hey, v -- those are definitely soldier fly larvae. they aren't harmful, but they are kinda squirmy, no? the reason you have them is that you don't have enough aeration in your barrel -- use a quarter-inch bit and ALL OVER the barrel, drill yourself holes. i did the same thing with one of my barrels -- i drilled probably 100 holes. also -- open the bungs on both side. turn it every day, and your maggots will be gone. tufanewbe -- you'll need a half-inch bit, a VERY STRONG rod (you can probably use a post for chainlink fence), two 4x4 and a strong back. for my door, i used the top of an old trash can (so it has a convenient handle), glued the cut-out piece of barrel to it, and then used weatherstripping around the cut out to improve the seal. i sank the 4x4s 4 feet in the ground, leaving 4 feet exposed. (there's room to add a second barrel, which i'll do sometime soon.) fasten the rod to the 4x4s using conduit brackets (i used two on each side). assembly is pretty obvious. they work great -- turned a bunch of kitchen scraps and leaves into nice rich compost in three weeks! this is mine, before i had finished painting it. it looks better now:

Yes we have right of first refusal but in the past it's been my word against his in court. He is notorious for lying under oath. He has been caught buy nothing has ever happened to him except embarrassment so they continue to do it. As far as school, I have exclusive right over education and BD has the right to be informed, speak to teachers, be at activities etc. The school already knows that and understand the situation so even though dad requests that when it's 'his' day he be notified first, the school feels it's easier to contact the custodial parent first. His days do not begin until school is dismissed and end when school resumes so during school hours that is technically my day. I opted not to fight this battle because I felt it was too much of a headache. So far I have no idea if the school has ever contacted him about anything and frankly as long as I am notified or kept in the loop -- if they make two phone calls that is A-Ok with me. I think they expected me to throw a tantrum over SM signing school work and were even more annoyed when I didn't. For them it's opposite of a normal parents feelings. I feel relieved when I don't hear anything from them. They get frustrated and strengthen their stance against me when I stay quiet. sm is notorious in the last 4 yrs for trying to provoke me in to flipping out so she can say SEE BM is nuts!! I haven't reacted to her openly in a long time and it gets her so worked up. Before, I would flip and shoot off my mouth and she would smile and laugh and basically pat herself on the back for pusing my buttons and proving to the world that I'm nuts... I've grown so much from that person I was when my divorce was so raw and I was still emotional and still 'learning' to cope... But it seems that they aren't happy or relieved that I am not that person anymore. They have this attitude that I took something away from them when BD lost rights and so now they are wanting to pay me back. I just don't even want to deal with it. I just want to get along. Let DD have a good time. I was going to offer that they could have DD for spring break even though it's my year. I also had planned to offer more weekends and some week time during the summer. I want to send an email to say I don't have any plans for these dates if you want DD in addition to what you already have. Even offering her bday weekend since they haven't had her in 3 yrs nor the yr before making that 4 yrs on her bday. I don't want anything in return. Even my attorney told me No don't do that because they may turn around and say I am pushing DD off on to them instead of spending my time with her. Ugh I just can't do anything right it seems ... Or come up with a plan to throw up my white flag without it biting me later on. I agree with you PO1 if dad isn't home -- DD just needs to stay with me. She does not feel comfortable with SM yet. She enjoys her step sister though but says SM treats them different. DD is told she is not allowed to attend any extra curricular activities while visiting them. Which I can understand. I won't argue with that because the last thing I want to do is to cart DD around on our weekends to activities that BD had signed her up for plus anything I might sign her up for. All activities DD is in are during the week and I won't allow them to interfere with his weekends. However while BD is working all weekend, DD has to sit through stepsisters gymnastics and soccer and wait around for girl scouts stuff. My question is why not put DD in those things so they can do them together. BD told me he pays enough in child support that he isn't going to pay hundreds of $'s a month for her activities too. Real winner huh? The thing with DD being alone with SM is that is when things happen. That is when she talks to DD about inappropriate things. But it's my word against hers or DDs word against hers and there isn't much they do except slap her on the hand. The therapist told BD and the courts he needs to be the one that is doing everything from pick ups to drop offs to spending one on one time with DD to build their relationship. He has yet to do that and DD tells the therapist there is no one on one time and therapist just sends a 'reminder'email to BD about his time and responsibilities. How Many times do you have to tell someone what their job is as a parent before they get it? I think that is why I feel like giving up. I just don't want to fight these things anymore because nothing will be done anyway so shouldn't I just let it go too? If I try to stand my ground and tell BD through email be a dad ... Do your job.. Be there for DD ... Your absence is hurting her... It becomes a pissing match... I don't feel like it. Am I giving up?? Is it ok for me to give up?? My mom's point is that we have fought for 3 yrs to keep these things from happening -- to make SM back down. And my point is -- at what cost? At who's expense? Mine! My families! My other child who needs more from me than what he gets because I'm constantly dealing with this. Going to court, going to therapists, writing emails, doing research, having conferences, paying money -- lots and lots of money... I hope I'm making myself clear-- I am not giving up on DD I'm just wanting to get along with her father and make peace. I'm not saying I was ever wrong for fighting in the courts. I'm not saying their points are right or wrong ... Just tired of nit picking. If DD came home with a serious problem.. I would do something but these little things, if I'm able to let them go, shouldn't I? Or should I keep telling the courts and telling the therapist 'well BD did it again or SM is asserting herself into our lives again.. SM is playing a power struggle again. And that is all it is so if I give up the struggle it doesn't mean they have won or she is now MOM it just means, she doesn't threaten me anymore. I'm not threatened by her taking my place. That used to upset me when DD was younger because I was single and struggling. BD and SM were living the life BD and I used to live. A happy little family, while it was just me and DD and I thought OMGosh it's going to be this way forever. They can provide more.. They have a house and DD is going to want that more than what I have to offer. They will be able to buy her and I won't be able to do that. Well... That is how I USED to feel. What I finally realized about 3 months ago is that SM underestimates my relationship with DD. She thinks that by making DD call her MOM then DD is going to forget that I am her MOM ... But what she failed to realize (and I think i did too) is that no matter what DD calls her, DD knows that I am her mom and the bond we share is not replaceable by anyone but me. I can ruin DDs faith in me but sm will never be able to take it away from me. I think once I realized how much DD is connected to me and not be hearing it from everyone else... But actually seeing it for myself, in relation to SM that is when she no longer was a threat to me in my mind... And I could finally let go of that power struggle. Does that make sense?

