So long story short: here I am, ready to get my trees next week and still no holes dug yet. Winter in Colorado was unusually awful and I was buried from December through 3rd week in March. Had a couple weeks to dig holes in nice weather -- didn't, wife said too early ... and it's been crap weather since (rain all day, or snow). So this weekend the weather MIGHT cooperate ... being 50's on Sat and 60's on Sun ... so I'm thinking about getting a ditch witch with a 36" hydraulic auger on it and doing the following for each hole I dig. I have a bad back -- yeah, it's been repaired -- but I'm using the machine mainly to make things easier on myself and yes, faster. The hole locations have been determined on my plans, which have changed a bit since I last posted the plans here ... and I still need to mark them in the yard and make sure they avoid the utilites [ which have been marked ]. THe buried utilities should be 19" down (or more). When I trench my entire back yard for sprinklers, I never had a thing and was working with a 10-14" deep trench. The utility company said a minimum of 17", but that was done before my builder back-filled and additional 6-18" on top of the original grade. So I'll rake back the mulch in a 4' (or 5') wide circle around each hole location, then auger out the 3' diameter hole, only down 12-15" max. This is for the dirt to have somewhere to go without ruining too much mulch in the process. [Q: should I even worry about my 4-5" of mulch?] The plan would be to rake the mulch back around the tree (not too close) after the trees are planted. Then I'll back fill the outer 10-12" of the 3' hole by hand (shovelling) the edges to create a bowl shape hole which is full depth in the center 12-15" and then tapered to the edges with the back fill. Do I need to rake the mulch back, or could I just auger into the mulch and all? Any ideas or comments appreciated. THe local "colorado experts" still say amending is normal around here, but I'm tempted to skip it and let the trees finds happiness in what I have. I could mix some mulch in if that would help. My mulch is about 2 years old and nice and black (soil-like) on the bottom. Planting about 15 bare root trees and 15 balled and bulapped. I'm having to kind of guess on the actual size of the trees since I really don't know till next week when I go to pick them up. They are advertised as 1.25" caliper. Thanks, Scott

I've been thinking about this one all day. What you want to do doesn't have an easy answer, so the task won't be simple either. When I deliver large spiny cycads to people, I tie up the leaves so they are more upright. You may need someone else to help, but you may need to tie them up. I am known for always trying something new and have made a sleeve to tie up cycads for delivery so I don't get stuck bad. If you had some thick cloth, or better yet, burlap, if you loosely surrounded the stem and tied the top and bottom of the burlap, you could make a sleeve. You might need a second person but with this sleeve, the two of you could lift it up and it would hold all the leaves in an upright position. then untie it when you are finished.

After 15 years with an American Leather sectional couch, we are ready to replace it. The cushions are foam core with down and feather wrapping. The feathers come out by the thousands, I am sadly not exaggerating. The leather holds them in, but the black knit fabric backs and sides of the cushions are just a mess. It's like plucking chickens to try and get most of them out, but impossible to do. I am looking for advice on a better quality line than American Leather, at least when it comes to securing the feathers in the fabric inserts!

Put in a new wood like porcelain tiles from Cancos in September. Love the look and color but it has a haze when daylight shines on certain spots of the floor. Its driving me crazy!!!!!!!! I've tried lots of cleaners and cleaning methods.... Bona, vinegar and water, mr. clean, steam mop, microfiber and bissell crossover. Please help!!!! Would like to hear if anyone has come across this problem and any solutions would be greatly appreciated!