I don't feel guilty at all for blocking the ads. A few years ago when this site underwent new management, the ads were horrendous. Flashing things everywhere, huge, screen sized pop ups every time you changed pages, moving banners and so on that made it just about impossible to use. This new management clearly didn't care about the people who were trying to use the site, just about making money off the ads, which is to say off of us, since you can't sell ads for sites without any traffic. GW really changed after that as most of the old-timers left and traffic has never been as busy since.

If its a wood stool, just get the legs cut down. Find a handyman or neighbor to do it. NBD.

To those using Firefox, go to Tools (located on the Firefox toolbar) then click on Options. Open the Content Tab; the first box will say "Block pop-up windows". Make sure the box is checked. I use Firefox with Adblock Plus (and have the "block" box checked!); I never see ads. I understand the need for advertising but I only have basic DSL (all I can get in my area; until 3 months ago I was on dial-up) and only have so much time on the computer; I refuse to spend my limited online time waiting for ads to load. Hope this helps.

Well it's good to know I'm not alone, I guess! Thanks for the replies. I think that motor oil or other toxins from vehicles is the most likely culprit in my case, as with yours, barrett001. I'm guessing used oil from farm equipment in my instance. I tend to discount the compacted soil theory because my blighted area is on a fairly steep uphill slope, so not optimal for parking, but it is possible. Interestingly, when I did a search for trees that are tolerant of toxic (petroleum in particular) soils, many varieties of crabapple were on the list, so I guess that explains my sole surviving tree. It is remarkable how the area has such distinct boundaries. It extends a short distance into the neighboring "re-foresting" area, and two of the spruce seedlings I planted there suffered. One died early on, while the other is a stunted specimen today. Just on the other side of the invisible line, their spruce companions are all thriving and about ten times taller than the stunted tree. If I had less land, a small yard for instance, then I would be digging out the old soil and replacing it, or building a raised bed filled with untainted soil, but as it is I have no interest in soil testing or attempting to repair my blighted area. It's more of a curiosity for me.