Thanks for the responses! Rayama, I love to grow everything. My mother was a horticulturist so I come by it naturally. Unfortunately, she has been "gone" for 35 years and I can't ask her for help. When she was alive, we lived in Atlanta. I am thinking Mentone will be different from there - probably colder, maybe rockier but simlar, I hope. As for plants, I like the old timey pass-along plants. I love all of the bulbs. I know last Spring the bulbs were in bloom in Mentone before they bloomed in the FL Panhandle, my current home. How can that be? I love lillies and iris and hope to be able to take lots of mine with me to Alabama. I love roses but have not had the greatest luck with them in FL because of humidity and black spot. I enjoy growing different varieties of anything edible from herbs to fruits and veggies. Currently in FL I have figs, blueberries, pears, plums,lemons, limes, oranges and blackberries along with all kinds of veggies and herbs. One of my fears is buying property that looks like good soil and finding out it has big old rocks under the surface or some soil component I don't know how to deal with. That could be discouraging. I am hoping that some folks on this forum will live near enough to me after the move for swapping plants once I get there and get my gardens going. I read the posts on plant swapping and get all excited just as if I live up there and can come over and swap along with you! Gee, it's only a 5 or 6 hour drive down the road to B'ham and another couple to Huntsville (grin). Rhizo - thank you for the Alabama Extension Service URL. I bookmarked it for reference and know it will answer some of my questions. Question for anyone who cares to answer: I will be leaving a hurricane area and going to a tornado/ice storm/earthquake area. Hurricanes do tremendous damage to trees and plants in my area - mainly defoliating them and knocking them over or breaking off limbs. I know Mentone has had ice storms which broke lots of limbs. I also know that tornados don't give much warning. And then there was the freak earthquake in the Ft. Payne/Mentone area a couple years ago. Tornados have generally higher wind speeds than hurricanes I have experienced (Ivan in 2004 was a Bear!). My question is this - which is worse, tornados or hurricanes? Thanks for your help! -sweetshrub

First of all, I strongly suggest that you visit the Alabama Forum and get to know some of the good folks in there. You'll need to prepare yourself for the huge differences you'll discover about living in the deep South. Don't worry, once you get used to the fire ants and sand gnats, you'll love it! To answer your questions, organic gardening will be no more difficult for you in that location than anywhere else. Be sure to make a call or visit to your local extension office after you get settled (or as soon as you unpack). And yes, you will be planting very different types of plants...as well as leaving behind some of the things you are used to. As I used to say to a number of my clients when I lived in SC, "you ain't in Ohio anymore!" It seemed like most of Ohio had moved to coastal SC, lol. I'll look for you in the Alabama Forum. You'll soon be made to feel at home. You might even discover some new neighbors. Here is a link that might be useful: C'mon...let's visit the Alabama Forum!

That is what I was thinking. She knows she is horrible and that is why she tries to cover it up. We have not told my skids that we found out bm left state yet. I know that they are hurt that she does not call or visit them, but I think that when they find out she is no longer even in state that they will be more upset. We are not even sure how to tell them this. Yesterday I tried to call her cell # (private of course) to see if she even has it still. Disconnected! So if the kids wanted to call her they can't!! This lady just never stops amazing me with her selfishness!

momof4, here's what I'd suggest...but first, what state are you in btw? Contact legal aid again and any legal clinics in your area that can refer you to a law firm that would consider taking your case on a pro bono basis. I am not a full-time family law practitioner but I handle several family law cases per year pro bono that are either referred to the firm by an outside legal organization or for a family or friend that I convince the firm to let me work on. Do you or your husband or a friend know any attorneys? The legal market is horrible right now and I suspect you could find a good underutilized attorney willing to take DH's case pro bono quite easily. Good luck. If you are in a state that I have connections, I will try to put you in touch with someone.