Note - punctuation may be weird cuz this was copied and pasted from a Word doc. Hi Mike. Welcome to the forum and to orchids. A quick note - a lot of people start in orchids like Steph/Dragon Kite describes - seeing what will grow for you. Different orchids need way different growing conditions, as ifraser mentioned. Another approach is to figure out the environment you can provide for an orchid and look for orchids that will most likely thrive in it. Basic environment elements are light, temperature ranges, watering methods, and air circulation. Most people's homes are suitable for Phals. The nickname of your 1st orchid is Phal, pronounced FAIL, just as the label says. One book that's helped boatloads of new orchid folks is "Ortho's All About Orchids." Check Amazon for the paperback. A couple of weeks ago, it was $2.70 + shipping. Another good resource is the AOS (American Orchid Society) site. One section is "Now That I Have This Plant, What Do I Do With It?" On that page is a link to ORCHIDS 101, the AOS "quick start guide to orchid culture." You can sign up for their free beginner's newsletter. These aren't the only good resources, but tons of orchid books and online resources have info that's just plain wrong, and as you said, it can be overwhelming. Some of the bad info's harmless, but some of it could compromise the health of your orchid. On this forum, opinions on culture differ, even among experienced growers. That's part of the challenge - finding out what works for your orchids. A couple of other basics: 1. Your orchid may have come in a plastic pot inside a decorative outside pot. Or the plastic pot may have festive paper around it. Be sure that inner orchid pot has drainage holes in the bottom, so water can drain. Also, make sure your orchid pot never sits in water. That means, if you keep any outside pot or paper for the pot, the orchid must drain completely before you put it back in the decorative whatever. 2. If your water is softened, you'll need another source of water for your orchid. The salts will kill the orchid. 3. Most orchid deaths are caused by over watering. You may know that, in the wild, Phals usually grow on the trunk or branch of a tree with their roots bare. The roots get water and nutrients when it rains, and breezes keep them from staying wet too long, keep bugs away, etc. Our challenge is to create an environment close enough to the wild that the orchid will thrive. Pots and potting media - usually bark or moss - are for our convenience. At first, all the info may seem yes - overwhelming - it sure has for thousands of people who became successful hobbyists. In the near future, terms will begin sounding familiar (they may already). You're launched! :) Let us know when more questions come up. Whitecat8 Here is a link that might be useful: Now That I Have This Plant, What Do I Do With It?

Hmmmmm. I don't really know how anyone would prevent some rusting taking place in the flywheel area, no matter if the tractor was kept indoors or not. The engine maker either puts protective coatings in those areas or he doesn't. Rust will form on unprotected steel and iron just from the humidity in the air. Secondly, since this tractor is still under full warranty, it isn't really a smart move to start messing around with it by taking apart an engine to conduct unnecessary procedures in the remote chance that a problem may exist. If there is a problem in this area, it will show up well with-in the warranty period and Sears will deal with it accordingly. If you like the tractor and the tractor suits your needs, then just go and buy it. I wouldn't worry too much about a little rain or morning dew having an affect on the lifespan of this machine. People powerwash their outdoor equipment all the time. Getting these machines wet goes with the territory.

Hi Merry Heart! I was figuring you must be at the lake. Hasn't the weather been wonderful....so much cooler and cloudier than usual and not nearly as much rain these last 2 or 3 weeks. It sounds like you had a great time there. I am still getting ripe tomatoes from some sorry-looking plants too, and I am very grateful for that because many people here lost all their tomatoes to the rains and/or flooding. I am slowly removing the yucky plants after I harvest the last of their good-looking ripe fruit, and am replacing them with fall tomato plants I raised from seed. I have been doing that since June, and some of the June-planted replacement plants are already 3 to 4 feet tall and have blooms and fruit, so I think it will be a good year for fall tomatoes at least. I always grow about 15 tomato plants in containers (in additions to those in the ground), ranging from 5 gallons to about 30 or 40 gallons and they always do incredibly well as long as I keep them well-watered and well-fed. This year, Better Bush, Jaune Flamme, Early Girl, Little Lucky, Lucky Cross, Kimberly, Orange Banana and Nebraska Wedding have done very well in containers. Several others, including Ultimate Opener, Red Star and Galina's Yellow did not do as well in containers. Susan has had really great results with a tomato I think would be PERFECT for a container. I think it is Husky Red Cherry. There is a whole line of Husky tomatoes that are short internode plants which are great for containers. In the past, I have had lots of success with Better Boy in containers too. My melons have been slow too, but have finally begun to form fruit. My pepper plants are like yours....smaller than usual and bending under the weight of the fruit. I bet that we will harvest peppers until the first frost, though, so the plants ought to be able to grow and get a little stronger. I also have basil everywhere, and have been having to cut it back and cut it back and cut it back. The flowers are looking great, and it is still hard to keep up with all the mowing and weed-eating. We had bobcat problems earlier this spring/summer....he got a total of 2 chickens and 2 guineas, but we haven't seen him the last 2 or 3 weeks, so maybe he has moved on. The coyotes haven't been howling and running much yet, but it is usually August when that kicks in big-time, so I guess time will tell. The river is back down in its banks, although a lot of pastures near the river still have huge amounts of water that just will not drain and dry up...so I am guessing the water table is high under those pastures. We have had lots of deer, including one doe who always leaves her still-spotted fawn on the edge of the woods while she (the doe) nibbles around the edges of the garden. I just love little fawns, so, of course, I have been putting little piles of cracked corn, sunflower seeds and hen scratch on the edge of the woods so the fawn can eat them while the doe devours the garden. (She stands outside and reaches over the fence.) We are having tons of birds (including some we've never seen and haven't identified yet), butterflies, moths, frogs, turtles, dragonflies, etc., so it is a great year for sitting out in the lawnchairs at night and watching the wildlife. It IS hard to believe it is August 1st, and we haven't even hit 100 degrees yet (which is OK with me). I hope we have a really late first frost so we can enjoy a long, lovely, mild autumn. Welcome home! Dawn

Anj, It's not really bad. Where we live, there are things but some things you just have to drive further to get to! LOL Like we actually live on a pretty busy road and at the end of it, two miles from our house is a convenience store and gas station. The schools are right beside it and we have a pizza shop. Then you drive another mile and we have Dollar General! I was THRILLED when they put that there! A bit further down the road into town and you have two banks, two convenience stores, two gas stations, the hardware (Ace), a small town store, a bar...no red light! LOL We also live only 3 miles from an exit on I-80, so we have a McDonald's, Subway, two truck stops, a hotel..lol. The next closest town, Bellefonte, is a Victorian town and it's a bit larger. There we have the grocery store, another DG, small local stores, restraunts, doctor's offices, etc. Now if we want Wal-mart and Lowe's and the bigger stores and restraunts, we have to travel 15 miles to State College. Then we virtually have anything we want! LOL I have ALWAYS lived in this area. I love it here and don't really even like to go away on vacation! LOL It doesn't bother me all that much. I think it's better to have to drive to get places so I'm not always at the stores and stuff. I have been a SAHM for the last 8 years and most weeks I haven't ventured out of the house at all until the weekend and it's okay with me! I'm trying to work on outdoor stuff since it's nice now. We got more mulch and mulched a few new beds that we started last year on Saturday. Yesterday I dug grass out of an area that I wanted to use to expand my one flower bed along the shed and I hung up a few things that I had been collecting. I just need to get the plants in the ground (I'm dividing a few things that I already have). I would have finished last night but we decided to load up the four wheeler and head off to camp for some family time. I needed a break anyway!