Oh wouldn't I LOVE to have any/all of you as neighbours! But I would still need the chain link fence, both to corral the dogs and to meet the municipal requirements for TCS's pool. But the chain link is rapidly being covered with Clematis (of course), Variegated Honeysuckle, and Virginia Creeper. A dense planting of daylilies is already beginning to hide the weedy growth between my fence and my neighbour's 6 foot board fence. Works for me. You guys have hit the nail on the head re:dogs. Each of mine know their own names and are getting to the point of listening for my command by name. They have learned that their name followed by "Wait" means to sit quietly while the other dog has attention, food, affection, gets the leash on etc. DH also simply calls "Dogs" at around 10:30 every night and they both respond right away by going to the door for their nightly whatever. If they are being rowdy, we can call their names, say the command "Chill" and they will quiet down, although they will go back at it when released with "O.K.". When they are in the yard, I can call "Bostons" and they will usually both come running. Of only one comes I can call the other and get the appropriate response, usually. This all happens on their home turf of course; here we are higher up in the hierarchy than they are. When together on other turf however, they seem to lose a lot of their responses in the heat of the moment (ha ha, no pun intended!!). If I see another dog when I have one or both of mine on the leash on the street, I try to walk up a laneway for about twenty feet and make them (or it), sit and wait. They will still be excited but most of the time they don't come across as aggressive. Off the leash, well, let's just say that I don't do that outside our yard. We affectionally refer to them as "The Brats" - much like "The Wrecking Crew" or "The Huge One"..... Hey, I think I am going to try "Travelling with Pomegranates" if I can get it at the library. I have been reading reams of murder mysteries but many, if not most, are not realistic and are only mildly entertaining; after a while they all seem to be the same, and lately I've been chucking them after a few chapters. It's time for something new. Maybe the "Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society" will also go on my list. Our Hort Society is falling to pieces with cliques of the "Ins" and "Outs" forming within the executive. I was an "In" but I sympathized more with the "Outs", so I was not unhappy to tender my resignation when I injured my neck last Easter. Two "Outs", one "In", and myself have been meeting for lunch on a regular basis: We refer to ourselves as the Perth and District Ladies Poker Club. None of us play poker. But we are gardeners and friends. We are having a quiet Sunday. As it is Hallowe'en, we will roast our pumkin seeds (from the orange pumpkins), do the Trick or Treat thing, and sit back with a glass of red by 9.00 tonight. Speaking of seeds, does anybody want to try the seeds of white-skinned pumpkins? We call them Ghost Pumpkins. I am saving some seeds for TCS to grow next summer - should be a hit in our little suburban back yard! Cheers, Julie

My only intention in my posting is to maybe help the next person along in their search of a lawn tractor or learn a bit about them for myself. Whether it be green, orange, blue, red or black. I don't think anyone disagrees with the fact that quality is not what it used to be, even with the advancements in technology. I wish, like most other americans out there, that we still manufactured everything here in the states. But that is a long distant memory and will probably never be again. But I bought a John Deere because the one I had before it lasted, and the farm I grew up on had plently of them that did their share of breaking, but got the job done everytime. But so did the Case, Internationals, Massey's, and I think a New Holland. Every manufacturer out there has it's share of problems. Nothings perfect! John Deere has been in my blood since childhood when I played with my first little green toy. Everytime I get on my X530, I will be proud to have one. People don't usually buy Harley Davidsons because of their quality (although I feel them to be very well built). They buy them because of the name that sits on them. If John Deere stops making a good product, the brand would eventually suffer and only be found in the history books and a few landscapes maybe. But when I drive anywhere, it is still the brand I see most often, and usually they are moving. So, drafted 72, your opinion is noted and hopefully a few people may benefit from your experience, but a GT235 and a X530 are a bit far apart in the ways they are used. I have no doubts that mine will still be alive and well in 15 years. And if I have any problems, I will be sure to post them, so the next person at least can use the info to decide if the JD brand is right for them.

