Leyla: I don't want to disillusion you but the guinea fowl will screech like a dying woman at any hour of the day. They are particularly noisy at roosting time. If you have more than one, each will insist on trying to roost higher than the other/s, and this squabbling, at high decibels, will go on for ages. They lay their eggs in an extremely well-hidden communal nest and, prompted by some whim or other, will decide that another nest location is preferable. So off they go again. But no-one seems prompted to actually sit on the eggs. I have no idea how they manage to breed in the wild. For all their faults, they are fascinating birds - very inquisitive, very vocal and always in a flurry.

I don't recognize the plant, but it looks like it's spreading by underground runners, and that is never a good sign. I think that you are going to have to dig up the whole area and pull out the roots; if you decide to do that, I highly recommend a garden fork rather than a spade or shovel - just my experience. I do think that you should take one of the close-up pictures you've got at imgur and post it on the Name That Plant forum, because quite often you need to know who your enemy is to eradicate them.

I watered him only when the top inch felt dry and gave him lots of indirect sunlight. However, in the past couple of days, I've noticed brown spots/speckles on the lower leaves and the stems. I have also been reading similar posts from other members and Al's explanations, so I'm assuming the problem is mainly due to overwatering, root rot and/or insects. I also am seeing the fiddle's roots on top of the soil so the best bet seems to be repotting. Having come to this conclusion, I am planning to repot the guy by following Al's famous gritty mix recipe. The brown specks on the leaves are likely oedema, which occurs when the plant's internal water pressure becomes high enough to break through cell walls. The cell's contents then burst and leak into intercellular spaces in the surrounding tissue, which causes a saturated spot that eventually turns corky. The elongated spots on stem structures are openings in the stem's young periderm (bark) called lenticels. Their job is to provide openings through which internal gasses can escape and oxygen from surrounding air can enter the plant's tissue, which requires this gas exchange to remain viable. There is one question, however, that I have not been able to find an answer to anywhere in the forums (or perhaps I'm not researching hard enough). When repotting, am I supposed to remove/cut off the affected leaves? No. A plant's only source of food/energy is the sugar it makes during photosynthesis (glucose). Since every leaf is a food factory, removing them leaves the plant very vulnerable - especially so if it has been growing under stress or strain, leaving it w/o enough energy reserves to push a new flush of foliage. None of my leaves have crispy brown tips, mostly brown speckles on the back of the leaves as well as all over the stems (petiole?). I have seen some people cut away parts of the affected leaves, but that doesn't seem like the best option for me as the speckles are not necessarily concentrated in specific areas. The lower leaves are also starting to droop. If I am not supposed to cut the affected leaves, do they eventually go back to "normal" and lose the spots after repotting and following the correct procedures? Animals are regenerative organisms and can "heal" by regenerating new tissues in the same spacial position as damaged tissued. Plants are not capable of doing that, so damage cannot heal. A blemished leaf will always have the blemishes until the leaf is no more. I guess what I ultimately want to know is, "how do I get rid of the spots?" Some trees are prolific back-budders, IOW, they form new branches from dormant buds above old (leaf) bundle scars and from adventitious buds that arise from the plant's meristematic tissues. Meristematic tissues have cells (STEM cells, thus meriSTEMatic) that are capable of differentiating into any of the plant's organs. You can get rid of spots by getting rid of leaves - by defoliating the entire tree in the summer and when the plant is in a very high state of vitality (has lots of stored energy); or, you can cut the plant back hard and train a new branch to a vertical orientation as the new leader. All the new leaves on the new branches that occur will be pristine, as long as you're able to provide cultural conditions that favor the tree. Your job, as grower, is to identify and eliminate those conditions that are limiting or have the potential to inhibit the plant's ability to realize its genetic potential. That's how I look at growing, and it's served me very well. You can start by making sure you're maintaining a healthy ratio of air:water in the root zone and are fertilizing regularly and appropriately. That air:water thing is by far the most prevalent stumbling block, usually related to a less than ideal soil choice, for most growers ..... and not just the new ones. And YES, you can still repot w/o having to worry about timing. I'd say you're good up until the middle of Aug, or maybe even the first of SEP if it was really important that you repot this year. Still, sooner is better. Al

To remove dust after building / construction - Vacuum the floors first using a brush attachment (so you don't scratch the floors) to remove larger bits of debris. Use a flat mop along with a PH Neutral detergent to remove the dust, make sure all excess water has been squeezed out (very important as you don't want moisture getting into the wood ruining your floors). Make sure you keep rinsing the pad, you may need to go over the floors a couple times before all the dust if gone. Make sure you don't drag the mop bucket along the floor to avoid scratches! You will need to research different cleaning products for general cleaning after the dust has been removed (flooring manufacturer would be a good place to start). This is because the correct product will be dependent on the finish. Polyurethane, oil, lacquered etc will all require different products. Due to this, I'd be reluctant to take or give advice on the subject. We do construction / builders cleaning professionally all over Sydney - click here