Thanks to everyone for their answers. Yes, we do have both Sweet Gums (Liquidambars) and Sycamores here in the West. We have some Sycamores that are native to CA. I think I can now easily tell the difference between the two of them. Actually, we recently had a 60' Liquidambar come crashing down in a storm (though it was nothing like a hurricane), despite what Misshenry said about Sycamores being more likely to fall. Interesting. Thanks again!!

If you have time, mow as short as you can before they aerate and rake the clippings (at all other times, mow higher and leave the clippings). The idea is to increase the seed-to-soil contact. It'll also let you delay mowing while the new grass gets going. If your lawn hasn't started growing yet, that's a moot point. Right now, the soil is probably still moist from the snow, and we'll still be getting rain and snow for a little while, so this is about the only time (other than dormant seeding) that you can get by with seeding and not watering several times a day to get the seeds to germinate. You don't want to let the seeds dry out completely, so keep an eye on conditions and be prepared to water for a few minutes, even if you just take the hose and lightly spray all over the lawn (just enough to keep the seeds moist). The only thing most of the soil in Utah needs in the way of fertilizer is N, which is the first number on the bags of chemical fertilizer. If you're using chemical fertilizers, something like 21-0-0 will do the trick (no need to get anything fancy like spring edition or name brands, just the cheap generic 21-0-0 will work). The usual recommendation is to apply 1 lb of actual N per 1000 sq ft, three times a year. If you don't mulch mow, you should probably apply it once in the spring, then once in early-mid fall, and once in late fall. By late fall, I mean after the topgrowth has stopped, but while the grass is still green (probably early November). The late fall application is probably the most important application of the year. To get the amount of fertilizer to use, divide the number of square feet in your lawn by the fist number on the package, then divide the result by 10. Then get the package closest in lbs to that number. For example, I have about 4000 sq ft, so if I buy 21-0-0 fertilizer, 4000/21 is about 190, divided by 10 is 19, so I buy the 20 lb bag. If you mulch mow, you can skip the spring fertilization. I'm assuming your friend is getting either a fertilizer made from goose turds or actual goose turds. I'm a little intrigued if it's actual goos turds. Why does he need to go to MT? Don't geese poop in Utah? I think either way, the goose turds would be better for your lawn in the long run than the 21-0-0 would be. One of the problems faced by most Utah soil is a low level of organic matter (it's why our soil is yellow instead of black and part of why it's so difficult to get water to penetrate). If you have a Starbucks nearby (or on the way to/from work), you can stop in and pick up used coffee grounds for free (this only applies to the "real" Starbucks, not the ones in stores, the airport, etc). It doesn't matter if you drink coffee or not; there's no need to buy anything. They save a tremendous amount of money by giving the grounds to gardeners rather than paying to have them hauled off. They should have a bucket with grounds for the garden neatly packaged. If you don't see one, ask. Even if you do see them, you can also ask if they have more behind the counter that you can take. Some outlets don't get enough people asking for them, so they stop saving them (the one in the Gallivan Center is an example). But if you call ahead, they'll save them. And if you let them know you'll stop on a regular basis, they'll probably save as many as you can carry. I bought a plastic storage bin to cart the grounds in so they don't leak out. My wife doesn't like the smell during the summer, so I compost them during the summer. The rest of the time (when the ground isn't snow covered) I just toss them on the lawn. I start in one corner and work my way around the lawn, then when I've covered the whole lawn, I start over again. Coffee grounds are a source of N and also add organic content to the soil. So now I only fertilize once a year, the late fall application of N. I generally prefer organics, but I'm not a purist, so I often use chemical sources for the late fall application.

While we are mentioning problems and fixes, I'll point out something I found. Mine initially was okay (on work bench, water from garden hose). When I tried it again, no steam. I followed the test modes in the manual/repair pdf I linked above, and they had me in the right zone, but not really suggesting the actual problem. Then I noticed elsewhere a reference to a 0.6mm orifice, after the valve which controls the water for steam. This turns out to have been plugged up. I cleared it with a tiny wire, and all is good. The orifice is built into the nut on the end of the plastic hose on the output of the regulator/valve (will be obvious if you are ever in there). The setup changed after a couple of years, so newer ones may not be the same. Moral of the story: Have a very fine mesh filter in line ahead of the combi, such as the one Gaggenau sells.

Looks like this thread motivated a lot of people! I've had the bake stone that came with our Wolf DF range sitting in a box for nearly a year. After reading about Trailrunner's pizza party and various other pizza successes on GW, I figured what the heck, it was time to dig out that bake stone. Used the link to "A Pizza Primer" on the Fresh Loaf site. Made two pies that were very good (froze the remaining two dough balls for our next attempt) but would like to improve the crust next time (need it thinner and crisper)as well as getting the dough to the stone more easily. Couple of questions for those who use their bake stone frequently. First, we had some trouble getting the dough off the peel and on to the hot stone. No surprise there, seems to be the tricky part! Used a lot of flour on the peel, but still had issues. What technique do you use to transfer the pie to the stone? Is pre-baking the crust quickly (a la Trailrunner) the way to go? Second, after baking and cooling the stone is blackened in spots (to be expected). I cleaned it as per the instructions (scraper, then damp cloth when completely cooled) but wonder - will the residue smoke on its next use? Thanks in advance for any suggestions. Looking forward to more pizza and breads (soon!).