:) You guys, you cut me to the quick! It's my Charlie Brown tree. It was wonky and absolutely pitiful when i brought it home last year. By October, it had developed these wierd, gangly lower branches that were as wide as the tree was tall. So late winter/early spring, i sort of chopped those lower ones off a bit, in the hopes that it would assume a more balanced shape. It just hasn't leafed out yet. It will look better soon ... Do you think it's doomed? I'm determined not to give up on this tree. It was the only Tomcot in the nursery, and i just had to have it. Now, i'm going to love it tall. I have so much to learn. But overall, i'm pleased with the way the fruit trees are coming along. Am i just being overly optimistic? Blind to obvious problems? Anyway, thanks for your feedback everyone. It looks like two slightly opposing opinions about the pruning cuts so far. I hope i can save this tree ... :)

If you create a good healthy garden you will have slugs, Roly Polys and Sowbugs, as well as probably earwigs and numerous other insects because you will be creating an environment thye like. However, that good healthy garden will also have a large population of beneficial insects that will eat these and help you control them. You can place saucers of stale beer, slugs are drawn to the yeasty smell of stale beer and they will drown, happily. You can spend a lot of money on the Iron Phosphate baits. You can spend a lot of money on copper wire, tape, etc. Mostly what I see is slug damage where there is little organic matter for them to feed on, where there is ample quantities of organic matter there is little slug damage to plants even when the population is relatively high.

I often make gifts ahead of the baby, nodakgal. Socks' example above would do as well for a boy or a girl. I even make pink or blue sweaters and booties and hats and just set them aside for the next baby. My kids and their friends seem to be having lots of babies these days. Babies are going to be popping all over come fall. We're kind of hoping for a girl in the fall as we just don't have a granddaughter yet. Once I know the sex of the baby in June, the needles will be flying.

All of you guys are great. I keep on learning with each post. Perhaps there was some miscommunication, and a lot of ignorance on my part. In the very beginning I thought there I could tap into a relay or install a low amp relay to intercept the power from the Intermatic Timer subpanel to the motor. But after finding out the amps going in and going out are really the same, there was really no advantage in doing so. As there is a circuit breaker built right into the subpanel, I still think itÂs a rather good idea to have a mechanical latch to pull the level of the breaker as someone suggested with a solenoid (since I know I wonÂt be able to find a shunt-breaker). Again, I am ignorant of the motor controller (I only know there is a big capacitor sitting on top of the motor  which I would not want to play with). ItÂs seems it takes high amps and I would rather play with low amps. I just need to come up with a simple solenoid that pulls one way, as I donÂt need to worry about turning the breaker on again. Once a "flood" sensor triggers it, I would want the motor to be turned off permanently, even if I am gone for two weeks, and even if the pool turns green! Better green pool than have a pool of water softening up house foundation!