I am thankful my sister will only have to work her second job two more months. And that she is getting away from him, even though she loves him so much, and they've been together for 20 years. I am thankful I have both parents this year. It's unlikely to be the same at the end of next year, but I'm soaking it up while I can. I am thankful that Mom's in better health than past years. I am thankful I appear to be over all of my health hurdles. I am thankful I have a big bro that can fix my car and that the car is in pretty good shape. I am hoping to have the car one last summer for convertible enjoyment. It looks like she'll make it! I am thankful for a very bright, but very very very sweet son. He is such a joy to be around. I am thankful for my job where I do what I am fantastic at, but more importantly, with people I love. I am thankful for living in a place that is beautiful, and free, and full of promise...

You're not really pushing the zones here. I know several people in zone 5 that grow all those roses. You've buried them deep so I wouldn't worry too much about that. As for the late freeze protection there isn't much I know of that you can do to stop it. There are those rose cones but I NEVER recommend them because in my opinion they have too many draw backs. First off you have to cut the rose way down in the fall to get the cones over the roses. Don't prune in the fall. You are cutting off all the stored energy in the canes that they will need to come back with in the spring. If they're very tall you can stake and tie them up to prevent them from whipping in the wind and being damaged. Secondly, unless you cut the tops off or punch holes in them, which sort of ruins their integrity and purpose, they can get too warm in the spring and cook your rose. Third, they're like petri dishes for fungal spores because they prevent air circulation and moisture will build up inside them. Warm and moist is fungal heaven! The only other thing I can think of would be to wrap them with burlap like you see shrubs wrapped sometimes for winter. This helps protect them from the drying winds of winter as well as perhaps evening the temps out to prevent early leaf bud that could be lost to a late frost.

I just had the pleasure of decapitating one of these female Gray Bird Grasshoppers yesterday. It was a long "cat and mouse game", a lot of watching and waiting... I squished it good at least three times, and every time, the thing just got up and flew around me! Yuck! When I finally managed decapitate it, with a PVC pipe, the head kept moving on the ground for a long time... Like really gross and spaced out sci fi! I have several types of 12" vegetables growing in eight raised beds with PVC pipe arches in them. The arches are draped with Home Depot 1/4"-hole, black bird netting and securely fastened around the bottom of the bed, literally Fort Knox! and something keeps getting in to the beds to consume literally ALL the leaves over night, leaving only bare stalks. It's so frustrating! Could this moma-sized Gray Bird Grasshopper have been the lone culprit? Is she squeezing through squares in the netting at night and heading out during the day? Are there many more hoppers hiding from me? Or is it another bug doing the damage? I don't know....Help!

I understand the restrictions of the typical subdivision. If you live in a community that is more relaxed about having chickens, having 3-4 for a typical-sized yard can be really awesome though. In Paul Wheaton's podcast on methods for raising chickens, he talks about the pros and cons of different management systems. While some of the info is more helpful to people specifically focused on raising chickens, there is a lot of good info spread throughout that is good for anyone raising any number of chickens on any size property. Here is a link that might be useful: Chicken podcast