Talk you out of it? NOT a chance Beth, quite the contrary - your roses are always so exquisitely intriguing that your post sent me straight to the website to check them out. You have excellent rose judgment, so if they caught your eye they're worth checking out. I already did some substitutions with Nicole for my order of a dozen or so, and I have no business adding anything to my running rose total that's over 300 if Wes comes through with the Ludwig roses after all, but I think Liberty Bell is going to have to squeeze into this order in the end after all. Mine aren't due till early April, so I still have time for daydreaming. Sympathies on your mother's passing, but you get the peace that comes from knowing you spent the time appreciating being with her when she was here. You're right that as much as we love roses (and NO, we are not nuts, just rose gourmets with discriminating tastes, i.e. one of each please), people are still more important. Rebecca, as usual you are getting fabulous photos of a rose that's barely "meh" for me - both my TGG and Crown Princess Margareta are mostly forgettable barely once blooming Austins for me, but yours are both stunning. Clearly Nebraska needs to be colder or something, to make them shine like yours. Similarly, oldrosarian your Aloha Hawaii is something my plant has only dreamed of. I can't say I've seen more than 5 or 6 blooms ever in its 3 years, but it's approaching its fourth year and I'm gonna show my plant your photo and tell it to shape up to meet the competition. Go for it Beth - the only requirement is to show us your pictures. Cynthia

Abandoned wells must be properly capped to avoid ground level contaminants and runoff from getting into the well and contaminating the water supply. Individual  states have their own rules but in general the well equipment is removed and the well filled with concrete, bentonite clay or a mixture.   In many places, well drilling companies cap wells, maybe somewhere between $500 and $2500 depending on quantity of material required. My brother did some a couple years ago and he received some cost sharing funds but I don't know if it was from the state health, agriculture or environmental protection agency. Which city department did you talk with? In my area, some issues are handled by public works, some by the water department and some by code enforcement and each of them is almost useless at helping property owners get issues resolved if it doesn't fit neatly into their own portfolio.