I'm in Michigan, too. I echo what the others have said. I am a fan of the aluminum pans with clear plastic lids. but I think the milk jugs are probably the most secure and time tested. Here's what I do with my foil pans: I make sure they are at least three inches deep, and that the clear top is about 1 1/2 to 2 inches high at least. I move them to shade as soon at it gets warmer- the aluminum tends to cook the roots if not. I start them in sun until about late February, then I move them to partial shade. Also, remember that foil pans need more venting as it gets warmer- just make the holes bigger. If there's condensation on the inside of the clear top, there's no need to water-- but also remember that condensation can become boiling water. foil pans do need a bit more tneding than milk jugs. I work full time too. I just do my moving around and tending on the weekends and in the early evening. When in doubt, I have learned that more shade is better. I water them thoroughly BEFORE putting in the seeds. It took me three years to fugur out that if I poked the drainiage holes, filled with soil, and then set the container in a roaster pan fullof water it would suck up the exact right amount of water in less than ten minutes. Plus, less messy for my hadns. Then I press the seeds very lightly into the moist soil. When I planted seeds to deep, they did not germinate. they may heve germinated, but they couldn't make it allthe way to the surface. Remember, the rule is no deeper that half the diameter of the seed. In my humble opinion, the freeze/thaw cycle will pull them down farther anyway, so lightly pressing is much better. I had several failures becuase I pressed seeds in too far. My first year, I made deep holes with a pencli, and buried tiny little seeds in them. later, I realized that a deep hole is usually only good for sunflower seeds, and sometimes even too much for that. Also, top watering tended to wash some seeds away or down the sides of the container. Sometimes what I thought was no germination was actually no seeds left. I stuck with perennials all the way through February. Didn't start any annuals till March or later. I had really good luck with these perennials: Black Eyed Susan Gaillardia Evening primrose (not a beautiful plant, but a great confidence booster) Daisies and several other natives. If you email me, I woudl be happy to send you a Bubble envelope full of seeds that have worked well for me here in Michigan.

Ah I wish my possum had stuck around. I fed him part of my ham sandwich, well I left it on the floor for him, and it (and he) were gone the next morning, never to return. As far as unwelcome furry guests, I do seek to control the numbers of the mice in the barn, via passive/aggressive predator measures, despite the fact that I consider white-footed field mice to be one of the cutest creatures on the planet. Cats, snakes, and weasels are all enlistees in my rodent control volunteer army. There are only a few specimens of wildlife that I relentlessly exterminate. Hornets and wasps top the list and I shoot for a zero population of these stinging insects every summer. They are followed by the fleas, ticks, and internal parasites that seek to victimize myself and my family, both two and four footed. These particular unwelcome insects, arachnids, and nematodes are the only pests to provoke me into chemical warfare, as my general rule is to shun pesticides and herbicides. If my house sparrows had left with the blackbirds, they would have been no problem. Not that my blackbirds leave, they are full time residents each summer. I would have welcomed raptor sparrow predation, but I've never seen a hawk touch ground here, although they frequently circle overhead above the woods. They probably have a collective memory of being shot at unfortunately, and seek prey in distant meadows away from human habitation. The rapidly multiplying plague of house sparrows that descended on my property, bent on colonization, was something I liken to a swarm of locusts. I've never seen anything like it. I now understand why they have so many enemies, and I am generally very tolerant of invasive wildlife. I even like feral pigeons! Then there are those pests who have bested me. I sadly concede defeat to the red lily beetle. (RIP my beautiful tiger lilies.) I also see no reasonable means of eradicating the Japanese beetles, now that they have found me. Instead I am planting only those flowers this year that seemed to have resistance to the beetles last year, and giving up on those that were a sought after delicacy. Thankfully my perennials are among those with resistance, so none have become casualties. Turning to non-pests, "my" pair of tufted titmice are checking out last year's nest in my barn, thinking about refurbishing it I guess. They're next to impossible to photograph, as is their partially hidden nest up in the rafters.

My husband was in michigan this week and that was one of the flights he thought about taking on thursday night. He flies a lot and it just hit close to home. Clarence is not far from where we live. We are a little more out in the country. Big sigh of relief. When the news came on at 10pm they announced at the end of the broadcast that a plane had crashed by the airport, but they didn't know anything yet. By the time the 11pm news came on, it was not until after the weather that their news crews made it to the neighborhood and they announced it was a commercial plane. WIVB broadcast without commercial break until I went to bed at 2am. When my husband called to say he was alright i was so grateful. (wipes tears and sniffles) Fran, Could i have the blanket flower, please? BTW, DS#3 watered my keyboard once, its still a little iffy. We set it in from of the blower on the woodstove for a week. Just FYI those of you sowing in the keys LOL! Thank all of you for the prayers. Families here are esp. close knit and things like this are difficult for anyone. Praying for your FIL, too Nichol. Fleethart

Morning all! Fran, I put in a bit more postage than what it was for me to mail my package to you. I don't think that I'll get back what I sent because we have a lot of veggie growers here, BUT if by chanace you dont have enough postage I'd be happy to send more if you need it to get my package back to me. I'm so glad that I bought the veggie seeds, I could almost hear how excited people were when I offered them up for grabs! Thank you to anyone who sent flowers in for me, I assure you that every single seed will find a good home. Lisa