Solo read all the way. I tried the group route with The Way of Kings last year and spent more time waiting for everyone else to catch up than actually reading. By week 3 I was ready to throw my phone across the room when someone posted a spoiler about a character who hadn't even shown up yet in my copy. If you're worried about finishing, just set a daily page count for yourself, like 50 pages a day gets a 600 page book done in 12 days flat.

Oh man, I totally get this! I have a little concrete frog that sits by my peppers and I swear the birds won't go near that corner anymore. Last month a squirrel was eyeing my ripest bell pepper and it just froze, stared at the frog for like five minutes, and bounced. I don't know if it's the paint or the shape but something about that little guy works. Now I'm thinking about getting him a buddy just to be safe.

That exact thing happened to my buddy's patio in Round Rock. He used some sort of flexible acrylic stuff and bragged about how it would move with the ground. Six months later, it looked like a giant black worm wiggling out of the crack after a heavy rain. Seeing those pros pack in sand before the mix seems like the real secret, the rigid stuff actually grips the sides instead of just sitting on top. Good on you for testing it out through the winter, that's the true test down here.

It's like how some folks scroll recipes and others read cookbooks cover to cover, same meal different experience.

The community garden on 12th street near my neighborhood tried the same thing two summers ago. I dropped off scraps every Thursday for about six months before I moved. The spigot setup is smart because I used to ruin my indoor bin by overwatering, but with the spray bottle method I finally got the moisture right. I still keep a small bin for coffee grounds and eggshells though, because those are easy to toss in daily without a trip.