Bamboo-san, a small pond used for soaking plants and rocks gets a regular sprinkle of the Bt granules. This type of trap/bait is a method recommended by the government. I just ordered 2 of Oak Stump's traps as well. I will report the results. Herb-sensei, you have revealed the true purpose of Zen gardens - you are brilliant. Do you have a shaved head? Does it have bites? PS: I know your mosquitos are larger and meaner that Texas mosqutos, but don't tell anyone. Jando, I once sprayed the area with a shotgun fog like Mosquito Beater. The mosquitos were gone, but as I walked around enjoying it, I literally watched bees fall out of the air. The next day revealed many lacewing and fireflies as well. I know it works, but my daughter is so fond of the frogs, etc. Andrea, my wife didn't fall for the "protect the kids" approach - she just says stay inside. The "Last Samurai" was better than I thought, but "Crouching Tiger" was better. I really need to take her to Japan!

I went today ...and I missed some speakers I really wanted to hear...they were all sold out of their garlic...most of their t.shirts were sold out and I missed athe artist to sign my copy. The lines for most all the food was so long that I limited myself to blueberry icecream, organic pizza, a drink made with organic beets, ginger, applejuice and somethingelse that was very good! I did manage to purchase a bunch of different tshirts in the political tents! I saw a neighbor who lives a few houses down from me on MDI, and other neighbors as well. I marveled the most over the cashmere goats and the angora rabbits...Admiring the spinning and carting going on at the same time. I also enjoyed watching the animals get sheared and how the wool felt fresh from being shaved and how the lanolin lingered on my fingers. I ran through every craft tent looking for leeann nikon hand painted silk scraves ( but couldnt find her --darn thats year 2 now I have missed her there!) The horse pull contest was quite incredible as DS 6yo said that the butt muscles were really large and strong! Hey I got there with only 2 hours to see everything- Next year Iam dragging my family with me on Friday and put up tents ther at the fair grounds and stay and be a part of it and actually enjoy it . I would have love to contra dance, or sit and listen to the folk singers that played all day. Or have painted up my childs face or watch them play at the large childrens section of the fair in the children events and games. It was such a blurrrrr... hey did any one get to hear Percy Schmeiser speak? Is there a video of the 2 days he spoke? Lynn Miller looked like a great one,too as well as Jason Kafka... Never again will I do what I did this year and just dart in at the last 2 hours on the last day! I did get a good deal on Sweet Annie!

I find in coastal southern New England winter starts a lot later then everyone seems to think. Everyone schedules stuff for the summer, and activities/festivals grind to a halt when September 1 hits even though 90F days are more common then Snow in September. The inevitable September heat wave always surprises everyone. Everyone goes into full-on winter wonderland mode in November (or late October)...but most of the serious snow around Boston and Rhode Island comes in January or February. Generally people get sick of the winter wonderland stuff before REAL winter hits most years. We have this image (conjured by Christmas cards and the traumatic memories of a few bad winters) of the ground being continuously covered in snow all winter, but that is rarely the case around Boston or Rhode Island. Late Summer: Beach Season, Music Festival Season, Summer Vacation, mosquitoes, miserable heat waves in the city. People go into gardening mode even though it is a terrible time to plant trees. Early Fall: People go into mourning, cancel social events, and wait, terrified of impending snow while sweating in heat waves. School starts. Lecture Season. People should be planting trees and bulbs but don't. Late Fall/Early Winter: People realize it isn't terrible, come out of their holes, and start scheduling stuff. People have forgotten how to deal with snow so overreact to any that occurs. Halloween/Thanksgiving/Christmas blitz. Late Winter: Real Snow storms hit when people finally think it isn't going to happen this year. People are sick of snow. Oddly they schedule more stuff then in the balmy days of early Fall. They feel like old pros where snow is concerned. Early Spring: Occasional snow storms confuse people. Mud Season. Late Spring/Early Summer: Great weather when it isn't raining. Mosquitoes. Mother's Day/Father's Day/Graduation Season. People start planting trees, shrubs, and bulbs way too late.

Hi Sharon, Just wanted to add another welcome to New England. My mom lived in Peabody until last year, and I used to live in Peabody, but that was another lifetime ago. It's a nice town. Now I live a little further south and west of you. You will get snow. My mom always used to get snow whenever we did, just a little less, because of your proximity to the coast. I grew up here, but I did buy the Northeast Gardening book by Sunset. I guess it's an ok book, I don't know why I bought it. A compulsion to buy books, I guess. :-) There is nothing like actual experience, and I have gardened and lived here all my life, so I can't really say if the info in there will be useful to someone from Calif. But just wanted to let you know that there is a Sunset gardening book for the Northeast, and it's a big thick book. Besides all the other stuff people have mentioned, I would recommend that you get a good book about New England wildflowers, if that interests you. (I have one, but unfortunately I can't put my hands on it right this second, so I can't tell you the title, but I'll keep looking for it) There are a lot of wildflowers and spring ephemerals that show up briefly in the spring along with the early bulbs that help make spring a joy after all the cold and snow. You don't want to pull one thinking it's a weed. Some ARE weeds, but others like bloodroot and jack-in-the-pulpit, are great to have. If I were you I would wait to order bulbs and see what you may already have in the spring. All the foliage from daffs and tulips and crocuses has died back, so like others have said, you may not know what else you have. Oh BTW, the fall foliage is a real treat. Just wait a few weeks. You don't have to go anywhere special to see it. Just drive or walk anywhere and you will see some gorgeous fall colors. Keep coming here to GW too, it will keep you sane in the winter. Alison