I have noticed that when using Internet Explorer - you don't' get the full effect. When I use Chrome or Firefox - I can see some of the pictures moving - like todays waterfall is flowing. Beautiful. The raccoon would peek out of the tree the other day, then go back in. Another good reason to ditch IE - LOL!

I have lived in the northeast, on the west coast, in the south Pacific, and now, the southeast, in that order. I've visted all over. And I love all of this great land. I liken it to having children. There is something good and bad about every age (0-12, they can't do anything on their own, but a whole world is opening right before their eyes, for example). There is something good and bad about every place. I've lived in small towns and bigger cities. And visited, on an ongoing basis, larger cities. I like them all. I'd miss my family, because somewhat like lily, my family has been here since the late 1700s. They've been born here, died here, there is history here on which they've made their mark. Currently, everyone in my immediate family lives here, and I love seeing them constantly. All year long. The weather is great in Tennessee. Not too hot, not too cold. The humidity typically doens't bother me as it does those who visit. We don't get snow storms. We get an inch or two at a time. Four inches+ is very atypical. The change of seasons is the part I embraced first when I moved here from the extemely even Monterey, CA (which was fantastic because it was very even keel and never too cold or too hot. But not hot enough I could walk barefoot outside). I guess I'd learn to love wherever I landed, just like I always have. It did take me 20 years, literally, not to miss California food. The freshest seafood and produce. Mmm. What I'd miss about Tennessee? Yep, just family. It's nice here, but distinctive terrain, weather, etc.? Not really.

Russ, I have really, really hard water where I live. Can't afford a water softener atm. I was about to throw out my trusty veggie steamer that I use daily because the calcium deposits were so bad. Ditto on my Chefmate melamine mixing bowls. Then I got a tip over on the manufactured homes forum. You can use CLR (calcium, lime, rust) to scrub off the icky stuff. It's about $6.99 at the grocery store, but the dollar store has a version that I've found works just as well. Another dollar store find is called, The Works. They make a toilet bowl cleaner that is the best I have ever used. It's great for hard water deposits in the toilet. Their tub & tile cleaner also works well on the calcium deposits on dishes and metal stuff. The metal cylinder in my steamer, the thing that heats up to produce the steam, was so covered in calcium that it was taking almost twice as long to steam my veggies! I poured some CLR on it, let it soak overnight, then scrubbed it with an SOS pad. It came almost 100% clean! I use it sparingly and rinse, rinse, rinse with hot water. It might be worth $1 to see if it will save your dinnerware and plastic bowls. I'd love to see a pic of one of your kiddos IN the sink! :-)

Low-phosphorus & high potassium and high calcium helps with FIRM PETALS and long-lasting blooms. We had hot & dry weather in August & Sept. so I tested high phosphorus SOLUBLE MG for roses at NPK 18-24-16 .. it was disappointing with Evelyn canes became slender like thin wires, plus elongated canes, plus smaller blooms, and Evelyn blooms went from 5 days in the vase to only 2 days !! I reversed the damage by topping with solid bio-char (65% calcium and 10% potassium), plus topped with horse manure (for trace elements & more calcium & potassium). Evelyn's blooms in Oct are larger & firm petals which last 5 days in the vase. Below is Evelyn when I tested sulfate of potash & gypsum (calcium sulfate) during hot & dry.