I've missed reponding to a few things... I had to look up golden seal; I wasn't familiar with it. It seems to want damper conditions than I have so it probably wouldn't do well. And, if it did, it sounds like it might spread more than I'd like! So thanks for the suggestion but I think I'll pass on that one...:-) The trillium in the picture is a red one. Most of the trilliums in my garden are the big white ones but I have a patch near the shed that are red. They were the reason dark red was one of the colors I had considered for the shed door. (I ended up deciding against a red door because I figured I'd never be able to get the right color match....) Deanne - I think the little tulips have been there since 2002 - that's the first time I see them on my bulb buying lists. I have added them in a number of areas over the past few years but the sheaf of them in the picture are in the driveway border. That's the first place I planted them so they are the oldest ones. Those ones and are about a foot away from the one that came up in the lawn so presumably that's where the seed for the lawn one came from.

Thank you for your response! I'll try to answer your question below define poorly installed batts. We have gaps between bats AND some sections where batts don't lie flat on the attic floor. Builder's insulation subcontractor originally tried taking the 9inch thick batts and slicing them in thirds (like slicing bread) to make three 3 inch batts that he thought I would accepts as the correct insulation! These were laid between joists. When I caught onto the subterfuge, he claimed that he hadn't been aware of the cheating but would make sure the insulation was done over properly. Instead, he allowed them to just drape 9 inch batts perpendicularly across the joists over the top of the 3 inch thick slices. Because it was very difficult for me to get up into the attic (attic ladder hadn't yet been installed), I trusted builder to make sure it was done over correctly. It wasn't and it is a MAJOR mess. To the extent that we are able to reach the batts, we intend to pick them up and reposition them correctly or just take them out. But there are areas behind the heaters that the only way to reach is by crawling over the heaters so we were hoping we could just blow insulation into those areas without first repositioning (or taking out) the batts. Guess not. do you have service platforms around the units? there should be a 3' walkway to and around units for service. The units both lay beside a platform so it is easy enough to get to one side but there is no walkway "around" them. check & see if batts were installed under unit platforms and walkways...water heaters too if they are in the attic. there are batts between the joists that the units sit on. Whether the batts extend the entire distance under the units were only put in place at the very edges to make it look like underneath the units was insulated, I honestly don't know. Will have to pull a couple out to check. Thanks for suggestion. understand that under heating system you'll only have R-30, which is code here in La. how about in Tx? at max we put R-38. We're outside of a code restricted area but under our contract the builder was supposed to have built to meet code requirements of the nearest major metro area which, at that time was R-30 in the attic. New recommendations for this area are R-50. I'm not sure what the nearest metro code now requires. I don't know what value you plan to insulate to... what is your goal? and what is the purpose of the added insulation? We would like to get as close to R-50 as possible even if some parts of the roof are only insulated to R-30 or lower. Seems like it is good to insulate as much of the attic as possible to R-50 to reduce heat transfer between attic and living areas. I find it is usually air leakage into the house that people try to solve by adding insulation. it never works unless the new insulation both insulates and air seals. (foam ins) with propane you'd have to add combustion air if you foamed the roofline. many insulation companies don't understand how to do this...nor to hvac companies. air sealing is easier with batts than with any other insulation. move the batt...do the air sealing... put the batt back. Not sure I totally understand you here. Our attic is not sealed. We have ridgeline vents and soffit vents. So far I haven't seen any signs of inadequate ventilation in the attic and I know that we need to leave space for air to circulate between soffit vents and ridge vent. We intend to be sure to leave the baffles in place and not block either end. As for air infiltration into the house, the house is pretty tightly sealed. We fired the builder before the interior walls were insulated or sheetrocked and I personally went around with cans of spray foam filling in every crack where I could see light coming thru the exterior shell. All the gaps around exterior electrical plugs, etc. Then we hired a different insulation sub to install the wall batts and I checked every piece of it before sheetrocking started. So, the house is tight. do you have recessed lights? IC or ICAT? the IC lights are a big leakage to living space. We do have recessed lights. They are ICAT. (I've checked). were ducts mastic sealed? or just duct/foil tape? returns in attic mastic sealed? I don't know. What should I look for to find out? And if just duct/foil tape sealed, what is the proper way to fix it and is this a job a homeowner can do or will we need to hire pros? I'm assuming this should probably be done before blowing in additional insulation so one is not having to tromp over and thru the blown in insulation to reach the ducts to work on them.

Good shot Doris! Those guys can get really crafty when it comes to food! Have seen similar position on my feeder. Konrad

They really can do just about anything when it comes to getting what they want! Nothing seems to discourage them when it comes to food.The ones in my neighborhood are so darn fat this year! Once in a great while I will see a black one roaming around... they're kind of creepy looking. Fun subject for picture taking!