" After you have identified the different species of butterflies that are in your area, THEN you can ask us questions" I don't see any reason why people can't ask any question that they want, it may get annoying to someone who has answered it a hundred times BUT noone says that you have to answer it again. The choice is yours! I have seen many postings and I think that SOME people just like to create "issues" when there really isn't one. This is supposed to be a fun place to come and share your comments and knowledge. I don't think anyone comes here to get scolded for asking a question, some people don't have all day to search the threads. I know I don't. I'm sure that I have asked questions that were asked before and people have been very kind. Maybe, a little more time in the garden would be helpful. I find a walk around my gardens as good as a valium!(not that I have taken them but you get the drift) Lisa :)

"I have grown the Red Noodle Asparagus Beans. I found them to be aphid magnets (I mean COVERED with big fat aphids!), which, in turn drew ants. They are beautiful plants and incredibly prolific, no matter how hot it gets. Unfortunately, my family didn't much like the taste and the beautiful red beans turn ebony black when cooked, which are somewhat unappetizing to my group." There is a trick to restore most of the color... all it takes is a little vinegar. The vinegar will turn the cooked Red Noodle beans back to a burgundy red, and make a deep red sauce. If the vinegar flavor is too strong, you can pour it off after the color change. It's possible lemon juice would restore the red color too, but I haven't tried it yet (an experiment I will try this year). If eaten as a side dish, my family likes yardlongs seasoned with vinegar, soy sauce, and garlic powder. Yardlongs cook quickly, so for the best color & texture, don't over-cook them. You can blanch & freeze them too, but due to their low moisture content, they get freezer burn very quickly. I freeze the cut up beans first in plastic freezer boxes, then remove the frozen block & place it in a vacuum sealed bag. (Pre-freezing this way also reduces the chance of seal failure in the vacuum bag, caused by liquid & debris being pulled over the seal as air is evacuated.) The "hollowness" of yardlong beans can be caused by water stress - even if the plants don't show other symptoms. Yardlongs are at their best when the soil is not allowed to dry out. My best year ever for yardlongs was a year of record rainfall; while much of my garden languished during the flooding, only two things flourished - yardlongs, and edamame soybeans. I highly recommend a thick layer of mulch around yardlong beans, to preserve soil moisture locally at a high level. For me, this heavy mulch - along with frequent irrigation - makes the pods consistently longer & more succulent. When picking yardlong beans, be careful not to break off the delicate tip of the flower stalk. That is where new flowers will form, so if you treat those tips with care, you'll get a larger crop. About yardlongs & ants. The nectar given off by the by the extrafloral nectaries (the bumps on the stem below the flowers) attracts several insects. Ants are the most common, and are often the source of the aphid infestations, since they "farm" the aphids. These ants will defend the plants very aggressively, which is probably the reason the plants evolved to attract them. Generally, the ants are only an annoyance... I just thump the pods prior to picking to knock off the ants. But some years, carpenter ants colonize the vines, in which case I take measures to control the ants. But in my garden, wasps and ladybugs are also attracted in large numbers. This makes them great plants to maintain a ladybug population within the garden. If you purchase ladybugs, time their release for when flowering begins, to make them "stay home". Contrary to the hyperactivity of the ants, wasps feeding on yardlong nectar become very docile, almost as if they are intoxicated. I can move among the plants & harvest even when there are wasps there in large numbers. I was stung only once - when there was a wasp sitting on the back side of a pod I was picking, and I accidentally grabbed it. Even then, the wasp only stung me lightly, then flew back to the vines. Personally, I like to attract wasps, since they are valuable insect predators... but if you are allergic to wasp stings, you might not want to grow yardlongs. Yardlongs are just climbing cowpeas (Southern peas) that were bred for their pods instead of seeds, so all of the above pertains to cowpeas as well. Bigoledude, in your hot climate, there are two other climbing beans you might be interested in. Hyacinth beans love tropical heat, and as the name implies, have beautiful fragrant blossoms. There are both green and purple podded cultivars, I would recommend the purple due to their thicker pods. The pods are cooked & eaten much like snap beans... they must be picked young, though, before seeds develop. You might also want to try Winged Bean, which forms interesting 4-sided pods. Not sure how they would hold up, but they might make some really interesting pickles. The flowers, young leaves, and tubers of Winged Bean are also edible.

