My lot is 1.5 acres with about only 3/4 of that or so being grass. The back yard has few obsticals in it,and I do use a push mower to do the edges,and around some of the obstacles. There are no hils,and all I plan to do with this tractor is mow the lawn. I have a dedicated walk behind snow thrower for snow removal,and I have no need to be towing anything beyond maybe my small utility trailer that has a dump bed. The engine in my current mower is a Tecumseh 12hp. Sorry I didn't mention that before. The valve cover leaks pretty good for about the first couple of minutes,but then the gasket swelss enough to stop the leak. The mower has run low on oil in the past,but like I said it does spin free,and I don't think it is internally damaged,but I don't know for a fact. I removed the flywheel,and the key was not damaged. Do you guys think it is still a valve adjustment,and or the engine is building too much compression? I have cleaned up all the connections,and even going direct to the body of the starter with jumper cables from a deep cycle camper battery yields the same results.

Thanks for all the info and ideas. What I still don't understand is how the lavender did SO well, grew so fast, then started to die. No great change in water, unless it's a decrease, since we turned our sprinkler off. Yes, the scarecrow goes in the general direction, but I don't think it really contributes a large amount, just a startles worth. The roses are pink streaks, like a "Batik" iris if only pink not purple, if you're familiar with those. I don't see the spots pictured in the disease examples (bothythis? something like that). I think we may bury a drain pipe in the upper part of our yard, above the retaining wall, before we continue planting. That will cut off some of the neighbors water. We're also sealing the cracks in the gutterway along the road that allow water to seep in. Anyway, again thanks. And any ideas about the great growth followed by sudden death?

Geez, you guys are making me laugh at myself, lol! I guess the image is funnier than I thought! Now the only thing that I can think of is that store commercial (can't remember which store, darn it!) where the woman checks out and thinks the cashier has made a mistake because she got such a good deal. So she runs out to the parking lot screaming to her husband "Start the car! Start the car!" and makes a quick get-away. Maybe that's what I need... a get-away driver, lol! Or better yet, I can be the driver and make someone else get out of the car - let them be the ones that the rocks get thrown at, lol, and on top of it, the neighbor won't know it was me, lol! :) Dee

Thanks for the advice pepper guy! If you're game I have a few more questions. I am also trying to use as few chemicals as possible, but I'm not above giving nature a helping hand. I'll check out the Miracle Grow. I'm not looking for a huge harvest. Since this is my first attempt at growing anything edible, I would be happy with one pepper :) I will hold off on the watering. How can I tell when they "show signs of needing water?" The info card that came with the peppers says keep soil damp. After about 2 or 3 days, the soil becomes pretty dry. I do have a balcony, so I could conceivably put the plant outside, but its getting down to the mid 60's at night. Would this be too cold for the plant? At what temperature should I be concenred? Link to my weather forecast: http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?CityName=Columbia&state=MD&site=LWX&textField1=39.203&textField2=-76.858&e=1 If I put the plant in a 5 gallon bucket, do you have a reccomendation on the type of soil I should buy to fill the bucket? This is a maybe option, because I'm not sure where I would put a 5 gallon bucket in my room. Although it would be really cool to see the plant get that big. :) Thanks!