"It is getting water from the drip so I know it's not a water problem" I would think that that would be a strong reason to suspect it might be a water problem. If the soil is staying too wet, the tree will suffer or die. "I do not know how to attatch a picture" One of the easiest ways to provide your photo to be embedded into a post is to upload it onto an image hosting site such as Photobucket, Flickr, etc. That should be pretty straight forward, and the individual sites will give instructions on how to get your photos uploaded to their site when you sign up. Once your picture has been uploaded, find its image location address (URL) by right clicking on the image and copying the image location. The URL will look something like: http://somepicturesite.com/yourpicture.jpg. Some sites may even provide the appropriate HTML code in a text box below the photo for your convenience. It will be the one that begins with a href=... (This code looks different than the code below, because it will actually produce a picture link instead of just a picture.) Let's say, as an example, that the address of the picture you want to post is http://somepicturesite.com/yourpicture.jpg To embed the picture into a post, use the command: img src="http://somepicturesite.com/yourpicture.jpg"> _____________________________________ If your picture is too large to fit nicely into the text page, you can add a width attribute. The command with the width attribute would look something like: img src="http://somepicturesite.com/yourpicture.jpg" width=600> _____________________________________ Another option is to use a text link which might be beneficial to people on slow connections. To do this, use the command: a href="http://somepicturesite.com/yourpicture.jpg">your text goes here/a> _____________________________________ Note that I had to use special characters to get the commands above to show up here without turning into pictures, but you can use them as shown (with the correct image web address).

Well, thank you so much for the info! I'll do some in-depth reading on girdling and how to prevent it possibly happening in the future. I can't afford to hire an arborist especially since it looks like the tree is probably a goner. I'm looking forward to my new crab! I've narrowed it down to Donald Wyman, Sugartyme, Adams,Christmas Holly, Indian Summer,.... well, I'm trying to narrow it down!!!!!

I wouldn't say I'm an over achiever, but I do like lots of detail so I'll go with Colleen and do both. Plus since I haven't participated before, the more info might make it easier on my partner. Please tell us a little about yourself and your eating and cooking style. Who lives with you, favorite colors, hobbies etc. I live with my DW in an old [circa 1825] house with our dog and 8 cats. We've been together 31 years. In one of my several incarnations I was a chef so our cooking depends mostly on how mobile I am. Sometimes I do quite a bit of the cooking and at times most is left to Christy. Luckily she's learned much during our 31 years together. I'm half Italian so I do cook lots of Italian, but love non hot Mexican, regional American, French, Chinese, etc. My favorite color is purple and the non color black. I'm also an artist and draw, sometimes paint watercolors or sculpt. I crochet in a very basic manner and know only basic knitting stitches. Love to garden but can't do too much anymore. Luckily I'm surrounded by the best of the Garden State for food needs and also lucky that I concentrated on perennials when I did garden more. Your favorite cookbook. Types of cookbooks you always look at. Do you like to write in your cookbooks when you find you need to alter a recipe to make it work or do you believe books should not be written in? My favorite all time cookbook is James Beard's American Cookery. Good recipes but I love the way he wrote. I have a extensive cookbook collection and love all types of cookbooks. Favorites are the old time pamphlet cookbooks, to the many incarnations of the Betty Crocker Cookbook. I too read cookbooks for pleasure. I do write in them and love used cookbooks that others have written in. Do you like jam? Love it. Do you like jelly? Very much so. Apple is a favorite. Do you like marmalade? Not so much. Do you like pickles? Not spicy but do love dills. Do you like spicy food? Well spiced, but not hot. I don't eat black pepper if I can help it, but can eat a bit of cayenne much easier. What are your favorite fruits? Any you do not like? Love fruit and can't think of any I don't like... ah.. except cantaloupe. Do you have a strong sweet tooth or you more of a savory person? I do have a sweet tooth. 1. Where do you live? I live in a tiny town in rural New Jersey, surrounded by farms of the horse, tree and food varieties. 2. Do you grill/eat outdoors often? Do you pack up a picnic basket or typically eat in the yard or kitchen? We grill fairly often in the summer but then eat indoors. 3. What colors do you use on your porch/patio/outdoor eating area? Not really any particular color. 4. Do you use your regular dishes or do you have special dishes/serving ware for outdoors? Or are you a paper plate/paper napkin kind of girl/guy? Depends. I don't like using paper products too much but when I'm not getting around Christy likes to use paper plates so she doesn't have as much to wash up since we don't use a dishwasher. I do use cloth napkins though. 5. Are your summertime gatherings more casual or formal? Casual. 6. Do you like to try the latest kitchen gadgets? I love gadgets and have lots. I like to collect old/antique gadgets too. 7. What are your favorite summer drinks? Desserts? Snacks? I drink seltzer as my continual drink. Raspberry. Unsweetened only. I have a 2 gallon crock that I make iced tea for the summer in or lemonade. Neither of us really drink alcohol any more although we keep some around. I'll drink Asti or champagne but don't like other wines. Desserts we eat mostly fruit, but I do like to bake and we like most anything with lemon, chocolate or other fruits. We make ice cream fairly often in the summer. Snacks consist of dark pretzels or a hunk of very dark chocolate. I don't care for milk chocolate, plus the dark doesn't seem to affect my glucose levels. Smiles. 8. What are your favorite summertime cooking/eating/entertaining activities? Do you spend time boating, at a cabin, around a campfire....etc.? We haven't been doing much the past couple years but we like to rent a cabin on a lake or down the shore when finances allow. Mostly we just love to lounge around and read, eat Jersey tomatoes and white corn and play with our animals. 9. Do you garden and/or grow your own veggies and fruits? Are you one who likes to can and preserve? I love to garden but don't do much anymore. I do have several friends who have produce stands on their farms so it's easy and close to get great veggies and fruit. I like to can but have done more freezing lately. I plan to get out the big pressure canner this year though. 10. Barefoot or flip flops? Always barefoot whenever possible and sometimes when not advised. Smiles. I've been known to run outside in the snow barefoot for a few minutes. We always kid about how hard it is to get me in shoes. I like to say my feet are claustrophobic. Smiles. Hope this helps.

