Hi Johnny, sorry it took me a while to get back to you. I didn't catch Daniel's talk about the rabbits (was sitting in another building listening to a different topic) but I did see a harepen that was sitting next to the summer Raken house (it is covered with an opaque cover and is much, much larger than the ones they use in the winter.) In the winter they use hoophouses that have the translucent covers so the hens will get as much daylight as possible, and the sun will warm up the house too. I think you are talking about the portable harepen that he has made to go on pasture?? I seem to have overheard that these are a work in progress so I don't know how well it works. It looks like a regular rabbit house but instead of a traditional floor it has long slats that may have been 2x2s that only ran in one direction. The distance beween the slats was about 2 or 3 inches. I am assuming that this would give the rabbits access to the grass without as great of a risk of them digging out the bottom. Since I really didn't know what I was looking at this is the best description I can give you. I don't know much about rabbits or their housing in general. I haven't gotten my film back yet (someday I will get a digital.......) so I don't have pictures. I may have a picture of it since I took 2 rolls while I was there, I will post it here if I do have one of the harepen. HTH, let me know if you were wanting to know more about the raken house where he has the rabbits above the chickens. I got a better look inside one of those and I know I have pictures of that. Skagit and Roberta- I went ahead and made a virtual copy of a Plamondon hoophouse (with a few small modifications that were suggested by people on a different list). It is light enough for me to move by myself, even though it has gotten tougher since I mounted the nest boxes in the back. I did attach a rope to both the front and the back which makes it easier to get it just where you want it, especially if you live in an area that is not flat and smooth and have a constant need to dodge obstacles. The bottoms of mine are 2x4s so it is plenty heavy enough to not flip but the top is all cattle panels, plastic and wire so it is very light. Mine is only about 9x10x6.5 tall.

I've been following this thread and wanted to throw in my two cents for encouragement. I have a twist on a Scriptural truth that I do live by, "Don't expect to get what you want, if you don't ask specifically." Do not talk to anyone about a grievance unless you are prepared to state the remedy to the matter that will leave you in a justified state; so that you will be able to recommend a contractor's work again. Just compensation for the grievance(s) need to be accurate and stated firmly, but not harshly. At this point, it's best you put this in writing so that he can think about all of this before you see him again. I formed a little something for you to see what I was thinking. "You know John, I was excited about working with you on our kitchen. I had every confidence that you had the skill to handle this job. However, I must tell you that even though the wood floors are beautiful and the cabinets are coming along, and I do believe you will get them right, I have to tell you, this granite situation is not working for us at all. The bottom-line is: I want that counter with the broken granite replaced. We've worked hard for our money and I wanted a brand new kitchen without compromises. I don't want repaired granite, I wanted granite installed and fabricated by professionals correctly. With all of these delays and mistakes, I feel as though I'm paying for you to attend a granite seminar and you're the student. When you installed granite that had been cracked and you repaired it, yet failed to admit it to us, I was deeply disturbed and frustrated with this situation. I would be thrilled with your fix had my child broken the granite and you did that repair; but in this case, we are paying for brand new counters that we expect to be made of solid and unbroken granite. Anyway you look at it, it is broken and I want it replaced. Nothing else will satisfy me concerning the broken granite. As for the template layout, I do believe that if I had been present when you laid out the template on the granite, then we would not have had the other problems with the grain running in the wrong direction. If we work this out, I want to be present when you layout the next templates. You want to be satisfied with us paying you. I want to be satisfied for what we contracted you to provide. We are already weeks behind schedule. If you cannot get this granite finished professionally and installed by date certain, then please let me know as soon as possible. I know this is very stressful on you, so if you do not want to finish the granite that is OK; we think it more than fair that you deduct the price of all of the charges associated with fabricating the granite counter tops from our contract; we will then go with another fabricator and start over. Please let me know your decision as soon as possible." And remember, "Don't expect to get what you want, if you don't ask specifically." Also, let this be a 'lesson' for anyone shopping for granite: be present when templating and when laying out your templates on your granite. There was a gal on GW a few years ago that had the grain running in the wrong direction on each side of her range. I do not believe her fabricator changed her granite. Her entire kitchen was a mess. The templates were placed on the granite any which way, just to save stone, with no thought or care to how the finished product looked.

US car companies have struggled to produce successful diesel engines, It's funny because their subsidiaries abroad (like Ford and GM's Opel in Germany) have been selling diesel engined passenger cars since forever. I've had at least one, sometimes two, German made diesel-engined cars continuously since the late 70s. They're fast (turbochargers), fun to drive, get great mileage and last forever. US versions are bound to be better now than before, but I'm not sure what their problems have been. I'd avoid bio-diesel. Vegetable sourced diesel fuel contains one or more substances that can cause parts like hoses and seals/gaskets to break down. I know in the two cars I have now, it's a no-no. There is a blend called B10 (which is 90 % conventional, 10 % veggie) that's supposed to be better tolerated but I, frankly, can't think up an advantage to using it. Good luck with your new toys.

Dogs don’t just pee “anyway”. That is nothing more than the excuse of a lazy owner. Dogs pee when they signal that they need to go and are ignored or when they are physically unable to hold it. I hope they aren’t just drawing the conclusion that it’s because she’s old as well. There are lots of reasons as to why a female dog might be incontinent, like a bladder infection or a problem stemming from when she was spayed. Heck, our dog had a problem with incontinence an it ended up being because of the cr*ppy prescription food the Vet wanted her on. It started shortly after we started feeding it to her for some tummy problems and it stopped immediately when I chose to stop feeding it to her. These owners need to step up to the plate and take care of the old girl the way she deserves to be cared for. Scenarios like this always baffle me. I mean, why have an animal if you don’t value it’s companionship and/or enjoy taking care of it? Nicole, I hope you don’t step back and let the owners care for their dog. She obviously needs a compassionate advocate who can speak for her and gently encourage the owners to do better.