Well, I've been trying to lay low and hide from that old broad and hoping she'd stay busy elsewhere. But dang if she didn't get me good last night, and you can sure tell she loves the men as she had my DH laughing at my misery. My back was hurting like the dickens and I was sooooo tired and feeling rotten, and before going to bed I decided to put my roll-on Absorbine on it as that often helps. So I reach in medicine cabinet and grab the roll-on and apply all over my lower back. Only to realize it was my deodorant instead of the Absorbine. DH thought that was very funny and said at least my back smelled good. ARRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH. damn old woman! Karen

***"Mounted in plastic"*** Unless Deere has included some sort of "ring terminal" to the mounting, there is no need to separate the PTO switch from the plastic mounting panel. You said that the brake switch had been defeated before you acquired this mower and now the wires are taped to the brake pedal. OK, I don't see anything in the diagram where a defect in the brake switch could cause a problem in the operation of the engine that that occurs ONLY when the PTO switch is turned ON. By this I mean that any problem in the brake switch that could affect how the engine runs..........would affect the engine even without pulling the PTO switch to the ON position, so we can move on from that and go to the PTO switch itself. After studying this diagram at length/depth.......I believe the problem (engine wants to die when PTO switch is turned ON) can only be due to a defective PTO switch. And I think it must be because the PTO switch is bleeding some voltage into the magneto kill circuit which then upsets the normal spark making function of the ignition system. The way I see it, there are 3 ways you can test this: Option A, disconnect the wire pigtail from the PTO clutch and connect 2 independent, temporary wires to the clutch, be sure to maintain the correct polarity, Blue wire is the hot side, Black wire is the ground side. With the temporary wires in place, and the engine running, touch the temporary wire for the hot side of clutch to the "Battery hot" post of the starter solenoid (safer than the battery hot on battery). If the PTO clutch engages without affecting how the engine runs...........defective PTO switch. Option B, Disconnect (or cut) the White wire lead that serves the PTO switch (if you choose to cut, make sure you cut so it can be restored). With this white wire out of the equation, start the engine and turn the PTO switch ON. If the engine runs OK now, replace the defective PTO switch. Option C, Replace the PTO switch and hope for success.

Wow - I wish I had that much space to play with, trees or no trees. I would look on it as a chance to grow a whole different set of plants from the 'normal' stuff. Without doing any amending you could grow a mass of shade tolerant plants. http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2007/apr/07/shopping.gardens Vinca is there already (I see no reason to smother it. It's showing you the way to go plant-wise.) Look out for other forms. I have Jenny Pym which is a pretty lilac with white edges. There are white forms too. There is a stack of shrubs you could grow: Ruscus, Skimmia, Aucuba, some Daphnes. Try to find as many white flowered things as you can. And how about, after you've stained the fence darker, putting in a white seat or arbour to bring the eye forward and give you a focal point? Work with nature, not against it and avoid years of resentment that your roses won't grow when you could be watching a wealth of shade lovers just growing all by themselves. Here you go - how could you resist some of these under your trees? (Cyclamen neapolitanum under Polystychum setiferum, under Anemone japonica, under Betula pendula 'Youngii' and Mespilus germanica - now that's dry shade! (And there are snowdrops in there for the Spring too) Good luck! Wish I had that much scope. Hang on, I forgot hellebores.... Here is a link that might be useful: Plants for shade.

Well, a picture would help and knowing where you are would too. Since it's a 10 year old hemlock, you must be in a cooler clime so here's what I would do if I had such a tree. Wait until spring to prune it. Hemlocks have multiple growth spurts during the year and you don't want to trigger one this late in the season. Pick a day when its been dry for a spell to lessen the chance of disease. Although hemlocks are forgiving, you can cut too far and kill a branch. Make sure you leave ample green leaves (needles). Another question is whether you want to do this forever? You say its as big as your house, if you have a one story house, you may want to think about moving the tree, if a two story house, you may want to think about planting a replacement. After all, if this is a species tree (not a cultivar) it wants to be 100 ft (30m) tall. tj