I'm having the same trouble trying to plant Sunflowers and while I haven't seen them, I'm almost positive it is the squirrels. We don't have deer or rabbit. It might have been a groundhog, but he would have eaten a lot of things and made a huge mess. I've sown the seeds three times already. After the first set of seedlings disappeared [all but two] I sowed more seed and put hardware cloth down over the seed area and some of those edges were sharp. They still managed to get in between them a little but it looked like they gave up. But, to get back at me, they pulled out the two remaining sunflower seedlings that were about 6 inches tall already. After the second set of seeds germinated, I didn't want them to grow up through the wire, so I took it off and weeded around them. Back they came and did the same thing. So I've started the third bath which are already up. I've kept the wire covering on and bent it up a little to allow the sunflower seedlings a little room to grow. This time I am not going to weed around them because I think disturbing the soil at all, is a trigger for attracting them to the area. I even left the pulled sunflower seedlings right where they left them. If this doesn't work, I'm going to try using the netting I have over the strawberries, that seems to be working fine for the strawberries. Maybe that way I can get them to a decent size before they can get at them. I hope.

Vicky, your idea of stacking leaf bags around the bin is a standard practice shown to be very effective for insulating outdoor systems in cold regions. In the absence of leaf bags old straw bales work very well, too, as does tossing an old sleeping bag over the bin. Remember that the top of the unit needs to be covered as well, as heat rises. As long as you continue to bury feedstock in an insulated bin that has some mass to it (at least 2' x 3') bacterial heating will keep the system warmer than ambient temperatures. The mistake some make is to reduce feeding when it gets cold, thus reducing energy inputs that fuel biological heating. As ShenValleyJoe suggests, we tend to produce less feedstocks appropriate to worm bins in the winter, and we tend to eat more, producing less scrap, so keep an eye on the feeding rate to ensure you're keeping the system fueled. Outdoor bins are employed year round in most areas of the US. Of course the worms will slow down considerable during winter as compared to summer, and sometimes essentially stop processing scraps, but worm bins are not killed, even in New England, Nebraska, and Michigan when the season turns cold. Your worms will do just fine! Kelly S

Yup, I've got just such a pole and it's funny how I don't see it anymore. The old eucalyptus hid it very neatly for 30 years but dad cut it down after the kids sitting on the curb across the street said they were enjoying the fireworks. The wind was making sparks with the tree in the lines. Show over.

Dedtired, 'troop' of kangaroos is an accepted collective noun, but that which is more commonly used is a 'mob' of kangaroos. We have had a particularly cold snap and areas that haven't had snow for decades are enjoying it. For many of you who have deep snow annually, you would probably laugh at the amount we get excited about in these parts.