Agreed on sooty blotch, the dark sunken spot with the black center doesn't look like scab to me (at least not the way I normally see it present) It does look just like a type of rot we often get on our honeycrisps during wet years; but that normally shows up much later in the season....close to harvest. I don't know the name for it, but generally the apples are still harvestable and we just cut out that section. It usually has well defined edges and a narrowing cone of mushy rotten apple extending down from the surface. My experience with bitter pit is a tan "corky" area under the dimple in the skin, and a Spartan says it gets worse during storage.

Ummmmm ... that's awesomely cool until the smoldering lower part invades the spreading root system. Then you have underground fires all over the yard, breaking into flame wherever the roots near the surface. How do I know this? One of my tenants decided to deal with a big old stump by having a weekend BBQ with it as the fire pit. A week or so later, his dog was barking wildly at 2Am ... looked out the window and there were flames coming up out of the back yard in several spots.

I utilize fire rings from Cunningham Gas Products. On firebowls I use the 6" and on firepits I use the 18" or larger depending on the size of the firepit. If your placing the firebowl on top of a pool beam you must use a sleeve through the gunite and then run a copper tube through the sleeve. Noble Tile has some fire bowls that range from very affordable to very expensive. Try Googling Noble swimming pool tile for their website. I would definitely suggest using a plumber to make your gas installation on either of these features. This is a job for Pro's, many people have no idea of just how volatile Natural Gas is. See ya, Kelly Here is a link that might be useful: fire ring supplier

We did consider a blue to go with our pool tile and might have gone that route if the granite had any blue or the right greys in it. I found the fire pit online but had to order through a dealer. The guy there showed us the stock glass, but also larger pieces. Some are larger crumbles and others look like small ice cubes or gems. I think he called one of them liquid ice -- the name because of how it reflects the light and looks melted from the fire. He said some people us one color for most of the glass and then scatter some of a different color on top or use some clear or colored larger pieces to catch the light on top. If I recall correctly, our pit has a dish that is about 24 inches wide and not too deep. The glass just covers the burner and I think we needed 80 lbs of glass. The glass runs several dollars a pound, so it is easy enough to change out, but it may not be cheap -- especially if your contractor is building a large brick pit. I assume he will insert a pan for the burner and make it more shallow? You may want to ask about that.