I regularly add well composted horse manure or mushroom compost, which is manure, to growing plants. Usually to bi-annuals like apple seedlings as a mulch. I've never had problems with it burning plants. So my guess it's herbicides. I piled a couple inches onto my year old cider apple grafts from last year. And a couple inches on my blueberries. Boy did the blue berries like that! I add 3 inches of the above to raw clay and then dig it in and also maybe add a shovel or two more when transplanting. But I get my horse manure from behind the horse boarding barn.... for free. Most of the experts on this site tell us that manure is not a fertilizer; it's a soil amendment. So you'd think that you could assume that a non fertilizer wouldn't burn plants. I use manures or mushroom manure as a fertilizer and nothing else and grow nice veggies. I guess I'm confusing the issue....... One thing I know is to never get horse manure with wood chips in it; even if it's free. The manure gives you nitrogen and the wood chips take it all back.

I'd kill for good black soil. I live on limestone rubbles. Yuk. You can turn clay into very excellent soil on organic program. My mom's in Houston is very wonderful soil with full of earthworms. Drains very well, etc. The trick is not to have a bare ground at all. Bare ground makes it much worse. Last year, the rose was being sold at selected nurseries across Texas. I think it was to gauge how much interest there is for this rose before it becomes available widespread in April when it officially becomes Texas Superstar plant and being renamed as Grandma's Yellow rose (I much prefer Nacogdoches). If you want to give it a try and see how it goes, you can order one from Chamblee's. Antique Rose Emporium sells them but for some reason not online. Here is a link that might be useful: Nacogdoches

I buy and sell designer clothing (Chanel, Escada, Max Mara, Akris, Michael Kors Collection) on eBay and at thrift stores. I haven't bought from the others. Here's what I know. 1. The RealReal. A friend bought a fake Prada handbag here and had to fight for three months to get them to take it back (it was on sale, so no return unless defective). We even went to their office in San Francisco with the bag and they still took two more months to take it back without ever admitting it was a fake. She ran a thrift store in the City, so has knowledge of designer goods and they still wouldn't believe her. Overall, they are having issues with their ability to scale up and keep the level of authentication they claim to have. It's been in the press. I would not buy anything from them that wasn't 100% returnable and still hesitate to waste my time. 2. ThreadUp - For designer wear I've seen a lot of listings from them on eBay recently. My issue with their listings is a lack of photographs. When you buy anything resale, photos tell the story of the true condition and allow you to research whether or not it's fake merchandise. Their eBay listings typically have 2 photos (eBay allows up to 12 at no additional charge) even for Chanel items that can cost thousands. I would never buy under those circumstances even if the item were returnable. Knowledge is key. 3. Poshmark - I've seen a lot of cross-listings between Poshmark and eBay. Given the chance, I want the protections of eBay. 4. Local thrift - I have personally had poor luck at the national thrift stores (Goodwill/S.A.) in person. Others here have had different experiences. I find that - for example San Francisco and Seattle - they seem to put their best stuff on eBay or the Goodwill auction site now. Smaller, local cause thrift stores in wealthy areas seem to have the best merchandise. Depending on the area, prices can vary from reasonable to high and sizing always seems to lean small. 5. Consignment - Lately I've seen these shops lean high on pricing and quality varies. So I would say search and find some that align with your taste/budget and visit them often. I will say that there is some great consignment in San Francisco, a place I visit frequently. I haven't had a chance to thrift in NYC yet. 6. eBay - This is my personal comfort zone, but I've seen and reported so many fakes where they do nothing. As time has passed, I think there are more scammers here as well. So find your favorite sellers and proceed with caution. One of my favorites is Linda'sStuff. Linda's Stuff She's been on eBay forever and sells a variety of - mostly mid and high end designer stuff at good prices, always authentic and accurately described. wink, wink - or you can shop me with a number of Chanel and vintage YSL items for auction listed right now - wink-wink...... One last thing. If you buy online, I think it's best to buy brands you know the fit for your body. Any good seller will include measurements, but sometimes they don't always tell the story.

I bought the jacket at Goodwill for my daughter, for 4.99. It is by Estelle Gracer, who made one of a kind fiber arts pieces in the '70's and '80's. They sold for from 600 to 1000 dollars back then. It has an 1982 tag in it. It is crochet. I am giving it to my daughter. She is small enough to wear it, and I think it would look good with jeans. She lives in Houston, in Montrose area, and likes all the artsy fartsy stuff. She loved the jacket....or maybe you would call it a sweater. I also bought a bunch of Wolfgang Puck knives at another thrift shop. They were $2 for the chef's knives and 79 cents for the steak knives. I bought a cool, old horseshoe picture frame that is metal, marked Humershshatz, which was made in Germany. 2.99 at the same thrift. I couldn't get pics to post, so will try later.