mixed results, especially in a cold climate. One person at our ext ofc said another had good luck with Milky Spore. My neighbor is going to use it in combo with GrubX. I'm thinking to lay the MS in the spring after the last frost, have to reapply every year for a few years (some say not). I was told to get the GrubX down by Jul 31, didn't make the deadline, took down my traps, yard is too small, plus not as many roses as you, hand picked, just got back in, got 2, so they are in decline here but not gone. http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/gaston/Pests/japbeet.html and at useful link, can't find the one that told how much to use in several different brands of spreaders. "Milky Spore is a bacterium, Bacillus popillae, which is lethal primarily for Japanese beetle grubs. Once applied, it can remain in the soil for many years. In warm climates, good control of the Japanese beetle can occur in one to three years; in cooler climates, three to five years. Also says 10 oz. covers 2500 sq ft. So people reporting poor results may need more patience, also problem with acidic soils, much pro and con about it for northern gardens. Worth a try. Here is a link that might be useful: Arbico Organics - Milky Spore Powder

I think you're thinking in terms of tropical fish. Typically, with fish, you use tap water, which usually has Chlorine. Letting it sit allows the Chlorine gas to evaporate. For most CP's, they live in nutrient poor conditions. Not only will the Chlorine kill them, so will the minerals in tap water. Evaporation concentrates the dissolved minerals. Rain water doesn't need to sit. It's normal for the media to smell. Not a problem. As long as the plants are green, they are okay. If everything turned brown, then I'd worry! Maryland, depending where in Maryland, may be too cold to leave outside for the winter, without mulching. I live in the Buffalo, NY area. so I take my plants to a co-worker, and he keeps them in his windowed garage for the winter. That works for me. Are you near the coast or near the mountains? That makes a difference.

one year, i got so tired of having stuff up in the attick, so i carried everything in crates to the basement, well, that spring/winter, we had soooo much rain that our basement had flooded, and it flooded so much that it went up to the middle of the height, i never knew this, everyone kept talking about their basements flooding so it got my curiosity up. so i finally went down there, and danged if it didnt. we lost alot of stuff. but you could see the water line so it had sit there quite a while. ohhh man, i was so sad. not only that but man did it stink like sewage. so i knew that we had a leak from upstairs somewhere, OOOPS!! found that tooo!! loose wax, man those people who we bought the house from, i was not very happy about, they did not obviously know how to put the waxy stuff on the toillets!! orrrr...maybe it was my crazy kids playing with the toilette! Hee Hee we've definately learned alot from this old, and boy do i mean OLD house!! LOL i have more than hubs because i am so curious than anything how things work and such!! Granny!! i totally woulda loved to see that pic!! i bet your dh was happy!! **big grinn** Sinfonian, wonder if we could use the stairs though? because it didn't go all the way up there? hmmm......or **being goofy** how about.....put them on a huge slab of styofoam then the thing that will hold them, then if it does rain, it will rise with the water!! **BIG GRINN** ~Medo

You should have a lot of fun! My DH and I did this trip in 2000. What are you using to help you find the original segments of the route? We used the Route 66: Travelers Guide and I think we had another book but I can't remember the title for sure. Sometimes it was a challenge to puzzle out some of the directions but we went on a lot of the original route including a brick section and one of the few sections of single lane road that remains. They were having trouble getting enough money to complete the route so they built some sections just one lane (9 feet wide) to finish paving the path at about half the cost. Mostly each evening I planned the travel for the next day. The path of Route 66 changed during the time it was in use so there are often alternative routes to choose between. One of the places we stayed was the Blue Swallow Motel in New Mexico - built in 1939, each room has a garage next to it for your car which was typical at that time. Drive carefully. Here is a link that might be useful: Route 66: Travelers Guide