It's been cool and WET in Upstate NY. It's a good thing I got my plants in early, because that was when we were getting all the heat. Now the Tomatoes are starting to get that blight or yellow spot thingy, because we've had so much rain and the nights have been as cool as the 50s. So much for Dog Days. --my dog is shedding already...something tells me it's going to stay this cool. But I've got my fingers crossed that I'll be able to get at least a few tomatoes before the plants conk out. Lots of green ones, but no heat to ripen them up! Linda

Y'all are cooler than we are, but we have been cooler than normal a couple of nights this week. One night we went down to about 62 here, even though the high was still 100! Yesterday it was 96 in the shade on our front porch, but 68 degrees this morning. So, even though our days haven't cooled much, our nights have. We have a perpetual probleme with annual grasses too, no matter what we do. I think it is just one of the problems you have when you're in the country surrounded by thousands of acres of native grassland. On one of those days in July that we had a strong downburst with winds exceeding 45-50 mph, I came outside the next morning and there were some kind of grass seedheads piled up knee-deep (like little tumbleweeds!) along my garden fence. I picked up all I could, but still find one in the flowers or black-eyed peas every now and then. This year, the grass has been the worst ever in my garden because that 12" of rain that fell in one day in April washed grass seeds and dirt as well into my garden. So, on top of the mulch, I've had these grass seeds sprouting in the dirt that washed in. After the first freeze, I'm going to till the dirt, mulch and all, which I am sure means more grass seeds too, into that part of the garden and try to get ahead of it by mulching heaving enough that any grass that sprouts in the spring will be easy to pull. I'm loving the cool nights, but hope it doesn't mean an early fall freeze. I'm hoping for a long fall gardening season! Dawn

Hi Dorothy! I want to whine and stomp my foot and demand "Where is MY cold front?" LOL It is 100 degrees here with a heat index of 105 and no rain yet. I THOUGHT we were supposed to be around 93 to 95 degrees here today. Well, even though 100 and "feels like 105" is no picnic, it is better than 106 and "feels like 116", which is what we had last week. And, yes, I have noticed that some folks are planting their cool season crops while the soil and air are still too hot. I'll repost the fall planting dates and maybe that will help clarify things. I am glad solarizing your soil worked. I hope to solarize some of my beds soon. I've been to too many fires and wrecks in the last week and my routine is all messed up and I am behind, behind, behind. I bet if you solarize your soil, it might take care of your potato scab, unless your soil pH is just not what potatoes like. Also, I think there are some potatoes that are scab-resistant (of course, that does not mean scabproof!) and if I can think of which one or ones are scab-resistant, I'll let you know. I hope your DH is feeling well, and of course, hope the rest of y'all are well too. Dawn

Irish, thanks for posting the pics. Admission I was in a hurry and know you had to take the time to copy, paste, post to do this. Hadn't thought about the size of TV they are using. Plus the easel has to be straight instead of on an angle. I work in pastels and the easel has to be straight on. Reinforcing would be easy, but definitely necessary. My guess is those are 47" TVs by comparing the easel I have and rooms they are shown in. Mine is also 8' tall, but this could be cut down about a foot above the TV if wood. You would have about 6' to deal with. Yup, like the last one too. Cubbies are always added delights. Old or new...a great idea. Sign up for Hobby Lobby and get a 40% discount coupon or Dick Blick has a huge sale right now. Both carry a big selection. My 8' was around $75 on sale a couple of years ago. I don't think they have gone up much from then. Have never thought of what materials these are made from other than wood. I did find the same one as Restoration Hardware for $500 on another site. The specs say supporting up to a 66" TV. This easel also has a TV bracket attached to it. Which is a good idea and worth an extra $100 considering buying this separate. Also, this easel is most likely built specifically to handle the weight and balance. Run an image search for H Easels, they go on forever. I still like the idea of an old one to convert. This has been fun...thanks for the idea and posting.