yes Ken, you'd think that would not be allowed. Our problem thus far has been that here,there are very few concrete zoning laws to protect homeowners, and those that are on the books are sometimes hard to get enforced. No set back rules, etc. We've been told by various people that they much prefer the homeowners hash it out themselves in court. Well, needless to say that can get pricey, so we have to weigh what we'll get out of it if we go that way. We did get the city to tell them the fence, which was originally at 4' from the back of our property line all the way to the front sidewalk, had to be lowered to 3'in the front yard. Now we're just waiting on the "decorative only in front yard" to be upheld. We've been corresponding with some good people and are hopeful that this will happen. The ugly thing is so close to our house it looks like it's ours, people have asked us about it. This guy lives on the corner facing a side street, so he doesn't think that front yard rules apply to him, or so he says. He's a pusher, and it's all about what's his. If he could stand in the middle of the yard and urinate on the lot line to mark his territory I believe he would. LOL! In the meantime we are trying to make the best of a very bad situation, by seeing what we can do on our property to camouflage his fence and give ourselves a break from looking at him. The distance between our homes gradually widens as it moves into the back yard, so we have more options there. But narrow growing, perennial,evergreen type plants that can be kept to 3' are hard to come by.

I'm with Token, deanna_in_nh and the others who don't cover anything but the largest seeds like morning glory and sweet pea. Frost heave seems to take care of whatever covering the seeds need just like in nature. Nature doesn't sprinkle anything lightly over seeds. But we are looking for somewhat better germination than nature often provides. So I avoid smoothing the top of my soil once it goes in the containers. If I think the seeds did not get good contact with the soil, I pat the top of the soil very lightly with a dry hand and dust off any seeds or soil that might adhere to my hand anyway back into the container. Doing it this way can mean that germination can be a bit uneven, but by second set of true leaves I find that the plants are uniform enough for HOS planting. As for water, I pretty much bottom water completely with all containers. My soil is pretty moist (just less than wet) when I sow. I put smaller conatiner like cups in the large aluminum foil catering trays. I make four slits on the trays about 2 inches up from the bottom (two on each long side) so that rain cannot over fill the containers. Larger containers stay moist enough through germination from condensation and what snow and rain get in through the top vent holes. I also use a couple of other catering trays to bottom water larger conatiners once the weather gets warm enough or germination enough to have to open containers so that evaporation starts drying them out. I move the larger containers in and out of the "watering tray" leaving each set in about 4 hours or overnight. How often the large containers need this water depend on heat and rain, but not very often. That stage only lasts a couple of weeks at most (if I need to do it at all) before the plants are sturdy enough for hose watering on the gentle or sprinkle setting. KimKa

I work for a big box retailer and have probably delivered 1000 refrgerators. Probably an under estimate. That damn plastic is the worst part of the job! Whoever came up with it needs to be taken out and shot. It’s a manufacturing defect, Some manufacturers have plastic that peels off with no effort at all, and some you can spend a half hour peeling it off one inch at a time. If one manufacturer can do it right, then they can all do it right. Frigidaire and Whirlpool and GE, I’m talking to you! You can take a sharp razor blade and steadily run it down the inside edge. You never get it all off, but you can get close and make it a lot less noticeable. The problem with that is, of course, some people don’t want a razor on their new fridge. At that point, you give up and tell them to invest in a pair of tweezers. If you want to complain, complain to the manufacturer. Your delivery people didn’t put that crap on there. It’s your fridge, so deal with it! The cheaper the fridge, the harder it is to get off. Complain to the manufacturer! Complain to the manufacturer! Complain to the manufacturer!

To tell you the truth, I did not have time to check for pips tonight. I drove up to the front of my co-op. Parking is always a problem because of a nearby city college down the street. Their inconsiderate students take up ALL the available parking on my street and around the area. I came home tired tonight, ready to count pips. But someone was parked in their car right in front of my co-op taking up 2 precious spaces. I rolled down my window and said, "Could you please pull up a couple of feet, so that I can park behind you?" She started throwing filthy words at me that started with "b" (!) and called me a racist, etc. and then said that because I asked, she would not move. I told her that such filthy remarks do a disservice to her people and that it was inappropriate to respond with such behavior in response to a simple and courteous request. She got out of her car and started to shove me, threaten me, all the while taking cell phones pics of me (it was already dark) and screaming filthy words and racial epithets to me. I called 911 and gave them her license number. Then she hastily pulled away. The cops came and I described the situation. They agreed that if I was the aggressor, I would not have been the one to call 911. We gave each other a "gangsta" handshake and the cops left. At the end of this, I was soooo totally angry. I have to put up with this sort of behavior all day at the high school where I work and now when I come home, it comes from a so-called adult. I will try to count pips tomorrow. Jeez!