Following up, a few months later... Things seem to be back to normal in the garden (thanks again for all of the advice and support). Nothing dead, and even a few new creatures -- a toad (must've come over from a man-made garden pond nearby) and a bunny (an unpleasant surprise -- living in an urban area, this is our first rabbit ever, in four years!). Birds are plentiful, and we're seeing a few goldfinches come by as the coneflowers dry up. I spent the summer enjoying the garden mostly from the inside... next spring will bring a clean slate and I can stop feeling funny about being out there (and about being here). Interesting, though: Like Hyta, I had not one Japanese beetle. Not a one. And I didn't spray anything besides all-season oil for aphids. Saw this in the newspaper today about more dangers from imidicloprid, this time about lingering dangers to honeybees: "Unfortunately, we are learning that Merit has some ugly side effects, namely causing what has been called colony collapse disorder, where thousands of honeybee colonies are disappearing for no obvious reason. Now we know that any plant that is treated with Merit and has blossoms that attract bees, those bees will receive a non-lethal shot of Merit. But it will cause them to lose their ability to find their way back to the hive. It also weakens the bee's immune system so the bee usually dies of some fungus or virus. ... "We yardeners can't deal with the bee problem in agriculture, but we definitely can take a look at how we are using Merit in our own yard. Some of the most effective and popular systemic insecticides for rose bushes have Merit as the main ingredient. Honeybees will always work over rose blossoms and so are exposed to a little bit of Merit -- enough to affect them badly." Provided the link for those of you who want to read more. (P.S. Maryl, I made sure to spray my clothes each time; thanks for the tip. And Joanne, now you must forgive me. I never have any e-mails about responses to a post. Still, please accept *my* apology for not responding sooner to say it's no big deal at all. :) )

In the late 90's, there was a poultry PHd who started a poultry operation raising roosters for their hackles. The business was near Olathe CO I believe. He would regularly harvest a rather large number of birds (over 100 I vaguely recall), get the hackles and compost the carcasses with the saved rooster manure. He would lay down a layer of manure, then birds, then manure, birds and so on. In short order the pile was done and there was only the occasional speck of bone. BTW, the rooster manure analyzed at 8% TKN-N. His explanation for the high N was that roosters don't produce urea (volatile) in their poop while hens do. Boy do I wish I had a rooster operation near me!!! Michael

> The AC people said something about a 'whole house surge > protector.' I wonder if this is something to consider? More than just consider. Everyone should have one. Different devices are all called surge protectors. Even power bars do not claim to protect from these other and destructive surges. One that protects from destructive surges is also the least expensive solution - a properly earthed 'whole house' protector. Remember, no protector does protection. For a TV cable, best protection is a wire from the coax to earth ground. Does wire do the protection? No. Protection is only defined by earth ground. Other incoming wires (AC electric, telephone) cannot make a direct earth connection. So a 'whole house' protector does what a wire would do better. Your phone and cable wires must already have that protector - as required by numerous standards and codes. But a lightning strike far down the street to AC electric (overhead or underground) is a direct strike incoming to all appliances. Either that current connects to earth via appliances (HVAC, garage door opener, dishwasher, computers) destructively. Or you connect to earth BEFORE it can enter the building. These superior solutions are sold in Home Depot and Lowes. And must be at least 50,000 amps. Protection is defined by earth ground. Your building earth ground must both meet and exceed code requirements. Even the connection must be low impedance (ie 'less than 10 feet', no sharp bends, no splices, etc). Protectors are simple science. The 'art' of protection is earth ground including how connections are made. Normal is for surges to enter via underground wires. If any underground wire inside a utility cable enters without that earth ground connection, then protection is compromised. Earth each either directly. Or via a 'whole house' protector. Otherwise protection is only what already exists inside each appliance. This post was edited by westom on Tue, Aug 13, 13 at 9:02

The trick is anything fast growing will likely hit the power lines pretty soon, and will likely have weak wood. Sounds like you want a tree that tolerates aggressive pruning (so you can hack it up to keep it away from the power lines) and is disease resistant. If you plant something that suckers, then when you cut down one that interferes with the power lines it will throw up new trucks. What about Paw Paw? Disease resistant and suckers. Sassafras albidum? Also suckers and has interesting leaves. Black Gum is supposed to have extra strong wood and be resistant to fallen branches. Look at the trees already there. What seems to be doing well, and looks good to you? Help us narrow down your choices. What is your soil like? Sandy, clay, swampy, salty, acidic? Is wind a problem? Deer? What diseases are a problem around there? What do you want out of these trees? Edible fruit, wildlife interest, winter interest? This post was edited by edlincoln on Fri, Dec 12, 14 at 17:48