guys, had false start the other day when i mistakenly posted a tractor comment in the lawn mower forum . . . DOH! . . . anyway, i put a new battery in the 416-8, gave it a shot of ether and the engine roared to life with the sweetest purr and tone that i've heard in many a year(god bless this onan powered toro/wheelhorse!) i cut my grass with it for the first time in 2 1/2 years with it and was darn glad to have it . . . had a mini case of disonance about selling it, (perhaps, i could find a dozer/snow blade or manufacture a hitch for a salt/fertilzer spreader. at this point the lawn building is too crowded and small for everything that must go in it. i can't see pulling the battery and putting a tarp over it for the winter time. i have a hard enough time with the sibling rivarly between my daughters . . . wouldn't it be worse for tractors trying to co-exist, and always be first? will clean the old girl, and continue to ponder my decisions on her. it is almost laughable, that i find it to difficult to mount and dismount the tractor due to my dead leg and big belly (not to self depricating enough?) and that they are two of factors in my decision to sell. however, my new hubcaps may only be worth $100.00 but the actual tractor (heart and soul) is certainly worth more than the low estimates to date. thank you for your time and attention. robert a.

Moe, two year old chickens should be still good layers, Production should not drop off until they are three years old or older. First off, are you getting more than 12 hours of sunlight a day. Production drops off significantly when chickens get less than 12-14 hours a day of sunlight. Artificial light, ( 40-60 watts) to extend their day to over 14 hours will solve this problem. A shielded bulb set on a 16 hour timer works well. Second off, are your chickens well fed with good access to clean water. Often in the winter, the water freezes. Third, that you have an egg eater, probably means that your feed is lacking in protien and calcium, the deformed eggs also suggest this as the eggs become deformed through lack of calcium in the diet. Adding powdered milk as a liquid suppliment is a short term fix for feed problems. Two weeks of supplementing their food with a water dish filled with the reconstituted milk should show results. Kale, ground oyster shells or crushed and cooked eggshells are also useful suppliments. Chickens love kale. Other aspects are stress and disease. One aspect often missed is damp and drafty conditions, common at this time of year. Stress brought about by predators, traffic or boredom caused by confinement can also be an issue. Too bright a nest area, or insufficient nest space or nest materials can also cause stress leading to egg eating. Unfortunately, Chrysanthemum either has to go in the pot, or be separated from the rest of the flock, for a month or so, while being fed the powdered milk suppliment, and kept from eating her own eggs. This has a 50:50 chance of being a cure, as she may not go back to the habit. Substuting egg shaped rocks or hard fake eggs for her own, sometimes works to break the habit, as she will quickly learn that pecking at the eggs is unproductive. All eggs, broken, deformed or otherwise should always be removed from the coop, as not only will the chickens quickly figure out that they are food, but uncooked eggs can cause your chickens health problems. Eggs should be gathered twice a day on a regular schedule.

Thanks, Barb, nice to meet you. I cannot believe it took so long to discover this site. One year I made a wreath with a cardboard bottom. (from Pizza) Cut a small hole in center. Glue different cards on and then wrap small boxes like Christmas packages. Glue to cardboard all around in different directions. Attached felt bow and hang on wall or door. Tiny boxes I used are from Aspirin, spices, ointment, well, you get the idea. Decorate boxes with different color Christmas wrap and different type of bows such as raffia, yarn, tiny bows. Let your imagination run wild. Have received lots of compliments on this project and what's great it cost you next to nothing.

hapagrrl: As you seem to have ruled out Whirlpool, Costco is probably no help. Costco does have an unwritten, very liberal satisfaction/full refund guarantee but they only carry Whirlpool brands for the types of fridges you want. A couple of things to check out or bear in mind if you do decide to consider buying large appliances from Costco. If you want delivery (which is usually included in the price), check the "shipping and terms" tab on Costco's product page. Used to be that some areas could not get delivery of fridges. Sometimes whole states --- say, Montana and Alaska --- and sometimes just particularly rural or remote areas of certain states. Sometimes there might be an extra charge for delivery to them. Read the tab to see if there are restrictions for your area. Another thing to bear in mind is that, while Costco.com will deliver the new fridge (and haul the old one, if you want), Costco rarely comes to retrieve one you decide to return. You have to haul it to a Costco warehouse yourself or else arrange for somebody to do it for you. Although you are ruling out Whirlpool products, l still suggest that you call around to servicers to see what you can find out about what the problems are. As plllog says, the problems might be mostly minor things -- broken support brackets, cracked crisper drawers --- or they might be major ones. Seeing numbers of reports of compressor failures might or might not be significant. FWIW, some percentage of early product failures (as noted by practigal) is inevitable for every mass produced product. There is even a name for it: "infant mortality." Thing is -- Whirlpool sells so many refrigerators that even a tiny percentage of compressor failures can translate to a large number of complaining people. And, there is nothing like inept or intransigent warranty service to push a dissappointed customer into a vitriolic, internet-posting crusader. Plus, these days, there are shills and trolls paid to muck-up on-line reviewing. Anyway, if you do get some feedback from services, please let us know what you learn.