Oh, Paula, bless your heart, honey! I guess it rained 15 inches in the last few days. And wound up going down to 40 last night, and I drug out my sweat shirt for this morning. What you show is the way it used to be in my Back40 after a rain. So I hauled in some dirt and spread the landscaping fabric, and then covered it with lots of bags of cypress mulch. One side effect of this is that the slugs are not comfortable on that coarse mulch, I suppose. Because out there I find no slugs. Around the edges, against the fence, I've found a few. And that is where I place the bait now. Hope to see you back in business soon, Paula. We miss your pictures and your experiences with the hosta. Everything is soaked here. But very few soft spots where there is no mulch. I love mondo grass and liriope because their root systems are so supportive over soft ground.

I have a daughter who is a single parent. She is finding it to be a real struggle. Maybe your DIL has got the message that being a single custodial parent is not a good option for either your granddaughter or herself. Your posting suggests that your DIL is involved as a visiting parent and that her relationship with yourself is reasonably civil given circumstances. Considering what I hear about couples who have split up, I would be thankful for small mercies. As to what to tell your granddaughter. I would tell her that her mommy loves her very much but that mommy cannot provide a good home and that you can. I think that it would be helpful to see if you can get/keep a good relationship as possible with your DIL. After all you are likely to be involved with her for a long time to come. You might have to work hard at being non-judgmental. If your son objects, tell him that it is for the sake of granddaughter. Ian

I've been worried about running out of space as well. Not to mention that I'll be moving soon to a university apartment, so who knows how much space I'll be getting. I've moved my whole succulent (mostly echeveria) collection to square, ceramic dishes that I've bought at World Market. Before my plant collection became out of hand, I decided that I'd invest in a ceramic drill bit and buy cheap ceramic dishes to use as planters. That way, I could have a matching/complimenting set of pots (its also easy to create macrame hangers for them)! I took some "progress report" photos the other day, since I enjoy looking back at older photos of my plants to see how far they've gotten-- here are some of them! Took a photo of this Echeveria Allegra and its pups. The leaves at the bottom are outstretched a bit more due to the weather deciding that sunny days and spring are simply things that shouldn't exist. Thankfully it's growing in nicely and quickly (been using manure tea). Square dishes fit together nicely to save space. Also allows for easy 90 degree rotations every now and then. I enjoy having dishes that have mixed succulents, similar succulents, or just one type of succulent to provide different visual interests (and since everything is modular, its easy to change the look of the area). My Irish Bouquet is doing fairly nice, and my Echeveria Minima is actually pushing out five pups, alongside its two older pups, so I may have to place it into a different pot soon!

We’re building an outdoor fireplace that will be the focal point of a gabled roof patio cover. Dimensions of the fireplace are 5’ wide, 4’ deep and about 13’ tall. The gable will be 30’ wide, 20.6’ deep and about 13’ tall at the peak. This will face north from our ranch home. I’d love your input, please. Have any of you built such a gabled roof and fireplace, and if so, do you have pics to share? Did you use vinyl or wood planks for the ceiling? Did you mount a TV over the mantelpiece or someplace else beneath the roof? What do you wish you had done or had done differently?