I have had Colocasia, Callas and Impatiens growing in my pond without a problem for years. There are also plants on the list that I have planted in the beds around my pond. None of them, as far as I know, have ever caused any problems to my fish. "Horton"

My fig tree is in 4th year and growing well. This year it went from 4 feet to 8 feet and produced many figs in late Oct. I have covered it in past years. Should I do the same each year? If so what can I use to cover such a large plant? It is in the south east corner of my home in a boxed out alcove, protected on 2 sides, with two 3' other plants in front of it. What do you think. Thank you.

We just moved up here from Louisiana, and it's those folks down there who are largely responsible for this. Salvia isn't the only plant that they've decided to outlaw (I don't believe the rest of the country is following on anything but the s.d.). It's going to be impossible to enforce, but they've taken a whole list from some outdated book from the 70s and made them all illegal to grow. I'm glad I'm not gardening down there anymore (I also don't have weed year round!). Ages ago, I smoked salvia divinorum (hey, it was legal, and I like to explore my psyche), and I can say that it should not be sold in headshops in little baggies to kids as a party drug. It's a potent entheogen. Ritually used, it's really something. But it does act on the opiate receptor in the brain, which makes me think it could become addictive (never for me, because the self-examination was too intense, the way I used it, to want to repeat very often). From what I understand, the kids were smoking it, along with doing pills and alcohol, and then either falling over or running their heads into walls or equally idiotic and destructive things. (It's a sad aspect of American culture that we legislate everything to parent the least capable, as if there's no middle way between absolute prohibition and absolute deregulation.) I hope this post goes through. I'm not only new to Oswego, but new to this board. I tried to post something about hummingbirds when I first registered, but it never showed up. (It was a thank you to Penny for the hummingbird map...I've got it bookmarked and check it, waiting for those little flying jewels...)

Most Air conditioner's are oversized, some by a lot. In milder climates I prefer slightly undersizing the A/C equipment. That improves SEER Performance, compared to lowering the SEER Rating when oversizing. The correct sizing of residential air conditioning systems & ductwork is crucial to ensuring proper indoor space conditioning, equipment performance, and economical operation. Unfortunately, many A/C contractors measure "correct sizing" by the system's ability to meet any indoor thermostat setting at any outdoor temperature. That method of sizing will lead to inefficient operation for the vast majority of conditioning time. Air conditioning systems "must be sized to meet typical or average indoor and outdoor conditions to ensure proper air mixing, filtration and dehumidification of indoor air across seasonal variations." - udarrell Here is a link that might be useful: The Air Side of Air Conditioning