I was going to put my blood type on the helmet too, but an EMT told me he would never pay attention to what someone claims their blood type to be, he uses universal plasma and at the hospital they use a quick blood typing test. The risks of infusing an incompatible blood type are too high. Medical insurance information sounds like a good idea. Although [rant] have you checked what your "insurance" actually covers, lately? Our family of four pays about $16K/year in employee contribution. And our total family deductible is around $12K/year. We have not consumed over $12K/yr of medical care in at least ten years, probably not since the last child was delivered. Basically we pay $16K/year - and my company pays at least as much - for catastrophic coverage. On a day-to-day basis, every doctor visit and every prescription is coming out of my pocket. I'd rather we had the system they have in France. Everyone, rich or poor, has basic, no-frills medical coverage. Those who want nicer, fancier, more sophisticated treatment - private rooms, cutting-edge technology, $100K/yr drugs - have the option of buying commercial insurance policies, if they can afford it and want to. But everyone, rich and poor, has a basic and decent level of care. We may get a version of that in the US, starting in 2014. Maybe. "There's many a slip, 'twixt the cup and the lip." Who knows if it will actually happen. [/rant] After reading this http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/21/technology/bicyclists-using-cameras-to-capture-accidents.html I got interested in wearing a video camera, so you see on the helmet my initial experiment. It is not the $300 GoPro that a serious biker-recorder wears, but a $38 micro-cam from a Hong Kong mail order hobby shop. Meant for use in radio control aircraft, helos, etc. After experimenting with this cheap camera, I'm putting a nicer videocam on my Santa list. Aside from the "evidence" aspect, it is instructive to view a recorded ride and think about what dangers I did and didn't perceive at the time. I've been riding in traffic since I was a 7 y/o boy riding in downtown Vancouver B.C. on my Peugeot ten-speed, but I still make mistakes every day. Just like we all make mistakes driving, even though we've been doing it all our lives. I'll post a link to some video later. Here is a link that might be useful: NYT Story

My funniest experience in an aircraft happened while I was stationed in Germany. The Air Force used to use a Kaman HH43 helicopter for an emergency responce crash vehicle. They had a huge 6ft diameter round metal pressure sphere that was loaded with firefighting foam which they carried on a hook under the helicopter. Two firemen were inside the helicopter with the Asbestos firesuites on. When an aircraft crashed they would fly in quickly and set the firebottle down and the firemen would jump out and grab the foam line, then the helicopter would hover over the burning aircraft using the downdraft to blow the flames back while the firemen laid down a path of foam till they could get to the aircraft and pull the crew out. One day my buddy, who was a crewchief on the helicopter called me and said they were going up on a training flight and asked if I would like to ride along, so off I went. As I boarded the helicopter I saw the pilot & co-pilot up front, my buddy, the crew chief, two firemen and another guy who worked at the base chapel that was coming along for the ride. We were all seated in the back while the helicopter just flew around in circles close to the base when suddenly we heard a radio call on our headphones. They had a crippled F4 Phantom coming in with an engine fire, so the pilot told us he had to go back and hook up the firebottle and while they were hooking it up I and the guy from the chapel would have to jump off. The chopper landed and while we were jumping off one of the ground crew hooked the cable on the lifting hook and the chopper took off again, but when it was about 50ft off the ground one of the firemen jumped out, bouncing off the ground from 50ft and broke his leg. I didn't have a clue as to why he just mysteriously jumped out, but later that afternoon while sitting in the NCO club my buddy the crew chief came in and he told me. It seems that while we were flying around the guy from the chapel had got airsick, but not wanting to appear like a whimp to the other guys onboard he didn't ask for a burp bag, instead, he had barfed in the firemens boot and while we were jumping off the firemen was pulling his boots on. By the time he realized that the guy had barfed in his boot he tore off after the guy without even thinking and jumped out....LOL