i would run mobil 1 15-50 in it if you want max life. i have 4 of these snappers with this engine in my commercial lawn service. i got the first one back in 89 and it was used. its still running! this is commercial servive we are talking about. only repair has been to replace the throttle shaft in the carb. oil changed only once per season too. its indistructable! no 2 i got used in 91 -runs like new still. no 3 i got last year on ebay-nos still in box! date on box was 1995! this one may out live me as i am 51. no 4 just got last week. 6.5 hp and is the best running one i have ever seen. these were sold on mostly comm. models but some 4 hp models were put on premium home models. if yours has bbc -its one of these models. no bbc on the comm models. theese engines also made in 2 cycle too. every bit as good as the 4 cycle. best lawn mower engine ever made bar none. i have a honda bought new in 91 that has had mobil 1 since new and still runs perfect. recommend this in your wis/robin 15w -50. 10-w 30 is too light for a lawn mower. 10w 40 would be acceptable if not in a hot climate

Moonbeam is still my favorite. I've planted it in the Midwest, New England and now the Southwest. I love the delicate foliage with those lemony flowers. It blooms madly, stands up to high winds and occasional downpours, and even the assaults of the rabbits who sheared 3 plants down to just above the soil line this spring. I'm growing Creme Brulee this year because it was advertised as an improved Moonbeam. It has larger flowers and is more compact but to my eye, the shade of yellow is more golden and less lemon. Sienna Sunset is just getting established, having been planted in early July. I'm disappointed that the color is lighter than I expected, more ocher than sienna. I'm going to have to move it because the color clashes with the agastaches Coronado Red and Acapulco Trio around it. Cheryl

My garden looks pretty well. I did water last year, but not a lot. Nothing got crispy, but most of the beds only got heavy water once a week. Too many beds! In the fall I laid a LOT of soaker hose. Spliced pieces to make it all fit the biggest beds, then put leaf mulch over it. Made some soaker hose rings on a hose, on the shrubs along the fence, to ensure they could get enough water, with the large oaks close to them. Put down some shredded wood mulch too, on the rings around shrubs. Added more mulch this last week, heavy layer over the soakers in two beds that I ran out of time with last fall. So I have watered some during the 3 weeks of no-rain in late May. Soakers seem to be working pretty well, mulch keeps the moisture available to plants and bushes. They all LOOK happy despite the dry time. Other folks around our town had rain, just not us. My mom is south of us, said it was like a short, daily scheduled rain for weeks. We are getting adequate rain at the moment, just can't get the hay cut and dried to put up. First cutting is WEEKS behind now. Not much nutrition left, but still needs cutting so 2nd cutting gets coming along. My Peonies were nice, just not great like last year. Iris were OK, but not the good show I expected. Other small plants, wild phlox, were terrific, great color, numerous flowers on the plants. Roses are coming along, looked great on the old-fashioned bushes. Steady bloom on the new ones from fall planting, Carpet roses, Knockout, Showbiz, Vetrans Honor, with flowers large and long-lasting. Lilies look great, normal flower quantity, normal heights. Daylilies just starting. Flower stems appearing overnight. Lilacs were poor, with other bushes good and bad. Elderberry just started but MANY blooms, should be a good show. Various Hydrangea just budding up. Delphiniums are terrific, along with the double Hollyhocks. We have a well, so I water when I have the time, if I feel it is needed. I worry most about my big trees. So when I water the gardens, the trees get a good drink as well. I go for longer water time, not as often. Clay dirt helps hold the moisture if mulched well. I am hauling water to 10 new trees in the field. I think I have lost 2, but one root is still green, may resprout (I hope!). The remaining ones seem happy with water twice a week, if no rain during the week. Staying green. May water more as the season gets warmer. Every year is a challenge to some part of the garden!! I know that the plants really jump when the heat goes up. I LIKE the 70F temps instead of muggy heat. Sure get a lot more done outside. Picked strawberries last week, they were GOOD!

I agree! When I got the catalog and took a look, I thought...what the hey!?! Not only was the stuff weird and unappealing, the catalog was a mess and barely readable. Whoever published/printed their catalog used WHITE print against LIGHT backgrounds...I couldn't read what some of the product descriptions and prices said! Yet someone at RH had to approve the catalog before it went out. I hate to say it, but that person should be fired. That was a total dereliction of his/her job duties to let that catalog go out like that. I've been to our local store several times this year. They renovated it, repainted, redesigned it, etc. NOW they don't carry much of what is in the catalog. The clerk will have to order it online for you (no shipping fees that way). I couldn't take a look at some things I had seen in last year's catalog, because the store doesn't have even a sample sitting out (like task lamps). They did have samples of most of their drapes, and that's where I bought my velvet drapes. They were clearly of a superior quality to Pottery Barn's and others that I'd seen. But they had to order them for me; they didn't have enough panels in the store to cover my window (and this was a basic camel velvet that I'm sure they sell a lot of). All their furniture is too large for my small house and my taste. I threw away the catalog, and I look at their stuff online. I figure that they are trying to become lean and mean in these recessionary times, hence the small inventory in the store. But there's no excuse for that horrible catalog. (BTW, the task lamp I bought and the velvet drapes are absolutely beautiful and high quality. They cost a pretty penny, but at least I got my money's worth. I couldn't be happier with them, and with their customer service, which is top rate.) As for their weather-washed huge furniture, another poster mentioned it was a Swiss style or something. Maybe. But furniture from Sweden, Norway, etc., is usually small scale with simple lines. The RH furniture was enormous, with round feet, large bulky posts, besides being that unattractive gray. I can't imagine that style will sell much. It certainly doesn't suit me. But then, I probably wouldn't buy furniture from RH to begin with, because of the price.