I don't. Even if the soil I repot a plant in doesn't say it has food in it, I still don't feed it to give the plant time to settle in and use up the nutrients that are already in the soil.

Berry, I'm in Fort Collins also. The most vulnerable part of your system is that upside down U pipe that sticks up and has the funny valve thing on it. That's the back flow device which prevents dirty water from your sprinkers from gettin into your drinking water if the City water pressure drops. Since it sticks up out of the ground, it can easily freeze which cracks the pipes. Last fall around the first week of November my buddy (who hadn't drained his) woke up at 3AM to the sound of water running. He couldn't figure out what it was so he went back to bed. In the morning when he went out to his car, he found a 10 foot geyser where his back flow valve should be. It flowed so much water he had a lake in his side yard. The ground later sunk 10 inches next to his house there. He was fearful his foundation might be damaged but luckily it was not. It cost him about 250$ to get a new one put in. That same night I had not drained mine yet either, but after hearing it was supposed to drop to 25 on the ten O'clock news, I went out and covered mine up with an old sleeping bag. Luckily mine was okay, and that next evening I turned off the water and opened the valve which lets it drain between main line and cutoff. Stupidly, some how I got so busy later that month that I never had my system blown out. Previous years I've paid anywhere from 40 to 60 bucks to get a blow out. Usually around the end of October, or beginning of November. My system is also designed to be self draining, but previously I'd never taken the risk. Well, things seemed pretty good this spring despite no fall blow out, but by midsummer I'd become aware of several new water line leaks in parts of the system where the water has no where to drain, like in the main line between the backflow valve and my valve box. I ended up having to dig up one whole branch of my system, along with that main line, replacing entire segments. Saving that 50 bucks for the blow out last fall, was not worth all the effort I ended up putting in this summer. This year, I think I'm going to cover up and drain the back flow thing within the next couple weeks (definitely before Halloween) and I think I'll wait and get the system blown out the first or 2nd week of November. If it gets dry, I can re-open and water again, up until I get the blow out. By the way, make sure you are home, and watch when they do the blow out. As he blows each section go around to where those sprinklers are and while it's blowing trace the sprinkler line back to the valve box listening carefully for bubbly sounds and looking carefully for misty air spraying up out of the ground from leaks you hadn't noticed yet. Mark each leak, so you can repair them in the spring before you start using your system. During the blow out is the best time to find leaks. Also, pay the guy cash. That will bring a smile to his face and make him more willing to help you out next time. Bruce

None. None at all. One day, about 6 years ago, I was waiting in the supermarket pharmacy for someone to get a prescription filled. they had one of those free BP machines. I sat down and tried it. The number was waaaay too high for normal...so I assumed the machine wasn't working properly. Because,I felt fine. A couple of months later, one morning, I had horrible dizziness, nausea, and very short of breath. I thought I was having a heart attack, was afraid to drive, and called 911. I walked into the ambulance,sat on the cot, and as a formality...the EMT took my BP. He yelled to the driver to turn the siren on, pushed me down on my back, dialed the hospital...and then started giving me these horrible little pills (nitroglycerin). My BP was 250 something over 180 something ! Turns out I didn't have a heart attack, but whle I was in the hospital the next few days...I lost count of how many people came in to see the woman who was walking and talking with the highest BP they had ever seen, and without having an MI.

I do much the same as Roy4. I go outside, pull weeds, deadhead, edit. The neighborhood is usually quiet other than wind, insects, birds and I can get lost in what I'm doing. And stop thinking. I should go now. My SIL just called and asked me where else to look for one of mothers hearing aids. It's not a 2000 sq foot apartment, its about 1/4 of that. Good grief, just look - since this is almost a weekly occurrence. Don't always feel the need to call me 2 hours away and try to include me in the search long distance ;0(