I have no clue how this reached me. It looks like(after our German Shepherd pup ripped it apart)a cedar tree and some green leafed tree?? If anyone can relate to this, please let me know. Thanks

Thanks all for the very nice comments! Where to begin? First off, Quercus m. they are definitely Thuja o's. One of my main requirements in my search was to end up in what I call the "cedar belt", which is just my term for the area of this state where white cedar is most abundant and does the best. Quircky, were I not such a dunce, I'd be happy to oblige with photos. That may come along in time. Basic, your offer of red pine seedlings is very heartfelt. Who knows? I may take you up on that offer some day. And you're right, this is a moist area. There is a very active spring, either on the part I bought or just adjacent to it. And the soil has some clay in it, which I consider a good thing. I know from your past posts that you're in a sandy area, and that can be cool too. But I'm happy with this soil situation. Vancleave, you may be in jest with the wolves comment, but yes, they're around. We have an unfortunate anti-wolf backlash around here because of a few incidents with dogs or livestock being killed, but I'm still firmly in the camp that believes top predators belong as part of the scene. Pam, thanks for your words. You and I are on the same wavelength in many ways. Misssherry, likewise, I feel a kinship with you in appreciation of all that is wild and vital. And Ken, good to hear from you as well. Finally, Spruce, I will definitely seek out your knowledge on the planting. I totally agree that NS/larch belong together. Fall coloration has got to be spectacular where these two grow alongside each other. Truth is, before this is over, some of you may grow tired of my writings on it. And yes, I will be posting a more targeted thread on tree seedling establishment issues, and related topics, when I get closer to the fun stuff. Between now and then, I've got a lot of more mundane aspects to deal with. Some very simple things, like getting a culvert put in so we can access the property, etc, etc. BTW, the guy I'm buying the land from will still have about 60 acres of his own. He stated to me once that he'd like to see more of it reforested. So who knows, there could be a cooperative venture coming. For the coming summer, I will probably try to rent out the alfalfa acreage to whoever has been working it up 'til now. Then, come Fall, I can prepare properly for the following Springs planting. And yes, Norway spruce will probably be one of the first things to go in. That and white fir, if I do elect to work with that species, as it too is not especially fast growing at first. And while I will be going into this in more detail later, my basic philosophy is to plant groupings of a given species, both for aesthetic reasons, and so that any given plant will be in competition primarily with others of its own kind. But I do want to juxtapose each type with the others, so some blending will occur. thanks again.....+oM

Well, that puts a whole different cast on things. And, no need to apologize for being "long winded." Nobody ever accused me of being brief. Being explicit often helps get the information you need. If I were looking to sell and move in a couple of years, my own inclinations would come from working on my own houses and working with and for remodelers and renovators. (The video business sometimes gets pretty slow so I've had a checkered career over the last couple of decades.). Let me just say that I would be reluctant to spend any more on the kitchen renovation than I had to. It is very difficult to predict buyers' tastes, HGTV to the contrary notwithstanding. Simply put, some buyers will love what you do, some won't care one way or the other, and some will start gutting your kitchen the day after closing. I'll offer these thoughts for the things I'd consider for renovation for a near term sale. (a) wherever you put the new stove location, run both a 240v line and a gas line for maximum flexibility. You or anybody who comes after you can put in whatever kind of stove they like, gas, duel fuel, coil burner, radiant smoothtop or induction. Around here, that seems to matter more than the stove you leave behind. YMMV, of course. (This advice assumes that you do not have a slab-on grade house or major difficulties in running either new electrical or new gas plumbing.) (b) I'd skip the counter-depth fridge. As with slide-in ranges versus freestanding ranges, you may be paying a very large premium in price (and diminished storage capacity) for what may be mostly an aesthetic advantage. Again, YYMV, though. I don't know the specifics of your kitchen or the market for your house. There can be places where a CD fridge might be the only practical choice for the space and places where hardly any buyers care about refrigerator capacity. (c) Unless I were planning on taking the stove with me, I would skip consideration of any of the more expensive induction ranges. Actually, I would seriously consider that Samsung FTQ induction range simply because of the price. Assuming, of course, that the burner layout is not too weird for you. Like most induction ranges, It should be very easy to keep clean for showings. (Read the cleaning tips here, buy some microfiber towels, and get some cermic-glass cooktop cleaner/polish.) FWIW, Consumer Reports had the FTQ on its list of recommended induction ranges through the end of last year, two years after Samsung discontinued the model. As long as yours was made after 2010, it shouldn't have the cooling fan problems that generated most of the adverse comments. You might be using it only for next two years and it very likely will outlast that time. (It might last for decades. We just don't know.) At a clearance price, it should be far and away the least expensive choice, down there with coil burner ranges. It will likely beat the pants off any other inexpensive range you might put in there, both in terms of cooking capacity and ease of cleaning. Depending on your neighborhood and your real estate market, it could give you a bit of additional cachet -- "gourmet kitchen with induction range" and all that. Meanwhile, If "hubby" is doing his Mario imitations with Batali branded cookware, so much the better. The Batali enameled cast-iron (made, I think, by Dansk) works very, very well on induction. A final comment from a couple of posts back. You are in the NY area? Have a look at AJ Madison. The freestanding GE is currently $1709 there. If you can wait to the Labor Day sales, the least expensive Kenmore induction range will likely be under $1300. I've seen the current lower-end Samsung induction range, the NE595NOPBSR, down around $1200. (More conventional burner arrangement and pretty highly rated by CR, for what that is worth.) Since the Samsung FTQ has been discontinued for a couple of years, I'd offer $700 for it. Maybe have a look at what Sears is asking for ranges on the clearance pages.

It's been about 3 or 4 years ago, so they may have changed something by now, but we had the TOP of the line Karastan carpet with a similar texture to your 1st photo. The wear in front of two chairs and a sofa after less than 2 years was completely unacceptable. Very disappointing! Looked like it had been there 20 years.