I was wondering just the other day if we would see an updated photo of this project. As I'm reading your post, I'm thinking that it doesn't look like you followed my advice. Eventually, I scroll and see I'm looking at the "before" picture! I think the "after" looks much better than the before, but it really can't "sing" until the tree grows to a larger size ... at least a little over your head. (It will not take that long.) I would prune a little of the left side of the pair of yews to force them to the right where they can line up better with the window, instead of overhanging the house. One thing I wish was different was the line of annuals. They would be better as a group in some fitting position than as a string. It looks like what you have can be well tended and shaped into something nice over the years. Whereas that was not the case with what you had before. I see there are many small plants to grow and a new window box; they will be much different by the end of the summer. (It would be interesting to see how it looks then.) You mention "refinishing" the deck. Not sure what you mean by that word, but hope you don't make too much work of making it look nice. A pressure wash and paint would be the easiest way. (I know there was some talk last year about what to do last year. I am not trying to re-hash.) I hope you like, and can see, where it is going.

I feel your pain -- been through the same considerations in the past. Years ago when living in MI I settled on a "closed" bin because of critter problems I had with an open bin. I bought a used tumbler from an elderly neighbor and loved it, once I learned to take advantage of it, and appreciated its limitations. I'll try to briefly explain what I've settled on, and how I use it, plus a few other things to think about. Today, I use two ninety-gallon Compost Wizard tumblers that sit side-by-side. One gets filled over ~ 4 weeks while the other is tumbling/composting from having been previously filled. Then it's time to empty the one composting and switch roles. The fill-phase is simple -- the browns are aged (~6-9 months) shredded wood mulch I get free from our little city (they collect, shred/chip, and pile continuously), the greens are kitchen waste - no animal products except eggshells, raw produce trim, UCG, and scrap breads/grains. I get about 2.5-3 lbs of greens/day. The fill starts with a 1" layer of shredded wood. Then daily I add the collection from the kitchen and cover it with about an equal volume of the wood bits. That continues for four weeks when the tumbler is right at half-full, no turning as it is being filled, just let it sit. From experience at about halfway through filling I wet the top of the wood layer and keep filling. After about 4 weeks the tumbler being filled holds ~ 45 gals that weighs ~ 150 lbs. Another wetting of the wood on top and it's time to start tumbling. I use temp to guide when to tumble, but it ends up being daily (122-130 °F), six revolutions. I recheck moisture the first few days (hand squeeze) and sneak up on getting that where I want it to be. During filling the contents heat up to ~100 °F; the temp of the contents will come up into the mid 120's on the second day. The thermophilic phase will last about 12 days, then it cools to near ambient. At that point I add about 1 cup of good garden top soil to inoculate the mass and keep tumbling daily to the 28-day mark. At that point it's done, the tumbler gets emptied, and a new fill cycle is started as the other tumbler that's been getting filled for four weeks now starts it's tumbling phase. Things to consider: Muscle power - at the ~150-160 lb load, turning the Compost Wizard takes some strength; it's not for the kids. The used tumbler I bought 25 years ago was the forerunner to the ComposTumbler that sits on stand and has a crack - a child could turn that, but at ~$500 per unit it's too rich for me. Size - something like 90 gal's is about as small as will allow decent heating into the proper range for composting without animal waste or products being included. If adding those, then it's likely too small to get the desired temps for pathogen elimination. Weeds - at the lower temps I like some seeds will endure (especially tomato seeds). If that's an issue, then a traditional stacked pile of greater dimension and weight will probably be needed to get the temp > 145 °F (unless you have a huge tumbler and a motor to turn it). Speed - The advantage of a tumbler, other than being closed, is the ability to readily turn and thoroughly mix. To get a mature compost in 28 days all feedstock needs to be finely divided. My brown source is taken care of by the shredding operation. For the greens we chop and dice the all the kitchen waste bits as we collect them - 1/2" or smaller is the target. It's not much of an effort, takes little time, but some may find this objectionable. That's pretty much it. You have a lot of options. There are some very nice commercial bins on the market if you don't want to build one. Do the Google thing for 'compost bins' and then hit the Shopping link for some options.

No tested recipe to offer, but I don't see why you couldn't can it. A couple of "experiences": Thrice upon a time, I made the strawberry-lemonade concentrate from Ball sans strawberries since I didn't have any and they weren't in season. But I did have a huge box of lemons from my folks in Florida. Lesson in Stupidity #1 - don't boil it (I didn't really READ the directions). Only bring it up to about 165 degrees before canning. One sip and I dumped that batch down the drain (I have hard water so it cleaned the drain at the same time :-) Lesson in Stupidity #2 - don't get any white pith in there, so in other words, don't use a juicer - ream them by hand which is a total PITA and strain, strain, strain to get as much pulp out as you can. The pith (the pulp and rind, too in my opinion) turns horribly bitter after canning. Tasted it and dumped that batch down the drain. Finally got smart and froze the third batch. Came out much fresher tasting. I figured there's probably a good reason why lemonade, limeade and orange juice concentrates from the grocery store are frozen and not in a "can" :-)

I don't believe it can be done.