In the midwest USA the leaves seem to fall after the first good below freezing night after the mild October weather, whether they had time to yellow fully or not. Warmer zones don't have the same leaf drop trigger I assume. The trees are very variable in how they color up, what are the factors? I've seen rows of male trees planted which one assumes are the same cultivar and some are all yellow, some are half turned yellow, some are still almost all green. Also see trees vary when they leaf out, don't know if that is "microclimate" effects or other factors or genetics. Older trees that have been in the ground for a few decades seem to be more consistant with leaf color, from my non-scientific observance. Or maybe they cut down the ones that have poor autumn color, I dunno. Has anybody seen/pics of any groups of younger seedling trees? Wonder how much they vary in growth naturally. All I ever see is grafted trees except for old trees. If I ever live somewhere with the room I would plant at least 3-4 trees from seed to see how they grow and hopefully they would last for generations.

It has taken me awhile to take pictures of my living room since I made some changes. I did return the two sofas (painful—not only did they charge me a $450 shipping charge, they also charged a $250 cleaning fee, as our white dog rubbed against one of the sofas and there were strands of white fur on the back of one. Easily removed with a lint brush, but whatever, lesson learned). We bought two new sofas and had pillows made to coordinate the rest of the room. Took down the valance and made a cornice board as a replacement. Reupholstered the accent chair and bought a new rug. Took apart the entertainment center and painted each piece. Changed the wall color and the artwork. Very pleased with the results. Thanks again everyone for your suggestions!

It seems pretty normal. The straw probably was a mistake if it wasn't guaranteed weed-free--straw is famous for carrying seeds, but too late now. After the fourth or fifth mow is the time to take care of that, and don't bother removing it at this point, you'll do more harm than good. For right now, stay with it. In fall, or about August 1 for you guys, will be around the right time to overseed any thin or blank spots if there are any.

Different packaging might be from the wholesalers that usually delivery to restaurants. ALL of my packaging from our wholesaler is different, and even brands I've never heard of. (they started delivering to homes 5-6 weeks ago). They are breaking up case lots for home delivery. So guessing groceries are taking some of their stock. I felt like I was in a foreign country when that first delivery arrived. And yes, my butter is a pound block. I tossed it in the freezer as a later back-up. Grrr when I just needed to take out just a 'stick' this morning, lol. Nice tray of green! I just started a 5x7 tray each of Thai basil, cilantro, par-cel, arugula, etc. Fresh and more intense flavor at just a couple inches tall. But tend to be slow growing...4-6 weeks. Minor annoyance.