Yup, looks like they found a good home. I had to rehome some of my baby koi this year, and the couple who took them just put in a pond about twice the size of mine, absolutely gorgeous, so I'm happy that they're in a good place.

Ken - yeah, lawn-moving is not a big chore here :-) DH uses a reel mower and it takes 15-20 minutes or so - mainly because of the ditch in the front yard and slopes at the sides adjoining the neighbours' driveways slows him down a bit :-) We've pretty much gardened every available inch! Even the remaining grass is part of the garden by being shaped grassy paths, and the ditch has spring bulbs in the grass. We grow veggies in pots on the driveway so the driveway is part of the garden too.... This is a view of the house from the road in early August last year: This one shows the 'moat bed' (narrow bed along the top of the ditch) at its showiest at the end of May 2013. Sadly, the brutal winter just past killed off the wisteria flowerbuds so no spring display this year :-( The clematis 'Henryi' that grows into the Chinese wisteria is doing well though - once it blooms we will cut the Chinese wisteria back a bit to remove deadwood and encourage a good secondary summer bloom. We miss the wisteria display! Rouge - it's going to be a year or two before we can tell if the haskap experiment will be successful but I'm sure I'll have something to say about it whatever happens! And you're right, making changes in established plantings is exciting. I've been making smaller changes and will continue to do that, but removing the BB is the first really obvious big one - a lot of neighbours have noticed and asked about it!

be safe!! ya know how them crazy truckdrivers are!! they think they own the whole dang road!! LOL i know, your gonna have to hurry up and get something to talk to us soon!! i think you and eg and a few others are the only ones that talk that much!! it's gona be so very sad!! Boo Hoo!! ~Medo

Ash has long grain (with small holes running long with the grain) so one needs to cover the top, too extend life, either by waxing or by metal or something. Water will enter through the end grain holes , especially since the stump was cut off level. Ash is not a good exterior wood. I am unsure about ARIZONA ash, but since it is a fast growing ash, I bet that would make it worse. Nothing you do will make it permanent. As it rots it will be home and a great source of nutrients for plants. Drilling holes in it and packing it with arboreals might be interesting. It would hasten rotting but might be cool, but it might also become a target for wood eating critters. Better it than the house. I look at that and think , hmmmm, Table, bench cut in half into lengthwise slabs or lengthwise half rounds. Cutting is a b*tch. One needs a sawmill. But , even here , Arizona ash is softer than regular ash and that makes it less desirable..