Oh Luna, Possible but it is not an easy chore we use a Sawzall, tape around the middle, sit it on a coffee can use a skill saw to score the outside then set it in a hole in the ground and take the sawzall to it. the more we do the better we get of course, the cuts were really jagged to start with now they are getting better, Yesterday my son held them in his hands while my JH sawed, I love both of them but I wouldn't hold the ball....LOL As for Aphids..I don't worry too much about them as we have an abundance of traned lizards...LOL My garden friends....they pretty much keep my insect population to a minimum I only have issues with caterpillars and spider mites.....Here is a pic of my favorite lizard.....From Garden Lizard From Garden Lizard

Our bluebirds usually fledge on day 17 or 18, so it won't be long now! The parents might stop feeding them, or bring food and not let them have it, hovering in front of them and teasing. They will get hungry, and the parents will call to them. Eventually, each one will get up into the entrance hole (or window LOL), and peek out more and more, often going back in, while others take a turn. When you see toes on the windowsill, they are very, very close. Once I watched a little boy try to take off, but he would not let go of the box. Then he had one wing in and one wing out. It took him about a 1/2 hour to figure out what to do next, but he eventually made it to the trees. The parents will then guide them to the safety of the trees, either by calling them or leading them. Our best hope is that when they go, they can really fly, otherwise, they are vulnerable to predators; hawks and cats and such. Enjoy the show. And don't blink. We set up a video camera once, to try to catch one bluebird fledging. The whole 8-hour tape was absolutly nothing--no peeking, no toes, nothing. At about 7 hours & 45 minutes into the tape, a blur went by. That was it! BlueBars

Hi, Kathleen, Thanks for asking! The umbrellas work fine and are more stable with bunjee cords stretched around the nearby fence & around the handles of the containers themselves to anchor them down. We decided against plantings--for now. I did "meet" the new neighbor woman thru the fence--she is the sister of the woman who owns the house and she is the aunt of the other woman "with issues" who used to live there. The next day after we met thru the fence, I made and decorated a batch of cherry cupcakes and brought them over for her, her hubby and their two kids and visiting nephew. They plan on cutting down the rest of the tree, hopefully next month. That will eliminate the problem, and I'll have two nice umbrellas for the patio. We'll see if they remove the tree. I had a chance to look at it through her kitchen window--the roots are huge and extend about 5 to 8 inches above their patio surface! I suggested they get the stump ground down & mentioned that the tree roots could crack the foundation of the house--BIG expen$e for her sister and BIL if that happens. Much as I love the tree, I had no idea of how big the roots were above ground! No wonder my cinderblock wall (perpendicular to the wooden fence) had a big crack in it! While I was there, she mentioned the boys were using the tree as target practice, which was a perfect opening for me to mention about the city ordinance of "no discharge of guns within city limits"--it was a big issue when I was on the citizens committee of the city council. I thought I made my point, and showed how her large backyard abuts so many other yards, that neighbors might be concerned, and if the police were called, the kids could be taken to juvie or something because shooting a gun in the city limits--not to mention a neighborhood full of houses & families!--is a misdemeanor. Of course, my big concern beside privacy was the boys in the treehouse doing target practice at empty cans, and then deciding to try and shoot a moving target--our little dogs! Her bringing up the boys using the tree as target practice was a great opening for me to speak up! Unfortunately, yesterday the boys were shooting again. I really hated to do it, but the police were called. Maybe she was in the shower, maybe her husband told the boys to go shoot outside or something. I don't know. I can only hope the shooting issue has been resolved with police involvement, and soon the tree issue will be resolved as well. Cross your fingers for me, okay?? Here's one of our sweet little dogs:

Look at your inspiration photo (the last one) again. It is not wall to wall windows. There is breathing room and wall space around the windows. While a wall of glass might be different, I don't like a wall of windows, especially without breathing room. Go back to three windows or even one larger and two narrower ones. I like the C-shaped idea, but I would make the cabinets stained like your main ones. Your hood is more like that one above, the barrel shape, right? You are using the chimney style in the drawings and that just doesn't look right with panels around it. I don't think a hood looks sad and lonely if not connected to cabinets -- I think it looks clean and functional, but I wonder where my oils and things, my serving pieces, etc. will go. LOL (You could look into putting in some niche space in your backsplash or to the side.) If you do uppers, I do like the idea of stained better, and I do think the same height is better. Or just put one on the window wall to the counter to balance the one at the other end and forget the other one. (be brave -- the copper is beautiful and can shine on it's own). Make the island less of a cabinet that turns the corner and treat it more like a piece of furniture added to the rest of the kitchen. Give it a different color, different counter, different trim, hardware and even a different (but related - not too different) door style. Maybe put it on feet. My thoughts, anyway. ;-)