked like Flanders Field in the spring. I normally would go out every morning and rake and rake to fillin the holes, but I am in no shape right now to be doing much of that. I kick some of the dirt back into the holes and pack in down with my walking stick :) That'll fix 'em! Skunks dig for grubs and worms and insects too. They do carry rabies but do not get it themselves. They are generally friendly little creatures. They purr like cats and like to rub on your legs like cats do, too, and they LOVE cat food. Skunks do not see well, so if you walk up on them, they may not see you right away. If startled, they spray to defend themselves. The ones that come here know I mean them no harm and never act aggressively when I am out in the yard. I am still cautious, don't get me wrong. Not only does their spray stink, but it is blinding if it gets into your eyes, and who in their right mind would chance getting rabies? O'possums, are dangerous. They have dozens of razor sharp teeth and are very aggressive and have very nasty dispositions. They are also filthy animals and will eat anything. I have seen them burrow into a dead cow and raise their young inside that rotten carcus! Disgusto! They stink and probably would give you a very serious infection if they were to bite you, besides having your flesh ripped off. They are cute, though. Cute little beady eyes. I like watching them chew. "Smack, smack, smack". I posted some new pictures in my photo album. More in "Country Critters" and a new folder I called, "Wild Things". Have yet to upload the hummingbird pictures, but there are other things there to look at. These are all wild things found on my property. Hope you enjoy looking at them half as much as I do living around them. I am grateful for what I have been given in my life, no matter how small or humble and thankful for parents and grandparents who taught me to see and appreciate all things in nature - the flora and fauna and rocks! ~ SweetAnnie4u "Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul". ~Henry Ward Beecher

Jasmine - What a great deal you got on those pots! WooHoo! Also, thanks for the compliment on the seed packets. You have no idea the countless hours that went in to me folding paper until I found the perfect design! LOL! Here's how you do it: 1. Cut a piece of notebook paper in fourths. Each piece of ruled paper will become the seed packets. I normally just crease it it half both directions and tear along the creased line. 2. Use the short side of the paper as the top. (There are two short sides and two long sides, like any rectangle would have.) I also like to use the red line that goes down the page to the inside of the packet, so that would be facing you right now. Bring the top left corner and top right corner down and in to the top middle part of the paper where both points meet. Where they meet, is where you'll crease the top left and top right side of the paper. It should look like a point at the top that forms a triangular shape at the top of the paper, like the point on an arrow. 3. Bring the bottom of the paper up until it meets the bottom of the triangular shape and crease it there. 4. Bring the left side in to the center of the paper and crease it there. (The center is easily visible by the line that was made in the middle of the top triangle shape you already made. 5. Do the same thing to the right side bringing it also into the center and creasing it. 6. Bring the bottom up to where the the left side and right side straight lines end. 7. Fold the top flap down inside the bottom flap you just brought up to "seal" the envelope. It really is an amazingly simple mini seed packet that used lightweight, ordinary notebook paper. All I do is open up the right side (because I'm right-handed), pour the seeds in and fold it right back up. One thing I would highly recommend is writing on the ruled lines on the front of the packet BEFORE filling with seeds. It's that simple. I've seen a lot of origami packets that had to use the heavier, bulkier paper to stay firm and like a good packet, but this isn't one of them. I've also seen that if even one little line is not perfectly creased, the packets looks "off", but this isn't one of them, either. It's a very forgiving design that hardly shows a flaw even when my kids make them! I hope others will try to make them. If I can scan each image along the way, then I'll try to make another post with pictures. I blow these out while I'm watching TV without ever cutting or gluing paper. I can make over a hundred in no time at all. Just the first ones you make take a little longer as you get used to it, then you fly right through them! Blessings, Angela