Cactus Joe...what a shame you lost that Japanese Maple...it was perfect there. I imagine the Black Bamboo also looks great too. Amazing story about the rock under the foundation. I agree with you, having such a solid foundation under the house is reassuring. You did a great job picking out all the rocks and pebbles. Artistic arrangement. Woody...I just went back to your post of garden photos trying to see where you have the metal/brick edging and couldn't see it peeking out in any of your photos. I see mulch and leaves and rocks...lol. You are right, if you only have to do the metal/brick edge once instead of edging every year, then it is worth it. I will have to consider that and maybe try it in a small area to see how it does first. Thanks for the link. We did some work in the Veggie garden this morning, trying to finish up on our low maintenance strategies there. We created four 4x4 beds that are working out well so far. We planted a cover crop in them in the fall because I wasn't satisfied with the condition of the soil. We just got around to turning one of them in. It had gotten really high so it made more work for us, having to cut it down into smaller lengths to make it break down faster. But in a 4x4 space, it's not so bad. Then we took a couple of 5 gallon buckets of chopped leaves and mixed that in, we saved 4 buckets of straight soil to pour over the top of that when we were done turning it in and planted pole beans at the base of a 4 pole tripod and I had some asparagus seedlings that I am trying and those were planted in the center in a grid, since it will be a couple of years, before they will produce anything. Then added Nasturtiums and Basil around the sides, laid down one soaker hose in a circular pattern. One whole 50ft hose coiled around, just about covered the whole surface of the ground...lol. covered the whole thing with hay and that should do it for the season basically. We will also not have to do the cover crop again for at least 5 years or longer if we want. I plan on just mulching the top thickly with grass/chopped leaves/hay every year and that should keep the soil in good condition. At least that's the plan. We have learned to expect surprises though. [g] Have two more beds to turn under and plant but we work slowly here too. :-) Maybe we will get one more done later today. It always feels so good when you finish a project that has the potential for saving time and effort. :-)

I just finished planting tomatoes in my new-as-of-last-year garden 'humps', or raised beds on the cheap. Three weeks ago, we emptied the compost bin and put a heaping shovel full of compost in a pile along the humps where we wanted to plant the tomatoes. Today was a pretty good objective lesson on what worms can do for you. Under every shovel full of compost, the worms had gone to work, and the soil was amazingly soft and easy to scoop out for the tomato roots. Every scoop had numerous happy worms. Just beside these compost mounds, the exposed soil was considerably denser and more difficult to work. And when I brush off the dried grass clipping mulch, you can see dozens of little worm heads disappearing back under ground.

Wow...sex can both create a great deal of pleasure and cause a great deal of pain. A lack of sex was what brought an end to my 10 year marriage. For the first five years, the frequency went from once a week down to twice a month to once every two months. For the three following years, it was twice a year, and only once a year in the final two years. Like several others who have posted, I had a husband who was not interested in sex. I tried MANY times to talk to him about it and he always insisted he was just tired or stressed. This got a little old after a while considering that we did not have children, and his job was really not that stressful (he worked for a family business). I was terribly lonely at times and felt like I had a room-mate, not a husband. I finally divorced him because the frustration and lonliness became to difficult to bear and he simply refused to open up to me. Believe it or not, I felt less lonely on my own than I had felt being married to him, knowing he had no interest in me. I am surprised with the "lack of sex" posts that nobody has brought up the temptation to go elsewhere. All I have to say on that subject is DON'T do it. I was faced with that temptation (and believe me, it was huge). Looking back now, two years later, I am so glad I did not give in to it. It is difficult enough to end a marriage and start your life over without the "muddiness" of an affair. Ending a marriage is a decision that requires a clear head and no external influence. I think it's the only way to be sure you are making a decision that is right for you, not just one that feels good at the time. Just my two cents for those of you considering the option.

Fair point; this is a nice thread about the subject of mulching citrus (which also addresses those claims that they shouldn't be mulched). Most of the similar threads I have found boast replies from persons who regularly mulch their citrus with great success. I think one of biggest reasons people exhort others to not mulch them is the fear of keeping the soil too moist and giving place to the development of foot rot and other diseases. However with our sandy (good-draining) soils overmoisture is usually not an issue, and as I previously mentioned keeping the mulch away from direct contact with the trunk itself should serve to additionally discourage any foot root etc. I can only speak from my personal experience and what I have noticed with others who mulch their citrus on here and it works for them....as to the orchards perhaps they use drip irrigation or the trees are so far along that they can get by on rainfall? Growing in an orchard can be very different than growing at home, and some orchards mulch while some do not. :) Thread about mulching citrus Also a good mulching citrus thread *I should also add that this may depend on how often you water? If your citrus is regularly watered (say a couple times a week) it may not need any mulch at all. If you are trying to conserve water/reduce irrigation intervals, mulching may be in order.