mjowest, to include a picture in your post, go to your picture at Photobucket. Click on it to get the full size picture. Over to the right (you might have to scroll down a bit), you'll find the "Image link code." There will be 4 different codes. Highlight and copy the "HTML Code." Then in your post here at Garden Junk, just paste the code into your message. It will look kind of weird but once you do a "Preview Message," it will appear just fine. I really want to see that bird feeder of yours!

next fall.. after leaf color change on the deciduous trees... if you grab a handful... you will see that a lot of them have spots like this ... fungus/mildews are two of mother natures composters ... mushrooms and all ... etc ... my point was.. it would be pollution.. to try to spray.. dead leaves... so i wanted to clearly focus you on such... going to post any pix of the buds.. or just wait and see ??? personally.. i got rid of all my E's years ago ... due to scale .. and other problems.. yours seems very thin ... i bet they are in heavy shade which they apparently arent enjoying ... you can probably do much better with a new plant.. OF SOMETHING ELSE ... i would have no qualms of killing this thing ... i also see on your last pic.. it has the black spots also in summer ... it might be a mildew.. again caused by too much shade, among other things ... and.. try to avoid adding guesses to titles.. because we tend to focus on them.. and sometimes it leads us astray ... get rid of it.. if you are so inclined ... we can help you choose much better stuff ... often ... decades ago.. things were planted.. and in full sun.. but sooner or later.. the shade trees end up shading the smaller full sun plants below... and you are better off getting rid of them... since not many peeps would cut down a huge shade tree.. for the scrub underneath.. and i will personally come and slap you if you did so.. for a eyuonomys .... lol.. not really.. but you get my point .... take care and good luck ken Here is a link that might be useful: mildew on eyuonomys

Yes, I am. This is my first season for this count and I think it's a lot of fun. I try to watch for chunks of time, like at least 30 minutes, several times a day. I did not count on Friday...I forgot. This season I have also been counting for Project Feeder Watch which is run by Cornell Lab of Ornithology. It's a lot of fun and has gotten me to pay more detailed attention to the birds. PFW starts the second Saturday in November and runs until April 4th. Two weeks ago I counted for Mass Audubon but did not get many birds at all. Some days are so busy that I can hardly keep up. Other days are slow with few birds. I watched one Saturday afternoon for over an hour and had only one bird during that entire time...isn't that strange? sooey

been having a black cast iron sink for 10 yrs your research is correct hard to maintain very prone to scratches. It only looks clean if you dont use it. it looks beautiful when first installed but over yrs even expensive cleaners will not make then look nice. If you can afford to replace it every 2 yrs then its a good choice. mine is set in dark colored granite. Neutral colors are much easier to keep clean. I have ocd that black sink and dark colored granite absolutely kills me. You can wipe it over and over it still shoes much stains from water and the sinl is basically a hazy looking grey over the years. Regular stainless steel with no glossy finish is much easy to clean and stands the test of time.