Two things: 1) the vegetable hair roots get into the wood. I had noticed that also with smaller chunks of wood buried in beds. If you worry about nitrogen, please notice that vegetables go out of their way to get into wood. 2) it is amazing how fine and broken down the soil becomes within a season. I think it is due to mycelium filaments, not readily visible by the human eye, running all over the place. This was tough clay, and the four logs (about 2.5 ft long and 5 inches wide) were placed as the sides of a square, yet the soil was finely tilled all the way to the center of the square. Each four logs was a newly planted fruit tree taken down by deer, so I was able to check this many times. No, it was not the tree roots which were small.

Yes, Lucille, I guess it was the culmination of a lot of 'scares" over a relatively short time and longer term over my life! Recently I even had a mason replace the ancient basement windows of my new house with good double pane windows and a week later they all looked like a scene from Arachnophobia - that really freaked me out! Anyway, the box is still in the driveway! I intend to empty it into the trash when the barrel is out on the curb. I have rethought my plan for all the many plants I was planning to dig up and have decided to take only a special few. (in the back of a truck; not in my car!) That'll be enough. It's so hard to explain the indifference I feel, but yes, it's a line crossed that feels permanent......Annie - that sounded major, not minor! Trail, that's exactly what I mean, a major shift in one's life trajectory over a seemingly minor event. You had enjoyed and identified yourself with that career and suddenly, done! Mine being much less significant but still I've always felt myself a gardener. I suddenly don't any longer. Patty - I've seen nursery spiders with babies which is fascinating, but horrifying to me. Arcy-I would like to read about that family! and, yeah, gardening has always been a bit of a challenge for me, but I've managed. Until now. Rhizo, right now I feel too old to want to change or maybe it's about not wanting to put myself through the stress. There has always been tension there; I just don't want to inrease the odds that I'll have to deal with it. I'd be better off living in a condo, but I love land and space around me and my privacy. So given that, I'll have to find a way to limit my exposure. Anyway, thank you all!

Thank you all. Patty, the technique sounds awkward but is really easy. One reason to use the method is so that you can create the design in your studio, and then transport it elsewhere to install. Another reason is that, with a mosaic design on mesh, you can curve it slightly to install on, say, a vase or a pole. So, step by step, 1. Lay down a cutting board or other stationary flat object. 2. Lay down a pattern, such as a hand-drawn sketch or a picture cut from a magazine, and tape it to the board. 3. Lay down a piece of plastic such as a sandwich bag that has been cut and opened out to lay flat. Tape it in place over the pattern. 4. Lay down the mesh and tape in place, on top of the baggie. Dab glue on the back of each tile and press into position, guided by the pattern that you can see through the baggie and mesh. Let dry. Pull mesh/mosaic up and away from the baggie.

