Lol, hehe, the mud splashes and finding the other half solves the mystery now that you've found them. That's what I figured. A dog out on a lam always leaves a trail of destruction, they are incapable of making things "vanish into thin air" as you originally described. Beth, uh-oh, your dog may have that hyper Border Collie gene--you can see those border collie eyes and eyebrow set! The forehead is more broad though, but the proportions of the eyes are definitely B.C. In this case, I hate to tell you this but rawhides and chews aren't going to be enough. The best is to keep her with you when you are outside gardening. Do NOT leave her unattended because what you have to do is to train her in the "leave it" command. Anytime she approaches a pot or a rose tell her leave it! Make a small shake can (small metal container) filled with beans. Border collies have super sensitive ears and they hate that sound. So if she refuses to listen after the first warning, shake that small shake can. Also spray bunches of ropel, pepper spray around your roses too. Then if she stays away from a rose reward her. She may very well have that B.C. trait of going wacky over a ball or a frisbee. Use that as a means to reward her for leaving the roses alone. If you are lucky she will have the B.C. smart genes, she will figure out the association almost immediately. When Eluane was only 10 weeks old she knew what Quiet time was. I had to train her that there was a time I needed to be on the computer. Because if I didn't pay any attention to her she would do a puppy howl and thrash on the carpet or run and place her teeth to the couch (not bite the bottom, but just pretend to). but with a reward system, she quickly got the picture. Also B.Cs are very needy. They crave interaction, and if you don't give them enough attention they will get into lots of trouble, I have heard. I was very, very lucky! Eluane is extremely well-behaved. When I worked as a 3D animator, I had ridiculous crazy hours and the commute was 46 miles round trip. If I knew I had to pull an all-nighter I would have to come home around 3:00 p.m. to play with her, then 9:00 pm. I'd come and play, then 5:00 a.m. I'd play with her and then take my shower then go back to work and all the while Eluane would remain uncrated, she was that dependable. But whenever I got home she got tons of undivided attention from me and when I didn't have those long hours, again, tons of attention. When I freelance I have to take a 10 minute break every 1-2 hours to play with her. They are needy dogs, so that is why most B.Cs end up in Rescue. They are not dogs to have if you are too busy to spend time with. However, the rewards of the companionship is UNBELIEVABLE. I will never own another dog EVER, except for a Border Collie. They are that fun, that smart, and yes affectionate and VERY DEPENDABLE, loyal, and beautiful in the way they move and think. So try training your dog new tricks too. It can turn out to be a new fun adventure for you and your family :)

Bon, Don't worry. That wheelbarrow harvest is coming sometime in the next few years. Carol, You took the words right out of my mouth. Larry, I think the older tractors are a lot easier to fix than the newer ones. The newer ones have all those fancy sensors and things and I think they make repairing-it-yourself pretty difficult. We have a friend who is a certified John Deere mechanic and he has worked for JD for over 2 decades. He is truly amazing and can fix absolutely anything that is wrong. Sometimes after other John Deere mechanics have struggled with a problem tractor for a long time without ever getting it fixed, they call him in to troubleshoot the problem and fix it. He is amazing and Tim and I remain in awe of his knowledge, skill and talent. I never realized how many different ways tractors can break down nowadays until we got to know him. He goes and takes courses every year to stay current on the newest technology being used in tractors, their accessories, combines, balers, etc. He could work 24/7 every day of the year and never catch up with the backlog of repairs waiting to be done. I like the really old tractors that are easier to understand and to repair. All the new ones are too fancy. Christina, Mine is a lot like that. I had one like that before I bought the one I have now. The one you have works fine, but mine is oilcloth so it doesn't stain and it wipes clean....and it is a very bright floral print, which is important to me when I am in the garden surrounded by a sea of green foliage. My garden is a jungle.....I am pretty sure that if you stand still and listen quietly on a hot summer afternoon, you can hear the trumpeting of an elephant as it approaches the jungle.....so I needed a bright bucket/organizer that wouldn't blend it too much. Gardener's Supply no longer carries it, so I'm glad I bought mine when I did a few years ago (and I got it when it was on sale, which was just a bonus because I was going to get it anyway). However, I googled and found a photo of it which I'll link below just because it is such a pretty bucket organizer. Dawn Here is a link that might be useful: Floral Tool Bucket Organizer

Hi Debbie, Try not to worry that your Blues aren't coming now. I really think this is normal. They know where your nesting box is... and they won't forget where they get their worms. They leave us missing them for awhile, but they should be back. And btw, we usually let the Carolina Wrens and the Nuthatches take a few worms. We love them too and always delight to see them up close. Our Blues always get the majority of them. :) We use 2 little bowls mainly: One is for suet nuggets which we leave out most of the day. All our Bluebirds stop by for 1 or 2 nuggets at various times of day, and several other desireable birds (Mockers, Wrens, Nuthatches etc) also grab these. The other bowl is for mealworms which we feed 2 or 3 times daily. It's rare not to see our Blues come at these times, but we're not seeing them all at each feeding now like we did earlier in the season. We're preparing to miss them for awhile soon. Oh, there is a 3rd bowl which we fill randomly with suet, seed, fruit, peanuts or whatever... ha it's a Today's Special kinda thing. Hope you see yours again soon, and often. Kenn Here is a link that might be useful: Year-round Bluebirds

I leave salt out of a lot of dishes, and I do NOT believe that salt enhances flavors in candy, especially chocolate. I do add small amounts of salt in desserts that are made with flour, but if they do not have flour, I omit the salt. I do have a collection of wooden mid-century salt and pepper shakers, but they are mainly for looks, as I do not consider them practical for use. I do think they are pretty and decorative, however. On most of them, I cannot tell which is supposed to be salt and which is supposed to be pepper. I suppose I could put salt in both of them, since I only use pepper grinders for pepper. What I hate is when restaurants fill the pepper shakes so full that no pepper will shake out. In those cases, I have to remove the lid and sprinkle the pepper. I almost never add salt to food in restaurants, but there have been rare occasions when I wanted it - mostly on salads that had oil and vinegar on them but no salt and no pepper. I've not been to Father's Office in Culver City, but it's very close to Kevin's work. We do go to La Dijonaise, which is half a block from it, however, and Surfas Restaurant Supply used to be down the street from that, but it looks like they've moved about four miles up the street (Washington Blvd), making it a bit less convenient. HBO is putting a building where the old Surfas was :(. They changed their name to Surfas Culinary District also.