Hi Laura, I was trying to remember whether we tried Liquid Fence there or not, so I asked my husband. He thinks we probably didn't try it, as, as he believes the non-vegetarian racoons would probably find the stinky rotten egg smell attractive, the same way they like Fish emulsion. But we've not tried it, so I can't say for certain that it wouldn't work. You can use bone meal successfully, Laura. You just have to keep it at the bottom of the planting hole, not up, say, to within 6 or 8 inches of the top. We put a lot at the very bottom of all of our holes and have only had the digging problem with the one new planter where I think we added some a little closer to the top. Compost ought to work out really well for your roses and anything else you want to grow wherever you want to put it--in the holes and on top too. You don't have to go the extra step to make compost tea and carry around that heavy water if you don't want to; if you just scatter it on top of the mulch when it rains off and on, the compost will gradually dissolve into the ground and the plants will be able to gradually use its nutrients that way just fine. (Note: this method depends on leaving your mulch in place on top of the ground, and replenishing it with more mulch on top of that as it becomes necessary. The partially depleted mulch contains the nitrogen the new mulch will need to begin the breakdown process all over again without having to take much from the soil to accomplish that.) I'd not personally recommend the use of non-organic fertilizers, as their use changes the natural balance of the soil's microbia. Plants have evolved over the centuries to coexist with and benefit from the naturally-occurring soil organisms, not a soil whose microbia have become wildy unbalanced. I briefly used superphosphate (in the Dark Ages) on my rhododendrons until reading a research-based article about the long-range unhealthy soil effects of using superphosphate. Plants will be much healthier in the long run if you can use only organic fertilizers like compost. To take for example the plants we've had the longest experience with, our rhododendrons absolutely love cottonseed meal, judging from their generous, gorgeous blooming on reasonably healthy plants (with no spray at all) for the past 35 years. We haven't used regular commercial fertilizers of any kind anywhere in our yard, including superphosphate, for all that time. We just throw cottonseed meal out on top of the mulch and let it get washed down into the soil with the rain. It gradually decomposes, consistently furnishing its nutrients to the rhododendrons. In noticing our large healthy rhododendrons, surprised people around here have said that they can't grow rhododendrons in their own yards, including even some landscapers who ought to know how to grow them. But the key is in the soil health and that's the difference in what we do compared to what they tried that didn't work. Organically based stuff is all you ever need to successfully grow rhododendrons; anything else, like commercial regular fertilizers, sets the plant up for diseases to a much more crippling extent than it would likely have had to deal with in a natural setting. Since starting with roses, we've put lots of good organic stuff into the planting holes, but cottonseed meal and banana peels are the main thing they'll ever get on the top, other than tree leaves and mulch. It seems to work well for roses thus far; our roses were heavily budded up this spring and looking quite healthy until Rose Rosette Disease swept through the yard. Regarding your dog, well, if he/she starts barking wildly after dark, you might get out your flashlight and take a look in the front yard. We've done that a few times, and sure enough, there was a racoon. We gave up bothering to fuss at the racoon, though, since we noticed it had no effect whatsoever. They might saunter off a little, but as soon as you go back inside, they come right back. They don't seem to care the least bit what people think of their digging! Pesky little critters... Well, good luck with your critters. Best wishes, Mary

Some geckos can make sounds, but I don't know of any that warble or make bird like sounds. They are probably either Gray Treefrogs or Green Treefrogs. Both live in the trees and shrubs around your house. If you leave the porch light on at night for a while, the bugs flying around the light will probably attract any treefrogs nearby. It will also attract the geckos. As their names imply, the Gray treefrog is generally gray and the Green treefrog is green. The gray treefrog can also be green, so it is sometimes hard to tell which you are looking at. The green treefrog has a white line that runs from just below the eye to the hind legs. The gray treefrog does not have this line and the undersides of their hind legs generally have an orange to yellow tint.