Zach, if you’re considering taking a trip every now and then, and are interested in the Four Corners and southern Utah areas, here’s some info! Here are links to a couple RMG threads where I posted “travelogue” pics and info. The first one was when a girl from Boston was asking for help planning a trip to Colorado—but a few pics in New Mexico and Utah got thrown in too! The second one was a Thanksgiving thread where I posted a pic of a wild turkey by one of my cabins when I was trippin’, and then it kind of morphed into another mini-travelogue type thing, with a few more pics in Utah! http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/2128462/off-topic-can-anyone-help-me-plan-my-trip-to-colorado http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/2142319/happy-thanksgiving-everyone Here are a couple of MY pics of Bryce. It’s pretty amazing to just look at it, and it’s even more amazing to be walking around among the hoodoos down in the canyon. (NO photoshopping!) https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Im_TOj4qZ8Wt93e_oL1Ne6GaInEnMwO5fmMhph2TRlo?feat=directlink These two were taken this past fall at the beginning of my (what was supposed to be easy) walk thru the canyon! It was mostly cloudy when I was there this time, so the colors aren’t as spectacular as they were the first time I went there! https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/wX-I73rS7BxkK2igSoxP4jrG3Rrw_wgtl13h5wBFIHI?feat=directlink https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/r0PeWxvk14sxXOf9TWCOfjrG3Rrw_wgtl13h5wBFIHI?feat=directlink And here are a couple other possibilities that weren’t in the previous threads! A few pics of the Ute Mountain Tribal Park that I talked about in the “Boston girl” thread, but after a hard drive crash I wasn’t able to post pics to go with the info! This is just south of Cortez! (This is the place I’ve talked about where I’m getting seedling trees to try to help reforest burn areas—visible in the 5th pic, and also the place that I was looking for help with info to “eradicate” the tamarisk! They are, actually, succeeding fairly well in getting rid of some of it, and this past year, for the first time in a long time, the Mancos River had water in it even in the fall!) Eagle Nest Ruin https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/scJiSLfwMmkhycgT0dKB2TyYSD5telCfXwXDTcTl_2U?feat=directlink Rick, my guide, going up the 30’ ladder into Eagle Nest https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/MrNNjVyZT1ovQDpVvMOG8jyYSD5telCfXwXDTcTl_2U?feat=directlink And me coming back down the Eagle Nest ladder! (I LOVE this ladder!) https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/MMAwSZg-gRETyb1NEtiwsTyYSD5telCfXwXDTcTl_2U?feat=directlink https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/kTah9DkANrcVVCfnitHGPDyYSD5telCfXwXDTcTl_2U?feat=directlink Three of the ruins alcoves on the “main” ruins trail (Lion Canyon Trail) from the other side of Lion Canyon https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/gXVB7vULD7GfaX863k5kkzyYSD5telCfXwXDTcTl_2U?feat=directlink Thousand year old potsherds and corncobs, which, unlike Mesa Verde, are still all over the place in the ruins! https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/TvQsml8vvqFMqtw0M7RvFDyYSD5telCfXwXDTcTl_2U?feat=directlink This is a very, veryveryvery cool slot canyon, Little Wild Horse Canyon, that’s not very far south of Green River, Utah, which is on I-70. I was planning to hike it again when I went by on the way back to Colorado this past fall, but there were thunderstorms ALL around! Slot canyon PLUS rain EQUALS: Bad Situation! https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/fcRrKleLnb9KDmFHzO73BGVY7bTWTqbxp-YJkmJRdpU?feat=directlink https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/yu9F0B68Vfa3zfYMzL2qkWVY7bTWTqbxp-YJkmJRdpU?feat=directlink https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/G4HJbdgIeueg_Dnflj1gq2VY7bTWTqbxp-YJkmJRdpU?feat=directlink And this is my all-time favorite hike in a National Park! It’s Sulphur Creek in Capitol Reef at Torrey, Utah. WAY cool! I’ve done it twice, and plan to do it again this coming fall! https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Qpu1dmmmPXA6Wxih6cxcLiw_A8tejszRFUnjA0dV3qI?feat=directlink The trail! https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/bx79GKT5Rq4UoWWCan2U7Sw_A8tejszRFUnjA0dV3qI?feat=directlink In the narrows! https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/A1VKYnBNkupd-NHNLF7kJCw_A8tejszRFUnjA0dV3qI?feat=directlink https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/J5VMqXeKXKYaCMHpAZjeNSw_A8tejszRFUnjA0dV3qI?feat=directlink Along the route there are three waterfalls you need to “get past!” This is after passing the last one! https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/dKYi8ktzpadNlNi-WJQtLyw_A8tejszRFUnjA0dV3qI?feat=directlink None of that’s gonna help with exercise NOW, but, in my opinion, there’s no better way to get exercise than to go out and “become” part of Nature! If you ever DO decide to head down that direction and would like info about a specific place—or area, just let me know. I have nice little (usually isolated) cabins/houses to stay in at/near all these places—with kitchens, so I don’t have to spend money on food—and they’re all very reasonable! (Many are no more than a motel, some are actually cheaper than nearby motels!) Ok! Where are those weights????? Skybird