I can not think of a single nut tree that doesn't get huge. Perhaps your best bet is to stick with the fruit trees and try and find a friend you can trade with at harvest time. The one danger of nut trees is that they often replant themselves in places where you'd just as soon they didn't grow to begin with. I've got black walnuts all over this property. Getting rid of a sapling that is growing where I don't want it can be a lesson and a half in patiences and determination.

I've actually been to Moosewood!! A few years back when we were scouting out schools for Nathan, he was considering Cornell and we visited Ithaca and ate at Moosewood. It was great. Em, Are you close enough to meet us in Skaneateles? Jo, I emailed you through GW, did you get it? If not, please email me. I'm thinking dinner the first night we are there. Em, If you can meet us, that would be so cool, please email me as well. Talked to DH last night, he's from New Jersey so he has experience driving in snow. So should we have that kind of weather, I think we'll be covered. If my son, who is just like me when it comes to weather (we love Houston weather! Yes, the heat AND the humidity) can live through (so far) 2.5 winters in NYC, I guess I can brave a few days in New York in March.

Hi Carol, I live in Kannapolis, NC (Cabarrus County) just a brief drive from Mooresville. I go there every few months or so and I've taken classes in Mooresville. They have a bigger thrift store that I go to (same co. not a big in Kannapolis). It's a great small town and GROWING close to major cities, like Charlotte. Davidson is just a few miles away, a lovely college town. Right now, the prices for homes are still low and if I could move, I would probably move to Mooresville. It still has much of a small town feel to it. The downtown area is lovely and quaint. I don't know about the property taxes, you will have to refer to Iredell County. I've been here 30 years, moved to Charlotte at first. Got out of there, had more crime happen to me than all my 20 yrs. in S.Fla!! The surrounding towns are much better, cheaper taxes, less traffic, and it's a quick trip to Charlotte for theater, symphonies, plays. The wonderful aspects of North Carolina are varied. There are a lot of small towns to travel. You would be right in between the mountains and the ocean, about 6 hrs. away from Wash.DC, 8 hrs. away from Kentucky. I used to live in S.Fla. so I am still amazed that you can get somewhere in just a few hours. Virginia on the west side is just gorgous! Lake Norman property taxes are going up up up, so I would avoid that area. I just read that in the paper. I was talking to a new employee at work, she was born in S.C. but lived in N.Y. for 13 years. She is now South again in N.C. She said that she had forgotten how "friendly" the folks are here in the south!! And of course, she does NOT miss the snow and dark days. Just had daylight savings, and it will get dark around 7:30...stays light till almost 9 in the summer months!! I am enclosing a link from the PBS TV stations that show North Carolina Weekend. I think you can watch the shows online. I have learned a lot about NC by watching these shows. It really shows the history, cities, out of the way super good restuarants, the outer banks, the mountains. It's all good. This is a good show to watch also : http://www.unctv.org/exploringNC/ And the link to the PBS channel is: http://www.unctv.org/index.shtml Hope this helps! Keep me posted! If you click on my name you can send me an email and let me know. June Lynn Here is a link that might be useful: NC Weekend

Saying that California is the only place where there are naturalized populations of Verbascum olympicum. Other places would have to be a very rare garden escapee (else there would probably be more naturalized populations) or purposefully planted. That info actually helps to know in many of the requests here as it can help cut down the possibilities. The plants.usda.gov site will show you all the maps for a genus if you look up the genus and click the "show all" in the upper right of the map. Verbascum: http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=VERBA While I think there is much data missing at the county-level, this will give a pretty decent list of native and naturalized NYS species: http://newyork.plantatlas.usf.edu Individual plant variability as well as damage could cause multiple spikes. Given my experience, I think it is the former. Much like a four-leaf clover has an extra leaf. I think the plant has charm in wilder, rustic, and unkept places but may seem out of place in tidy, prim and proper garden spaces.