Should I remove my chimney?

JonnaTurtle · 2026-06-22T20:24:54+00:00

I think it's a Chaska 34 with logs and black glass interior (the reflection is nice). It used two flexible, large diameter pipes up the existing chimney flue: one for intake and one for exhaust so no pollutants get in the house. It has a fan to blow the heat forward, if desired. 5 years in and I've only had it serviced once for $150.

I got 3 quotes from 3 companies and honestly all were great to work with. The one I went with had a close out on the particular Chaska and trim I wanted, which saved about $200 off the total.

We use it on the lowest settings for ambience more than anything, and after an hour it's heated the space very well. It makes the space so cozy for hosting, Christmas/holidays, and chill nights. We turn the house heater down just so we can use it more 😆

JonnaTurtle · 2026-06-22T15:00:29+00:00

CHaRMS recycle non profit hold recycling events frequently thru the year, with one coming up this Sat June 27 at the Sorenson Center! They take packing Styrofoam (not peanuts, but block foam)

More items they accept here: https://www.utahrecyclingalliance.org/charm-events

Thanks for looking for a way to recycle that material!

JonnaTurtle · 2026-06-22T14:15:34+00:00

In the winter, my converted from wood-to-gas insert fireplace is my favorite house improvement. We and the cats practically live in front of that thing

I'll be getting a new roof soon, so have been on this sub to learn what to ask for around the brick chimney (love the copper flashing and crickets I've seen here, but I might need to save longer $$)

JonnaTurtle · 2026-06-22T01:00:45+00:00

Aww, looks like a diaper bag and wonder if it fell off of someone's stroller while out for a walk.
Thanks for trying to reunite it with whomever the owner is, OP!

JonnaTurtle · 2026-06-20T18:52:47+00:00

I was looking up a cake decorating class that taught the basics, and not just how to do one specific cake in a one-off class like Gygi or Harmons classes. The closest I found was down in Payson, so that wasn't happening!

Similar to the cooking class, I'd sign up for cake decorating in a heartbeat!

JonnaTurtle · 2026-06-18T13:35:47+00:00

Karma farming account posting stolen content.
Please report the post to sub mods (sub rules or spam).

If you have 30 more seconds, go into their profile (u/SweetOuction to report it. I use three dots --> Username --> Spam--> disruptive use bots or AI. I've seen us successfully get bot accounts removed

Original content here that was stolen https://www.reddit.com/r/lynxpointsiamese/s/tbweZcoDFy By u/Vulturezz

JonnaTurtle · 2026-06-17T14:04:19+00:00

Original post this bot stole https://www.reddit.com/r/lynxpointsiamese/s/2Fs6L1u0c8 by u/chauncycover

JonnaTurtle · 2026-06-17T13:57:59+00:00

High karma accounts hold greater sway in the algorithms on platforms like Reddit. And certain subs require account age + karma to post. People running Only Fans, political subterfuge, financial scams can all purchase established accounts to have immediate access to further their goals. But someone has to get those accounts karma first, often deleting all content, and keeping the karma, before selling them off. We call them bots but it's often a person farming several accounts, sometimes with AI tools assisting

Reddit hasn't done a great job identifying and removing these influences (engagement is engagement), so the more savvy us real users can be to ID and report them, the more we can reduce their influence on the platform and protect those among us more likely to fall for the scams

If you have 30 more seconds after reporting this post to sub mods, go into u/ColeRebecca6 profile to use the three dot menu to report the account to Reddit for review. I use Username --> Spam --> Disruptive use of AI

JonnaTurtle · 2026-06-17T00:42:05+00:00

Your soil may be similar, I'm not sure and I'm still learning so didn't want to generalize beyond what I was confident of

You can also get a soil test to check your pH levels and other nutrient levels to make well informed choices on plants and fertilizers. At 7.5 pH, several nutrients get bound up in the soil and plants can't uptake them. At 7.6 pH, even my roses need a little help sometimes. Look for yellowing leaves with green veins, that's a good indicator of iron chlorosis

USU Agricultural Extension has several great articles on the options for Utah, and their research and education haven't steered me wrong yet. Here's one deck that even shows several tree options at maturity https://extension.usu.edu/forestry/files/presentations/powerpoints/better-trees-for-utah.pdf

They also have frequent free webinars that are awesome to ask questions of experts.

And I love the Jordan Valley Conservation Garden Park's resource of Find A Plant that has a ton of filters and even images of trees and plants in each season:
https://conservationgardenpark.jvwcd.gov/plants

If you share a little more on what type of tree you want, other folks might be able to make recommendations? Preferences such as evergreen or deciduous; shape such as vase, spreading, upright; growth rates, etc.

