Thanks for all the tips on how to save my trees. So far, they're looking a bit more green. I'll keep posting to let you know how they're doing over the long term.

However, I'm once again in need of backyard advice.

In my front yard, I have this evergreen bush that has grown well for more than three years.

I would like to plant the same bush in the backyard, but in a whisky barrel.

Can anyone tell me the name of this bush, if I can plant it in a whisky barrel and where in York County I might find it.

Cost is paramount. I'm trying to keep this project under $50.

Chick-fil-A, 14665 Mount Airy Rd., Shrewsbury Township, will offer a free meal July 10 to anyone who comes in fully dressed as a cow, the company said.

Customers who come in partially dressed as a cow on that day -- wearing a cow-spotted scarf, for instance -- will get a free entree, the company said.

The company scheduled the promotion to celebrate its fifth annual "Cow appreciation day."

The White Rose Bar and Grill is just about finished its latest renovation project.

Its cafe area at West Philadelphia and North Beaver streets in York has a new granite bar, fireplace and outdoor patio area, among other amenities.

To celebrate the new features, the White Rose wants to give each of its three sections a new name. There's the nonsmoking bar and dining room, the smoking lounge and the aforementioned cafe area, newly renovated.

Should be interesting to hear the suggestions, which the White Rose will accept, starting Thursday. Each of the three winning suggestions will earn a $100 gift certificate to the restaurant.

Dreaming up new nicknames might be easy, but imposing them can be tough.

Seinfeld fans out there might remember George Costanza wanting to be called "T-bone" by his colleagues at Kruger Industrial Smoothing.

Company officials decided that "T-bone" was a more fitting name for Neil Watkins from accounting. George's nickname, they decided, would be "Koko the monkey."

Many vacationers are avoiding Mexico, fearing the much-publicized swine flu that supposedly started there a couple months ago.

Lynn Meckley saw the reports. He heard about the fear.

But he went anyway. And the York Township resident had a great time.

Meckley, his wife and four friends stayed in a resort in Riviera Maya from June 13 until their return home June 20. The resort was about a quarter full, Meckley said Tuesday afternoon, with nary a sniffle to obscure his words.

The group rented a vehicle and drove through Cozumel Island without much traffic. Crowds were light at airports, on beaches and during snorkeling expeditions.

Mexican tour operators and souvenir salespeople, still needing to make a living amid Mexico's lagging tourism industry, were a little more aggressive than Meckley remembered them being when he was last there two years ago.

Not to worry, though, Meckley said. The weather was decent and the group had a blast.

Just as casinos are starting to take root in Pennsylvania, they're practically being banished from Russia.

Hundreds of thousands of Russians will lose their jobs Wednesday, when a government-mandated casino shutdown takes effect, The New York Times reported Monday.

Vladimir Putin, the country's prime minister, started talking about the shutdown in 2006, speaking of the industry's perils and shady characters, according to the Times.

After Wednesday, casinos will only be allowed in some of Russia's more remote regions, a transition that could take several years.

Industry analysts expect 400,000 Russians to lose their jobs as a result; Russia's government expects 60,000 job losses, the Times reported.

A federal agency has found that, at least from an environmental standpoint, TMI Unit 1 is safe to run for an additional 20 years.

As you might see from the photograph, my Leyland Cypress trees have started to brown from the bottom.

I also found some fire ants at the base of at least two of the trees.

I water the trees every other day. Any ideas on a cause or low-cost solution?