Doc - a few points. You most assuredly can compost in NYC in closed containers. I've been doing it for a long time now. However, the five gallon containers are almost useless for making compost - get some big garbage cans. I use the 5 gallon containers for storage of stuff from the kitchen. In the spring I dump them onto the ground, mix it with the leaves I've swept up from the big tree out front, and put that into a large garbage can. Every 2 weeks or so, I dump that out and mix it up, adding more leaves or shredded paper as needed, or letting it bake in the sun for a bit to get the moisture right. The stuff from the kitchen has a lot of moisture - too much for your compost and it's going to stink. If you have a paper shredder, you're in luck. Or if you've saved leaves from fall, you're in luck. But that's all too much for the five gallon container. But there are still some caveats. First, you'll never get the internal temp you want. But I keep my container in full sun and on a 90 degree day, it gets pretty steamy and hot. It's more like you're baking the compost, but it does break down. That plus the freezing in the winter, breaks down all the cells and makes it a nice compost. Second, you'll get squirrels for sure, anywhere in NYC. Maybe rats too but definitely squirrels and they'll simply eat right through your plastic containers if they smell something they like. Onions are particularly attractive to them. Third, you'll also get mosquitos and flies and ants and maybe even roaches in the heat of the summer. Fourth, you'll need a final use for your compost. What are you going to do with the compost in your apartment? I think it's great that you want to do it and I wish I had all the stuff from your juicer, but at the end of the day, if you have a lot of compost, what good is it in your apartment? I do it out back, but I own the whole brownstone and the compost goes into the garden. I usually get 2 completed loads a year thru the summer, doing it as I described. People say you don't need to "turn" the pile, but that's because they have piles. If you do it in containers, believe me, you need to turn it. Just upend the container, mix it up, and shovel it back in. Sometimes I leave it to dry out for a few hours if it's too wet. It's not going to work otherwise. If you're composting in closed containers the rules are a little different. It's more work than doing it on the ground in a pile, and you'll never get the internal temps you would in a "real" pile, but you can get well over 100F in June/July/August. You also have to turn it yourself - there aren't going to be all the bugs and worms and critters doing it for you, and there's no drainage, so any moisture stays in the container, which means you'll end up with some stinky rotten mass and some completely dry parts in your container if you don't keep at it. That said, you can end up with perfect compost nonetheless. As I said, I've been making perfect compost for many years, using a few garbage cans. Best of luck to you!

Edna, so far what I've seen is that with sunshine, it has reached 60 inside when it was 30 outside. When it's cloudy, it might be only 10 degrees warmer in there. I'm wondering if the ground is going to freeze in there as the winter goes on. I think it will, but it probably depends on how many sunny days we have. Usually December here is very cloudy, but January and February have some sunny days. Speaking of toes, mine are a little cold right now, and I've been inside for hours. Thanks, FlowerLady, and Schoolhouse. 80 F sounds great to me right now. In fact, DW had a sudden urge today to get on the computer and try to find deals for a mid-February getaway to Orlando. She usually gets these ideas and then talks me into them, so we will probably end up going. TM

Cold and snowy here, as usual! I only wish I was comfy and cozy, but we keep our thermostat at about 58 and my office (where I spend 8 hours a day 5 days a week) is usually in the low 50s and I just never can get that used to it. I dress in heavy socks and slippers, heavy sweats, and a heavy sweatshirt over whatever. I have a small heater that I turn on occasionally for my feet and a heating pad I can use for the same... Oh well, spring will come! Eventually!

NHBabs, aporvac, 123cococo, I'm with you on the summer privacy as thats when you're outside. Based on the winter silhouette one would think you can still see through that area in the summer but its very dense. I don't have the exact view but left of that view is example of how it fills in. The subdivision owns the tree line (which includes me) so I received permission to plant Oaks where the two wide open spaces are. I flanked one of the oaks with two ironwood. Overall I feel like I don't want the heavy look in the summer so my view extends out to the tree line but in the winter I like the evergreen interest. Also I do wonder what type of residential development could take place if the farmer sold that field. Generally the rule is that you need minimum 2 acre lot but you can make it smaller by having green common space. Good suggestion on keeping the visitors in mind. The Seven Son Flower pulls in quite a few pollinators. I was disappointed that there weren't as many birds around this year. Usually I see a significant number of bluebirds and meadowlarks. Instead I was greeted with what felt like millions of Japanese beetles. I'll keep the plants in mind to encourage more fauna! Thanks for the thoughts and look forward to any other random thoughts! Winter view Same view growing season