Great set-up, Kristi! And a wonderful use for a product that almost has no use any longer, due to the ice dispensers on newer refrigerators! Looking good! I've tried the flotation method in water for seed starting, and I prefer to simply plant them directly into soil, though both methods work equally well. I make little slits in the soil and plop in a seed on its side... I'd say they get covered with a 1/4 inch of soil, or less. In other words, I barely cover them, but I make sure there's good soil to seed contact. For me, the trick is bottom heating with a pad made for the purpose of seed starting and cutting rooting. My flats of seeds are on a heat pad and under lights. Last spring, I started a flat of Hippeastrum seeds outdoors, and I placed in on the concrete pad in front of the garage. The flat got morning sun, and I had great germination and growth... by autumn, I was able to transplant the little seedlings into larger pots and bring them indoors. Thanks for sharing those photos, Kristi! Very helpful!

Here's a little more information about Amazon and email addresses which sheds a some light on the topic. This information isn't from an official Amazon or Target source, just from public comment but it seems to say that Amazon isn't selling our email addresses but that they share our tracking cookie data - and we all know how prevalent that is on the internet. .................from the Amazon forum............ Posted on Mar 1, 2011 1:43:37 PM PST PF says: They don't sell emails, but they do share tracking cookie data with their third party affiliates and partners. Target and Google are probably the biggest examples in addition to the Square Trade example L. Leverton posted above. Those companies will share Amazon's tracking cookies and know your browsing and purchase history unless you specifically opt out. You are not identified by name, address, financial data or email in those cookies. There is just a tracker showing that one computer user searched or bought certain items. The activity is not logged to a specific person, just the hardware you are using. So Amazon does not supply them with your email address, but the Amazon tracking cookies have logged your IP address and a few other encrypted identifiers. If you have existing business relationships with those adverting partner sites, they have enough data to send targeted advertising to the email address you have on record with that company. You can opt out of personalized advertising services so that affiliates and third parties do not get your tracking cookie information: http://www.amazon.com/gp/advertising/oo/ref=ya_64 If you use Gmail, you also have to tweak the advertising settings on their end. Amazon uses Google Analytics as one of their personalized advertising partners. Just by using Amazon's site, you give permission for Google to track your browsing and purchase history. You have to opt out of allowing Google to forward offers from their own third party advertising partners to a Gmail account. http://www.google.com/privacy/ads/ ......................................................... NPR had an informative (and scary) segment a few months on how companies track and store our data. Google is notorious for this. I know how limited I am to avoid all of this. So from my end I follow the normal precautions - select good passwords, change them regularly, monitor my credit cards etc. And while I have a debit card I don't use it or carry it. Maire Here is a link that might be useful: Amazon group discussions This post was edited by maire_cate on Sat, Jan 18, 14 at 14:00

Well put, Bill! One can never forget the basics of firearm safety. Tradgies like the one you mention are fuel for the fire of anti-hunting people who would like to see all of us turned out of the forest for the sins of a few. I cringe when I am in the woods and here mutiple gunshots, one right after another. Why do some people not relize those bullets are going somewhere and can hit anything that is in their path? We are responsible for the image we create of ourselves and our sport and, quite honestly, there are some who are ruining it for everyone. Two more basic rules that should NEVER be forgotten - 1 - Treat every gun as if it is loaded. ['Nuff said!] 2 - Never point a weapon at anything that you do not intend to shoot. [A scope is not a set of binoculars!] Thanks Bill for the reminder! nova

Yep, unless specified e.g. "made in USA" or "artisan made" (like global fair trade items, not very common at Target/WM but oddly enough quite available at O'stock) it's made in China etc. in sweatshops/factories. "Imported" generally means the worst possible scenario. Now, I just looked up Avington and the page states "Made in the USA or Imported". LOL! Clever, clever Target. Like saying 'This flavoring is either real or artificial". You are free to choose which you'd like to believe, but since they won't commit to the better choice, I'd go with the Chinese sweatshop as more likely. Of course, Target's not alone in this, and the Avington collection seems to be well made, so it sounds like at least that factory had good quality control.