Here in tree-hugging California you are are required to get a permit to remove any tree in your own yard that is more than 38" in circumference. You can and will be fined if you do...in the thousands of dollars. Even if you planted that tree yourself 40 years ago, fertilized and watered and pruned it. You have to provide proof that said tree qualifies for removal. (see below) Then you must replace it with a new tree 24" box size, OR pay an in-lieu--of fee which goes to planting a tree somewhere in our wonderful city. Are we the land of Fruits and Nuts?????? YUP ...but our weather is perfect here. *************************************************************** 1. The tree is diseased or badly damaged. 2. The tree represents a potential hazard to people, structures or other trees. 3. The tree is in sound condition but restricts the owners’ ability to enjoy the reasonable use or economic potential of the property. It may also unreasonably restrict an adjoining property owner’s use or economic potential of the adjoining property. If this applies, the factors below will be used to make a decision regarding removal. If the tree is healthy, the following factors shall be used to evaluate the application:  The need to allow construction of improvements and to allow economic or reasonable enjoyment of property  The approximate age of the tree relative to its average life span  The limited useful landscape value due to its inappropriate species, size and location relative to the existing structures on the property  The topography of the land and the effect of the requested action on water retention and diversion or increased flow of surface water The potential effect of removal on soil erosion and stability where the tree is located  Current and future visual screening potential  Overcrowding of trees unreasonably restricting the use of the land

Hi Wantonamara, Welcome to the forum. The drought, heat and fire situation are scary and have been for months now. It is just that everything seems to be escalating almost out of control now in terms of heat, drought, and plants that are going dormant or dying---whether they are native or not. If it is any consolation, I don't want to do anything outside either. I try to do my gardening chores and animal feeding chores very early and very late. Otherwise I attempt to hibernate inside the air-conditioned house. I agree that we have reached the point in most of TX and OK that mowing can be dangerous in terms of sparking a fire. I think it is more dangerous to not mow, so I'd mow, but with a water hose hooked up and ready to go and a bucket of water very close by to where I was mowing, and a rake, shovel and wet burlap bag or other heavy-duty cloth all close to hand. I'd keep a cell phone handy too so I could call 9-1-1 right away if a fire sparked. We are seeing incredibly rapid spread rates here with grassfires, and once they are up and running, they can get into brush and trees very quickly and become full-fledged wildland fires. For about 2 weeks now, I've been watching fires spread more quickly than I've ever seen any fire move in summer. They are moving as if being pushed by 35 to 50 mph winds even though on most days the wind is in the single digits. I'd mow closest to the house and work my way outward if I could so you always have the shortest grass between your house on the one hand and your tractor/mower and the tall grass on the other. Often people start out at the farthest point and work their way inward, but during high fire danger, that's a big risk. Having said all that, if I had those brush piles, and especially because they do contain cedar, I'd consider plowing a WIDE firebreak around the property if that is possible, or at least around all the structures. We've been having very bad fires in the western half of our county this month and you wouldn't believe how many people have started plowing firebreaks around either the entire property or the structures or even both---the outer firebreak just inside the fenceline and the inner firebreak around all the structures. The closer people live to the site of a recent fire, the more likely they are to be out plowing wide firebreaks. A few ranchers are plowing up entire fields. I am not sure if it is for fire prevention or other purposes. (It certainly is far too early and too dry to be plowing in order to plant winter wheat here.) The time to decide to cut back dry landscaping near the house is not when a fire is a few hundred yards away, but rather somewhat earlier than that. I hope it is not a choice I ever have to make. We have worked so hard to plant nice trees that will eventually shade the house quite nicely and I do not want to sacrifice them for fire prevention if I can avoid doing so. We have limbed up all our trees, except for the fruit trees, so that the lowest limbs are 8' above ground in order to keep fire out of the crowns. One thing that anyone with a house in an area prone to wildfire might want to consider is to buy a homeowners kit of sprayable fire retardant that can be sprayed with a simple garden hose. You can spray-coat your house or whatever else you wish to protect in just a few minutes. It isn't terribly inexpensive, but protecting our home with it would cost less than paying the deductible on our homeowner's insurance policy. When fire is near my house, I focus on wetting down the ground on whatever side the fire is approaching from. Other than that, I try to get all the cats and dogs in the house so they are as safe as they can be as long as the house stays safe. Finally, I make sure the car is already parked facing the street and ready to go in case I have to make a run for it. To be honest, when we moved here, wildfire was the last thing on our minds. We've seen several horrid droughts and fire seasons since then, and we have an 'escape plan' in place. You have to. If the fire is close enough you can see flame or smoke, it is too late to be making decisions about what to do----you need to be doing it! Stay safe everyone. We had three fire calls today. That's right. Three in one day. Except in the worst of drought years, that just doesn't happen. It is happening now. There are many, many fire retardants available for use by fire departments, insurance companies (some insurance comapnies hire fire protection companies to come in and spray homes when a fire is approaching, if time permits), and even homeowners. You can find them by Googling, but I'll link one below to get you started. Dawn Here is a link that might be useful: Thermo-Gel Fire Retardant

