FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Two months and 29 days ago, the Patriots were only about a week into training camp, and still a couple days from their preseason opener, which is noted here to remind just how much football remains to be played between today and two months, 29 days from now which is when the NFL will kick off Super Bowl XLIX in Glendale, Ariz.

A lot can happen between now and then. In fact, a lot will happen between now and then, and much of it is likely to reset our view of the NFL landscape and change our opinions. Multiple times.

But go ahead, Patriots fans. Believe.

Believe that your team is the best in the AFC. Believe that they can get to that title game. Believe that they belong in that game. Heck, believe that they can win it.

Believe that theres no ceiling for your Patriots, because after what happened late Sunday afternoon at Gillette Stadium, theres no reason to place any limits on what this club is capable of accomplishing. They didnt just beat the Broncos, they dominated the so-dubbed best team in football in every phase, ultimately scoring a 43-21 victory that undoubtedly shattered many views of the league-wide hierarchy as the regular season heads into its second half.

I thought it was a great job by our players this week, said coach Bill Belichick, who praised the work his team did in preparing for Denver making particular note of how generally difficult it is to get ready for a record-setting offense like the Broncos having, and how the difficulty was even that much greater because Peyton Mannings team had extra time to get ready because it had played on Thursday night in Week 8.

In that sense, it was similar to the way the Patriots responded against the Bengals back at the start of October, when Cincinnati had the benefit of coming off a bye. Yet New England waxed the well-rested Tigers, 43-17.

That win kicked off a terrific month of October, in which the Pats rattled off four straight wins and offered hope that the inconsistency and the struggles that showed up over the first four weeks was merely the by-product of a team still finding itself. Pummeling the Bears last week by a score of 51-23 furthered that thinking.

But only after Sunday, when the Pats climbed to the top of the conference, and improved to 7-2, was it confirmed.

This week was a great week for all of us, defensive lineman Vince Wilfork said. Everybody came ready to work focused. Thats one thing we dont lack. We dont have guys that are here just to be here. My hat goes off to this team. We did a lot of things tonight. It was something different tonight. A lot of things we havent done in the past and we did it, and did it well.

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Dave D'Onofrio's Patriots Notebook Patriots leave no doubt they're elite

The 49ers seized momentum of the game early in the quarter, when safety Antoine Bethea timed a ball thrownby Rams quarterback Austin Davis andintercepted itat the Rams 35-yard line.

Bethea sagged off his man, backpedaled and made a nice grab of a pass that Davis tried to get to wide receiver Tavon Austin.

Three plays later, 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick rolled right, stopped near the line of scrimmage, surveyed the landscape and found receiver Anquan Boldin all alone in the middle of the field,

Kaepernick got the ball to Boldin, who turned and navigated the remainder of the yards for a 27-yard touchdown that gave the 49ers a 10-3 lead.

Cornerback Perrish Cox intercepted Davis on the Rams ensuing possession and put the 49ers in business once again. However, the 49ers drive ended soon after it started and culminated with Andy Lee punting.

The Rams tied the game for a second time when they parlayed a Robert Quinn sack-fumble of Kaepernick into a 55-yard scoring drive.

Davis connected with wide receiver Kenny Britt on a crossing route, and Britt kept running into the end zone untouched for a 21-yard score.

Cornerback Chris Culliver was on Britt at the line, then let Britt go. Linebacker Chris Borland had no chance at catching up with Britt after he spotted Britt beyond him and with the ball.

The half ended with the 49ers attempting a 55-yard field goal. Phil Dawsons kick came up short, and it was fielded by St. Louis Tavon Austin.

For some reason, Austin danced around in the end zone before he advanced the ball into the field of play. By that time, 49ers coverage guy Derek Carrier met Austin about the 2-yard line, with Austin retreating into the end zone.

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49ers 10, Rams 10 Halftime

Fall color for your garden

Shimmery ornamental grasses + flame-colored flowers = one great autumn show

How to get great fallcolor, with tips from the ultimateNorthwest garden

Find ingenious designs for specific functional needs, from fire-fighting plants to laying out a stellar kitchen garden

A sloped backyard comes alive with water-wise plants and clever landscaping

How to design a landscape both you and your pups will love

Banish boundaries with green walls and disappearing doors

This isnt Bali; this is your backyardor it could be if you follow these steps to creating a lush setting

This garden has a secret: Virtually every plant in it can be put on your plate or in a vase. It doesnt look like a typical edible garden, which is exactly the point

With a tiny house, you can transform a lawn into a wild-around-the-edges zone for a complete cabin-in-the-woods effect

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Garden Landscaping and Design Ideas - Sunset.com

Landscaping refers to any activity that modifies the visible features of an area of land, including:

Landscaping requires expertise in horticulture and artistic design.

