Dear Sighing Carl, You actually sound quite normal and gardener-sane considering the present circumstance. Many of us here felt the same way last Oct. 30 when 14" of wet snow brought down everything it could and destroyed years of growth and thousands of dollars. Last year's event for me and your current status, as unpleasant as they were/are, brought me to a new level of gardening thinking. I try to make gardens look like more with less material not just because of $, but the aging bod can't do what it once did. Also, I've had to adjust my expectations of plant/tree/shrub heights. Last year's storm toppled 15' rhodies so that I had to lasso them and use the riding mower to bring them upright again, rebury the root system, only to eventually have to cut their height in half to prevent toppling again. The changing climate and its odd timing of storms forces me to rethink what I plant. Full Southwestern-like xeriscaping isn't quite my thing, but Mediterranean style with shorter growing plants works for me. Once one has lived through a night of 90' tall oak and maple trees cracking and their tonnage crashing to the ground making your house shake, well, shorter ornamental trees are now quite appealing to me. If you want them, Carl, I have a couple of lovely little Jap maples here with your name on them. Oh, and as for the sighing or 'deep breathing', I'm a 7th generation Connecticut Yankee who can make fire with two sticks, have had to pee in the woods and live for weeks without electricity; but these recent storms damn near made me pass out, so you can bet your asters I'm changing with the climate change. Start thinking about your spring swap wants. We will help you. Kindly, Jane

Yeah, it's...interesting, to say the least. It really doesn't seem like Houzz and these garden forums are a great fit. And things seem to be getting worse. I hope they have some incentive to improve things, and ultimately to keep the garden forums alive. The changes that have been made seem to suggest otherwise. Do any of us actually patronize Houzz, beyond forum usage? I know I don't. In fact, if it weren't for the banner at the top of this page currently announcing a "rug sale," I'd have no idea what they sell, or even that they sold anything. Nor would I care. If you visited my home, you'd find that most of my furnishings are purely functional practical stuff, and I'm ok with that. Any "design" or "style" within my home is entirely accidental, LOL. (The fact that there even exists a forum devoted to "Design Dilemmas" perplexes me to no end; the only reason I know about it is that it keeps popping up and forcing me to de-select it in order to post in a gardening forum. Argh). My garden, on the other hand...now THAT's where I spend my money, time, and effort. And it's entirely for myself, not for "curb appeal" or for whatever other concern the recommended forums on this site keep promoting. Anyway, all grumbles aside, my real concern is that if we're all (from Houzz's perspective) a bunch of non-profit-generating dead weight, why should they care about keeping us happy? I do miss Gardenweb. Kinda like how I miss actual garden-related programming on HGTV. Hopefully these forums aren't headed for the same fate.

Yes, you can make starter with grapes. Or whole grain. Or any number of things. Wild yeast is on them. It's all the same kind of yeast. The bread doesn't have to taste different if you use wild yeast (sourdough starter), unless you're trying for a yeasty taste. Commercial yeast is a different strain than wild. Regular bread will taste the same if you make it right. The real issue with using wild yeast is that the method is different and it takes a lot longer, and getting a good rise out of a new starter isn't guaranteed. All over the 'net, however, all kinds of people (especially young ones) are catching yeast and baking breads both sour and not from it.

My son, a teacher, was told by the school nurse that he should go home and get a PCR test. She said there is a new Covid strain circulating here that presents with symptoms like his (sore throat/cold kind of thing) but it is not getting caught by home testing. It makes me wonder if what people are saying is a cold or virus but not Covid is the new strain but people are only home testing. That's not a criticism - I took a home test that was negative myself when I was coughing and my head was congested. Now I wonder -- but I was not as bad as DS is. He was here for dinner last night and I drove his car to go pick up something. I guess I could still get it. If he does pop positive, this will be the second time this school year. Hope everyone feels better. And congrats on the grandbaby, Sheesh!