First using moth balls in the manner you are describing is illegal, a violation of federal law. The active ingrediant in moth balls is a class one carcinogen so handling them strictly by the directions on the package is esential. The best way to keep the skunk, or any other critter, from taking up residence under your house is to plug any access points while they are out, or better before they decide to try cohabitating with you.

breen, I see what you mean...nothing on that form b4 hitting submit. I wonder if that might take you to a next page or something. I did not try it...not having an 'extra' email addy to try my theory. My guess is that after clicking submit there is something else to fill out...if one chooses to. I to see lots of newbies with no email link...but I also see them too with no email link but they do have a garden zone or state abbreviation behind their name. Here is my 'canned' reply to a lot of newbie traders not set up right. Welcome to Garden Web! I thought you might like to know that there is no way to email you they way your preferences are set. I suggest you go to the bottom of any page here and click on 'Member Pages'. then Edit Preferences. Then using the drop down box, set it to show your email addy to Members only. then check the box to allow others to email you via the forms here at GW. That will place a link on your member page so folks can reach you. You might also want to (while you are there) fill in your gardening zone, and your state abbreviation. I for one (and some others too)prefer to trade some things (plants anyway) with members that are maybe 400 miles away, as opposed to 1000-2000 or more. Often if I can't tell where someone is located, I just don't reply to threads started by traders....rather than turning someone down later. Happy gardening and trading! Feel free to copy and paste any or all portions of it if you like. Sue

Dear Kim, You are frustrated because to are trying to win at a game but, you don’t know the rules or how to play. If you keep trying the same things you’ll never get different results. If you allow the architecture of your building, your window, and door locations to limit your creativity you’ll continue to produce similar results. Because you become fixated on what’s not working - and blind to other layout possibilities. This is when you’ll need persistence to keep sketching until you finally run out of things that don’t work. Then you’ll discover what does work and a whole new set of possibilities will open up to you. But you must not quit! I can guarantee you haven’t tried every possible combination of appliances and cabinetry that will meet your criteria (what you expect to get from your new kitchen) and perform well for you aesthetically & functionally. So you can get the most value within the space you have available. Our Kitchen Design Ground Rules: The Purpose Every Residential Kitchen is Designed For Is to Provide Food and Beverage Service As Efficiently As Possible….to make your like in your kitchen easier and save you valuable time. All Kitchens Perform These 5 Basic Tasks Storage – Preparation – Cooking/Baking – Providing Service – Clean Up Rules For Kitchen Space Planning If You Want Your Kitchen To Perform Efficiently & Work Intuitively The Appliance dictates the Task & Its Location The Task dictates the Kitchen Items you’ll need to perform that Task The Kitchen Items dictate the best cabinet configuration and accessory to store and retrieve your Kitchen Items most efficiently. Store your Kitchen Items used frequently as close to the Appliance as possible to increase efficiency. Understanding these rules and how to apply them is how you Evaluate how well or poorly your kitchen layouts work once you create them. I like to start with the existing kitchen layout – because kitchen space planning is an evolutionary process – and evaluate it. To discover clearly with proof, Exactly where we’re starting from. What problems this layout has, and what can be done to improve its performance. This initial Evaluation will supply clues to help you resolve the problems your kitchen layout has - leading to other layout possibilities. In my experience Never less than 5 - as many as 12 to 20 different kitchen layouts. Providing you Very Different Results than, “ Here are 2 or 3 similar options pick the one you like best.” As an example of what's possible doing this Kitchen Planning Analysis, these clients of ours got to decide from 21 different kitchen layouts. Resulting in 6 very different kitchen possibilities! And yes you should do the work necessary. If you really want to make the best decisions possible in investing. Both in making this kitchen home improvement last, and making your life in it better for as long as you live here. New Kitchen = New Life...if you do it right. It’s shameful but in most cases you’ll wind up with a kitchen not much different than the one you so desperately wanted to replace...just a new version. I wish this didn't happen to anyone...but this is not the world we live in. Thorough kitchen space planning is how you avoid this from happening to you. Having no conversation with you I have no idea of what you really want to accomplish or what appliances you would love to have in a perfect world. But to get you to keep going I have attached 4 different kitchen layout possibilities 5 layouts in all. Also, You can take pieces and parts of these plans and Frankenstein them together to create still more possible layouts for you to consider. Good Luck! Demand Better Performance Joe Brandao Kitchen Performance Consultant

Yeah, hydrangeas do not perform well with all that heat from rock mulch. It is not a problem when temperatures are cool but things will go downhill as temps get warmer. If you observe the soil in the picture, it appears to be very dry. That is also not a good sign. But going back to the rocks, the heat trapped in the rocks helps the soil moisture evaporate faster than otherwise and the soil dires out faster. It also makes things rather "uncomfortable" to the hydrangea roots (many of the roots are in the top 4"). It is also possible that the leaf/stem that failed may have had a winter injury or not enough water but gosh, who knows now for sure right? Ha! ;o) For example, when Spring arrived, the injured stem/leaf bud started leafing out a little but, due to the winter injury, the small leaf/stem petered out and died. I had one Pistachio leaf/stem that did exactly that this Spring. Since the shrub was being kept well watered in winter and spring, I ruled out water issues and decided it got hit when temps cratered to 13F in January. Regarding pruning, I do not think there should be any need to prune at all unless you meant that you are pruning the dead sticks left from last year... the ones that did not leaf out by the end of May. It would be ok to prune those dead stems. The green looking stems should not need to be pruned at all.