Without first hearing the noise myself, and then working through every step required to understand exactly what the sound is, there is really no way to know if what you can hear is a problem or not. When mechanical things are doing their jobs, its not beyond reason for there to be some sound associated with fluid movements, solenoids opening and closing, and any other operation of a motor or whatever. It many times can come down to a very subjective judgment whether a given sound, although potentially unpleasant is an indication that there is something wrong. The worst thing any tech could do right now, without complete knowledge of whether this really is a problem or not would actually be to attempt to fix it. If it really isn't a problem, and the sound is in fact normal and the tech does try to fix it, then he/she is going to replace parts that aren't bad, and the noise will still be there. Worse than that, if they try and fix something that isn't really broke three times, especially if it is related to the brakes, then you would in fact fall under the lemon law, because of the three failed attempts to repair. Keep in mind also that attempting to fix something that actually isn't broke is another way to convince you that there is genuinely something wrong with the car as well. That's not going to be productive for anyone. I know I have ruffled a few feathers through the years as I take on questions such as yours. You ask if they are giving you the run around. Seriously if they were, what would they have to gain? Techs normally work under a system called flat rate. They are allowed just so many minutes to diagnose a problem, and then each individual repair has "allegedly" been time studied, and the techs pay for replacing a part, such as the brake controller on your car is a fixed amount. Manufacturers are good at having parts like that brake controller returned and if they tear it apart and don't find anything actually wrong with it, they will back flag the dealership, who in turn will take that time back off of the tech. In short this means if they blindly just throw a brake controller at this, not only might the car not be fixed, the tech could actually not be paid for replacing it. Rest assured no one, not Toyota, the dealer, nor the tech, wish for you to have a problem with the car. If there is a problem they will once identified fix it, but first they have to identify it. With every model there is a learning curve and lets take your car as an example. It could easily be the only car exhibiting a sound as you are describing right now. Many times at the dealer level with cars under two years old, they rely on the fact that the same things happen to the majority of the fleet. That's why the diagnostics can be done in such a short period of time, say 12 to 18 minutes. Then along comes a car that is not playing by the rules, in essence yours, and they don't really have a good way to deal with it and be productive. In fact, if a tech was to take your car, and spend all of the time necessary to figure out precisely whats going on, not only would it be likely he/she would not be paid for the time that they spend. I can show you where techs that actually would make a habit of spending that kind of time eventually lose their jobs because management will sit up in the office and see how many hours the people are turning, and someone will be clocking fewer paid hours, the one that chases all of the ghosts and nightmares! So to that end, now you see a little deeper inside the dealer, here's how to make their natural weakness not effect your satisfaction with your car. First, they need a set of ears that have positively identified where the sound is coming from. They need to be able to reproduce the sound, almost at will and with a little effort you can accomplish both of these steps. Realize what I am saying, your not doing their job for them, you are empowered to help them solve a possible problem with your car. The next time your car is making the noise predictably, get them on the phone and let them know your coming in right then, and you expect someone to take a look before the sound goes and hides again. Stay with your car while this step is performed. In all likelihood you know exactly what to do to make the car create the sound, the tech can then move around listening to it to help verify the source. From there all you can do is let them do what they can. You might have to accept that the sound is not an indication that something is wrong, and if this was a "normal" car and not so quiet because the engine isn't running when you are stopped it may easily be drowned out by other typical sounds. Realize the old adage might just fit here. "If it isn't broke, don't try to fix it".

Well if that turns out to be the culprit, I give dees the credit, since she (or he) first suggested the nighthawk. I'm not very good at onomatopoeia: TCHK or "peent" . I have enough trouble spelling actual words, much less trying spell random strange animal noises. :-) I remember watching nighthawks in Ohio, climbing into the sky and diving, over and over, late into the night until all you could see was the two white bands on their wings. I also remember seeing (and hearing them) in Minnesota when we lived there. I don't think they live in Virginia near me.