Our builder owns about 300 acres and likes the woody look on the lots, we actually signed an agreement not to cut within 75 feet of a house, but since, there is a river and a bog on that side of my lot, there really isnt any room over there to garden. I have been cutting the trees down , I thought about having them stumped as well.. but looked at prices last night, it might be over 3 grand, now im thinking about a stump grinder , but will see. I might ask the builder if he could come by and do it for free =) that sounds even better for me. I have a ton of oaks and northern firs, a few beech and white birch, probable have close to 4000 trees on this lot, Im cutting the trees down on my northern side, where my sun is best to make borders, then thinking about clearing right in front of the house all the way to our road, which is private, so I dont think it would matter. Rosepedal, I planted the brug crosses the other day, I started a cross last year, but it never bloomed, its actually sitting under the window at my office right now! Thanks again.

smokemaster, you are the first person who has told me I have nice looking heaters (blush). organic_dusty, Id be happy to share my Golden Ghost Jelly recipe with you and everyone else. Honestly, its not original. Im just substituting Bhuts for Habaneros in the Habanero Gold recipe and renaming it :-))) "Originality is undetected plagiarism." In case youre not familiar with the recipe, here are two versions. The first is the original Habanero Gold from the Bernardin (Canadian version of the Ball Blue Book). It only makes a small amount. The second is a double batch version developed by Readinglady over on the Harvest Forum. Habanero Gold Jelly 1/3 cup finely sliced dried apricots 3/4 cup white vinegar 1/4 up finely diced red onion 1/4 cup finely diced sweet red pepper 1/4 cup finely diced habanero peppers, including seeds OR 1/4 cup diced, combined jalapeno and Scotch Bonnet peppers 3 cups granulated sugar 1 pouch Certo liquid pectin Cut apricots into 1/8 inch slices. Measure into a large deep stainless steel saucepan with vinegar; let stand 4 hours. Individually, cut onion and seeded peppers into 1/8 inch slices; cut slices into 1/4 inch dice. Measure each ingredient; add to apricots. Stir in sugar. Over high heat, bring to a full roiling boil. Stirring constantly, boil hard 1 minute. Remove from heat. Immediately stir in pectin, mixing well. Pour jelly into hot jar, dividing solids equally among jars and filling each jar to within 1/4 inch of top rim. Wipe rims. Apply lids. Process 10 minutes in BWB (boiling water bath). Cool upright, until lids pop down, about 30 minutes. When lids are concave but the jelly is still hot, carefully grasp jar without disturbing lid and invert, twist, or rotate each jar to distribute solids throughout jelly. The jar can be inverted temporarily but do not allow it to stand upside-down for prolonged periods. Repeat as necessary during the cooling/setting time, until solids remain suspended in the jelly. Yield: 3 half pints ---------------- Double Batch Habanero Gold Jelly 1 cup minced dried apricots (1/8" dice) Note: Could use dried peaches or pears instead. 1 1/4 total cups minced red sweet pepper and minced red onion (1/8" dice), approximately half-and-half. 1/4 cup Habanero peppers (Note: For extra-hot, increase Habaneros to 1/2 cup and reduce red sweet pepper/red onion combination to 1 cup total.) 1 1/2 cups white vinegar 6 cups sugar 1 3-oz. pouch liquid pectin. Prep apricots, peppers and onion. Place in a large, stainless or other non-reactive pot. Add sugar and vinegar. Bring to the boil and cook 5 minutes. Pull off the burner; allow to cool, cover and let sit overnight. Stir occasionally if convenient. Note: 4-6 hours would be plenty, so the time doesn't need to be any greater than the soaking time for apricots in the original recipe. Next day, bring the mixture back to the boil. Stir in liquid pectin. Boil hard 1 minute. Pull off the heat. If necessary, skim foam. Let cool 2 minutes, stirring to distribute solids. Pour into jars. Stir to distribute and remove air bubbles. Do the usual with the jars and lids, BWB 10 minutes. When jars are sealed, "agitate" to distribute solids throughout the jelly. Yield: 6 8-oz. jars.

SS11 has gone through several stages like that. He's in one now, actually. Our approach has been multipronged: - We remind him that he wants privileges (such as being allowed to go to the store alone) but that privileges come with showing maturity and responsibility. Lying doesn't show those things and makes it hard for us to believe he is ready for the things he would like to do or have. - We've had him write apology letters or write a list of 5 reasons that lying is wrong. None of the reasons can relate to getting caught or being punished. - We've explained to him that we greatly prefer to trust him. It's easier and happier for everyone if we don't have to police his every move. We've presented it like this: "A__, you don't like when we nag you and check on your every move, right? You like when we trust you and give you your own space. Well, when you lie to us about simple things, like brushing your teeth, it shows us that we NEED to be nagging you and checking on your every move. If we could trust that you'd brush your teeth when asked to, we wouldn't have to pester you about and it wouldn't turn into a fight. If there's no fight, then everybody is happier." Then he sees that our actions (nagging him) are a direct result of his actions (lying to us) and is more willing to change his actions. - We issue rewards for completed tasks. If he wants to watch a show that will be end a bit later than his usual bedtime, so we say "If you are ALL ready for bed BEFORE the show starts, then yes, you can stay up late to watch it. So that means you have to have your backpack ready for tomorrow, be showered with your teeth brushed, and in your pajamas. If ANY of those things aren't done by the time the show starts, then no show. Deal?" He knows that we mean it. If he skips something, he won't be watching and it will be his own fault. - This one is underhanded and a bit manipulative. We don't use it regularly. SS is always really worried about what other people think - he doesn't do well in social situations or make friends very easily, which is too bad because he's a nice boy and I've seen that he is a loyal friend. So we've reminded him that people don't like liars. We've said "People don't want to be friends with someone who lies to them. No one wants a friend they can't trust; they want a friend who will be truthful." For this case, we thought a little peer pressure might be a good thing, although it isn't a technique I'd usually advocate. - For personal hygiene issues, we've shown him pictures of gum disease and so on. He also doesn't like to brush his teeth or bathe. We explained that we don't tell him to do these tasks to spite him, but so that he is healthy and well. "Yup, brushing your teeth is a pain in the butt. But we don't make you do it to be mean to you or to think up clever ways to torment you. We make you brush your teeth because it's important for your health. ~Insert explanation of gum disease, complete with photos, here~. Now do you understand why it's important for you to brush your teeth?" We've had to do this roughly once a year since he was about 8. - And, of course, we try to praise and be positive for the things he does when asked and for telling the truth. To be honest, I get a bit frustrated with having to tell an 11yo that he did a good job because he put his dirty clothes in the laundry basket, or praise what a very good choice it was that he told us the truth about something... But he needs it, so I do it. I think it will continue to be an ongoing battle for us, for the same reason you just mentioned. SS doesn't really understand cause and effect or that actions cause reactions.

These are not the easiest Mamms to grow. I've had 3 cactus drop their roots because I didn't water enough, and plumosa was one. This was during the growing season. I learned my lesson. This sounds crazy, but the one I have now I watered about once a month in the winter. So I needed to keep it warm during the winter. So annoying;).I don't think this one likes to go totally dry during the growing season. As I learned when the one that died deflated like a balloon because of dehydration. It's a fine line you have to walk tho. You need a mix where the water runs right through. You don't want to keep it too wet because that's likely what happened to yours before you bought it. Too wet+too cold= cactus jelly;). These guys can look good for a long time, even if completely dead. The feathers hide the ugly for quite a while;).