Hi Palmcityfl: I'm learning about this myself. Much thanks to GG for telling me what I have. Doing some research on the tree has provided me with the following: Rhaphiolepis 'Majestic Beauty' Indian Hawthorn CHARACTER: Evergreen; round form; dense canopy. SIZE: Small (Height: 15-25'; Spread: 15'). GROWTH RATE: Moderate. FOLIAGE: Medium green, serrated, leathery, oval leaves 3-4" long. New growth is bronze or reddish. FLOWER/FRUIT/BARK: Small, light pink, fragrant flowers in clusters 6-10" across, bloom November-March. Dark blue berry, 1/4" across, forms in summer and drops. Smooth, light gray bark. MONTHLY WATERING NEEDS: 1st year: 4; 2nd year: 3; 3rd year: 1. TREE CARE: Low. Requires annual pruning. Stake and prune when young to develop good branch structure. TOLERANCES: Drought; sandy soil; gusty or cold winds; fog; smog; sun or shade, containers. SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS: Needs good drainage. Susceptible to aphids, fungus, leaf spot. NOTABLE TRAITS: Flowers provide welcome color in winter. More a large shrub than a tree, excellent tree for 2x3' basins, containers, and beneath overhead wires. I get a lot of compliments on the tree and never knew what it was and would like to give it better care than I have been.

Here's a link to images of mine, which is in Western Penn. Predates yours by about 30 years (ours is about 1880), but they seem to have similar bones. At least you can see what yours might look like w/out the porch (south face, remembering that our south face is covered over w/ vinyl, so who knows what it looks like underneath). Our north face has a wide fascia board that's not really obvious on these pics. We took the vinyl off when we redid the small porch roof. On ours, the porch is probably not original adn stoop definitely isn't! I'm anxious to take off the vinyl all around to see if there might've been a porch on the south face originally. There are bones of Greek revival in both, I think. Also, we have an architectural student drawing up an addition for us and he has mentioned Federal style (but I think that's a stretch). But I think, as was mentioned early in the post, it's probably more of a working man's vernacular style (if it's not the Sears home, can't comment on that one). There's a very good book out there on American Architecture: McAlester, V. and Lee McAlester. 1984. A Field Guide to American Houses. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. I'm sure it's on Amazon, or, if you're not really into *all* of the styles, it might be worth just a checkout from the library. Here is a link that might be useful: Druid's House

I absolutely love ginger, but I wasn't able to post to this before. I also love ginger flowers and have several types of ginger in my yard now. The blue ginger is blooming right now (see link below), but I also have red and white gingers, none of which are edible, but some of the flowers have very nice fragrances that are quite unique. As for edible ginger, I keep a jar of ginger paste (from an Indian market) that I use in soups, marinades, and stir fries, but not desserts. For desserts, I use ginger that I keep in the freezer. I should probably grow edible ginger. I bought ginger snaps at TJ's last week-end (along with some other more decadent cookies), but I think I should have made them myself. They were good but not quite gingery enough. I don't have any dried ginger. Lars Here is a link that might be useful:

Oh, what a face! Great-looking little doggie. I agree: Beagle coloring, body and tail, as others have stated. Also shepherd. I don't see aussie cattle in there. Remember that mixed-breed dogs are often a mix of many breeds, not the spawn of two purebreds. So you could pick as many as seem appropriate. For instance, my dog is border-collie, chow, black lab and something small. Plus whatever else she might be...