Ugh! I know your pain! Jazmyn loves to dig a nice cool den on warm summer days. She also likes to dig in the fall. The year before last, she dug up a single bed (in which I had planted 300+ spring bulbs) no less than five times! I kept having to go out and frantically rebury the dang things, and by spring time, it was the most random planting I think I've ever had! I have dealt with it a number of ways. First, we have Invisible Fence. I called the company back out and had them add flower bed loops wherever possible. This wire isn't actually buried but sits just below the mulch (so I can easily find it when I'm planting and don't cut it with the shovel.) This might not work for you, as it would involve putting e-collars on all your dogs, but it has made certain beds of mine completely off limits in my dogs' minds. Secondly, I buried some pieces of chicken wire beneath the mulch. I put them between the plants, was able to move them to plant more, and the plants come up through them just fine. Jazmyn hated it though, because her toes got all tangled up in it when she tried to dig, so she just gave up. Lastly, I learned to embrace the junky look of random plant stakes. I took this photo just a couple minutes ago. In the bulb bed that Jaz dug up a zillion times before, I buried a bunch of tall stakes under the mulch, and poked a bunch of dahlia stakes randomly in the bed to make it inaccessible. They aren't too noticeable really, since they're green, far from the sidewalk, and in front of some green evergreen shrubs. As the plants grow, I'll just be moving them to support the Asiatic lilies that are planted in the area, and the plants themselves will block access, but for now it does look a little goofy... (not the greatest pic) I suppose you could always grow cacti or yucca or thorny plants, or even lay thorny branches in your flower beds to act as a deterrent. Some people (especially people with good-sized yards) will create a special spot in their yards where their dogs are allowed to dig. Of course there are some dogs in this world that are so awful, they're just going to dig in your beds no matter what. I don't know what to advise in a case like that. Frankly, I can't imagine how a person could live with a dog like that! ;o)

Well, I just finished cooking them, and I think that in the future (unless I am pressed for time) I will always refrigerate the dough overnight, or at least a lot longer than the half hour or so I've been doing. The dough was MUCH easier to handle, so the balls were nice and neat; very little "crumbs" in the water when I was done (and that was 60 matzo balls). I'm not going to freeze them; I imagine the quality would be slightly better, if at all, if I did, but I don't want to guess about frozen centers. This way I can take them out of the fridge and let them come to room temperature on Monday and then put them right into the bowls as we serve the soup. The soup won't get messy and the balls won't soak it up. (I don't need them to do that for flavor, because I made them with schmaltz.) They are in a glass bowl with a cover. I don't care if they lose some roundness. The only thing I'm a bit worried about is them sticking together so much that I will mess them up as I try to spoon them out of the bowl. What do you think about pouring hot or warm water over them shortly before serving?

Iva cake balls are pretty easy to make, and actually yummy if you use a good frosting. I'm bad with recipes, even worse trying to explain but here is what I do. I make a 9x13 cake (I used a box mix following the directions then I added an extra egg, dry pudding and about 1 cup of sour cream.) after it is baked and cooled I crumble it up pretty finely, I make a buttercream frosting, using real butter a bit of cream cheese, and a few tablespoons of whipping cream, cream them together well in a mixer and add about 2cups of powdered sugar, or till it is a pretty stiff frosting. Then with food service gloves I smoosh it all together really good, then roll into balls, place on waxed paper on cookie sheets and chill for a few hours. once you have the cake balls you can do lots with them but to make the turkeys I melted a bag of Guittard dark choclate melting wafers, with about 1 tsp of Crisco,Pour the choco into a small deep bowl so you can dip the whole ball into the chocolate. I used stik pretzles for the legs, and actually there is a 3rd leg in the back to make them stand up,its best to place the legs before chilling, then using the legs to hold onto, dip the cold balls in the chocolate,move the ball around to get the chocolate to cover the whole thing, then (this part is tricky)stand them on the waxed paper cookie sheets. The tails are as Kay says candy corn, I was going to use boston bean candies for the faces, but DH ate them first, so I looked thru my cupboards and found starbursts, so I melted them a bit in the micro and shaped them into the face and red thing. I used food markers for the eyes. dip the small tips of the candy corn into a bit of chocolate and press onto the ball until it dries, then do the same with whatever you use for the face. Sorry for my bad directions.. hope it kinda makes sense..

I'd take a saw to it and loosen those roots. If it's going into the ground this is your only chance to try and open up the roots and get them going in the right direction. I'd likely saw off a good inch or two from the bottom and deeply score the sides so I could get my fingers in there and start working. I'd do this when I had a lot of time, wasn't in a hurry, I'd do it in shade, and I'd have a spritzer bottle of water nearby so things didn't dry out too badly while I was working. I'd have the hole dug and ready for it, too. If you really have to go at it be sure and devise some type of shade for it at planting. It will be stressed and the roots will be unable to provide enough moisture for full sun conditions for the first couple of weeks. I use stakes, clothespins, and an old sheet or floating row cover. And make sure the water actually penetrates when you water. You'll have to baby it for a bit but they usually recover quite well given deep watering and a bit of time in the shade.