ML, For Aloes, it's easy. Healthy Aloe roots are yellow (the shading depends on the species of the Aloe and the age of the root). It is a natural process for older, thinner roots to die off, so when you repot go ahead and clean up the root ball. The old ones look dead and peel off pretty easily.

miamcd, Most drain covers are plastic. If it's a metal grate, then it is most likely bronze(don't see many of those anymore). Usually the PB tries to match the grate colors with what goes best with the plaster colors. Almost all drain covers used in spas have that toe stub you mentioned. This design helps prevent entrapement and is pretty standard across the country. Most of your questions will be answered after the start-up when you are given your walk-thru, or "pool school" as some on this site call it. Good luck.

Tricky... So you're saying you experienced Franken-weeds? Let's see, if weeds were growing at a prodigious rate, couldn't be killed and continued to return with a vengeance then it would seem your garden was indeed robust that year... its the very definition of ROBUST actually... it's just not the plants you'd desired apparently. Epilog: Due to the weather (really cold and snowy) I'd been putting off my trial planting experiment. Well two weeks ago, I finally got around to scooping up soil from the beds and putting it into large plastic cups. Took out left over vegetable seeds from the summer past and sowed them into the cups. 8 cups in all... radishes, turnips, beans, carrots, lettuce, spinach, beets, and broccoli. Put the planted cups under grow lights in the basement. Just TWO DAYS later the radishes, turnips, lettuce had all sprouted... the NEXT DAY the broccoli, beets and the first bean plant showed up... TWO DAYS after that all the cups had germinated (carrots and spinach were the last to emerge... not what I would have predicted). This was certainly a good sign as it means germination has not been compromised... now to see if any of the first real leaves will appear deformed. I figured by the time I begin to see the second set of real leaves there should be no doubt that the roots are functioning within the soil supplying the plant with nutrients as the embryo leaves start to wither. Today makes it one day short of two weeks since PLANTING the cups and all plants have at least two sets of real leaves! (I've been giving them 14 hour days and the cups do get a little warm under the lights so that likely explains the speedy germination and growth rate.) All are very green (as I'd expect) and growth rate is exponentially accelerating every day so I don't know how much longer I can keep this experiment going... especially the bean plants (re: "Jack and the Bean Stalk" anyone?). I'll probably give it another week... by then the plants will be killing each other out as you can't expect to grow a half dozen or so plants in an 8 ounce cup for very long. Actually they are already fighting with each other (carrots, spinach, and broccoli are the exceptions so far... I'm sure in another week it'll be a different story for them as well). So to answer my own question (refer to the title of the thread)... I've determine the answer to be... wait for it.... NOTHING. Wow, what a long journey to discover there is nothing to fear with applying massive excess humic shale to the garden.... could it be its all a scam? That's another question for another thread for another time.

Yes, remove it. It is not a valuable tree - it's basically a throwaway in the nursery industry. All prunus are susceptible, some significantly more than others. You can treat with a fungicide and a lot of pruning, but I wouldn't bother with a purple leaf plum. If you're looking for a spring flowering tree, consider service berry (amelanchier)