First, "sand" in a lot of bonsai books originating in the east actually means 'river sand', which is very small pebbles like you'd get in a river bed, but don't rush out looking for them over here as they don't equate to what's over there. Sand as we know it, however, is definitely not a good idea for various reasons. Secondly, instead of pumice, I'd add some organics, bits of pine bark mulch of 1/8-1/16" size, but not acquired 'wild', better to go with some from a nursery or even a bagged Orchid Mix (tho' you'd have to break up those soft wood pieces). Instead of Akadama, which is expensive, you can use Turface, more readily available and cheaper. Unfortunately, Chicago is too cold to just leave blk pines out all year, so they weren't a great choice, but there are various options you might look into for winter protection in future (don't even think about putting them out this yr). I say all this because you may not realize that no pines will survive any length of time indoors (except, hopefully, your seedlings, til late spring) and must live outdoors for life. Pines of any kind are definitely not beginner material anyway, so good luck with the future of them, Your best bet for 'potting' would be a training box - simulates in-ground growing better than any pot but is still portable, though it's too soon to even put them in one of those. What is really important now is to keep them in a cool, very airy place with lots of humidity - not sprayed on but either on stones in a wide tray of water that never, ever touches the pot bottom, or even a cool mist humidifier. They won't be ready for 'bonsai' training for 3-5 years at least, so you'll have to do what you can to keep them alive that long. Go to www.evergreengardenworks.com for very good advice about other aspects of keeping and training them.

Most organic fertilizers provide everything the plant needs. You could fine tune it I suppose but I definitely don't. Morpheuspa is an advocate of winterizing the lawn at the end of fall. The end of fall is defined as that moment when you notice the grass has stopped growing but is not dormant yet. In Florida that day may never come if you continue fertilizing and watering weekly. I know in San Antonio it is a rare (cold) winter when we cannot maintain a St Augustine lawn all through the year. Most people choose to let it go dormant, but you don't have to. I would think in FL it would be a very rare time. If you want to winterize, use a fast release fertilizer that is heavy on the N value and much lighter on the other values. I believe he uses an uncoated urea product. If you are mowing at your mower's highest setting, the bermuda should be fading out. It does not like to compete with the tall, coarse, St Augustine blades.

Lillie, don't give up... it may take a little while for some kitties to understand that wet food is yummy! You could try microwaving the food for a few seconds or so just to make the smell stronger but not heat the food, or try putting a favorite treat in the food. Some kitties are stubborn and they love that dry food, just be more stubborn! You don't have to feel guilty, just keep trying. Airforceguy (and all) if your dry-food-eating feline drinks a lot of water please be sure to have the vet check for feline diabetes. Since cats are obligate carivores (they do not have the enzyme humans, dogs and other animals have to break down carbohydrates) many vets are now giving more thought to the appropriate diet for felines - which is meat based. Many vets are also looking further into the cause and effect relationship between dry food diet and fd. My two boy-cats were kitty-crack addicts (dry food = kitty crack) and one (at 10 years old) is now diabetic - drinking larger amounts of water over a period of time was the only clue. Both boys are now eating wet food only and the weight loss is dramatic as is the reduction in water intake. Oh, someone commented that their breath doesn't smell as bad with wet food - add to that another plus... the litterbox doesn't smell as bad! As for fatty-liver definitely make sure your kitty is getting enough wet food when you transition. It may even be ok to let them eat until satisfied when you first start (I've found that once they get a taste for wet food they want a lot of it and then the appetite evens out) and then determine how much they should get daily based on their current/ideal weight. Talk to your vet about how much your cat should eat for optimum health. Peace

Lucky you! I second the hypertufa geode idea...only because it's something I want to try too! Other than that, there are so many cool things you could do with it - I've seen it used over fabric, painted surfaces, tissue paper, even candy wrappers! I haven't used it yet myself, but I definitely want to. Check out the flickr group for inspiration Here is a link that might be useful: TG group flickr