Randy, I think Richard was saying just for the lawn spray service :) I used to pay $60 every other month but I gave that up the past couple of years and started doing it myself. I weed/feed once a year with a broadcast spreader, and spray during the summer months for fleas / etc every 6 weeks or so (maybe 3 times) - end of hose sprayer. Easy as can be :) I had a spot like that on my grass, I thought it might be grubs but decided to check my sprinkler heads for coverage first. Lo and behold...area was completely missed. Adjusted heads and now (doubly so with the rain) it's growing back nicely. The only other possibly I can offer would be...do you have a dog? My dogs favorite wee wee spot looks like that too :)

You can open CAD files with Draftsight , which is free for casual (i.e., non-professional) users. I think they used to be SolidWorks. You can open AutoCAD files with this program, and it has tools that are very similar to AutoCAD. I know that with AutoCAD you can select areas with an outline and have the area computed for you, and I imagine that Draftsight would do the same.

scottymam, kathi and donna loomis..... I believe the very worst place to get this stuff is on your head, near your eyes. That has to be the most painful of all, and to chance losing your sight. I hope you scottymam and kathi and donna.. your family members,are doing well now. hayjud... the doc said today that stress can trigger it. It is a virus that lies dormant in your body. also a weakened or compromised immune system can cause it to erupt. I have a disease called toxoplasomosis that was congenital, my mother had it apparently when she was expecting me, of course way back then they had no idea. It caused the blindness in one eye. but I was very fortunate and blessed even back then for that because it could have caused very severe mental retardation or other problems for me when i was born. Which means I probably wouldn't have made it. But I did. So my compromised immune system has to have been a part of this now. Alisande... I too am a fan of Dr Weil. I think I will look up his thoughts on it. Thank you for mentioning him. The doctor said today that I am still a candidate for the vaccine, but I cannot take it for a year. He said this virus can come back. I think my husband is going to get it after this skin cancer surgery issue is taken care of. He already has diabetes, heart disease, etc, so I don't want to seem him get this. I went to my family doc early today. Took my DH so he could get the full gist of what this really is. I think he thought I have been overreacting about the pain. His mouth dropped open when the doctor told me that I should have wished for the heart attack that the doctors at the ER thought I was having. That would have been easier on me. He told us that Shingles is debilitating, and very very painful. and that I would have a long course of treatment. He actually tripled the dosage of the nerve pain meds the ER gave me, gave me another one for nausea ( I woke up at 3 am with nausea and chills), gave me another prescription for pain. I am not one to take a lot of meds, just my cholesterol pill.... but I did not turn these down. I have been a little DOPEY (well okay, a LOT) all day trying to get these meds into my system. So I may not be making a great deal of sense right now. For the ones of you that have stayed with me and read this far, thank you all again for the concern and the helpful information. This is a wonderful group of caring people and I am so glad I found you all. Every take care, June

Sun burn could cause this as well. Given the canopy cut, that is definitely a possibility. If that is the primary cause, paint with a diluted latex paint. When did the bark damage show up? The upper picture is more recent as the trunk picture had calloused over along the at least part of the damage. Since it is at ground level, one of the problems is that the core wood will attract pests - that eat the wood, or eat the rotting wood. If the base trunk has been that way for quite some time, you may have some pests within the wood, contributing to issues.