So first please tell us a little about yourself and your eating and cooking style. Who lives with you, favorite colors, hobbies etc. (This will be my first swap and I am really looking forward to it so here goes: Love food of all kinds and love to cook. I like trying new and differant things, like to challenge myself in the kitchen, and enjoy cooking more gourmet style than just the norm. Love salads and veggies, and usually try to have those with every meal. Not so much of a fruit person during winter although I love mandarin oranges and fruit salads. In summer I love fresh berries! I have a husband who travels a fair bit and loves food and trying new things , as well as a fourteen year old son who is also quite the foodie. (he has a real knack for seasoning foods). We have a little rat terrier dog named Jet. My favorite colours are black, aubergine, burgundy, gold. I love to paint and do artwork, crafts, decorate, and although I definately don't love it I do do alot of gardening in the summer. Then, I would like to know your favorite cookbook. Types of cookbooks you always look at. Do you like to write in your cookbooks when you find you need to alter a recipe to make it work or do you believe books should not be written in? (This would be another hobby of mine. I love cookbooks! Love reading them, the way people read novels. I don't really have a favorite as I am constantly using all of them as well as new ones. I have hundreds! Had to stop collecting food magazines as I was running out of places to put them, and I hate to throw them away!. The librarian's hear know me on a first name basis, as when I am getting ready to do a dinner party I have been known to take out fifty books at a time, often ordering them in from other cities. I do write in my cookbooks, especially if I have altered a recipe. Although I always like to note whether the recipe was excellant, good or not worth making again. This is for for whoever inherits the books as I never forget a recipe once I have made it. I love scouring the internet for recipes as well and have collected thousands. Now a little canned goods questionnaire LOL, remember many folks in this swap can so even if I am not your partner this could be very important... Do you like jam? I love jam for ccoking or glazing, or using in a recipe, but no one in are family eats it on bread or toast. Do you like jelly? Use Jelly the same as jam. Do you like marmalade? Use marmalade the same as jam or jelly. We have a place near us that makes a large assortment of specialty jams and jellies that change with the seasons. She ships them scross Canada, and I go there quite a bit to pick up some gourmet varietes for cooking with. Do you like pickles? Love pickles Do you like spicy food? I love med spicy food, I don't like it when it is so hot it burns your mouth. What are your favorite fruits? Any you do not like? I like pretty much all fruits. Do you have a strong sweet tooth or you more of a savory person? I have a strong sweet tooth, and usually it is for something chocolatey. I love brownies and chocolate cake. Like cheesecakes, but I don't love them as I find they are usually a little heavy for my taste. Shelley