Sorry I didn't let you know that Kenneth came home Thursday. His message to the Master Gardeners said "I am home again, still very, very weak and still seriously ill but HOME!" I talked to him just few minutes ago and he's better, but in pain from inflammation in the cartilage around his breastbone. He and his sister live together, so she's looking after him and home health is checking on him for now. I don't know if he's back to doing anything on the computer, but if you'd like to have his address, send me an email and I'll send it to you. I know he'd love to hear from his Gardenweb friends.

I think we tend to harvest last of August first of Sept but depends on rain and heat. I have a number of cherry types around the yard so there is good pollen most springs. What does happen is cold snaps, high winds and no pollinators so there is usually something each year but really biannual is best production! I think there are very few fruit plants in this climate that stay healthy for long if the produce heavy every year. I want to try making some cuttings of this red one (it does get darker if left) as it seems to produce well and makes a nice small tree. Suckers in its present growing place but could be controlled grown in mowed grass. Would need watering here to produce well. I have pulled out plants from time to time as they went down in production for one reason or another! I do have a new Red Leaf small tree that looks like it will produce a good berry so am watching it as well. I had a fellow who was here for a BBQ say it would look good in his front yard. Just need to get some cuttings going and propagate it up.

That is a double suet feeder I bought at one of the local Agways - I think it was made by Droll Yankee, but I'm not sure. It's good because you can fill it with oranges and suet or put two suet blocks in at once. It also solves the problem of how to refill a suet feeder when the first block has shriveled down to 1/3 the size, but is still taking up space. With a single feeder you have to either throw the remainder on the ground (which pleases the ground-feeders), or try to cram a new block in with the leftover. With the double feeder you can just add a new block to the top and it slides down as it gets whittled away. One of my suet feeders is invisible from indoors now that the rose leaves have filled out. In the winter I could see birds through the canes. The suet feeder is hanging from the top of the arch. I'm hoping the little birds like downies and wrens can lurk in there and wait for the grackles (and Blue Jays) to leave. Claire

Thanks all. It so helps to get out of my head around this. Pinch_me, I think part of the reason I am smarting from this is last year when we bought our new house knowing the kitchen needed to be redone, we had the exact same experience at Menards with them telling us in October to wait till the cabinet sale in February. Now, I've been working with this KD for 3 months on a design. Was working FT when I started and no longer am so am even more price conscious. Newcastlemom, hadn't thought of there never being a special in the first place. We got pushback at one point when we asked for a one week extension to finalize the design and my DH ended up saying to the KD that in this economy he had a hard time believing that the company would kill a deal vs. giving a couple extra days to finalize appliance sizes, etc. I've gone back to getting quotes and had one come in lower today which was positive--and they do plywood boxes standard which weren't in the deal I was originally pulling the trigger on. My inclination generally favors being loyal (vs. shopping just for rock bottom pricing) and honoring good service (the catholic school girl in me plus I years ago had my own business and know how much time can be put in upfront in quotes not knowing if a sale will come through) but I really feel played. Also, KD suddenly revealed working with that particular cabinet company for almost a decade though he had made it seem as though since his current company was carrying line for the first time, that he was newly learning about them. I may just move on. It was so odd but I believe everything happens for a reason and for that information to come out just as I was about to sign on the dotted line made me think I am meant to reconsider. Sad, but may be for the best in the end. Again, truly appreciate everyone's perspective.