The biggest factor in what will be effective against critters is the density of their population. I live by two large wild life preserves and have a neighbor next door who feeds the deer, so the population is very large and completely unafraid of humans. Rabbits also have come to love the diversity of plants in our yard, and because we have several acres of woods (why don't they just stay there???), their population is abundant as well. I have used sprays containing bitters, peppermint oil, eucalyptus oil, and any other smelly thing you can imagine, have gotten hair from the barbers, used fox and coyote urine (expensive as all get out and so nasty to use), even went so far as to use mothballs before I found out how toxic they are, had the men in my family run out in the early morning and pee around the plants, tried interplanting with mint, garlic, etc., and nothing worked for more than a short period. And I don't think I have a single plant out of the hundreds I grow that has not been browsed at one time or another, regardless of how many Pest Resistant lists they may be on. Soaps are effective if your critter population is not too large; contrary to what most folks think, it is not the perfumy smell of Irish Spring that repels, it is the tallow (fat) content of the soap. A friend who runs a commercial apple orchard tried it over the winter with absolutely NO success and felt it was actually detrimental in keeping pollinating bees away the following spring. Pepper sprays are a taste repellant--if you have a lot of deer or rabbits, they each need to take a bite of the plant to realize it's been sprayed as they don't tell each other that what you've sprayed tastes nasty, which means if you have lots of pests, they will still eat down your plants before they all become aware they've been sprayed. Actually, the one time I used a pepper-based spray, the rabbits ate everything I'd sprayed overnight--I think they thought it was a flavor enhancer. Several years ago I used a garlic based spray but there were certain things such as zinnias and sunflowers that were eaten off despite it. By early August the critters were used to it and ate anything and everything I had sprayed, and the only thing it continued to do was give me a huge craving for garlic bread every time I applied it. I have heard that Milorganite does work well as a repellant; however, it is not considered organic (it contains sludge), so I've never tried it. One of the great things about the 20% egg spray is that if you whir it up in a blender and spray it immediately, it will not clog up your sprayer. There is no need to ferment egg sprays--it is not the stink that keeps animals away, it is the smell of the protein from the eggs (if stinky smells kept rabbits/deer away, I'd simply drape my husband's socks around the yard). And at a concentration of 20% eggs, the spray does not wash away as quickly as one with a lesser content which means applications can be less frequent (you will need to experiment to determine what is necessary with your garden). Plants (such as lilies) which are deer and rabbit magnets I spray after every hard rain; other things get sprayed I would guess maybe every six weeks. The best testimonial I've had for this spray is from a friend of mine who lives on an island. Years ago a rabbit farmer on the island gave up his business and released dozens of rabbits, which, well, bred like rabbits. There are no natural predators on the island so the rabbits have destroyed almost every plant, even girdling large trees. I gave her the recipe for the egg spray and she has a garden again. She makes up several gallons of the stuff and sprays EVERYTHING. She even uses it over the winter, spraying in late fall and on days in the winter when the temperature reaches above freezing. The neighbors she has passed the recipe on to have had great success as well, and she kids me that they are going to erect a "St. Kate" statue in my honor, lol. I have also not seen any effect on wanted wildlife, such as bees, butterflies, frogs, toads, walking sticks, etc. I spray it on the plants next to the water garden and it has no effect on the tadpoles, polywogs, and dragon fly larvae. Of course, this means it will not be harmful to bad bugs either--you'll still have to use something to control insect damage (I use organic products with Neem oil for that). Forgive me if I sound overly enthusiastic about this, but it has worked so well for me and has made gardening fun again. I can go outside in the morning and look forward to seeing what is in bloom, NOT what has been eaten off during the night. Here's to a great gardening season! Kate

Ethan and Kristy: Yes, the budwood does have to be in a certain condition to allow the best chance of a successful graft. I'm not sure if "dormant" describes it accurately. I prefer to say wood that is just about to break dormancy but has not begun to leaf out yet. I suppose truly dormant would be better than already pushed out, so I guess in that sense, Ethan, you would be correct. In Kristy's post, she only asked how to get the wood safely from there to home. I presumed that she had already selected appropriate material for grafting. That was a bit presumptuous on my part since if she hasn't even done it, how would she know. Thanks for pointing that out, Ethan. Harry

Didn't get one from a forum person, but one of my friends had the same thing happen to her. Her son let her know and told her what to do to fix it, but she's been busy letting her contacts know she didn't send them anything. Luvs

