Welcome to the forum, Garden Peggy, I hope you'll enjoy our group! When you speak of evergreens for winter interest, LL, it brings to mind a post made years ago by an older gardener (like me), hope it isn't against the rules for me to copy: "TO MAKE GARDENING EASIER AS YOU AGE, PLANT A GARDEN TO LOOK GOOD IN THE WINTER, (Only read this essay if gardening is your passion and you want to continue gardening to the �bitter end.") When I began serious gardening at the age of 23, I was as strong as a peasant woman. On week-ends I could garden for 10 to 12 hours with nary a sore muscle or aching joint. Before and after work on week days I would even put in an hour or two of hard work with no sore bones. But once I hit the age of 50, things began to creak, moan and pain me. At the age of 52 I got a bad case of vertigo which lasted two weeks. I was bedridden with this for one week, flat on my back. This is when it dawned on me, "Since I am not that super woman of age 23 how would I take care of my extensive garden if some physical problem really limits me in working in my garden?� I was especially thinking of this physical problem called "aging.� I am now, way over 50, (older than Martha Stewart) and feel like 101,sometimes. I do not want to be one of those older gardeners who whine and lament: "I cannot work in my garden any more. It is too much for me. I can't bend, dig, weed, trim or plant like I did years ago. I do not have the stamina and energy. I get too sore working in the garden. My garden looks a mess. I must remove most of the plants and go back to just grass. Annuals are too much work. Perennials need too much cutting back and separating. Are my gardening days over? And finally, should I sell my property and move." Truthfully, all of the above statements are a reality for most older gardeners. Our bones do hurt us. Our bodies do slow down. We can not do what we did 30 years ago. So what are we to do? If gardening makes you happy and you do not wish to give it up, Plan for your older gardening days. How do you plan for your older gardening days? You do this by planning and planting a garden that looks beautiful in the Winter. These two can go hand in hand. This article is mainly written for gardeners in the Northeast U.S., zones 5-6-7-8. Planting a garden to look beautiful in three seasons and also in the winter means you must plant flowering shrubs, conifers, evergreen trees and deciduous trees that look especially good in the winter. It might be their bark, shape or color. Your winter garden should invite you to want to be in it even though the weather is cold or snowy. You must have enough interest and structure in your garden that it beckons to you to want to sit, walk around, and even putter in it even though the garden is dormant. This is very possible and the way I planned my garden. Let me tell you about my philosophy of winter gardening which is also my philosophy of gardening now that I am much older than 23." My garden is dormant, about the only thing green are my rose bushes and oak trees. But, come March, and here we go again!

I had one of those bugs show up in my house this fall. It looked just like the photo above in the thread. First time I've had that. Very few pine trees around my neighborhood. One in yards on either side of me but none in a position to do damage to anything on our property. One tree is hidden behind our large Maple tree and it was planted way too close, so the tree is half dead anyway. I can't see it and don't have to look at it, but when I go by that side of the property, which isn't often, I've seen broken branches in the winter. Isn't it odd, that pine trees grow in the coldest parts of the country where there are ice storms but they are so vulnerable to breakage. Sorry to hear about the tree problems ladies. It's so expensive to have tree work done. Our son, just took down a 15ft Amelanchier tree for us with a chain saw and ropes. It was multiple trunk and the diameter of one was not more than 3 or 4 inches. It was having some kind of disease process going on for years. That was as large a tree as I would feel comfortable for him to do himself though. He didn't have to climb in the tree or anything. Lots of trees in general are having issues. Glad I don't have an Ash tree to worry about. It makes me think I should keep planting new trees to always have a few coming along. Placement is not easy though if you suspect a tree might be coming down in the future.

Ken, you don't like fruit trees ==>> i have a half dozen or so fruit ... i just dont spray .. dont care.. and suggest to dreamers.. that their crop will never look like store stuff w/o proactive IPM ... scale.. i was wondering if that was an exoskeleton ... more along he line of a mollusk .. which arent bugs.. per se ... and too lazy to look it up ... in the case above.. this scale has been building for quite a few years.. that infestation did NOT occur this year.... and if i.. with 30 years of experience.. can NOT time out precise repeated sprayings of oil... then one might suggest the OP.. as a novice.. isnt going to be able to either ... and when it comes down to doing ANYTHING.. repeatedly ... i usually just get rid of it ... ergo.. no more privet for me.. too many teenage nightmare trimming the family ones... is OP is up for the challenge... go for it.. but the easy answer is.. get rid of it .. ken ps: actually personally ... if this were a $100 exotic specimen.. i would go systemic hardcore bayer tree and shrub.. one application.. done forever.. but OP doesnt want chems .... but this plant is NOT exotic .... nor worth the cost of cure ...

While looking at the above government link, I notice San Jose, CA, has high sodium (Na) in their tap. My sister there has high blood pressure, while my blood pressure is low. But my risk of heart attack is higher than her, see below excerpt from WebMD "Higher doses of calcium increase the chance of having serious side effects. Some recent research also suggests that doses over the recommended daily requirement of 1000-1300 mg daily for most adults might increase the chance of heart attack. " http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-781-CALCIUM.aspx?activeIngredientId=781&activeIngredientName=CALCIUM Also see http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/256791.php "The finding came from a new study by a team of experts led by Qian Xiao, from the National Institutes of Health, and supports prior research from last year which indicated that calcium supplements are linked to a higher risk of heart attack." UPDATE: Bought 3 different brands of cherry juice to see if they help with sleep. Trader's Joe cherry juice is too sour & bitter. Indian Summer cherry juice is too watery. Neither of these help with my sleep. The cherry juice that helped was one from nearby Wisconsin (1 hour away) ... its FRESHNESS was what worked. In my experience, FRESH grapefruit works better than STALE cherry juice that was cooked (pasteurized), which destroyed the enzymes. Here's an excerpt from below link: http://bembu.com/foods-to-help-you-sleep 2. Grapefruit Eating grapefruit before bed has been an old wives’ tale for years, but as it turns out there’s a reason why this has been known to help sleep. It contains lycopene, an antioxidant in the body that has been shown to improve the way you sleep. Grapefruit can also help you lose weight if needed." I also notice that fish oil is very effective for good sleep. I took NOW fish oil, since it's the cheapest & best rated on Amazon, only 14 cents. I'm switching to NOW liquid fish oil, lemon flavor, since I get more Omega-3 per price-unit. Fish oil works when magnesium and cherry juice failed. There's days that I could not sleep, and fish oil did the job when nothing worked. I'm going to try cod-liver oil, to see if that helps with sleep & better skin & my vitamin D deficiency. Will report the result later. Both vitamin A and D is known to help with hormonal imbalance.