Funny that you mention wanting a hedge of these - I just discovered this plant while looking for suitable hedge plants. I plan to plant a varied hedge of enkianthus, calycanthus-Carolina Allspice (for the scent), and possibly some viburnum (for the colorful berries), ilex glabra - inkberry (because I like its neat form & cute black berries), red hydrangea (because they were on sale) and maybe some lilacs because one can never have enough lilacs (I love the scent). I might plant some joe-pye weed in there too because it's tall and smells nice. I was searching for shrubs that are more tall than wide, upright, with a neat habit, not invasive, that will stand up to wind, harsh midday sun, road salt (the hedge will run along the side yard of my corner property) and occasional drought. I hope the hedge will screen my patio furniture from the busy street to help prevent my patio furniture from being stolen. I just didn't want the standard uniform green hedge where the brown spots/dead plants stand out so badly. With my varied hedge, if something dies, I can take it out, no one will miss it! I love boxwood but my boxwood keep dying so that wouldn't work. I'm actually driving to Rare Find Nursery this week to buy these plants. I'll let you know how it works out.

I post too only when I feel I have something to contribute so please don't feel your posts are being ignored. You are welcome here. And, in defense to some of the long-time Kitchen Forum posters, there are times when you post and think, why bother, because it leaves a bad taste in your mouth. For example, not too long ago, someone asked if anyone had a Moen Extensa faucet and if they did, could they answer a few questions. Having 2 Moen Extensa faucets, I felt qualified to respond and did so. After posting, I continued to monitor the thread just in case the OP came back with additional questions. That was my mistake. The next poster says words to the effect "I looked at Moen Extensa faucets and saw they had a plastic spray button on the top which looked cheap so I went with something else" and then the poster went on to rave about the faucet he/she purchased that cost 3 times as much as a Moen Extensa. I shouldn't sit in judgment of that poster but I can't help but wonder how useful that post was to the OP who may or may not be able to afford a more expensive faucet and was really asking for people with Moen Extensa faucets to discuss their experiences with them. Had the next poster owned a Moen Extensa faucet and said "I really hate the plastic spray button and wish I'd never bought it," I'd have no quarrel with the post. But I would think, if one is considering the purchase of a Moen Extensa faucet, that means one has gotten past "appearance issues" and is interesting in hearing how the faucet performs, so a post of that nature is not only unhelpful, it's rude. If you experience enough situations like that, your zeal for posting diminishes.

One difference between dogs and cats is that if a dog, and I'm not saying all dogs by any means, but if a dog runs loose, or gets loose, and if that dog attacks someone or another animal, then that person or animal is much more likely to be seriously injured. There was a case a while back that made big news about a cat that attacked people. It made the news because it was such an unusual case. Cats definately can annoy people to downright aggravation by pooping and peeing in their gardens or flower pots, but that's not exactly a dangerous activity. Now, remember, I'm not accusing all dogs of attacking people or animals, but just pointing out that dogs are more capable and more likely to attack and cause injury to others. Do a search of this forum and you'll find complaints about dogs off leash attacking other dogs, cats, and people. Cats rarely do that. I believe that is why the leash laws apply more to dogs than to cats. Sally

DIlly-Dally have you ever gone into court and gotten a judgment against someone? Do you have any idea how difficult it is to collect on a judgment? Remember the tenant has moved out. Before you can collect you have to find them. You have to either find a bank account or find out where they work. Then you have to file for garnishment. If it's a bank account you have to refile each time you go into the account to garnish funds. Most people just change banks leading the collector on a merry chase. If they have moved out of state you can just forget the whole thing. You may have "won" in the courtroom but all you've actually done is paid a lot of filing fees and spent a bit of time for the "paper". It's not like on Judge Judy. LOL Yes there are statutes as to how much deposit a landlord can require for a pet. Actually in California their is no "pet deposit" In California under civil code section 1950.5 "pet deposits" are considered as part of the security deposit. The landlord can only collect a security deposit with the following maximums: Unfurnished rental unit: The total amount that the landlord requires as security cannot be more than the amount of two months' rent. If you have a waterbed, the total amount allowed as security can be up to two and-a-half times the monthly rent. Furnished rental unit: The total amount that the landlord requires as security cannot be more than the amount of three months' rent. If you have a waterbed, the total amount allowed as security can be up to three-and-a-half times the monthly rent. Let me tell you. It can eat up a lot more than two months rent to repair the damage one peeing cat can do. Plus the landlord is out of the rental income during the extra time it takes to get the property ready for the next tenant.