Jan, I did not plant the pecan, it must be 30 feet tall? don't know how to estimate, but as you see my street from the closest intersection, the tree is the tallest thing in that street. I know the back cabin was built in 1895, so some of the trees could be 100 years old for all I know. The figs look like they might be that old. I would say avocado but mine died. Actually 3 avocado trees have died on us already, we are experts in killing avocados by now.... :-( There is a nursery in the San Fernando valley called papayatreenursery.com They have several types of dwarf fruit trees, so maybe something you would like? We have a plum tree that we love, plums might do well where you are. Why not apples or pears? Whatever you get, look into getting a dwarf variety.

Welcome aboard Philipe. People in your area can probably give you more localized information for your zone like the last average frost date. However, I will say that seeds like heat to germinate and once they come up, they need to be protected from heavy rains. You can flatten them or wash the out just watering them if you are not careful and gentle with them. I do not know how much you are seeding, but it would not take much to shelter several flats of seedlings. A few bales of hay even just 4 might do, a simple wood frame with some clear plastic stretched over it for a cover and a way to fasten or weight it down. Perhaps an old window or something like a glass storm door, or shower door might do. You will have to ventilate it when the sun is out and the weather warm after the seedlings come up, don't forget about that. Good luck. Bill P.

I hope that your eye issue turns out to be benign, Kat. I'll offer some prayers that such be the case ... and that the other issues turn out well. As for the grammar ... I'd often like to correct people, here, but usually forebear. As for that "dam" of yours, Gemini ... it's holding back a flood of ... frustration? ... at the bad grammer (or, is that "grammar"?)? ole joyful

>>>"I wash kitchen towels once a week (I have a deep drawer in the kitchen that holds many) in hot water. Should I run hot more often? Hard to say without actually taking the washer apart to look at the outside of the drum and the inside of the containment tub in which the drum rotates. Residue build-ups vary with your home's water chemistry, how you have been dosing the detergent, how high a temperature the washer's "hot" setting yields, whether you use chlorine bleach, whether you use fabric softener, and other factors. Does your washer have a tub cleaning cycle? I'd run that at least monthly or whatever your washer's manual recommends. If your washer does not have a tub cleaning cycle, you can run an empty load with the hottest wash temperature and as many extra rinses as the machine will provide, a couple of cups of chlorine bleach, and no detergent. If you've never run a drum cleaning cycle before, I would start checking sudsing during the washing part of the cycle and during each rinse. If you see suds without needing to shine a flashlight through the window in the washer door to see them, your washer already has some build-up of residues and you'll probably want to run more cleaning cycles until you no longer see sudsing. If your washer drains (or can drain) into a laundry sink, that makes it even easier to check for sudsing. It's okay if you see sudsing in the wash cycle but you'll want to run another tub cleaning cycle if you see a lot of sudsing in the last rinse. If you find sudsing in your drum cleaning cycles, you also might want to check your towels (particularly bath towels) for residue build-up. (IME, those seem most apt to collect residues.) What I do is occasionally run a load of towels through a wash cycle without any detergent and check for sudsing.