Toomuch, I seldom plan ahead. I see it, I like it, I buy it. Then I wonder what the heck I'm going to do with it or where I'm going to put it. LOL. I wish I had a plan at times. NM and Marlene, just put your list in the junk train box and maybe I'll get one of you. That would be fun. I LOVE finding stuff for people. None of my local friends nor any of my family likes this sort of thing at all. sigh. All of you here are my only GJ connection. I'm just glad I found you, alone was sure depressing! (Especially when others think you may be a bit nuts, LOL.) hugs, Karen

Hi Celeste, I hope holidays were lovely for you and your family:) Thanks for sharing your photos, your scenery photos are breathtaking, how lucky are you to live in such beauty:) Your clay people are great, you're so immaginative and I love your tree person! Your flowers and roses are beautiful, I especially like Thomas Affleck. Happy New Year! Leslie

I posted something similar to this in the Garden Forum section. Was not at home for the weekend and spent yesterday morning taking a new puppy to the vet and then I locked myself inside determined to take the Christmas tree down. I sweated it out and it's down and out for the year. Next weekend I hope to have decent weather and enjoy the days outside but I need to get the bedroom straightened up, it's almost to the point of looking like a hoarder lives in it.

"Are BSF timid creatures, or am I most likely going to have them crawling on me or flying around when I'm checking out my bin?" Some people really love their BSFL, as much as we love our worms. They too worry about them when they have to leave them for a few days. My understanding is that when BSFL are about 3/4 inch long and smaller they are white. Then as they mature they turn black and hard like little armadillos. Then they hide. The flys that emerge are like large houseflies but they do not land on poop and then on food. They avoid people, poop and food and want to find a bit of rot to lay their eggs on. They fly erratically. Slow when they are just warming up. Then faster. They are black with some of their leg area white. I think you would like the fly and the mature larvae and not be afraid of them. The thing that is cool about the white larvae is if one puts lets say the remains of a fish that the fillets have been harvest from into the bin, the the BSFL boil over the remains so actively that the remains float over the top of the activity and wonder around the container while getting smaller and smaller until they are all gone. Maybe let your helper know that these types of things in the bin are normal so they will not be startled. There is the cutest youtube that shows a little girl with a handful of BSFL feeding then to her chickens. If they knew that even little girls are not afraid of them then they might be more ok with them. Me I do not even touch my worms except with a 10 inch stick. Not even with gloves on. Maybe the scarriest thing to ever happen was I had noticed a few things out of place around the bin lately. Things were a bit mess with the vermicomost. I thought I was just sloppy. One day I put food in the top of the bin and out of the bottom a mouse jumped and darted off of my leg. I screamed like a little girl. Then I laughed a lot because I screamed. Many people love furry mice as pets. Maybe not me. I wonder if he was eating my worms. I move the material around in my bin to learn what is going on. As I am more confident I know what is happening in there and as vermicomposting is not my newest hobby, and I am not possessed with knowing what is going on with the little guys, I am more likely to leave them alone. Then my activity with the bin would more resemble how sbryce advises. Like him I would flip the bottom material over for the same reasons. Or gain interest in flow through bins like I have. I would think the cloth worm inns would work nice for you. Just put the stuff food by the tons and bedding in at the top. Zip it in. Water frequently. Harvest at the bottom. Supposedly no need to separate worms. They do dry out fast but the activity of adding water is pleasant for some. Others may have fish tank change water they want to use. I would think that maybe the condition of the material might be gauged a tiny bit by just squeezing the bag. I do not have one. Some people sew their own. Having a strong enough stand to hold mega weight is important. I guess like not buying the first year of a car I am waiting for them to come out with the new and improved version. I think mine would dry out. That would be ... ... .,. very bad for the worms. A homemade plastic bin is more resilient in that way.