Ok so I played with the 2350 today . . . liked most everything about it except the blade speed. I'm pretty sure I had it at full throttle but the blades didn't seem to have much zing to them. Yes I realize it's a residential machine but I've tested others that had better tip speed IMO. It's also built very low to the ground. Overall height is only 40". I haven't eliminated it but the blade issue and the fact that the dealership (Amish) is actually 42 miles away instead of 30 doesn't weigh in it's favor. Liked that it had foot assist deck lift but it had an odd way of setting the cutting height. The adjustment is laid out horizontally and acheived by placing a pin in a series of holes along a shaft (thats also part of the foot assist lever). It's probably an effective (but different) way of doing it but they didn't have the holes marked with the cutting height.

Dakster, When in doubt don't be afraid to ask before placing that order. I know how frustrating it can be to try and find just the right plants for a particular area and function. I started with just a couple of perennials and filled in with annuals the first year or maybe two. Little by little I added a perennial here and there but a few simple garden annuals helped it look just right even when it wasn't, Get a plant, statue, birdbath or piece of sculpture that you really like and use that as a focal point then you can plan your bed around that. Depending on the depth and width of your bed a nice butterfly bush would make a good focal point and the butterflies and the hummers would both use it. One of the hardiest butterfly Bushes is Buddleia davidii 'Royal Red' It is a little hardier than Black Knight so you should have no problem with it coming back year after year. Penstemon cardinalis and Penstemon eatonii are both hummingbird Penstemons. Eatonii is hardy to zone 4 and cardinalis is hardy to zone 5 If you want monardas I would go with Jacob's Cline. It does spread but not so much that it will take over and sprout everywhere. It will just form a bigger clump. you can root prune it to keep it the size you want it. It is also much less prone to powdery mildew which the mixed varieties are more prone to. You could still fill in with the asters. All these should be pretty easy to find locally. Penny

I understand the frustration you are feeling; however, expecting unexpected delays in remodeling projects is the rule rather than the exception. If I read your note correctly, you are facing a one-day delay on that Wednesday, March 17. And that you created a schedule bringing you to completion on March 31 with no leeway to run even one day over. Unfortunately, a one-day delay can crop up almost anywhere in a project like this -- a contractor can be sick, an inspector may not be available exactly when you're ready for an inspection required for work to proceed, a contractor's truck might break down or tool might break, some additional material or tool might be needed, etc. While it sounds like you have been incredibly diligent about organizing your schedule and your various contractors, I'm afraid dealing with short delays along the way is par for the course. Also, although you have been providing build management information about your project all along, you say you just asked them yesterday for a water cut off on that particular day, and they promptly told you it couldn't be done that day. You say in one place that this is a long-scheduled vacation day for the super and that they could have told you earlier, yet you also say yesterday is when you told them you wanted a water cut-off on that specific day. If you had previously arranged this service on this day, then built your schedule around it, and then they said "oops, we forgot; he's off that day", your frustration would be understandable, but it doesn't seem that's what happened. Keep in mind that although all the intricate details of your job are top-most in your mind, the management office is likely only checking the paperwork you've been providing them for compliance with city and building rules and procedures; if you hadn't highlighted March 17 as a day when you were requesting a temporary water shut off, it is unrealistic to think they should have figured that out from the other documents you provided. Again, I feel your pain, as does anyone who has had to contend with unexpected remodeling project delays. I'm certainly not trying to add to your irritation -- rather, I'm suggesting that (at least from the information you provided) this scheduling glitch may not be as "thoughtless" as it seems to you. The best thing I can suggest is to take a step back and take a deep breath. Then, start working with your contractor to adjust the schedule as best possible, and hope they can work around the one-day water delay or otherwise make up the day over the course of the following two weeks. A contractor in NYC is used to dealing with delays like this all the time. Best wishes for your project to proceed smoothly from here on out! :) -- Eric

This thread brings up yet another lost phone story. DH and I were walking the dog by a school. There was a stone wall and on it, an iPhone. We decided to take it and turn it into the police. It was a locked phone, but a text message popped up. It was the name of a young man who lived around the corner from us! When we got home, I send a message via FaceBook saying we had his friend's phone and where we found it. He said he would contact the friend, but then days went by. We finally knocked on their door and spoke to the parents. They took the phone and were surprised their son didn't get back to us sooner. Kids! What were the chances of us knowing the person who texted and that he went by his first and last name?