Sit on seat, let right hand drop down, feel starter button on a tin lid. Remove two screws and remove tin lid. Clean out any accumulation of leaves, dirt, mouse nests, clean contacts on starter button. If mower has been stored, check the engine shroud. Remove it, and check for mouse nests under it, and for a chewed off ignition cable to spark plug! How do i know this?? I just went out to start mine, and found exactly what i have described! I have a 1983 Snapper. It sat for a month in my old garage. Went to start it today. Didn't! Checked engine shroud, and found it stuffed with paper, etc. Haven't removed it-tomorrow will be the day!

I'm in Michigan, too. I echo what the others have said. I am a fan of the aluminum pans with clear plastic lids. but I think the milk jugs are probably the most secure and time tested. Here's what I do with my foil pans: I make sure they are at least three inches deep, and that the clear top is about 1 1/2 to 2 inches high at least. I move them to shade as soon at it gets warmer- the aluminum tends to cook the roots if not. I start them in sun until about late February, then I move them to partial shade. Also, remember that foil pans need more venting as it gets warmer- just make the holes bigger. If there's condensation on the inside of the clear top, there's no need to water-- but also remember that condensation can become boiling water. foil pans do need a bit more tneding than milk jugs. I work full time too. I just do my moving around and tending on the weekends and in the early evening. When in doubt, I have learned that more shade is better. I water them thoroughly BEFORE putting in the seeds. It took me three years to fugur out that if I poked the drainiage holes, filled with soil, and then set the container in a roaster pan fullof water it would suck up the exact right amount of water in less than ten minutes. Plus, less messy for my hadns. Then I press the seeds very lightly into the moist soil. When I planted seeds to deep, they did not germinate. they may heve germinated, but they couldn't make it allthe way to the surface. Remember, the rule is no deeper that half the diameter of the seed. In my humble opinion, the freeze/thaw cycle will pull them down farther anyway, so lightly pressing is much better. I had several failures becuase I pressed seeds in too far. My first year, I made deep holes with a pencli, and buried tiny little seeds in them. later, I realized that a deep hole is usually only good for sunflower seeds, and sometimes even too much for that. Also, top watering tended to wash some seeds away or down the sides of the container. Sometimes what I thought was no germination was actually no seeds left. I stuck with perennials all the way through February. Didn't start any annuals till March or later. I had really good luck with these perennials: Black Eyed Susan Gaillardia Evening primrose (not a beautiful plant, but a great confidence booster) Daisies and several other natives. If you email me, I woudl be happy to send you a Bubble envelope full of seeds that have worked well for me here in Michigan.

Reading about bread boxes reminds me of this story. Years ago, I drove to Florida with my sister and her boys, who were almost 5 and 7. We decided to teach them the game 20 questions to help pass the time. My first question was "is it bigger than a bread box?" They didn't know what a bread box was so we changed it to "is it bigger than a loaf of bread?" Kids being creatures of habit, they insisted we start each round of questions with that one. The next day the almost 5 yo asked if we could play 8 guesses again. He was so cute and funny. Still is at 26 yo.

They make great gift wrappings. If their decoration doesn't fit the occasion there's always spray paint. Screw the bottoms into a wall (the stud preferably) with two screws so they won't turn and use them for storing season packettes or other small items in your pantry. If you have a number of them the same size you can make one of those funny looking footstools that coffee cans used to be used to make. Store Leggos or other small toy parts in them. Fill them with sand and cover the outside with fabric and use them as a doorstop. Use one to hold a first aide kit in to keep at home or in your vehicle. If you have a very pretty one you can add cabinet knobs for feet to the bottoms and one to the center of the top for a handle. If it's not so pretty you can cover it with fabric and trim to make it pretty.