Hi Kit, welcome to the FN forum! I pretty well stick close to the zone ratings when it comes to trees and shrubs. I live on a acreage and I pretty well don't have any microclimates in my garden. However, with perennials I'll always experimenting and zone pushing. What trees and shrubs have you had success with? Zone ratings should be used as a guideline not as a absolute rule ;) Sharon

I just planted all my pepper seeds in the domed compartmented thingy at about 1/4". I got about 90% germination rate. I have heard good things about that paper towel method though and may give that a shot this next season. I think I would have done better last year if I had planted 1/8 inch deep instead of 1/4 inch. Bruce

Appreciate the good advice. The other boxes have been monitored, but the female of that partciular pair was more skittish than usual. The male had shown her the nest several times over about 3 weeks and she just didn't want to be there because it is such close proximity to my front door and us walking around to our garden. We sit around out front and the other pair sees us, but they are still very hesitant to go into the house while we are there but I love that they are getting used to us. Hopefully, they will all be safe while we are out of town for a few days. :-/ This concerns me, but family responsibilities are calling.

I absolutely second wwwonderwhiskers advice! And, if your digital camera will take videos as well, shoot very methodical videos of each room starting in one corner and working your way around the room in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction. Then take your overlapping still photographs immediately after taking the video. It is often much easier to figure out what is what in a video. But still photographs will be sharper and show more details. With a combination of videos and still photos taken on the same date, you can use the video to help you orient your still photos and figure out what you are looking at...especially if you take the time to tape numbered squares of paper up around the room before making videos and shooting photos. Our "open wall" photos have saved us a couple of enormous repair bills as well. And, when we got ready to hang our TV, it was nice to be able to look at the photos and see right where the studs and extra bracing were located. It is also nice when you start to hang a picture on the wall, to KNOW, that you're not fixing to accidentally drive a nail into a hidden pipe. Oh, especially if you're going to have a slab foundation, don't forget to photograph where all the pipes and stuff run UNDER the slab before the concrete gets poured. And don't forget to take pictures of the outside of your house before the sheathing is put on. If your house has more than one floor, be sure you have pictures of everything that runs thru the space between the two floors as well. Water from a leaking pipe or waterline can often travel along joists quite a way before dripping through the ceiling sheet rock and showing up as a wet spot. Rather then unnecessarily tearing out a bunch of sheet rock, It helps to know where the water COULD be coming from.