Thumbs up: Removing truly invasive, non-native plants (japanse honeysuckle for instance.) Thumbs up: Using plants that (once established) can get by (most years) on whatever rain falls. Thumbs up: Plants that provide food and shelter for birds--and realizing that snakes and hawks gotta eat too. (One of my neighbors asked me if I'd figured out a way to keep the resident hawk from eating the birds who came to my feeders (I've never seen this happen.) Same neighbor was horrified when she learned that Fred the Black Snake had gotten the second round of cardinal nestlings that were in my Rose bush. Nature at it's finest! Thumbs down: Rubber mulch (except in a playground situation)and synthetic pinestraw. Thumbs down: Neighbors who ask me to design THEIR gardens...just becasue mine "looks so good." I could be flattered, but-- 1) I garden by "feel"--my designs are the product of trial, error, plant obsession, plantwalking, and some great guidance from THIS group. 2) I actually TAKE CARE of my garden. Neighbors in question will not. 3) My garden is built around serious hardscape--it provides the structure for what I plunk in place. The yards in question have little-to-no hardscape. melanie

I've been buying from Stokes for years. I think they are wonderful as well. One of the advantages for me has been the close proximity of their location to my home; about 1 1/2 hours away. I make at least one personal trip there each year. In fact, I was there Sunday. The owners and employees are very helpful and they have become great friends of mine. I talk to them frequently. Steve

One feature lacking in the Bonaire Durango is the ability to have only the pump on, to pre-wet the pads. Thankfully, the manual includes a wiring diagram, and it was easy to figure out how to add the feature. A $1.20 15 Amp toggle switch from eBay just fits next to the rest of the controls. The wire harness going to the motor runs right behind where the toggle switch is mounted. It's wired to the blue (neutral) wire. Cut the wire, added ring connectors and attached to the switch. There is just enough room to add the switch. If I did it again, I would move the switch down a tad more, removing the "OFF" part of the switch label. Now I can turn it on cool mode to activate the pump, and use the toggle switch to disable the motor.

I checked the cookbook out from the library last year. The recipes looked good but I did not feel it was one worth spending the money on as there was nothing that was truly unique to them, just variations on recipes many cooks already have. There were some nice photos of the area in which she lives. The book was guilty of one of my major pet peeves with current cookbooks: too many pictures of the author/cook. Yes, the author is quite lovely but if I am buying a cookbook, sell me the food, not a lifestyle.