Great thread. As a 40 yr SFer, I have battled the 'best roses for colder climate' game for some time. I always thought the balling problem was from lighter colored roses, not from petal density but it makes sense I guess. What I see are roses whose petals are practically GLUED together once the nuclear winter of San Francisco (west side to boot) summer strikes. And not to throw a damper on the whole idea of petal count but in the old days of Sloat Garden Ctr when roses came in boxes, they always listed petal counts. I tended to favor the 20-30 counts but the downside is even if they open, they last only days before the wind and fog blow them apart. So it's like you can't win - get a 50 count rose and it won't open in July and August but looks great in May and Sept. or get a 22 count and watch it bloom and be gone within 2 days. Sloat has now cut back severely on their rose inventory but I noticed that they are now stocking more that say 'good in cold weather' and it is because of the fog presence (they told me). So far, I have had great luck with them even if they are 35-40 count roses.

"I've been a strict ovo-lacto vegetarian for about 16 years, so it's not surprising I'm a little on the low side. I know this isn't low enough to be considered anemia, and it certainly isn't causing any symptoms; but it's annoying to go to the trouble of going over there and then being turned away." Improve your diet ... you are barely making ends meet on your iron intake if you are menopausal and still too low to donate. "I've been a strict ovo-lacto vegetarian for about 16 years, so it's not surprising I'm a little on the low side." Making hemoglobin takes basically iron and protein. Both can be in short supply on this kind of diet. Increase your protein intake and take low-dose iron supplements or start cooking in cast-iron cookware. Hemoglobin and blood cells are continually being produced, but it takes a couple of weeks to boost your hemoglobin by a couple of tenths ... if someone is seriously anemic the usually rebound faster.

Checking a complete blood count, including the differential, will help the vet decide what the stuff in the lungs is. For example, fungal infections may show up with more monocytes, bacterial infections with more neutrophils, parasitic infections with more eosinophils. Antibiotics won't do anything for fungal or parasitic infections. Another thing that could be useful information is if the dog has a low WBC count, because that means the infection is overwhelming his body's ability to fight it. Or that he has some kind of other immunocompromised condition. If that is the case then the pup probably needs more than just antibiotics. A plain kennel cough infection would have resolved on its own by now, so there is definately something else going on.

Unfortunately just opening the email sends a notice back to the real spammers letting them know you have a good active account which they add to their lists. The fake ecard ones have been around for a long time but unfortunately many still fall for it and get infected. I personally will not ever open an ecard, not worth it, and immediately move any suspect email to the junk mail folder that is how your email program learns what you you think is junk. It is important to have someone you trust clear out and close any accounts, email or otherwise, when you pass away. Not something we think about but it is something that needs doing. I am responsible for doing this for some one, plus send out a mass email to all the members of the address book informing them of the news, arrangements, and letting them know that the email address will now be closed.