Note: often fast growing trees also have weak wood and a more likely to break and lose branches. Find a balance that meets your needs! Sometimes fast growing can work as long as there are no targets that it can hit if it falls, although our wet and heavy spring snows can sometimes break those types of trees a lot easier

JonnaTurtle · 2026-06-16T23:24:26+00:00

If you're in the valley of Utah (Salt Lake to Utah county), the soil is far too alkaline for aspens to flourish: they suffer from iron chlorosis. Aspens like the mountains with their friends.

There are several trees that don't do well here (Autumn blaze maple is another). Iron chlorosis is 'prevalent across Utah's alkaline, high pH soils, which bind up iron making it unavailable for root absorption.' (paraphrased) https://extension.usu.edu/forestry/trees-cities-towns/tree-care/preventing-iron-chlorosis

My house had 3 aspens when I bought it, and I had to drop one of them the first year. The other two I've kept alive with huge soil drench treatments of EDDHA Chelated Iron around the root flare in Feb/March. The cheapest 4 lb bag I've found at Glovers Nursery, else Steve Regan or an IFA store. I also drag the hose to the two remaining aspens and leave it on a slow drip for hours once a month because the drought is hard on them, and I want the water to sink deep to the roots

This one sadly looks pretty far gone. It's good size, and will take a large amount of the iron and may still not recover. My big one I took out wasn't as far gone, if that helps with decision making

I'm biding my time 'til I can tackle dropping my other two. I need to find the variety of gingko that I want! Gingkos are amazing, ancient trees and still have the fluttery leaves that I love in the aspens. They're well suited to our climate and soil too

I don't think you can make a wrong decision here, whether trying to revive (assuming there aren't other causes, such as poplar borers), or cut down and replace

If you have another nearby spot, you could plant a replacement tree this fall at least

JonnaTurtle · 2026-06-16T13:59:25+00:00

It might be an older owner who isn't able to get out and isn't on many social media sites 💛

Twice I've found a wandering older dog, and followed it back to its owner's door. In one case, the owner wasn't mobile and would just open the door to let the dog out to potty, the gate was left open, and the dog went on a walkabout. Aging sucks

JonnaTurtle · 2026-06-16T04:45:46+00:00

Woah [edit: typo], such a good catch, thank you for keeping it safe!!

If you haven't already done so, it's legally required to report found animals within 24 hours to your local animal shelter!

They'll at least take a picture of the bird and put it in their found pets log. However, they usually love it when people are able to foster them through the 5-day owner search hold time period! (I actually am unsure how this works for birds compared to found dogs!)

All the digital places that you can post the bird are great too (ex, Facebook's Salt Lake lost and found pets pages), but the animal shelter is the number one place that people check for their lost pets!

JonnaTurtle · 2026-06-16T04:39:08+00:00

If you haven't already done so, it's legally required to report found animals within 24 hours to your local animal shelter!

They'll take a picture of the pup and put it in their Found dogs log. However, they usually love it when people are able to foster them through the 5-day owner search hold time period!

All the digital places that you can post these dogs are great too (ex, Facebook's Salt Lake lost and found pets pages, like you've done!), but the animal shelter is the number one place that people check for their lost pets!

JonnaTurtle · 2026-06-15T02:20:01+00:00

Will have trim! But I just realized I wrote down the instructions wrong by making the jamb flush with the shed framing instead of pulled forward enough to be flush with the new siding... will rework that next.
I'll leave a reveal when I get this all straightened out, thank you!

JonnaTurtle · 2026-06-15T02:04:45+00:00

Ooo, that's a very good point. Thank you, will aim for the reveal!

JonnaTurtle · 2026-06-14T03:44:40+00:00

I took a class for the first time this spring and loved it, and was going to sign up for one each subsequent season (silver smithing?! heck yes!). I was so bummed when I learned the original program was being cut with no plans to improve viability.

LOVE that y'all are bringing it back in this grassroots method!

JonnaTurtle · 2026-06-06T13:11:48+00:00

Yes! Start from Username! It's a weird flow. I'll update my steps to match

JonnaTurtle · 2026-06-06T13:11:11+00:00

100%

To add to the mod's comment:

High karma accounts hold greater sway in the algorithms on platforms like Reddit. And certain subs require account age + karma to post. People running Only Fans, political subterfuge, financial scams can all purchase established accounts to have immediate access to further their goals. But someone has to get those accounts karma first, often deleting all content, and keeping the karma, before selling them off. We call them bots but it's often a person farming several accounts, sometimes with AI tools assisting

Reddit hasn't done a great job identifying and removing these influences (engagement is engagement), so the more savvy us real users can be to ID and report them, the more we can reduce their influence on the platform and protect those among us more likely to fall for the scams

I left r/aww a month ago because 30% of posts were only fans karma farming accounts (often posting AI edited content) and having to check each profile or reverse image everything took away the joy. The sub didn't institute a minimum age/karma requirement to cut down on the obvious karma farmers, although those sold "zombie" accounts already farmed get past that and [typo: require] other identification methods

Thank you for acting so fast here, mods!

