Just an FYI about pressure-treated wood: the stuff you buy from Lowe's or Home Depot is not of a grade meant for contact with the ground, or below ground. On the yellow tag stapled to the end is a tiny number beside ACQ (alkaline copper quaternary compound) which will read .25 or .40. The .25 treatment is only for above-ground, and .40 for ground contact. There are also .60 and .80 treatments, but those are more difficult to find and quite a bit more expensive, and are meant for marine use. In the years I've used PT wood in my gh structures, first in Vero Beach, and now in the Panhandle, I've never had a carpenter ant or termite give the wood a second look. (As a matter of fact, I once had termites destroy a piece of untreated plywood attached to a PT 2x4...ignoring the 2x4.) The termites are thick here, and will quickly make short work of untreated wood. If it's treated to a sufficient degree, the copper acts as an effective detterent. I have seen ACQ .25 2x4s begin to swell and weaken when half-buried, after perhaps 7-8 years. BTW, when using PT wood, you must use either stainless steel fasteners or ones that are coated. The ACQ will cause ordinary fasteners to corrode. Depending upon how you've designed your roof, the span, and the pitch, you may or may not need to have it strong enough to support your weight on the rare occasion you need to climb up there. That's why the selection of denser wood grades may be important. -Bruce

How much summer rain do you receive (in an average year, if there is such a thing...)? My roses have not had a single basal break this year and I'm definitely concerned but we don't get much summer rain and if I put down alfalfa now, the basals won't come until Sept/Oct which is kinda late to harden off before winter. I'm just going to water, water, water.

I often think about squirrel and her photoshop generosity. I think she decided to turn her skill into a business. I hope it worked out. There was a poster that lived in AZ and had health issues. (Eileen?) Her posts were very polarizing but I occasionally wonder if she is well. It's interesting that some people seem to get obsessed with this site, post like crazy, bare their soul and then vanish.

I do think and rethink and reorganize and replant.... But the thing that made me laugh was your "with the world going to hell in a hand basket".... That's exactly why my gardens look so good this year, it's the only thing that I can control in these crazy times....