Well, I turned off the power and checked the wires I could see and such. I found a couple ground screws that were not that tight and tightened them up. The spa light seems to turn on now, but it likes 75% best and never 100%. Both pool lights I guess were worse than I thought and don't seem to want to turn on at all. Guess both relays could have died at the same time (??) Maybe I will have the pool co come out and if the relays are bad, just have them put in the old, standard relays for now. I would prefer to upgrade to LED sometime anyways. Chris

My front yard yard here in San Antonio, TX has been pretty much ruined by a comedy of errors. Originally sodded (Zeon Zoysia) in Spring 2015 but was tilled in a manner that left things pretty lumpy/uneven. Still looked gorgeous all through summer. I had to leave in the early fall for a six month assignment overseas, and my wife neglected it with regard to watering. Lots died. Decided a sprinkler system was in order. Sprinklers were installed in Spring 2016. Fantastic. Grass was pretty green again. But now my yard was even MORE lumpy and uneven. Not to worry, I’ve seen the magical transformations done on this forum. I’ll knock that out next year. Leveling with sand and soil mix done in Spring 2017. Epic failure. Was too soon for my Zoysiagrass due to its slow growth rate, and perhaps it’s not a good idea for Zoysiagrass period - at least not in one big shot. Yard is actually much worse off than it was before with regard to evenness. It’s almost summer 2018 now, and even with over a year now to repair itself, the Zoysia is still filling in some of the bare spots. Problem is, my oak suckers have gone absolutely bonkers. I’ve never seen it like this before. I used to get maybe ten or so in the actual turf, but now it seems like there are hundreds. My question is why: 1) Is it due to the pruning of the oaks owning up additional sunshine to the ground? 2) Is it due to the turf being sparse, therefore opening it up more readily to the oak suckers? 3) A combo of the above? Not sure how to manage the situation: 1) Wait it out this summer, see if the grass continues to repair itself, and whether that helps the suckers die down. August to October is when it hits its peak form. 2) Just plan on killing the grass next spring, leveling it appropriately, then re-sodding. 3) Any other ideas?

In what way is that little cutting dying? It doesn’t need ‘saving’. It just needs consistent sensible care. Over the time you’ve been posting I think a lot of your losses have been due to constantly fiddling with your plants and disregarding advice. Growing stuff shouldn’t be stressful. Quite the opposite.

My clerodendron has gone crazy this year, but this praying mantis is a new one for me. its huge, I'm afraid it's going to get a butterfly, hummer or lizard.