Sorry for the length of this, but without knowing exactly what you are trying to accomplish, here's some wide-ranging thoughts on the process. Some of this is copied from a post I did shortly after we completed revision of my MIL's trust and creation of our own. Some of these issues pertain to a two-person trust; legalities are simpler if only one person is the original Trustor. First of all, there are many different kinds of trusts. Do you know exactly what you want to accomplish? A good estate attorney will ask a lot of questions, because it may turn out that a simple Revocable Trust will be fine, or it end up being something much more complicated and custom. Like remodeling, there are different ways to achieve a set of goals. It's up to a good attorney to point out pitfalls or potential problems ahead every legal decision has consequences, sometimes good and sometimes bad. YouÂre trying to predict the future, which is always uncertain. It's up to you (and your family) to choose the best alternative for handling various theoretical future scenarios. A good attorney will spend time with you. In our case, we redid my MIL's trust and created a Trust for my DH and I. Both were NOT standard documents. The price was the same, but our attorney was willing to spend considerable time (e.g., numerous meetings) to ensure all three of us were kept informed on the legal consequences of our decisions. In a one-person trust; e.g., with only a single Trustor, the trust will end at their death when the Trustee distributes all the assets per the terms of the trust. So it is much simpler, legally. Do be aware that standard Revocable Trust language (for a 2-person Trust) generally does not allow the surviving spouse to access principal on the deceased spouse's portion of the estate, which will become Irrevocable (the survivor's portion of course, remains Revocable). Restrictions are common on the Deceased principal, so it is up to you to decide: do you want the Survivor to have full use of the principal or only partial use? If partial, under what circumstances may the Survivor use the dividends and/or interest? The standard allowed is health, education and maintenance - this means gifts, travel or entertainment must come from the Survivor's own estate, not the Deceased. You can change this to allow full access, even though this is unusual - we did this. It is imperative in any Trust that the trustee and beneficiary list be kept up to date, including the successors/contingents. We needed have very intensive discussions with an estate attorney over my MIL's trust because she and her deceased husband had never updated their trust since making it 25 yrs prior. The successor trustees and contingent beneficiary list was woefully out of date and would not have served her best interests. Do not automatically assume the people you like best will be adequate trustees, especially in a sibling situation. Sometimes the best person to pick is someone who is not only honest but neutral. Be aware that unless you specifically request language that a trustee can be reimbursed for time at current professional rates, a trustee does NOT normally get paid for the considerable amount of time they will spend overseeing your wishes. Expenses are always paid by or reimbursed from the estate, however. When it's your spouse that's not a big deal, but in our case it is a relative by marriage - she would have to take off work on her own vacation time or unpaid to deal with our estate, which we felt was not fair. I have settled estates and it takes a LOT of time, at a period when you are grieving yourself. I would be happy never to do it again, believe me; it is a burden, never a joy. You may wish to be very specific about the handling of real estate property once both Trustors pass away. Probably more disputes have occurred over RE than anything else. Heirs can get into a sentimental mindset and act in illogical ways which often irreparably damage sibling relations. As an old saying goes, "Never say you know anyone until you have split an inheritance with them!" It is unfortunately all too often true. Make sure the package includes pour-over wills, power of attorney, durable healthcare power of attorney INCLUDING the HIPAA releases. It is up to you to copy your doctors with the healthcare POA. The attorney may or may not transfer your home title to the trust; ours included it in the set fee but YMMV depending on where you live. Be aware that anytime you go see a health specialist or get admitted to a hospital, you or your spouse should bring a copy of the appropriate health POA along. The HIPAA regulations are woefully vague and each doctor, specialist and hospital has their own way of interpreting how to obtain permission to discuss someone's medical records. In an medical emergency, this can be very important. This is also why whoever is your primary successor Trustee after the surviving spouse, should be kept up to date and know where all these documents can be found. And they need ACCESS to a copy of these documents in an emergency without having to go to a judge to obtain legal approval. They need to know the name and phone number of your lawyer as well as where you bank (which branch you have your safety deposit box in, for instance). All these documents should be checked over any time there is a life-changing event: divorce, sale of a home, death of a family member. There was an article today in the WSJ regarding the use of Power of Attorney. Sadly, most difficulties arise because family members dispute with one another over the estate assets. The POA can be misused and is often a source of conflict. Here are some of their tips: To further protect yourself, you can require that your agent provide family members, or a third party, such as a lawyer or accountant, with regular accounting statements. Another strategy is to name co-agents. While that can be a burden -- many transactions, for instance, would need two signatures -- it can also create a system of checks and balances. In some cases, lawyers appoint an additional safeguard: a "protector," who has the power to replace the agent if there is wrongdoing. Another key point: Make sure to carefully lay out exactly what powers you want your agent to have. For instance, you can limit the agent's power to make gifts of your property, so they can't just give money to themselves. Spell out under what conditions gifts can be made, how much and to whom. Frank Johns, an elder-law specialist at Booth Harrington & Johns of NC PLLC, in Charlotte and Greensboro, N.C., often asks his clients and their agents to sign "interpersonal agreements," documents that have no legal meaning but which might lay out in simple terms the importance of what's expected. "Signing that document can be a very powerful event," Mr. Johns says. "Usually, I know right away that the agent is going to live by the agreement." Power-of-attorney laws differ from state to state, so make