Dry all last year and the beginning of this year (except for a 2ft snowstorm in Feb) until the last week of May when we got a month's worth of rain in 1 week. Alternating cold(30's) then hot (90) then cold (40's) temps in May and June, finally got tomatoes out the beginning of June and MORE rain! Poured for about 20 minutes at dinner last night, weather.com is showing 0 inches but I'm guessing 1/4". More gentle rain overnight, clear this morning and then this afternoon another T-storm. So I'm saying 7.5 -8" this month plus the 3.5" last week of May. Tomatoes are looking sad - I started replacing some yesterday and also planted 6 I'd been holding back. Haven't checked today to see how they've held up in the driving rain (had a couple broken last week). Peppers are still in 6-packs, I guess I can say they're hardened off though they may sunburn when I can get them out, 1 is blooming. Squash looks like it's loving this weather, cukes OK (seeded before squash and they're smaller), spinach is bolting and the kale and Asian greens are just OK. I guess I'll try to harvest mustard greens, tatsoi and bok choy for stirfry mix rather than salad greens since lettuce is so far behind. Carrots are disappearing, lettuce is barely coming in after seeding twice (every time I seed we have a downpour) but the arugula in the mix is getting tall (not bolting yet). Radish bulbs are finally starting to show above the ground 3 weeks after seeding and I don't know what's happened to my chard and beets that I've seeded twice. Beans are doing OK, but I lost 2/3 of my edamame. The only thing I'm harvesting right now that is doing really well is strawberries and they're coming to an end just as market season is beginning. Blueberries and brambles are coming along though.

Sounds to me like the moss is packed too tight!!! And coming from someplace like Proflowers, that wouldn't surprise me. They are not growers, they are just suppliers! I would assume their supplier does keep the moss packed tightly to cut down on watering. What you need to do is pull it out of the pot. Remove about a third of the moss from random areas on the root ball, loosen it up tease it out a little.Now stick the root ball back in the pot, you won't send it into shock. Sitting constantly in something wet and cold would be more shocking to me.You might want to incorporate a heating pad into the situation as well if you can. My orchids were just delighted when I added the heating pads to my set-up. I think they are much more important than humidity trays personally. Sorry I can't say too much on the pictures because it was hard for me to see anything in them. Ginnibug

Sherry - As you know I had lots of wildlife at my ranch house, and some here lasat season as well, just not as many or as diversified. Sandy - Haven't used it yet except for the test pics, but I hope to get outside for a while today. Elizabeth - Yes the desert landscaping is quite enjoyable to the eye, has very little upkeep and uses very little water. For the bugs, I can see thousands of species from all around the world by just opening a cabinet and sliding out a drawer in my synoptic collection. ;) Christie - You can't attract what's simply not present in your area. I've been out enough and have big picture windows that are always open, so if any wildlife was around I'd have seen some of them. Plus Bandit's (my attack parrot) cage is in front of the front window 24/7 and he always alerts me when he see's or hears other birds, the UPS truck or golf carts. LOL BG - I'll try to get out today and take a few around the place. Penny - The leps and some other species have been declining here for years due to the huge invasion of new residents the last dozen years and the resulting habitat loss from building enough homes for all of them. Our honey bees are Africanized now, and that in itself seemed to reduce the numbers of them. Susan - That common name thing again. Being in CA I'd guess she is referring to one of the Pierinae. Larry

I'd suggest you post over at Electrical Wiring. They will probably suggest you shutting the power off at the main, and then bringing up each circuit, one at a time, checking the meter each time. Good luck. How disheartening to have a bill like that when you were expecting a 'lot' less. You might also mention your location too in the post. I went to read the meter. It does show a tad more now than the reader reported Wednesday, so he read it correctly. Does your bill also show the previous 'read' date and the amount of days your bill covers? It almost sounds like maybe they 'estimated' it somewhere along the line instead of getting the 'true' reading, but that still doesn't explain why your meter was spinning without anything drawing heavy power. I 'think' a refrigerator or freezer that is going bad, 'could' cause a lot of extra consumption though. Sue Here is a link that might be useful: Electrical Wiring Forum