This morning I found several drops of honeydew on the areolar glands of 2 of the pads, and I have been keeping the soil slightly moist for a while, so this could perhaps be an indication the pads are progressing! Also, I have this amazing little M. matanzanus that is a real trooper! I had it out in my garage overnight with some of my other cacti, and I found it quite pale in the morning. Funny, it wasn't shrunken at all like my Ferocactus and E. grusonii were! Within 24 hours, it healed up and looks just as healthy as before! After I saw this, I checked what the low was supposed to be that night, and it was 43 degrees! That had me quite worried right there. I know they are supposed to be kept above 64 F at all times, but this surprised me! I've heard the younger specimens are more tolerant of cold than the older ones. I am making sure it doesn't happen again!

Actually we here in Southern Michigan may start warming up within the next couple of weeks. We were forecast to have a warmer than normal winter, and all that we've had for the last few weeks are temps below normal, like January temps, some days haven't got above freezing. Temps have been running with highs in the 30s and lows in the teens and 20s. if we are to average out to be warmer than normal, then we gotta start warming up eventually. Or is it just wishful thinking?

Thank you everyone, your complements make it worth my while to try to figure out what to do with two weeks worth of leftovers. Posted by hawk307 "------ DC: Talk about Dinners fit for a King !!! Wheeooo ! ---" Be careful Lou, behind every great king, there is a great queen who actually rules the kingdom. Posted by jasdip "----and now you have a year to plan next year's festivities.---" Yes I know, I hate to hear, "Come on dcarch! Not rib roast and duck again!" Posted by mustangs "Amazing!! How does one get on your guest list? Cathy" Marry me? LOL! Posted by jimster "It's the spectacular food we have come to expect of you, dcarch. And the photos too, are mouthwatering, even the blurred ones. ---" Thanks Jim, but truth be told, there are so many folks here cook with great panache, yet my cooking with sous vide, that requires absolutely no skills, nothing can go wrong, no overcooking or undercooking possible. Just flip a switch, "Set it, and forget it." Ann_t and FOAS, regarding Potato Latkes authenticity, what I went by was as defined by Wikipedia, under the section: Hanukkah Tradition - "Latkes need not necessarily be made from potatoes. Prior to the introduction of the potato to the Old World, latkes were, and in some places still are, made from a variety of other vegetables, cheeses, legumes, or starches, depending on the available local ingredients and foodways of the various places where Jews lived." And I did not invent the Mushroom Wild Rice Latkes recipe either, it was adapted from the KosherEye Web site The Wild Rice Latkes tasted very good because I didn't have Schmaltz, so I used the dripping from the roasted duck and rib roast, as it turned out, much tastier than Schmaltz, IMHO. It is always fun to engage your guests to go out of the regular food boxes a little. They really liked the purple Okinawan sweet potatoes, for instance. dcarch

Can't really tell from pics what grade elevations exist. The corrugated might have a vertical bend peeking through the grass. Unfortunately, it will still drain at the point the water rises above the bend. I say "unfortunate" because it will still perform somewhat and a contractor can then excuse a poor install. If it is meant to be a french drain here they do not have a sock on it or wrapped gravel trench. If it is solid pipe to only cart away downspouts or from a collection point in the middle of the back fence, then it's just a sloppy (but typical) install with vertical bends. However, if the pipe at the back fence is lower than somewhere along the side fence or pop-up emitter in front, it may actually be dumping water at the back, which is exacerbating the low point collection in the corner. You would have to evaluate the grade elevations in front compared to the low spot in the corner to see if you can drain it with piping. As far as your closing, I'm not sure if this is a deal breaker. I don't know what the builder can be held to as far as providing a yard with no standing water. If this is the only problem with the house, I'd say carry on with the deal and fix it later yourself. Most builders/contractors are incompetent in site planning and underground drainage, so the current team probably cannot fix it. BTW city inspection will not be looking if this exterior drainage is performing or not, receiving a Certificate of Occupancy means nothing on non- life safety issues.