Thanks Noogy for the wild harvesting tips. But sad to say that they do not grow in the wild here in my zone4 location. It sounds like you are onto something really good there for yourself, so congrats for that. 6 - 7 inchers you say - WOW! The longest one in my Integration Acres shipment was 3 inches. 10 days in my refrigerator at 34 degrees didn't effect them at all either. Looks to me like 3 weeks of refrigerated storage may well be within the realm of possibilities. I just finished up my shipment of I/A Paw Paws. Except for one last one that I am holding back on in order to let it ripen to its max. The riper ones were definitely best in my little home trial of about 9 or ten fruits. As far as for final taste/flavor notes goes, I will say that they tasted like, um, well - Paw Paws! The banana/pineapple/mango analogy all seems to have pertained to some minor degree. But overall there is a more overwhelming presence. And that is it's own unique Paw Paw flavor factor that has to be experiences for oneself in order to fully appreciate. I am just glad that I finally got that opportunity. And am quite pleased with the results. I would definitely recommend them to curious sorts of folks or any self described fruit connoisseurs to give them a try!

2 of the leaves on mine did the same, and I think its snails that did account for my issue, point is that something injured the tips. Mine is in full sun. I do not think they suffer from leaf tip die-back like the maculated aloes and in any case that is usually in winter. As for the new growth - seems you need little more sun. Your watering seems ok as long as you let it dry between waterings. They just do not like wet muchy soil - roots suffocate.

For one thing - runsnwalken - I have worked for and volunteered at MANY MANY MANY cat shelters, rescues, and organizations - NONE of them ever used the adoption fee to pay for declawing the cat! Especially since the adoption fee barely covers (usually it doesn't!) the care given to the cat. When adopting a cat from a legitimate rescue or shelter, the cat should have all its shots and vaccs up to date. Usually, rescues also neuter and spay the cats as well. For cats too young to get spayed or neutered, most rescues will either give you a voucher/rebate or schedule a time when you can bring your new pet to their vet and have it spayed neutered at no cost to you. Given that shots, vaccs, spaying, and neutering is so expensive why would a rescue or shelter take perfectly good cats and have them declawed when all that's going to do is cost them more money! And basically, you're scaring people away from adopting a cat and paying a reasonable fee for adopting. In my eyes, the rescues much deserve the adoption fees they charge - it costs a lot of money to care for a pet and 99.9% of the time, the adoption fees only cover the shots and maybe the spay/neuter. They don't cover all the food and medications and time spent caring for that pet. It's highly unlikely (nearly impossible) that a rescue would spend more of their money (when they have barely any money at all anyway) on declawing cats. And the whole thing about rescues and shelters giving dead bodies to food companies...maybe some hole-in-the-wall, small town shelters do that, but I seriously doubt that it's common. One book does not an expert make. Anyone can write a book about anything. Doesn't mean it's true. Sorry for rambling. That whole thing just really ticked me off. As for the soft paws, they do work but you need to know your cat first. Some cats really tolerate them well. Most cats get really irritated when you put them on, but once they are on they don't notice them. Other cats hate them and chew on them until they come off. I, personally, have never had problems. And actually, you don't always have to keep putting them on. My sister-in-law only had to put them on her cats for about 3 months. The whole time, whenever the cats would act like they were scratching at her furniture or carpets, she would scold them and place them at a scratching post. When the cats would scratch on the post, she would give them a treat. Now, her cats don't wear the soft paws anymore and they don't scratch at anything they're not supposed to. I've just started putting them on my kittens and they're doing fine with them. They never really scratched at furniture or anything, but they did use their claws to climb up furniture and after they tried to climb up my expensive leather ottoman, I went out and bough the soft claws. Now, they can't climb on stuff and I'm training them on where they can use their claws. I only have to replace 2 or 3 caps a week and that's mainly because they're kittens and their nails grow faster. Here are my tips to you: 1) Have a partner with you who can help you! If one isn't available, or if you ever need to replace a cap by yourself, wear long and thick rubber gloves. Wrap the cat tightly in an old towel with just the foot out and do it fast! 2) Make sure to reward the kitties after you cap their claws. After a few times, they won't resist and they will actually enjoy having their nails capped. Of course, some cats have different temperaments and they may never like it at all. 3) Make sure to clip the nails but only just the sharp, pointy part. Definitely don't clip too close to the quick! 4) Before gluing the caps on, try them on the claw without the glue first, just in case. Some cats don't fit in the sizing guidelines. This way, you might be able to exchange them for a different size. 5) If you have a long haired cat, you might consider trimming the hair on the feet back a bit. Sometimes if you get the hair stuck in the glue or in the cap, it really irritates them and they will chew the cap off. I have to trim the hair back on my kitties feet a little. It helps! 6) If you're still having troubles, you might consider finding a vet or groomer (groomer would be cheaper!) who would help you put the claws on. Some will do it for a pretty reasonable fee and after you watch them do it, you can usually figure it out on your own. Oh - and they also sell soft paws at Target and they're cheaper than pet stores. At Target sells them in store where I live. Just an FYI. Good luck!

That's great news about your dog, so glad to hear he's doing better. I'm wondering if the itchiness you mentioned after he's given the Apoquel could be a negative reaction to it. I read a little bit about it on Drugs.com and it seems it could be (maybe?). If it doesn't stop doing that soon, you may want to speak to the Vet about it, especially since it's a newer drug. Also, I'm so glad you "get" his need to burn energy. Our lab acts as if she's in pain if she has energy to burn. We use a doggie day care called Camp Bow Wow, it's a franchise with a couple of centers in your area. The only reason I bring this up is I know they offer 1/2 day rates and believe me 6 hours will exhaust him! But since it's indoors in a clean and controlled area, his feet will heal easier. They're also really good at watching them and stop him from chewing his feet.