Cliff thought his Shin had completely snapped below the graft union because the fruits he was getting from his snow damaged mother tree were astringent. After consulting with me, he decided to change his idea about Shin being non-astringent. Really, if he was getting fruit from the rootstock what are the odds they'd even be edible? What I had was extremely precocious which should be a pretty good indicator of variety. Why are you debating about the shape? To me they look more like Fuyu than the astringent varieties in stores. Maybe I just have no eye for shapes. Let's move on.

Yes, I'm rather broken-hearted regarding the new Sturbridge policy regarding herb sales. I used to acquire two or three new herbs each year by stopping by there on my way to or from the Boston area. IMO it was one of their more significant contributions. So far they are continuing their line of traditional seeds, but when I bought some in June they were totally out of all their bean varieties. They also seem to be trying to gradually block public access to their herb garden, which until now was accessible to members of the non-tourist public that patronized their gift and book shop. Their herb garden is very interesting and instructive, and well worth the trip to the RT 84 exit from the Mass Pike, from which Sturbridge is easily accessed. It is terraced on three or four levels, and always has a nice variety of herbs, with some of the old roses on the top level. There are some old wooden benches to rest on under a nice, shady tree about half way up, which is a definite boon on hot days. I had an interesting encounter with a chipmunk there this summer; it was happy to ignore me while it checked for seed pods on one of the herbs. They usually have several nice books on herbs in their book shop, too, If hops doesn't deter you motherwort probably won't, either, but in some situations it can definitely be worse than lemon balm. You will probably want to keep an eye on it once it begins to set seed. In the clay soil in my area, I have had much better success overwintering sage and thyme outside in pots rather than in the ground, as that provides the "sharp drainage" they prefer. The only herbs that have really done well as "perennials" for me here are the ones that reseed or spread by runners, though--lemon balm, black peppermint, sage, thyme, motherwort, oregano--imo most herbs are only short lived perennials in my area unless frequently divided and replanted. I admire people that keep their herbs going by rooting and etc., but I have broadened my herbal interests to include things like forsythia buds and honeysuckle blossoms from plants that truly perennialize in our area, to salve my disappointment over not having neat little rows of all the common kitchen herbs coming back each year. So many of them just don't, without really skilled handling. ..or, at least, the full sun that I simply can't give them. Ah, well; even my walnut tree's leaves have herbal uses....

I use an old Olympus C-740 Ultrazoom. I am impressed with how well it takes pictures, considering I always have it set to auto everything. I am not a photography wiz by any means, and this camera is easy to use and takes good pictures. I say it is old, probably 5 years now we have had it....old as digital cameras go. Thanks everyone for the nice comments. BN

For the last two years, I've been experimenting with methods used to deter hawks. I wanted to see if any particular method worked better than another and, I was hoping to find their achilles heel so I could perhaps create a method that would help people who want to enjoy the critters in their yard. I did this for not only songbirds but mammals, such as rabbits. I found that tape, for the hawks here, did nothing. I didn't try CD's but I would think they'd have little effect on a seasoned hunter. I tried that easily torn regular bird netting and fishing line. This did deter bigger hawks like a redtail or goshawk and definitely eagles. It did nothing to deter male coopers hawks, peregrines or sharp shins, assuming they could find a tiny gap between pieces of netting. Now if you get the holes small enough with the fishing line, it could have an effect but a quickier and easier alternative would be the aviary bird netting. I bought some on amazon. It's very strong, and the holes are 2" x 2" which is too small for any hawk to enter. That did deter them, as long as the netting completely covers everywhere the prey animal is located. So basically, a barrier is needed since gadgets used to 'frighten' or 'confuse' don't usually work. A bigger hawk, like a redtail, could possibly go crashing into the netting and if it isn't stuck in it, it would not only ruin your set-up, it would probably kill the prey but redtails here tend to avoid netting. For smaller mammals like rabbits, I recommend burying the surface of a solid corrugated pipe at least a few inches deep from the surface, not in a low spot where water can sit and possibly get in an entrance, covering up with the soil and putting a brush pile over top. Hide entrances in shrubs if possible. Make sure the pipe is pretty long at least 12 feet but preferably 18 ft or longer as hawks will try to flush the rabbits and this is less likely if pipes are longer. If you have larger mature rabbits in the area, I'd recommend you buy 8" if offered, or split the 6" pipe (that's the only size pipe our stores offer) and open it up a bit before burying, to allow a bigger rabbit entry. If trying to protect a small dog or other small animal, I'd definitely go with chicken wire whenever possible but otherwise, the aviary bird netting is strong and on a strong frame, should deter most attacks. It's also black which makes it blend in much better than chicken wire. I've tried water guns, nerf guns, clapping and yelling. Yelling is very effective if you see a hawk chasing down prey. It distracts them for a moment and the prey gets away but given you'd have to be monitoring constantly, that's not practical. But if you see it, a great big 'hey!' usually is enough to break up the chase. Nerfs work but again, you have to be there constantly. Recordings of owls or a peregrine falcon will work but usually only on juvenile hawks. I've buried pipe but found the pipe wasn't long enough and wasn't hidden well enough. All the hawk has to do is be able to put a talon at the opening of the pipe and the rabbits or whatever small animal is hiding, will flush from cover that the hawk couldn't possibly have accessed. So best protect entrances with brush or a large stone. In conclusion, hawks will go where the food is. They are also capable of retaliation when they think you're trying to stop them (confirmed by a falconer and my own experiences) and will try that much harder to thwart you. The best thing is to not concentrate any animal or bird to avoid attracting them and if you do decide to feed, hide feeders or mammals/buried pipe under trees and shrubs before they discover it because once you get on their radar, it takes a couple of years for them to forget you.