I love your garden....just calls you to come out and "sit a spell" and reflect on the hard work it took to get it to that point. Really a wonderful job with the mix of perennials. My favorite is also the Sweet Hot Chocolate. Thanks for the pics! jan g.

Under the severe schedule the axle lubricant is indeed something that requires changing at 15,000 miles as per the manufacturer. The question comes back to, what is really severe useage? Because the drive train operates in 4WD all of the time, there is extra loading on the front and rear ring and pinion assemblies. Keeping the axle fluids flushed does increase the lifespan of these components considerably. Now granted as you say you only have a two year lease. We have talked about that before, you already prefer to waste money when it comes to getting your cars, why do you hesitate to care for them properly? Gary, re-think what you wrote. Use Sharons last post or two about damage to the vehicle, what was it four carfax reports? Brake wear is not and should not be warrantable. As far as "has she had trouble with the axles", that really is putting the cart before the horse. "Preventive Maintanence" is all about preventing problems with those components. Changing the axle fluid occasionally is all it takes to not have trouble with those. I adapted this very strategy to my Ford Explorer, even though it is NOT a recommended service until much later in it's life. The result? There are a lot of cars just like mine, that never even towed anything that have had axle failures. Mine is over 100,000 miles, and has towed 3000lbs+ some 65,000 of it and has no signs of any axle trouble. All I had to do was flush the axles at 20,000, then 50,000, then 80,000, and I'll do it every 30,000 until I no longer own the car. The best part is I don't even tow that trailer anymore like I used to. So there is much less stress on my Explorers drivetrain than there used to be. The fluids show this when I perform a service. BTW the tranny has gotten serviced the same way, and there are no signs of any major repairs looming there either. So what does this mean? It does not mean always change every fluid and the car will never break down, and that of course is the argument people that really want to get a pass on abusing a car are really looking for. It does mean that breakdowns are much less likely for those that service their cars correctly than they are for those that neglect them. There are a great number of people who jump on the lease programs that only want to drive something newer while never spending a penny on it and then dump it so it ends up as someone else's problem once it starts displaying just how abused it was. Owning a car, or even just leasing it still means taking care of it and fixing what breaks, and protecting what has not.

Make sure your door sensors are pointed at one another. They each have a small light that should be lit when they are properly aligned. If you cannot get both lights to come on your sensor have failed.

Hmm im guessing that most of yous would have impatiens up in QLDs? I love the impatiens family pity the New Guinea Impatiens I have are very not easy to care for as the walleriana types. One day the NG impatiens were fine and blooming the next day it got mauled by a family of "Impatiens Hawk moth Caterpillars" (MM you should be familiar with these hehe). Those buggas grow to 12 cms and the size of your finger with a apetite that strips the whole plant. I don't care how many gardeners treasure the moths (as humming bird look alikes that polinate exclusive Impatiens) they are really devasting pest to me. I have little hope of saving it since NG Impatiens don't strike from cuttings the way Impatiens Walleriana do. And in the end i lost a very pretty NG impatiens. Anyway is Liatris gonna continue the game?