I assume in MI you are not getting day after day of 90F+ degree heat? If that's the case, do it now. Give your yard an overseed and fertilize in about 4 weeks from now. In spring, put down the pre-emergent. You will invariably get some CG plants (but not nearly as many) that sprout up next year. Spot spray any survivors with the MSMA. This time next year you should have a fantastic yard. If you get a good seeding and fertilization this fall once your CG has burned up from the MSMA, it will go a long way in minimizing any return of the lawn nemesis. Put down a bag or two of the Scotts seeding soil and plant into that to give your lawn a head start. You only need the new soil to be a 1/4 think to get the results you're looking for. Someone on here may recommend completely killing off your lawn (Round-Up), aeration and doing a seeding renovation. That is an option but now one that I would do. Your lawn seems to have decent turf based on the other grass growing around the CG infestation.

Hi! I live in nearby Meridian, so I have a pretty good idea of what you're up against. First, I want to say that you have obviously done alot of work already, and I don't think your landscape is bad looking at all, except perhaps in the barren side yard. Still....you're doing some really nice work there. From what you say, and what I see, it sounds like your number one need is good soil preparation. Not easy, no. But if you do it right ONE time, you won't have to do it again. Your beds that are tight, poorly draining clay are the ones I am referring to. You will continually lose plants until you loosen and lighten it up. I learned this the hard way. If you are strong and patient, you can do it yourself. I dig new beds in spring or fall. I try to do one each season (have only lived here five years). My way is time consuming, but cheap and effective. If possible, do this work about three or four days after rain. I use a good sharp shovel and plunge it all the way down into the soil, making a "grid" pattern about six inches apart all over the area. I don't jump on the shovel. I balance on it, wiggling the handle forward and backward as I stand. My weight and the movement of the blade will make the shovel sink slowly into the ground. (My clay is so tight it always smells sour the first time I dig it like this. But never again.) Once I do my "shovel dance" and the blade is all the way in (about a foot), I pull back and break, but don't lift. Then I move the shovel over and do it again. I take it a section at a time and only work a couple of hours at a time. Once I have broken the soil, I lay as many soil "amendments" over it as I can get my hands on: manure, compost, leaves chopped up by the lawn mower, grass clippings, etc. In our area, you can go to the county landfill and fill your pickup truck with their compost for free. It's black as can be, and is good stuff. Occasionally, you may find roots of spiderwort, etc. and it may contain seeds of briars or thistles, but if you stay on top of that kind of thing, it's not much trouble to clean it up, and it's FREE. (Did I say that already? :) Anyway, I lay several inches (six is a good number) over the top of the broken soil and then I use my little mini tiller to mix it all in and pulverize it real good. Even a monster tiller will not break up my clay without doing the spade-breaking thing first, but once it's done, my mini does great. If you don't have a tiller and can't afford one, you can work the amendments into the soil by hand with your spade (unimaginably hard work). Or, you can let them sit on top of the soil for about three months and then work it in with the spade. (Check out the lasagna gardening forum.) Personally, I'd make it a high priority to get a mini tiller. I paid about $200 for my Honda and it's a honey. Do NOT buy a Troy Bilt mini. They are the most frustrating junk imaginable. Once you have done this process, you can plant. Always mulch with a good organic mulch. Pinestraw is what I use, but leaves or shredded bark are good too. Just use plenty. I put down about three to five inches of straw each fall and that will last a year. I lay the next year's mulch right over the previous year's. Every few years, I top dress the bed with compost or manure. I put it down right over the old mulch and then lay fresh mulch over that. I have perfectly lovely soil. This method of soil prep really works, and like I said, you only have to do it once. I have been digging and dividing daylilies the last two weeks and have been gloating continually over my butter soft soil. By the way, your sideyard appears to be on the north side of your house. That would be an ideal place for camellias, nandinas, hydrangeas, and shade loving perennials. I have my northside done with these plants on what would be your fence side, and, on the foundation side, with a curving path running approximately down the middle. No grass at all. It's a lovely, cool place. Just be sure to prep the soil well before you plant. :) Good luck!

These are hoods designed for top interface with a duct, and look like wall mount hoods. That is, they are not suspended by the ducting or duct covering extensions as island hoods would be. The duct parts may be separate ducts covered by fancy extension pieces, or what we see may actually be a fancy duct. It is hard to determine the details remotely. I don't own this type. Judging from the size, I would think a separate internal duct might be too small. Please keep in mind that showroom kitchens often neglect the engineering aspects of ventilation and throw up whatever looks good, sometimes totally inadequate for the cooking possible on the monster range displayed (for example, the hoods in the photos above are too small and the ducts are too small), and sometimes there is no visible ventilation at all (the classic "poser" kitchen for people who have their meals catered, or have a separate kitchen operated by staff). For various views of hoods and ducting, Wolf has a design guide that may be downloaded, and AJ Madison has a huge collection of images of hoods they sell. There is a finished kitchen website informally associated with the Garden Web's Kitchen Forum that will show and describe various choices people have made. Check out the Broan website, as well as those of more custom sources such as Abbaka, ModernAir, Independent, etc. Anticipate that anything related to ventilation will take a lot longer to resolve than you can possibly imagine. :) kas

Hi again.. Thank you for your comments... natesgram..The screen door I have is at least 20 yrs old..It is bent and tweaked so it needs to be replaced...so I'm leaning towards a black screen door. If it was in good shape I would try painting it black..that's a really good suggestion that maybe someone else will benefit from. meowzer..I really like having a screen door to let a breeze in. I live in Southern Calif. and it's pretty warm all year round...so eliminating the screen door is not an option for me. (Sigh) I really love a pretty front door and I think the screen isn't very attractive, but it's all about function here. Coco and RM...Thank you for posting pictures of your doors..Absolutely LOVE the look of both! I think that seals it for me. gilly...thanks for the vote of confidence. As to the suggestions of purple...I think my 84 year old neighbor would call City Hall on me for sure. She's the neighborhood police, if you know what I mean. KA:)