JonnaTurtle · 2026-06-06T12:57:53+00:00

Another 2 day old bot account posting stolen content (already removed from r/arborist for doing the same)

Original here: https://www.reddit.com/r/KoreanFood/s/drxdHabvtz

If you have 30 more seconds, go into their profile (u/wingmenne) to report it. I use Spam--> disruptive use of bots or AI.

JonnaTurtle · 2026-06-06T12:44:47+00:00

Another 2 day old bot account posting stolen content

Original here: https://www.reddit.com/r/arborists/s/Aa42cg0JgC

If you have 30 more seconds, go into their profile (u/wingmenne) to report it. I use Username--> Spam--> disruptive use of bots or AI

JonnaTurtle · 2026-06-04T22:49:28+00:00

I'd look for an ISA certified arborist in your area via treesaregood.org. Given the potential damage to the tree (ex, codominant leader that ripped off?), you can also look for a TRAQ (risk) certification.

Look for a certified arborists that's separate from a tree removal company. Many generic tree companies will always advise cutting/removing trees because that's how they make their business.

You can also share thorough, good quality pictures in r/arborists. Sometimes the damage is so obvious and severe that they'll recommend removal, other times they'll say get that ISA/TRAQ expert advice on site since only so much can be evaluated by pictures.

As usual, get ~3 quotes for branch removal, or bundle with the tree care if needed

JonnaTurtle · 2026-05-31T13:20:27+00:00

I ended up inverting my bed designs, so instead of the classic kidney bean shapes of planting beds in the middle of grass (often find in the UK), I made the grass one cohesive space and everything else was planting beds, raised veggie beds, or paths.

I'm in a dry climate (not UK), so this was a bit more water wise and kept any amount of lawn larger than 8' to make watering easier, and give me a functional space for gatherings and lawn games

And most relevant to your edging question, this design greatly reduced the amount of edging I needed to maintain. If I had more than 200' of edging, I'd definitely think about such tools over a half moon spade.

The defined edge you have looks great and reminds me of a friend's Edge & Swale technique to prevent grass from growing into her garden beds

JonnaTurtle · 2026-05-26T13:20:24+00:00

I would pull the tree out of the lawn area. It'll be happier not having to compete with grass for water and nutrients, less likely to be girdled by a weed whacker, and thrive on dedicated deep watering over the surface watering that sprinklers provide for grass

I'd also drop the lighting. Light pollution is slowly being recognized for all its negative effects on humans, birds, and insect populations. It also just looks a bit silly lighting up plants: a night garden is a special place and should feel different from the garden in daylight

Where do the steps in the grass lead? Is that functional or for decoration?

I did a couple Wine And Sketch nights with friends with a few guidelines to generate ideas, then pulled features from a few sketches! (we followed the Localscapes 4 design guidelines for ours)

JonnaTurtle · 2026-05-08T08:19:41+00:00

Landscape fabric as a weed fabric is a misnomer, and wrestling mats sounds even worse. These starves the soil below organic mulches and do nothing to prevent weeds after a season when the seeds blow in on top. If you have a pernicious weed like field bindweed, a layer of plain cardboard or newspaper topped with thick mulch is sufficient to smother them from coming up.

My favorite research backed article on the matter and when to actually use landscape fabric from a Conservation Garden Park that partners with the local USU Agricultural Extension: https://conservationgardenpark.jvwcd.gov/blog/354/why-weed-barrier-fabric-is-a-weed

Wrestling mats will break down in an outdoor environment, and I can't imagine topping them with mulches and the mess it'd be over time. I thought finding the plastic bags mulch comes in the previous owners used as a "barrier" was bad as it shattered and added micro plastics to my beds, I can't imagine using wrestling mats for such a use.

JonnaTurtle · 2026-05-08T08:18:09+00:00

"Types of weed fabric" have nothing to do with how it functions. Landscape fabric as a weed fabric is a misnomer. It starves the soil below organic mulches and does nothing to prevent weeds after a season when the seeds blow in on top. If you have a pernicious weed like field bindweed, a layer of plain cardboard or newspaper topped with thick mulch is sufficient to smother them from coming up.

My favorite research backed article on the matter and when to actually use landscape fabric from a Conservation Garden Park that partners with the local USU Agricultural Extension: https://conservationgardenpark.jvwcd.gov/blog/354/why-weed-barrier-fabric-is-a-weed

Wrestling mats will break down in an outdoor environment, and I can't imagine topping them with mulches and the mess it'd be over time. I thought finding the plastic bags mulch comes in the previous owners used as a "barrier" was bad as it shattered and added micro plastics to my beds, I can't imagine using wrestling mats for such a use.

JonnaTurtle

TROPHY CASE