Welcome! Your first orchid! And you live in a terrific part of the country for growing orchids. You're asking the right questions, and Cody's suggestions are good. If you go to that nursery, or somewhere else, tell them the aspects of your "environment" - light and rainfall, and that you're getting your first orchid. They'll be able to recommend several types of orchids that will be suitable for your place. One question for you is the "dappled shade." What % full sunlight would you estimate will get to your orchid? (It may vary by morning, noon, and afternoon.) That will be important for the nursery staff when making suggestions for an orchid. Once you decide on an orchid... or two, :) staff will know options for the type pot and potting medium. Be sure and tell them your orchid will hang in a tree so they'll include a pot hanger, or you can make your own. Just look in an orchid supply catalog to see what they look like. (See link below.) You'll also need a fertilizer suitable for orchids and a schedule for fertilizing. Be sure and ask what strength the fertilizer mixture should be, if it's different from directions on the label. Ask how dry the potting medium should be before you water and how to tell when the medium is that dry. That last one may sound strange, but it's critical for the health of your orchid. You're in luck, being a "forgetter," aka "underwaterer." Water - if your water is softened, the salt will kill your orchid. You'll need to buy distilled water or filtered water that grocery stores here sell by the gallon from a stand with a spigot. Watering - water at the top of the potting medium until water runs out the bottom of the pot, then for 1-2 seconds longer. Another factor - because fertilizer salts build up in potting media, they need to get "flushed out" or "leached" periodically. Leaching means running regular water through the pot like you're watering it three times. If your plant's in bark (actually, a mixture of bark and other ingredients), the rule of thumb is to leach every 4th watering, with the 1st watering tap water, the 2nd fertilizer water, and the 3rd tap water. If it's in sphagnum moss, it's every 3rd watering: 1st watering is plain water, 2nd is fertilizer water, 3rd is leaching. The nursery staff will also know about pests in trees and hopefully effective prevention. You can ask all these questions here, too. However, people who live in other parts of the country - such as myself - will have limited experience with your environment. An orchid friend moved from Minneapolis to Florida and needed to change a lot of what she'd been doing in Minnesota. Caveat - there may be other factors to consider. Hopefully, others will chime in. Whitecat8 Here is a link that might be useful: Kelley's Korner Orchid Supplies

I have been using the cocoa beans for about 5 years now and I do like them very much. The price in WI is very reasonable. At Wal-Mart they are just a little over $5 a bag. I like the fact that they do degrade but they seem to last about 1 year for me. In very moist locations they do not seem to last as long. A thin layer over the top of the older ones makes them look great again, however. As far as the dogs go, I have two dogs and they have never eaten the mulch. It does seem to keep rabbits away and I think it even seems to keep the deer away from my yard. We live in a very wooded area and they are always trying to snack on my plants. It does get a mold growing on it sometimes, but I found that if you just spray it with the hose, that goes away. I would like to mention that it would not be good for any area that you have to walk on, because it gets slippery when wet! My plants seem to love it and I like that fact that it adds to the nutrients in the soil rather than taking away nutrients as other mulches are reported to do. Afer a year or two, it can be worked into the soil.

Yes and it's the best. I wish I had purchased several of them. The smaller size (8 oz.) can be purchased on the Rodelle website (http://www.rodellekitchen.com/products/baking)or on Amazon. I contacted Rodelle and, apparently, the 1.54 lb. size was a temporary item at Costco prior to making that size available on the market. On Amazon, you can request to be notified when that size is available. Here's the link http://www.amazon.com/Rodelle-Gourmet-Baking-Cocoa-24-5-Ounce/dp/B0042M7PS2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1329696795&sr=8-1 The woman I spoke to at Rodelle said she will let me know when it is available.

Omigosh, all your complaints about your Meile are just the opposite of my experience with them - although I don't have experience with the Costco model. The upward exhaust bugs me, too, if I get near it, but I like that it's not blowing across the floor moving dust bunnies before I can vacuum them. As far as awkwardness of the hose/handle, try lengthening or shortening the silver metal pieces and see if that makes it easier for you. I've had other canisters and my big complaint was that they'd tip on their sides at the drop of a hat, but I can say my meile has never, ever tipped. It is so easy to pull and flows easily around corners - just a tug on the hose releases it if it gets hung up before getting completely around a corner. One advantage to Costco shopping is they will let you return anything. If you can't make it work for you, take it back! Oops, just noticed this was a revived old thread. My response was for Jellytoast. Hopefully, it's resolved by now.