We haven't fell off the face of the earth. My mother always said she had to get in the mood to sew & I couldn't understand that because I would sew all time if I didn't have other obligations. Well, life has come to the point where both of us have lost interest in sewing along with losing one of the little girls we sewed for. It's a long story so bear with me. First, my niece who was born when I was 11 was Dxed with cancer the last of Aug of 09. She died Mar 5, 2010. We don't know for sure where her cancer started as she was stage 4 when we found out & it was all over her body. We suspect ovarian. She was too sick to operate on. Places they were able to get a biopsy showed that those places were not her primary cancer. If you have ovaries, get the BRAC test. Teresa & her husband had adopted a special needs grand daughter who would have been 10 Aug of 2010. Teresa's worst worry about dying was her fear that Skyler wouldn't be taken care of properly. We got up to get her ready for school on March 2, 3 days before Teresa died, & Skyler was in her bed dead. The state held her body awhile..until they determined no foul play was involved. It was simply that God came & got her in the middle of the night. Teresa was conscious until she went to sleep about 1 1/2 hours before she just quit breathing so she knew Skyler had died. We were able to do a double funeral...another first for us. I put my life on hold when Teresa was first Dxed & rescheduled so many Dr appts of my own after she died. When appts came around this year 2 a week, I was confused at first until it registered about what had happened last year making up so many at once. I don't guess many people have ever seen a dead child at the scene of the death. We were as prepared for Teresa as you can prepare, but that child's death just really threw us for a curve. Officials came out of the cracks & crevices interviewing us. Their house is in one county but in the city limits of a town in an ajoining county. Who was responsible for her????...well whom ever was there. We have always been a close family. If she needed anything, ever who became aware of it, did whatever needed doing. Under the circumstances, the questions they asked & the answers we gave made us sound so inadequate. She was by no means negelected. Her biological mom's husband gave me fits about "rocking her & spoiling her". If I was in a rocker or on the sofa, she liked being close & I know she was confused about her grand mother being gone as she was in & out of the hospital a lot. She knew she could pile up on me where ever I was & she did. She didn't talk much but you could communicate with her. Yes or no was down pat. I knew her favorite foods & I took them to her. When grand mom was eating, I'd question her about being able to eat so & so. Before Teresa could answer, Skyler would start clapping & laughing when I mentioned a favorite of her's. Teresa would tease her saying "She is asking ME what I want not what YOU want". Of course she thought that was funny & giggled & clapped even more. Skyler was very tall & part of her physical problems was vision & muscles in both upper & lower torso. She could put some food away but she was a very thin child. I made most of her bottoms especially school uniform things. Also, her dresses. Her heighth had her in a 12 but an 8-10 fit her body. Besides food, she loved clothes. She thought we should have fittings on every visit. I had fabric all over this house in some mode of production. I found several packs of elastic in the laundry room last week where I'd washed & dried it ready to use. I have things 3/4s made. I have things cut out & I have pre-washed fabric on the cutting table. She loved Elmo. Susan had fabric & purchased items she'd found on sale that she had bought for birthdays & Christmases coming up. Those of us who thought we'd be left behind with her had many questions on our brain. She started her periods 4 months past her 9th birthday & she was still in diapers. Talk about a mess!!! Doctors had suggested depo vera shots or a partial hysterectomy. Those were questions Teresa was still searching her heart for proper answers for. We all had had her on our minds every waking hour for 6 months with thoughts crowding our brains about what would we should or would do & when we found her dead, it was like our brains just shut down. Susan had people ask her how it felt & she would tell them that words hadn't been invented to describe our feelings. We both appreciate your concern & in hind sight, we should have come on here & let you know what was going on & asked for your prayers. One thing that confused people about me & Teresa was our bond. It was more than an aunt & niece. Teresa's mother was from my dad's first marraige & her mom died when she was 15 months old. She was a senior in high school when I was a 1st grader. When Teresa came along, I didn't really know if I felt like she was my child or the little sister I never had. Of course I was sewing for her from day one. She was probably about 2 1/2 maybe 3 1/2 & such a smart kid...always was. She'd heard the word scraps as in something made for her was from scraps of something of mine or mother's. As I was sewing, mother spoiled me by allowing me to toss trimings in the floor. I still do & it drives one of my cousins crazy. Teresa asked what that was in the floor & I said "scraps". Next thing I knew, she was picking all of it up & putting each fabric in separate piles. Such little things & little piles. I asked her why she was doing that & she said she wanted to save those "scraps" so I could make her someting from them. We had to have a lesson in what scraps you saved. So many sweet memories. As she talked about her pending death...& boy did she talk, she assured us that she was not going anywhere. She said, "As long as you have a breath in your body, I'll live in your heart." Teresa was almost 13 when her sister & Susan were born. She took care of them like I took care of her as a child. We're having problems coping but her sister truely is. Susan kept telling me that Melanie was just not accepting the fact that Teresa was not going to survive & didn't until about 2 weeks before. When you pray, remember us. Our hearts still ache. Makes you not want to out live anybody you love.