Scott is a huge asset to this forum and so is his list, but he has little interest in growing varieties that have a more common taste although they are not at all common to most people in the sense of tasting them at peak quality ripened on the tree. He doesn't review varieties like Jersey Queen or Loring which are luscious and wonderful varieties but are grown by commercial growers in Jersey and elsewhere. In fact he doesn't review a single variety that has been grown widely in Jersey as a commercial variety in recent years, although TangO's is getting there. I just believe, and Scott and I may disagree on this, that commercial success of a variety often means that it reliably produces crops of high quality peaches, although the two I mentioned can be a problem in frosty areas. I also think his testing methods are somewhat limited because it is about how they perform at a single site and in the context of growing using Surround and organically approved materials, using synthetic chemicals only as a last resort. Also, any variety on a part of his property likely to be hit by squirrels may not even get the chance to be evaluated. All that said, I have benefited greatly from Scott's input and actual grafting wood. A couple of his varieties are now a part of my collection, but the beginner might arguably be better off starting with varieties known to be resistant to bacterial spot and peach leaf curl and known to be adaptable to a range of sites. These trees can later be used to graft on varieties of Scott's suggestion- that is the only way you can get many of them anyway. Even most experienced growers aren't interested in growing 300 varieties of fruit, (I'm not). If you have 100 varieties of peaches it doesn't matter if a variety has a very short picking window (others are following or overlapping) or if it only crops 2 out of 3 years- or if it is available from a convenient source. The most important thing could become, how different it tastes from the other 99.

Jodi, Some Gordons are huge dogs, well over 100 lbs even. THose dogs were bred just for showing, and they also have a lot of wavy hair to groom. I looked for 9 years to find another like the Gordon we had bought in England 18 yrs ago. She was 60 lbs and that was quite my limit in size...could not find anyone breeding down to the old hunting standard for the GOrdons. Then I found Springset Gordons and was utterly enchanted! They breed to a 1932 standard. Here is what I wanted... A nice medium size dog , even smaller then our Bracken was, but with the smarts and nice personality ...the sparkling eyes that we loved! THese are beautiful dogs but lack the heavy wavy hair of the show dog...I do not have time for that playing 'beauty parlor' daily! Josie came from some of the smaller parents that they breed at Springset, and should weigh in at around 45-50 lbs when grown. Even better, she seems to have a natural kindness and enjoyment of life along with superior "dog smarts". I think she will be exactly what I was looking for and well worth a 9 yr wait. I am already thinking...when our little old beagle dies, ...well, maybe should start saving for a 2nd Springset Gordon! I do not want to get into breeding...I think Springset is doing that just fine! But I imagine you understand...if one dog is wonderful, why not two wonderful dogs to keep each other company, LOL. Our little beagle "under 13 inch", Lottie(Princess of Quite a Lot), is grieving terribly for her pal who died 2 weeks ago. All of her first 10 years she looked like a puppy. SUddenly her face fur is turning white and she acts like an old dog. So sad...I wish I could make her understand that Corie is better off then a long, slow, immune compromised death would have been! I remember him with fondness and always will but I do not grieve for him....just remember his lovely chocolate curls and his melting brown eyes, and that "Whuff" of contentment as he settled down at my feet. HE was always "my" dog. I think Josie is "Our Dog". I think DH fell in love with her too on our long trip home. Especially because I paid for her myself, LOL. Have fun weeding! I got 2/3 of my potted dahlias into the ground yesterday. Today I have to start the harder part, cleaning up a bed along the fenceline that has not ever been under the good control it should have been (This garden is starting its 4th year). IT, however, is where I Have put the dahias that I especially love, the ones I grow mostly for myself. Some sre still buried under weeds and grass, and I Imagine I lost a few over the winter. THis bed starts with a 30" bank below it and the field mice seem to like to tunnel in there for the winter. THis is going to be much harder work, and using muscles I AM jsut beginning to. I do not take my muscle relaxer pills until I HAve taken the flowers to the stand, just in case they affect my driving, but Now I am home until evening and took one so I will be able to work. My body really is ready to return to work but I get into tendonitis as I get started. THe meds really help that a lot and I figure stretching them carefully will only help if I do not over do it. I did realize that I Can not bend over with locked knees to work like I used to...trying to learn to go into a semi-crouch. IT worked yesterday. I just can not put off gardening any longer! THe stress factor is worse then the muscle pain! Well, we gotta get after those weeds...Lets go, girl!

I think you are in a pickle. If you put food out someone will eat it. The only way to prevent cats from killing birds is to keep the cats indoors. Your other alternative is to not put the food out at all. Or move the food to another place? Good luck. I always vote on the birds' side in keeping cats indoors.

On one hand I don't even want to respond to this thread, but really I have to. Where all all of the enviorment friendly posters? Is it OK for an individual to waste refrigerant, and dump it to the atmosphere year after year? People who are not completely trained and equipped to do AC (refrigeration) service should NOT be trying to do it. We had to reduce the useage of R12 because of this exact kind of problem, and the EPA restricted purchase to only those trained and equipped to properlly service the systems. They should have done the same thing with R134. It's a greenhouse gas, that will contribute to global warming just like carbon dioxide will. First and foremost, your AC system has a leak. You need to find and repair that leak. The coolant fan operation is controlled by a switch (sensor/transduecer) on the high side, and is pressure(temperature) related. With gages hooked up, and the correct scan tool to monitor the inputs to the PCM, (or AC control head depending on the exact system in your car) a technician can easily determine why the fans are not cycling, or if they in fact should not be depending on conditions. In fact, many of the systems have two speed fans, and the operation of the different fan speeds will vary because of ambient temperatures and system heat loads.