I've spent alot of time in the Poconos. Beautiful, unspoiled country. Most of the area still untouched by the developers. And the mountains are breathtaking. Enjoy your time and the weather up there. Venice Beach is also a beautiful area. My son's favorite beach. Sharks teeth galore whenever we roam the beach. Enjoy the Poconos and take LOTS of photos. I'll never get tired of checking them out. Thanks for sharing, Sue.

When we moved to the mountains of southcentral PA (bordering Michaux) I swore we wouldn't feed the deer. Until they decimated all of the hostas and whatever else the previous owners had planted. We bought an automatic corn feeder and as long as my husband doesn't let it go empty I've relatively little damage. But!!!! All it takes is one night, just one night of no corn in the feeder for the deer to nearly clean me out. But it has shown me what they will stay away from...herbs. So I've been planting herbs around the plants they prefer. Most of the time, not always, they will only eat the part of the plant(s) farthest away from the herb so I've not been totally decimated of hostas just mostly. I've also tried another spray (1c milk, 1 egg, 1T veg oil, 1T dish detergent to 1 gallon of water) that has also helped as long as I spray it on new growth and flowers. Regarding the milorganite, I didn't have to do much research on that stuff to not want to even handle it or want it near any water supply. And since I have a dog that likes to eat natural fertilizers I don't want that risk of him getting sick. My last resort will be the fence, but two acres is alot of fencing. I've always wondered do people who have to deal with deer ever get used to them? This is only my third year. Karen

Arkansas- The Natural State. The name means "south wind". Our beautiful lakes and rivers are a main draw for people. This state is very rich in minerals and has the only open-to-the-public diamond mine in the world. Lots of forest land and we grow rice better than any other state, along with other crops. I live near Eureka Springs, which is a tourist town also referred to as "a little Switzerland". It was attractive to people starting in the late 1800s because of the healing properties of all the springs. Ozarka water was first bottled here. Arkansas is home to Wal-Mart, too. We moved here from FL to get away from crowds and hot, hot weather. Now we have 4 seasons and no neighbors and the closest real traffic light is about 22 miles away, in a town that has just about everything we'll ever need. :)

Elmer Fudd: We have two levels of bicycle trails in Wisconsin: touring and mountain style. Most of our trails are touring trails with asphalt or crushed and compacted limestone roadbed. Many of the trails near urban areas are old railway beds with asphalt paving. The railway beds have gentle grades except for one named the "Bug Line". It has one section of 1/2 mile with 5% grade, very high for a railroad. This originally was a spur line that serviced lime kilns in Waukesha county. It pulled a low number of cars and snaked its way among various kilns. From overhead, it had the appearance of the random crawl of a bug, thus its nickname, the bug line. Today, only the remnants of a few kilns remain as a reminder of the past. The Sparta-Elroy trail is paved and passes through 3 railway tunnels. Even in the heat of summer, the interior of these tunnels are cool and dripping. the floor may be rough and wet. It is advised to walk your bike in these tunnels. and have a jacket. In the longest of these tunnels, a light is needed. Hikers and bikers share the same trails. There is no fee for hiking. The main problem that touring a biker has in this state is that many of the trails are short segments of 5 to 10 miles long. One must travel over vehicular roads to connect from one trail to another. Our trail system is a project in process and it will be many years before there is a contiguous network of trails. The city of Madison and Dane county has the best network in the state.