Hi Ken, Thank you for posting a picture of that adorable Papoose. How old is yours? I have one that's barely larger than a baseball and wondering if and when it will get large enough to see (it's now living next to two peonies).

So the story goes - they heard a noise, and his wife started for the house door to open it up and see what was going on, and she had just opened the door a crack when they hit the door with their ram (or whatever they use for breaching the door) causing the door to hit the wife in the face, knocking her unconscious. The police report apparently said that the sheriff reported being able to smell pot from outside of the building, and heard plants being torn inside (destruction of evidence) which is reason enough to breach the door without waiting. He says its a small town ~500 people (on the outskirts of Chicago), and that the sheriff was running for re-election, and came by and asked the wife if she would let them put a sign in their yard... she called for her husband, and when the sheriff saw him, he reportedly just got back in his car and left. I'm not fully convinced of the guys story either, but it does have a number of parallels to stories that have been in the newspaper in my area. I think I linked it earlier, or gave the search terms of "largo hydroponics raid". Some of them have been quite successful, the largest bust I've heard about caught a group of criminals with over a hundred pot plants. A friend of mine trained swat for pinellas and hillsborough counties - which is Tampa, St. Pete, and Clearwater, he recently retired. He tends to be defensive of any police action, but he'd likely know more about the local happenings.

So, do you think these weirdo leaves are simply etiolated? A closeup of a different plant I expected to have some problems due to the shade from the house next door. BUT she put up a privacy fence to keep her dogs in the yard and I'm much more shaded that I had expected. (and her dogs dig under the fence and escape anyway.) There are sprinkler heads near these plants. The sprinklers run on well water twice a week during the winter. The water has a strong sulfur smell. And finally, these plants might be getting hit with the granular treatment we get for weed and insect control. I am on water so I do not get fertilizer treatments. I'm sorry I have to treat for weeds and bugs, but no treatment within 10 feet of the water. Here you can see a plant that is starting to thin out, or etiolate. It gets a bit more sunlight, but is still showing signs of problems. And a closeup of another shows a difference in color where the change is occurring. Do you think this is a light problem alone? Do you think there is another problem that I am missing? New growth is hit and miss. Some are goofy looking, others seem to be alright. Thanks for any opinions and suggestions.

I have to comment on your chairs... pressed back oak, turn of the century. The table is a reproduction. Try and find an antique, round oak, pedestal table to compliment the chairs. As for hardwood floors, my suggestion is to get Hickory , saddle stain. The different values of color with Hickory make it so easy to blend in with other woods. I have a suggestion for the brand as I have it in my home and have used it with clients. Homerwood.