To respond to the original post by greenpagoda: You have to keep the soil around the tree consistently watered. Especially when the trees are young and do not have an established root system yet. Twice a week, three times a week during the hot summer. Young cherry trees will also do much better in a location with a little bit of partial shade. (I suppose you could grow one in a very huge container, but it would have to get quite big before it was ready for full sun planted out in the open) This is for stone fruit (and especially cherry in particular) in zone 9 / 10 in hot dry climates with little cloud cover. Of course, if the summer humidity is too high the stone fruit will succumb to fungal disease. So for hot climates it can be a precarious balance between the tree's leaves getting baked and dried out on the one hand, or the tree suffering root rot and disease on the other hand, if the tree is overwatered or the air is festering with sticky humidity. Black cherry will grow better in Florida and is more disease and insect resistant (to some extent), though of course it does not have quite the same flavor (technically it's not really the same species). I find Black cherries have more of a murky insepid plum flavor and less cherry flavor, though they are good for processing and adding flavor to other dishes because of their subacid flavor.

This is such a sad story and unfortunately things like this seem to be happening more and more often. It just angers me to think of what that poor child must have experienced. I hope the grandmother or whom ever actually did this (because she's not been convicted yet) will have the decency to admit what they did wrong and take whatever is coming to them. I hate when someone does something horrible and then comes up with 101 excuses to justify what they did, blaming it on drugs, drink, poor circumstances, their parents or abuse. I also think his mother should be found and charged with abandonment and whatever else would be applicable. It's really so sad no one was their to fight for this boy.

Hi Cindrillon, I feel obliged to respond to your post, since it mirrors my life so closely. I am an American, married to a Frenchman living in France with 2 step sons (6 and 8 years old). Although we have them EOW plus 1-2 days per week. I have a couple of questions. How long have you been living in France? Do you work? Do you have many friends here? I ask this because I started following this forum because I was having major problems adapting to life with my step sons when I moved here 2 years ago. I felt they were rude, babied, not very kind towards me, etc. And I wasnt completely wrong. They yelled at adults and no one reprimanded them, they didnÂt do anything for themselves, couldnÂt (still canÂt) tie their shoes, didnÂt dress themselves, had at potty chair that they still used! Keep in mind they were 4 and 6 at the time. I think a lot of this has to do with culture. To me it seems the French donÂt value kids being independent as much as Americans do. It also has to do with guilt on my DHÂs side. Plus, everyone was so busy fighting and getting through the divorce earlier that I think, unfortunately the kids kind of slipped through the cracks a little bit in the "life lessons" department. However, I think a major part was me too. I was in a new country, I couldnÂt speak the language well, I felt overwhelmed, tired, and every problem was magnified. Plus, since my life was so narrow (only DH and work) when something was going wrong it felt like my entire world was going wrong. But, it gets better. The kids adjusted, your DH will adjust and YOU will adjust. My DH was good and stepped up to all the "parenting". He let (and lets) me have time by myself if needed. Whereas before he felt we needed to re-create a family and do everything together. But you canÂt force it. (It probably will come, though.) Get out and about. Do things for yourself. Pick up a hobby. I wonÂt say learn the language because thatÂll come naturally (and trust me, the last thing I wanted to do after a long day and a 3 hour round trip commute was sit my butt in a language class). Now weÂre happily married, waiting on our 1st baby together (which the Step Sons are thrilled about), with ups and downs like any other family. I still get annoyed at the kids but itÂs more for "kid" things than "step-kid" things. So, to recap my rambling post Make sure you DH does the "parenting", but jump in for the fun times and try to build a bond. Try your hardest to be nice to your SS. He can sense your feelings even if you donÂt voice them, and youÂll get nowhere. Take time for yourself and try to build your life here. Be patient. Problems always seem magnified when your dealing with so much change to begin with. I know this stuff isnÂt always easy, and IÂm still working on it, too. But I found that it helped me immensely. Also, thereÂs an online group in France for parents called MESSAGE. Maybe look into that. TheyÂve got great support and are always organizing outings. And if youÂd like, let me know and you can email me personally. ItÂs always better when someone understands your situation. Hope things get better. Hang in there.

I can't help but watch the trial. 1. The father has never been figured out. Its not the ex-fiance Jesse Grund. Paternity tests were run on Casey's father and brother-not them either. She once mentioned someone with the last name of Baker and later said he died in an accident-but that was most likely a lie. 2. She didn't work but claimed she did at Universal. She stole from family and friends when she needed money. 3. I think I read somewhere that the brother isn't working-I think he's on workmans comp, not sure.