Ok here is my story. So we had this rooster, this morning, who has been increasingly evil with everyone who goes near the 'ladies'. At first it was just me, but recently even my husband with the biggest scariest boots he owns has been a target.Spurs flying, mean scary attack rooster, as mean and evil as you have ever seen, even when you try to feed him. What's his name? Someone asked me the other day "Dinner" I said without hesitation. Anyway, this morning a friend who is a chicken farmer, visited. I was lamenting the inability to go in to the pen and clean them out and collect eggs with the children as I always enjoyed it. So this friend said, "let me go in there and see how mean he really is" After a few turns around the chicken yard, with me watching safely from the house, he had the rooster on the defensive, and clearly convinced. So he cornered him and caught him. "He's all feathers, not anough meat on him to say so...Shall I 'take care' of him for you?" He asked. I knew this was not an offer to adopt him and take him home, so I hesitated for about 2 seconds before saying, "OK". Images sprang to mind of peaceful mornings spent with the chickens again, remembering all the reasons why we started keeping them to begin with. So our friend,with'Piggy' firmly held by the feet and swinging by his side, hikes waaayyyyy up the steep mountain behind our house, and disappears about half a mile up into the woods. After about 10 minutes he came back and said, "Wow, I've never seen one fight like that. Even after I slit his throat he was still attacking me, and actually got away" Anyway, the rooster had his throat slit and disappeared into the undergrowth to die. The coyotes that we hear every night would surely dine royally tonight. Well 8 hours later upon returning from my son's soccer practice, who is strutting around the yard as though he owns the place, pacing up and down outside the chicken run eyeing his harem...Yup, it was Piggy the evil rooster. Now this apparent resurrection, or cheating death is made all the more incredible once you realize that the guy who took care of him is truly an experienced slitter of chicken throats. Anyway, my only thought, after ushering my 8 year old chicken lover into the house, was to let the dogs, 2 large labs out. I know I know, once they get a taste for it ....etc etc. But what am i to do? Here is a rooster, we know it is only a matter of time before he relieves my son of one of his eyes, with a giant hole in his neck, bristling at the sight of me from 30 yards away. No one due to be home to help with the situation for another hour. So quietly I let the dogs out, took my son into a room on the other side of the house and waited for nature to take it's course, which it did...very quickly. My biggest question is this...do I still need to feed the dogs tonight, or can I save the dog food?

I have 50 plus large miscanthus mature grasses and the electric hedge shears work like a charm. i cut mine down as low as possible, leaving only an inch or two. 8 inches will be noticeable when the new growth comes up and theres all those dead grass spikes at the bottom. i started using the elec hedge shears when i was wishing i had a chainsaw and it occured to me that i DID have the next best thing. saves a lot of the bending and back ache too. if yours dont do well you may need to sharpen the blades. I will say that some muscle is still required but at least my poor hands arent hurting like crazy from hand clipping all of them. (i also have to clip ravenna grass, arundo donax variegata, panicums, indian grass, the fountain grasses and tons of smaller grasses as well) there is always the burning off method too but im afraid my crabby neighbor would love to turn me in!! the sheep shears dont look as if theyd be much better than hand clippers on the tall grasses when doing a ton of them. but think i might get some and try them out as regular pruners. they look kinda cool.

In the spring one Yellowjacket, the queen, finds a spot to build a nest and then proceeds to lay eggs and the workers hatch and grow and then go to work. Usually by the time you notice a nest is is getting fairly large and is too late to try to relocate, especially since the queen is not going to move. I have not seen anything that can be used as a deterent of in ground nests once the queen has started building it. These wasps can be beneficial predators, helping control many insects, including other beneficials, as well as psest since they are just plain mean when they feel threatened. Perhaps this link will be of some help. Here is a link that might be useful: About Yellowjackets

4400 species of aphids The U of Kentucky says: "Two species of aphids are common on tomatoes, the potato and green peach aphids. "Although similar in size, about 1/8 inch, these aphids vary in appearance. The potato aphid is pear-shaped and may be solid pink, green and pink mottled, or light green with a dark stripe. It has a long slender pair of tail-like appendages (cornicles). The green peach aphid is pear shaped and pale yellow to green in color. The cornicles are much shorter on this species." http://www2.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/ef313.asp The University of Florida mentions the silverleaf whitefly (which most of us probably think of as an aphid) and the previously-mentioned green peach aphid and potato aphid. https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in169 The other eastern state sources I looked at mentioned only the green peach aphid and the potato aphid. Oklahoma State University and the Walla Walla County Extension (WA) both mention "several" species of aphids feeding on tomatoes. pods.dasnr.okstate.edu/ docushare/ dsweb/ Get/ Document-1392/ HLA-6012web.pdf wallawalla.wsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Tomato-Pests.pdf UC Davis mentions the ubiquitous green peach aphid and "several other species." http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/r783300711.html So not so many aphid species sucking tomatoes in the lower 48: maybe only 6 or 8 total.