It is New Years, My Birthday, The 4th of July and Christmas at my house today. I received my box from Anita, and Im just in awe over it. I hope I donÂt miss anything, and here is what she sent me! BRUGS: Milk and Honey Peaches and Cream BULBS 10 Allium Bulgaricum 10 Fritillara UVA Vulpis 10 Fritillaria Meleagris 30 Brodiac, Queen Fabiola DAYLILIES Chines Offerings Dearly Sweet Green Flutter PandoraÂs Box Pixy Deception ShelbyÂs Song (OMG, THE FAN IS HUGE!, and IÂm so thrilled to get it. Shelby has hit the five mark being in remission and this plant says it all!) Strawberry Candy Undercover Angel Vera Biaglo Winter Masquerade HOSTA "SUGAR AND CREAM" CHOCOLATE VINE SOLOMON SEAL PINAPPLE LILY CD-Flower Master Avon tea light and holder "All about Apples" Autumn scene puzzle Nice note cards and Envelopes Fan light If that wasnÂt enough she sent me an insulated lunch box with>>> Candy bars, Milky Way, Snickers, Twix, Tuna Medley with Sundried tomatoes & basil (yummy, hubby and I had these for lunch!) Pecan Pies (We had this with our coffee for dessert.) Capri Sun, Wild Cherry Lemonade on the Go ANITA, ANITA, ANITA, I don't know what to say, this box was incredible, and be sure that another box will be heading your way next week. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! LIFE IS GOOD! Annie

Really great inputs from all of you. Thank you for taking your time reading and responding! There are some great ideas here, but unfortunately, we will not be able to make all the changes due to various reasons. For example, we will not change the framing of the windows because that will require extra permit (I think); We will not re-do the walls and the ceiling in the wood room so we preserve its historical look (and to keep the budget down); etc. But @kaismom, you gave me some idea for re-doing the kitchen. (Love it in SketchUp since it doesn't cost anything to tear stuff down!) I moved the fridge to behind the division wall and made it tall cabinets all across. I realize that this will make the galley kitchen look even narrower, but it got the fridge out of the way, and since this is a single cook kitchen, being a little narrow is not too big a problem (I have about 39" of clearance between the counter top edge to the other cabinet wall.) I also moved the dishwasher to the left size because now I could put a 33" drawer base by its side. Now, I have two 2-basket trash pullout (for trash and recyclables). Not sure if that's an overkill. The only non-drawer cabinet is there because the code require access to the propane shutoff which is hidden behind that cabinet. (We will not use propane but the pipe is already there.) However, I still face the choices what to do with the opening at the kitchen: leave it completely open, have a one tier open counter, or have a small breakfast bar. I personally like the look of the one tier counter, but I have no good aesthetic sense; hence I appreciate your input. Currently, I'm putting this IKEA VÄRDE drawer unit for the two non-open options. Either way (one level or bar), I have a 40" opening from the short wall to the other side of the opening. I wonder if that's too narrow for the kitchen installation. But with the hallway at 39" wide, and the opening at 40", I can't foresee any problem with getting the appliances and cabinets in. Hope someone can point it out if it will be a problem. Without further ado, let me take you on a tour in our newly remodeled house. Again, click on an image for its full size. Overview. North is up. Living room, seen from the wood room. Looking into living room standing at the front door. Same exact angle, but this time, we put in a bar (open counter or tiered) at the kitchen. You probably have to bring up the full size to see the difference. View from the couch. This picture explains why we choose dark cabinets in the wood room -- so that they do blend in. Now, what if we have a bar (open counter or tiered) at the kitchen? A look at the living room from the desk area. Okay, this series is important. which option would you vote for? Open? One level counter? Tiered breakfast bar? Here is a look into the galley kitchen. Three options again. The wood room.