I no longer have it but it was just under 10 years old. I saw it last year and its fall color was still just ok compared to other maples. I'll check to see if I have pics but don't recall taking any for the lack of fall color. This one got through the 2012 winter which was considered one of the worst winters in 30 years without any dieback so I'd expect it to perform fairly well in Zone 4 ecspeically if its somewhat sheltered. Growth rate seemed comparable to other sugar maples but it was a bit more narrow and less vigorous then lets say Fall Fiesta. So its online descriptions appear accurate. As HM4E mentioned it may have better fall color in more arid climates.

If the pilot tends to go out with the doors closed, it's because the flame is short on oxygen. Hard for me to imagine your doors are so tight to do that, but anyway, if that is the case, the thermocouple would prevent gas from continuing to flow if it went out. But to be extra safe you could either leave the doors open a crack to keep the pilot running, or get in the habit of turning off the gas to the pilot. As for CO2, I would think it's not a problem, since ventless fireplaces are used with the pilot running all the time. My folks have two and use them all winter long, leaving at least the pilot on, and that's in rooms without any vent or chimneys.

Such a terrible tragedy, so much speculation. It looks like this guy did give out signs of being unstable. Yet when did Big Brother take over the rules for international flights? This did happen outside the US. When I was working,I occasionally went to work upset about something- a dead pet or an argument with my husband., etc. I wasn't responsible for people's lives but I did manage very large sums of money. I might come to work with tearstains and a scowl on my face. No one would question me. Of course, this isn't a good comparison. After my mother died (of old age and natural causes) my brother lived alone in her house. He was supposed to be fixing it up to sell it. We (other family members) knew he owned several guns (rifles and a pistol) was depressed and had big financial problems of his own, coupled with living alone. After he shot himself in the head, people asked , why didn't you suspect something? What was I supposed to do, call the county sherriff, tell them my brother is depressed and living alone and has guns? Then again, there are plenty of people walking around on medication for various ills. I really don't understand the stigma of mental vs. physical illnesses.

Thanks, all. I'll study up on rose scale, I'll watch bush #3 to see how it does just growing against the wall, and consider putting up some wires for it. And thanks for the tip on the potential ID of this rose. If it is Ping Dong Yue Ji, I can't imagine how it got here from either Mainland China or from Taiwan. I know that the first doctor and the then-mission director made a buying trip to Tokyo and Hong Kong when the hospital was first builtin 1967. Could it be that they brought one or more rose bushes back? I know that the first doctor's wife was quite unhappy here, and maybe he thought roses would help. It's planted near the house that they lived in, but not in their garden, but near what was the main entrance to the hospital in those days. I am in touch with the grown children of several of the early missionaries (they're all about my age) and a few of the older retired folks. I'll ask some of them.