sure your lawyer is familiar with what your state allows. Rules also can vary by financial institution. Lawyers say banks are increasingly scrutinizing power-of-attorney documents or are reluctant to honor them, because they fear being subject to suits alleging they unwittingly helped an account be drained by an improper agent. PLANNING AHEAD Here are some steps you can take to help safeguard your financial power-of attorney document: Â Require that your agent provide family members or a third party with regular accounting statements. Â Name co-agents, who can provide checks and balances, or an overseer who has the power to remove an agent. Â Make sure to carefully lay out exactly what powers you want your agent to have. You can also limit the agent's power to make gifts of your property. Â If using a "springing" power-of-attorney document, which goes into effect only when you are declared incapacitated, carefully specify how you are to be deemed incapacitated. You can require, for instance, that your agent get a second opinion. Â Be aware that rules regarding powers of attorney can vary by state and by financial institution. Â Create a so-called living trust. You can transfer your assets into the trust and designate a trustee to manage trust property if you become incapacitated. Â For more information, or to locate a lawyer who can help draft the documents, contact AARP (www.aarp.org), American Bar Association Commission on Law and Aging (www.abanet.org/aging), American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (www.actec.org) or the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (www.naela.org). Note: There are two main kinds of power-of-attorney documents. If you're using a "springing" power-of-attorney document, which goes into effect only when you are declared incapacitated, make sure to carefully specify how you are to be deemed incapacitated. You can ask, for instance, that your agent get a second opinion to make sure you really are unable to handle your own affairs. A non-springing power-of-attorney document, meanwhile, goes into effect immediately upon signing. That can be useful in a case where an agent wants to immediately take control to stop, say, abuse by a neighbor or caregiver, without waiting for a doctor's declaration of incapacity. "You can go in and start safeguarding the assets right away," says John Pankauski, a West Palm Beach, Fla., lawyer who specializes in lawsuits involving power-of-attorney abuses. He adds that you really need to trust your agent to do a non-springing power of attorney. Mr. Krooks suggests using a non-springing document, but not handing it over to your kids. "Tell them where it is," he says, and once you lose your capacity, they can use it. Another option is to use a so-called revocable living trust. These trusts go into effect while you're still alive, and you can name another person as trustee to manage property in the trust once you become incapacitated. Many people name institutions, such as banks or trust companies, as trustees, if they're worried a family member might loot their money. However, you should still name an agent as power of attorney to handle assets not in the trust. There is some recourse if your agent is accused of financial impropriety. Another loved one can petition a court to name a protective guardian or conservator. Typically, court-appointed guardians can be another family member or a third party, such as a lawyer, a bank, a social worker or a specially trained professional guardian. Note that court-appointed guardians are always paid on an hourly basis by the estate, at rates set by the state.

I have been using Linux only as my daily OS for many many years now, I am not a big command line person however I like my GUI! My brain is just not good at retaining all that command line stuff any more but most of the new Linux distros you really don't need it since they have a great GUI. I have used a few distros but my main go to is Mepis Linux, I am currently still on Mepis 8 which I love but will have to upgrade soon to the newest version because they are no longer going to be doing updates for 8. I hate that because I am so happy with what I have now but as DA said we must move forward! I go to the Mepis Lovers forum since it is the main forum supporting Mepis. Very very nice helpful folks there. I have also used Ubuntu, and Gos which was a google version from a few years back that did not go anywhere and is as far as I know defunct. I want to try Linux Mint it is highly recommended as a very easy one to use also. I went with Mephis because honestly everything just works with it, very little fiddling around to get going, and they have built in assistants that are great for helping you if you do have a problem. I recommend trying one of the live CDs of the distro you might want to use and see how it runs on your pc if it runs ok from the live cd it probably will do just fine when installed. You can just use it from the live cd too with out installing it but it will be slower. What I do is not mess with my windows hard drive at all. I have a second hard drive with my Linux installed on it like it is the only one, It is plugged into the mother board so I have 2 hard drives when I boot up I immediately hit to go into boot order and select which hard drive I want to boot to. If I just let it boot normally it boots to the windows drive. I like doing it this way because there is no way you mess up your windows you never touch it. And I can always pull the hard drive and put it in another pc should I care to. There is also WUBI which is a method to install say ubuntu right onto your windows it runs it as it would a program you installed, so if you decided you no longer wanted it you just remove it from your add remove programs. No partitioning to deal with. I have never used WUBI but know people who have and liked it. Welcome to the MEPIS Community the version I have MEPIS Linux 8.0 the new Mepis version MEPIS Linux 11 you can order free live CD of both ubuntu and kbuntu from online. Or you can download and burn an iso file of any Linux distro for free from sources online like distrowatch. I do every single thing I did on my windows computers and probably more using Linux every day. I use firefox as my browser just like I did on windows. You automatically get update notices for your OS just like windows, the main difference is that you do not go download and install programs from various websites, you have a built in resource where pretty much every thing you need is located you just access it and select from the vast array there and it will install it right to your pc. All of these have been well checked prior to being put up for install. Every distro comes preloaded with most of what you will need anyway. the link below is screenshots of various linux distros so you can see what they would look like, some are out dated. Here is a link that might be useful: screenshot directory