While driving to Altoona last night we noticed the corn north of us is so dry too. Really sad, corn fields looking crispy. Even though our hostas look bad, feel for the crop farmers and cattlemen. Looking at the radar, rain in Iowa but its possibly sliding north of us. Hoping it gets your area leafwatcher. The temps sure are nicer the past couple of days. Even feel like working in the gardens again. Have been putting compost in the large cracks in the gardens. Praying for rain!

Sure. We followed the plans for the top of this cold frame made of PVC http://www.pvcplans.com/coldframe.htm He made the bottom to fit right inside of the bed and we buried it some. We covered it with plastic drop cloth from the painting section of Lowes. Next year I will have time to plan ahead and order some thicker plastic but we were on a time crunch. I think if I had it to do over again, we would have used 1/2" pvc instead of the 3/4". We weren't able to get enough clips to hold the cover on (that's why one isn't covered) and if we had used the smaller pvc, we could have used those large 2" black binder clips to hold the plastic on. That's what I used when I lived in WA and built a hoop house. here's a link to show you what clips I'm talking about http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/838056/Office-Depot-Large-Binder-Clips-2/?cm_vc=C5203 My husband doesn't really draw out plans, kinda builds as he goes (drives me nuts but who am I to complain if he does the job) We had to try and figure out how to cover the ends since we didn't have any more clips and needed to be able to get in easily to water. I thought of lattice and we found some plastic lattice with smaller openings. On the side that gets the most wind, we covered the lattice with plastic and stapled through small cardboard pieces to help secure it. We have a heavy duty staple gun so hubby had to push down the ends on the outside with his multi tool so I wouldn't get poked. I suggested shorter staples but.... Then we just poked a few holes through the plastic and zip tied it to the frame. The other side of the lattice we left uncovered so that the plants would get some air. You could cover it but we ran out of time and it seems to work just fine. Our garden is right by the fire station on a busy road, we even had a couple of people stop and come see them and ask how we built them. If you need close up pictures of any of it, let me know. I have a couple on my blog but I could email more. Something else we did, since we get so much bloody wind, I tied zip ties around the bottom of the frame and stapled them to the box. One good gust when we were putting the ends on almost sent the whole thing flying. So far seems to be holding on just fine. Here is a link that might be useful: my blog

Now I can see them. MindStorm...we've had several posters recently that have posted here for the sole purpose of driving people to their sites. Consequently, many of us have become suspicious of first-day posts that don't appear to be "real"...questions (or comments) that were rather vague but with an external link...sort of like this one...out of the blue asking about cabinet sizes in a picture at a different site that's obviously a commercial site and no other real information/details...sorry, but it looked suspicious. I'm glad to see my suspicions are incorrect...but they aren't always! As to the kitchen you're asking about... It's a little difficult to tell the dimensions b/c there's no "straight on" shot of the sink wall and b/c I think the pics are a bit distorted in an effort to get a long shot. IF the cabinet over the DW is the same size, it would be 24". I know some designers push for matching base and upper cabinets. If this designer is not one of those, then then the cabinet might be narrower than 24". It kind of looks a bit wider than the one to the left of the OTR MW. The upper corner cabinet appears to be a blind corner (not very useful, btw, worse than a base blind corner). So, I think the door on the cabinet b/w the corner & refrigerator is most likely 24" wide. Turn the corner and next to the sink it looks like a 9" or 12" door and then 15" or 18"...can't really tell. Because it's so tiny, I suspect this is a one-person kitchen in a condo or small townhouse. If so, it's OK, a bit cramped and a "black hole" next to the refrigerator, but workable. It probably would not allow more than one person to comfortably work in it. The Prep Zone is probably the 24" over the DW, that's the size that drove me crazy in my old kitchen and was one of the main items driving our remodel...and it didn't have a DW under it (which made it marginally better than this one). It's too bad the peninsula counter is raised b/c it would have made a good workspace if it were all one level...to make up for the small space b/w the sink & range. Be careful eating there...those are small dishes in the pic and even they look like they would fall off if you nudged them too far back or forward....regular/normal/real life dishes would be even worse. The cabinets making up the peninsula appear to be shallower than 24"...probably to be able to fit a seating peninsula as well as an eat-in area. In this situation, I think putting seating in the peninsula was a mistake...it limits the functionality of the peninsula and most likely both seating areas (at the peninsula and at the table) are cramped. If it were my kitchen... * I would probably have looked for a way to eliminate the red wall b/w the refrigerator and hall, thereby gaining 4" or so of space b/w the refrigerator and corner. Not sure how I would do it, but I would try very hard to find a way. * I would have also taken what cabinets I could to the ceiling b/c there's not much storage in that kitchen. * Additionally, I would have gone with a 24" single-bowl sink to gain more counter and cabinet space. * I would probably have put frosted doors on the top cabinets and only left one open one...over the sink. But I think I would have put a plate rack there so at least there was some useful, yet attractive storage there. * I'm not sure I would have put in a peninsula, but if I did, it would be all one-height, no seating, and full-depth cabinets for maximum storage & counterspace. * I would have probably put in a 30" rangehood w/a cabinet above and gotten a small MW and put it in the "black hole" b/w the refrigerator & corner. It would be out of the way of prepping and most dirty dishes, but close to the refrigerator & water for point-of-use and at a good working height.

This is the second year for my Falstaff, and so far I'm loving it. It's not pink, but deep magenta, fading to purple (and a nice purple, not a sickly one). The flowers are durable in rain, the flowers nod, which I like (and which might help them from collecting water). So far, not much frying in the sun (although smaller flowers with the 90F heat). Biggest disappointment: almost no fragrance, but when detectable, it is old rose. First flush flowers were about 3". Flowers don't flatten out but keep this cupped form. It's starting to put out a second flush now when WS2K is busily frying its first flush in the sun and mildewing. Most remontant roses (i.e. hybrid teas) here put out a nice first flush, then a few miserable looking flowers in the heat if any, then another nice flush in the fall. Falstaff mildewed a bit this year. We don't get blackspot here. Photo bloom color is accurate. In my tough climate, it takes a while for plants to grow. Planted in the spring of last year, it did nothing the rest of the year. This year the bush is very vigorous (like climber vigorous), upright, but not stiff, and the new basals are almost as tall as the bush now. The leaves are matte and nicely formed, very old rose. Here's the first flush. I hope it gets all big and gangly.