I agree with you, Acer, that the choice is a contradiction. The Green Giant (Thuja) was the other contender when I narrowed down my choices. There were a few things that tilted the selection to cedar. One is that it is nearly impossible here in town to get an apple tree far enough away from junipers to avoid cedar-apple rust if the apple tree is susceptible -- the experts say something like a half-mile of distance is needed. There are probably several junipers in neighbors' yards just on my block alone. So one more juniper will not likely cause more trouble than the other existing dozens would. Second, I prefer native plants. If there were no resistant apple trees, I would plant the juniper anyway because the juniper is native. According to one source, it is the ONLY needleleaf evergreen native to this particular area. On the other hand, apple trees are the interloper here. As far as I know, no apples are native to Iowa, not even crabapples. So why plant an apple at all? Well, I have this stubborn conviction that every yard needs an apple tree because I grew up with one. Even tho it was out behind the garage and surrounded by tall shrubs and could only be seen when one was standing right underneath it, it impressed me enough to want an apple tree wherever I call home. "Home is where the apple tree grows." Third, along with being native is the observation that these junipers are found in native stands along with black walnuts, so they are already good friends and won't cause trouble between themselves. It's good to know that my trees will feel good with each other. Their driplines will be very close, maybe overlapping. Fourth, the juniper provides berries that birds enjoy during the winter and the thuja does not. Feeding wildlife is an important consideration to me. No, I have not heard of cedar-needle pie either! Haha. I'll have to work on that one -- what a challenge! But I think one can make gin from the berries. I wonder how the berries would flavor citrus-based confections like lemon pudding? Fifth was the growth rate. I think the juniper grows a bit faster than the Thuja. I can certainly afford a bigger juniper to start with because a close friend has a farm full of junipers -- he admires the tree -- and he'll dig one up to transplant. It'll be like a family connection through the tree. So I might have a useful screen in only a few years to block a neighboring apartment house window that looks down into my big patio window, which I like to keep uncurtained. When it's all added up, I am simply very happy that my stubborn, contradictory convictions can be satisfied with a really promising solution like a disease-resistant tree.

Hi irish rose grower! If you have been following my threads you will know that I did the feeder a little longer than a full year before I saw a hummer at it and now I have one male that comes 3 times in the early morning and 3 times as the sun goes down. I now also have 2 or 3 females that come all day long. Looking back at it all now I am wondering if I may have had a few visit last year and not even known it as I looked at the feeder a few times a day, but I now see that unless we are as lucky as hummersteve that my approach to seeing hummers last year was not enough. Even with 3 or 4 regular birds visiting my feeders everyday it is rare that I just look out and see one there. It does happen, maybe once or twice a day, but the typical experience for me is to sit there and look and usually within 5 minutes one will come along. Usually one will come and feed quickly and run back off! I would say that the average stay at the feeder seems to be 20 to 30 seconds, with some as short as 5 and some up to a minute. They are small and fast! Not having a feeder could make it harder to just look out and find one as the flower possiblities are far more than just looking at a feeder quickly. If you have not done so I would suggest putting a chair outside at least 15 to 20 feet from some of the plants that you think they would like this time of the year and sit fairly still for a half hour and enjoy your garden. Best time might be 7:30pm. They might surprise you with a quick fly in and fly out. I grew up on LI. Moved one state over about 13 years ago.

In many areas of the country there is a program, administered by the Small Business Administration, called SCORE. The Service Core Of Retired Executives helps new or beginning small business operators to get on track with their management and business operation practices. In some areas they do a great job, others are not helpful at all. You may want to check them out in your area. In some cases they will assign your business to a retired executive who will mentor you during the beginning phase. It would be very rare to find one that knows anything about the particulars of what you are wanting to do, but you should find volunteers that will guide you through much of the legal and operational parts of doing business. To find out more about their organization take a look at the site mentioned below. You and others may find it interesting. Here is a link that might be useful: SCORE

Certified Plot Plan Prior to the issuance of a building permit many communities require that a Certified Plot Plan be prepared and endorsed by a Professional Land Surveyor. Preparation of the plan requires the Surveyor to establish the property boundaries and locate the structures on the property. Generally, the plan is prepared to show the approving authority that the structure will meet the setbacks required by the communityâÂÂs zoning regulations. Property Line Staking Often property owners have only a general idea of where their property begins and ends. A property line staking involves setting survey monuments at lot corners and additional markers at set intervals along the property lines. Upon completion it is possible to stand on the lot and visibly see the exact location of property lines. Construction Layout and Verification As a project progresses from plans to construction it is often advisable or required to have the exact location and elevation of a structure staked on the lot. This prevents costly errors and helps ensure the structure is placed as required by the permit. In some communities clients are required to have the Surveyor certify the location of the completed structure prior to the project being considered complete.