Stevation, No problem, I just need to update with what I've been doing. I had a productive weekend creating a small border on one side, getting the 5 foot circles re-cleared around the non-border fruit trees, and putting in a small border edge to keep the grass from creeping in again. I'm still trying to figure out the pressure reducer for my irrigation water, since I never did replace one head in front and now the back is missing one in the garden. The switch to turn my supply off is under a massive shrub, and I, of course, dug up a spot before the cutoff valve, so I need to get to the other side before I start thinking about cutting it to install the pressure reducer. The pipe leading to the cutoff is a 4 1/2 inch (circumference) PVC. That seems sort of large... I haven't been running our sprinklers yet, and my wife is complaining about our lawn not going green as fast as everyone else in the neighborhood! The good news, before we had the cold weather last week, is that there are blossoms on 6 of my trees while only three new ones do not (the new cherry and two new apples I put in last spring, which I wouldn't expect yet). The Elberta peach has over 50 and it's only in its second year! Of course, that's before frost damage, immature fruit drop, and thinning, but I still thought it was pretty vigorous. The Intrepid peach planted at the same time has closer to 20.

I purchased what was labeled as an American Cranberry Bush from Home Depot this past spring after the late freeze. It looked healthy and was on sale for $6.00. The picture looked really pretty and the information said birds love the berries. I was not surprised it did not flower after planting but am hoping it does next spring. Reading through this thread makes me wonder if the cranberry bush needs a pollinator? I am sure someone here can answer that question for me. We are having very hot/dry weather here in TN and even though I believe I am keeping it well watered some of the "older" leaves are turning a "reddish" color. The planting directions said full sun. Does this plant really do well in full sun? Thanks in advance to anyone who replies.

When the effluent rises it has some velocity, and hence momentum. When it enters the hood it has a tendency to "reflect" and curl downward and potentially escape. If the hood is deep enough (top to bottom) and the hood fan flow is high enough (cfm) the curling effluent will remain captured and will be exhausted. The barrel design in the picture looks to me (without examining one) like it has adequate depth. W.r.t. ya think's question a few messages up: First I would say that the change from vertical to horizontal should be as large a radius curve as you can fit to minimize pressure loss (as well as noise). The effluent momentum (which is a vector) is being changed in direction. This is akin to stopping it and starting it up again. If it can slide along a curve, the momentum loss is significantly less. There is one commercial ducting source I came across once that uses 90-degree transitions, but embeds a curved shape within the duct to improve the flow. I find it hard to answer the question of what questions to ask. Usually, the answers aren't available. Ideally, one would want to know the fan curve (flow vs. static pressure) and try to estimate all the pressure losses (including the pressure one might pull the house down to with or without make-up air) to see what the real maximum flow rate will be. This can then be compared against estimates of effluent generation rate calculated from the reference below. The power used might be adjusted to represent your cooking style, as rarely would one have all burners on maximum and cooking at the highest pan temperature. One thing is certain, flow rate in the hood has to at least equal the flow rate from all the active burners and pans, and arguably should be higher due to imperfect effluent collection. Implied above is that the hood manufacturer can supply pressure loss of the filters vs. flow rate, as well as that of the hood transitions. Getting that data, even if it were ever measured, would be unlikely, me thinks. I suggest that various hoods be "audited" in showrooms to gain a feel for their noisiness versus their designs. The reference worth reading, even if one doesn't intend to use it for calculations, is "Thermal plumes of kitchen appliances: part 2 cooking mode," by Risto, Hannu, and Pekka. (I've found it on-line whenever I've looked for it. Part 1 is also interesting.) If you do use it for calculations, please note the following apparent errors in their Equation 1: The constant should be 0.05 not 5. The units of phi should be kW, not W. (these corrections make their tables consistent with the equation) You will need a scientific calculator or counterpart software to do the exponents (unless you are very old school and know how to do logarithms). You will also need to convert BTU to kW and cubic meters per second to cubic feet per minute. This is left as an exercise for the student. [insert sociopathic laugh here] kas

This tree is at the edge of a bed, near a (non-asphalt) driveway. There is a mishappen yew...on this side of it are lily of the valley and Ivy, on the other are ostrich ferns and a concolor fir then the house. Ideally I'd want this tree farther from the house, but it's a decent spot. Ideally I'd like the squirrels to plant trees in spots its risky for me to plant in...like the overgrown cliff or the scrubby border with the neighbors. Places with lots of cover, if that's what the squirrels want. This tree isn't far from the bird feeder...they don't seem to have transported it far. I suspect the acorns in scrubby areas got shaded out. whaas_5a If you want to try to use squirrels as gardeners, buy hickory nuts by mail order...you can get them cheap. Gather them in the nearby woods. Then put them in a bird feeder near where you want them, put in some flower beds in the fields you want trees in. The squirrels will but acros the field t get t the bird feeders, even f they won't hang out in the fields. Don't think you would get a regular tree line...or you could make a long thin hedge bed connecting the tree l e to the fields as a squirrel path...