Oh my, Theresa. I know the feeling as I have to battle squirrels digging out my newly planted impatiens in pots. It's a constant running battle here vs chipmunks, squirrels, rabbits & deer. Fortunately, our lab has taken care of any ground hogs & possums that are dumb enough to pass thru as well as a few rabbits, if he can get to 'em but he's fenced in to the back yard. Anyhoo, a few more things to try... I surround new plantings with small pieces of flagstone, leaving a bit of air space around each stone. This really helps a lot but you have to be extra careful about getting the plant too wet because the stones inhibit the soil from drying out. A couple of years ago, being a chili head, I bought a pound of ground chipotle pepper (online from Atlantic Spice ). Well, this stuff is hot beyond belief and I quickly deduced that one pound was a lifetime & a half supply...in the kitchen. So I'm using it in the garden, sprinkling it on hosta leaves to ward off critters. (I'm wondering the the smokey smell also has something to do with keeping critters away?) I also tent vulnerable plantings with pieces of that black plastic deer netting. Drape and weight down with flagstone pieces or bend wires & twist tie it to the wires. The netting 'disappears' with a bit of distance so it's not an eyesore unless you're real closeup. Rat traps baited with peanut butter will, with persistence, thin out the chipper population. Once, I caught a squirrel in a rat trap, even. Strategically placed mouse traps might scare off squirrels? (Haven't tried but I do know that squirrels have a memory of stuff that scares them (DH & the pellet gun). Haven't tried it yet but after reading about Vick's Vapo Rub here on the forum, I'm going to try smearing that on the rocks or onto 'tags' cut from paper fiber egg cartons. Another things I've not tried...but think I will. I have some mirrors that I've picked up at garage sales that I use to 'boost' the sun for things like green pepper plants...wondering if smaller pieces of mirror, propped up, might spook away the squirrels? You'd have to be xtra careful with glass in the garden & position the mirror in such a direction as to not burn the plant. If all else fails, you could try growing poor little Cracker Crumbs in a terrarium, I guess!

Craigs List, consignment shop ... we have certain For Sale sites on Facebook, might be one for your area. Don't expect to get near what you paid though.

JJ and Lily, I move roses around like they were furniture in a living room. Here is my best experiences. First, when possible, I move them as soon as the dirt is thawed enough to be dug in the spring when they are dormant. Dig the destination holes first. Next, dig a large area around the roots to take as much root with you as possible AND, take as much dirt as possible. I use 2 shovels and place the rose between them before I lift them out. Sort of like a shovel/rose sandwich. Then I place them in their new hole and add water and fill in with dirt. Most often they don’t even know they have been moved. To do it later in the season is tricky. I did it last year. I used old sheets on copper pipe trellises in front of the roses and made sure I watered twice a day. It was 90-100 degrees. I moved 4 of them,and 3 of them were little. The 3 little ones did great. The jury is still out on the larger rose. It’s canes stayed green, but it didn’t grow leaves afterwards, so I’ll find out if it’s alive this spring. Believe it or not, I am going to be moving 3 of those 4 roses again this spring... it’s just the way I do. :) If you like the location, JJ, I would give them another year. Use a good fertilizer (I use Osmocote 1/4 cup per plant early in the spring) and water them well during the season. See if that doesn’t make a difference. Rebecca

It is common in many parts of the US to install duct work in the attic. Attic temperatures can reach 0ver 125 degrees in the summer, and below 40 degrees in the winter. This is a bigger temperature swing than you would see in a exterior wall cavity. The duct work used in attics usually has a R6 or R8 rating. You should be fine if you can install an similar amount of insulation between the duct and the exterior wall for a short run.