Arc Design Resources
This year when you make up your seed order, why not decide to test a single group of plants thoroughly? For instance, you could grow all the zinnias your dealer offers. Then you would really learn about this splendid group of annuals. Or if you don’t like zinnias, use China aster, petunia or marigold. You’ll be amazed at the tremendous differences there are within a single genus.
Planning for a vegetable garden - Take another look at the vegetable pages of the seed catalogs. For some reason each year fewer and fewer food gardens are being planted. As a result, lists of vegetable varieties suitable for home use are shrinking. The true gourmet knows that only home grown vegetables have high flavor. Do your part to save American appreciation of good food by planting some of the special varieties that are best right outside the kitchen door.
Forcing spring bulbs - Check the temperature in the basement or coldframe where tulips, hyacinths and other potted bulbs are being forced. A cool 50 to 55 is best. If the temperature is too high move the pots to a cooler spot, such as along the edges of the frame or the walls of the basement.
Bringing forsythia Indoors - Towards the end of the month branches of the forsythia and other shrubs can be cut and brought indoors for forcing. These materials will be a little more difficult to force now than in February or March. Set the branches in warm water (about 85) immediately after they are cut; try to keep the water at that temperature for 24 hours.
Improving your garden’s design - December is a good time to study the design of your garden, when its lines arc not hidden by foliage and flowers. Decide now how to change the beds, paths and other features; then this work can be done as soon as conditions are favorable in the spring.
Find out more as Logan Pacelli shares his experiences on houseplants, outdoor color, lawns and landscape at http://www.riverside-plastics.com. We’ve created very helpful resource for you on the topic of plastic pot manufacturers. Grab a totally unique version of this article from the Uber Article Directory
Detective #862 ("Cutter Part 2 of 3"/"Pipeline Chapter Two Part Three") by Greg Rucka (writer), Jock (artist, "Cutter"), Cully Hamner (artist, "Pipeline"), David Baron (colorist, "Cutter"), Dave McCaig (colorist, "Pipeline"), Todd Klein (letterer, "Cutter"), and Jared K. Fletcher (letterer, "Pipeline"). $3.99, 30 pgs, FC, DC.
The past two issues of Detective have been strange, because the Question's story is unquestioningly better than the main story, and even though Rucka has been writing them both all along, I wonder why, rather suddenly, Renee's story is better than Kathy's. Is it the addition of Helena Bertinelli, who is usually written very well, and is written particularly well by Rucka? Is it the loss of Williams? I doubt that latter assumption, because Jock does a fine job with the art. It's as if Rucka had a minor good idea - link Batwoman and Batman's cases and let them solve each, with presumably the two converging in the final installment - but didn't think about how to make it three issues. I mean, consider: Last issue, Batwoman let "Cutter" escape for, apparently, no reason. In this issue, she lets him escape ... twice. Now, in the first instance, she's fighting him on a truck and gets thrown out of the open door onto the highway, which is understandable. In the second instance, Rucka uses the old "an errant knife throw happens to hit an innocent bystander" ploy, which is somewhat annoying. I mean, Cutter is just flinging knives at Batwoman and one happens to hit someone square in the chest? Really? There's also the question of who's driving the truck when Cutter escapes the first time, which I think is somewhat obvious, and then the secret Kathy's cousin is keeping, which I don't get. I suppose it's supposed to mean something, but it's one of those reveals that means nothing unless you've read the right DC comics, and I guess I just haven't. Oh well. And let's not forget that Batman lets his bad guy escape, too, and he's not even a super-duper knife-throwing crazy like Cutter is. Come on, Dick, suck it up! So the score card currently reads: Batman and Batwoman, 0 for 4. Against two bad guys who have no powers. I know it's supposed to be dramatic, but instead, it's laughable. No wonder the Batpeople can't stop crazed supervillains.
Meanwhile, Renee and Helena continue to track down the human traffickers, and it's fun to read. Well, Renee's continued amazement at the identity of Oracle gets annoying, but at least Helena tells her to shut it. Of course, Helene has never heard of a napkin, so maybe she shouldn't be telling others to shut it. But the way she handles the bad guys is fun - she says "Secret is boring" and proceeds to beat the shit out of them. Go, Helena! It's a nice character touch that doesn't come from endless navel-gazing, just a few words and a few actions and we learn a great deal about Helena. Hamner's line work looks stronger, too, from the early installments. I'll have to go back and check it out. Maybe as the story has gotten better, he's had more fun with it.
I'll still stick around for the final chapter, and I hope Rucka can pull it all together. That would be nice. Of course, I'd rather another issue of Stumptown come out, but oh well.
One panel of awesome:
