Although you haven't gone fishing since your teenage years you suddenly become excited about it again when you realize that, while trout, bass, and other "good" fish have catch limits, you can catch all the squawfish and other invasive "bad" species you want, not only cleaning up your local streams and lakes, but also adding valuable micronutrients to your opus magnus....Oh yeah, and maybe you'll catch a trout or two for the dinner table, but that's secondary.

OK -- that photo was sufficiently yucky! I would know if I saw something grouped together like that, but I have never seen eggs in clusters as the picture shows, although I do see plenty of slugs. Only the east side of my garden seems to have perpetual slug problems. I don't have a camera right now to show pictures, but the hostas look like they are spattered with tiny holes, and some like my Liberty and Atlantis don't have any problems at all. I can still see the pellets when I last spread Sluggo, so I am guessing that rain/water makes it ineffective. Is that right? We have had a lot of rain -- nearly every other day, and it's raining again tonight. I hoped that I could eliminate the pest problem this year so that I have a clean garden next year.

Invest in a large jar of Sluggo :-) It may not eliminate the problem but will certainly help. Will need to be reapplied freqently, especially if we continue to receive a lot of rain. Always thought slugs were the big issue around here until I moved to a semirural and pretty wooded location and determined it was really snails that were the serious pests. They get places no slugs can get to easily and they can eat everything, including more heavily textured evergreen foliage that most slugs leave alone. Very rewarding to squash them, however, if a bit messy :-)

"DD's theory is that due to the global financial crisis, fashion has come to a grinding halt. Nothing new. So the trend lag between here and Europe has collapsed and we're seeing the same stuff everywhere. This is from my 16 y.o. fashion analyst! :-)" Out of the mouths of babes... The Italians are over, this week, and are doing all they can to help the American economy. They came with huge lists from their family and friends. It's all Abercrombie & Fitch. That brand has taken Italy by storm, maybe the rest of Europe, too. They used to buy only Polo. I guess the lines at their stores go on forever and the prices are absurd. With the exchange rate...they're in heaven. We had a dinner last night and I forgot to ask what Italian brand was hot now. Last time it was Roberto Cavalli but his things are way too young for me. I'll stick with Armani if I'm still alive to see the dollar reign, once more.