Construction requires study and observation. It is not the same in different parts of the world. Landscaping varies according to different regions.[1] Therefore normally local natural experts are recommended if it is done for the first time. Understanding of the site is one of the chief essentials for successful landscaping. Different natural features like terrain, topography, soil qualities, prevailing winds, depth of the frost line, and the system of native flora and fauna must be taken into account.[2] Sometimes the land is not fit for landscaping. In order to landscape it, the land must be reshaped. This reshaping of land is called grading.[2]

Removal of earth from the land is called cutting while when earth is added to the slope, it is called filling. Sometimes the grading process may involve removal of excessive waste, soil and rocks, so designers should take into account while in the planning stage.[3][4]

In the start, the landscaping contractor makes a letter which is a rough design and layout of what could be done with the land in order to achieve the desired outcome.[2] Different pencils are required to make graphics of the picture. Landscaping has become more technological than natural, as few projects begin without bulldozers, lawnmowers, or chainsaws.[1][5] Different areas have different qualities of plants. Fertilizers are required for this purpose in excess amounts as natural landscaping is done. Some landscapers prefer to use Mix gravel with rocks of varying sizes to add interest in large areas.[6]

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Landscaping - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Doris Dumrauf of Robinson believes what we do in our backyards can make a difference when it comes to helping preserve wildlife, and she has the pictures to prove it.

Ms. Dumrauf, who has received national awards from publications like Birds & Blooms magazine for her wildlife photography, doesnt have far to go when she wants to capture memorable photographs of birds, insects or flowers.

She can just stroll into her backyard, which was certified by the National Wildlife Federation as a wildlife habitat.

What we do in our yards does make a difference. We see that in our yard with more and more species attracted each year, Ms. Dumrauf said. With the help of her husband, Donald, she has made their backyard a welcoming destination for birds and pollinating insects like butterflies and bees.

It took about 10 years. We did it a little bit at a time, she said.

When she decided to pursue certification she found The Wildlife Federation requiresthat people interested in establishing a backyard habitat provide food, water and shelterplaces for birds and butterflies to raise their young.

To achieve her goal, Ms. Dumrauf and her husband planted a variety of native flowering plants that would bloom at various times through the spring and fall.

For water, she started out with a bird bath, but eventually installed a small pond, and for shelter the yard features a variety of trees and large bushes.

The federation is very interested in if you use pesticides, and want to know what you use instead to keep the garden organic, she said.

For alternatives to pesticides she uses mulch to suppress weed growth, weeds by hand, and relies on the many species of birds who visit her garden to help keep the insect population in check.

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Robinson woman turns yard into wildlife habitat

As the regular season continues to head down its final stretch, the landscape of college football remains in relative disarray. With Ole Miss loss to LSU, only three unbeaten teams are left, and numerous conference races are still completely up for grabs.

No. 10 TCU at No. 20 West Virginia

The Mountaineers and Horned Frogs will square off in a game featuring two top contenders in the race for the Big 12 title. Just like everybody predicted at the beginning of the year, right?

West Virginia head coach Dana Holgorsen has gone from being on the hot seat at the start of the season to being the frontrunner to be named Big 12 Coach of the Year. The Mountaineers, led by quarterback Clint Trickett, boast a lethal aerial attack, ranking ninth in the FBS with an average of 346.3 passing yards per game.

Meanwhile, TCUs offense is flourishing under new co-offensive coordinators Sonny Cumbie and Doug Meacham. The Horned Frogs rank sixth in the country with 360.1 passing yards per game and first in scoring at 50.4 points per game, including setting a school-record with 82 points last week against Texas Tech.

Both teams are absolutely rolling into their meeting in Morgantown, which means we should be in for a thrilling offensive shootout as they battle to stay near the top of the conference standings.

No. 4 Auburn at No. 7 Ole Miss

The SEC West remains heads and shoulders above everyone else in college football, and Ole Miss and Auburn will meet Saturday night in yet another game with major implications in the race for the division title.

The Rebels return home after an agonizing loss on the road to the LSU Tigers, in which they won the turnover battle 4-1. Head coach Hugh Freeze also made the controversial decision to try one more pass play with nine seconds remaining in the game, rather than try to kick a potential game-tying, 47-yard field goal then and there.

The result: a Bo Wallace interception sealed the Rebels fate and gave LSU renewed hope of contending for the SEC West title.

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Gameday: Key conference matchups highlight Week 10

BRANDON Roxanne Tobaison and Coleen Bentson are artists of a very different nature, with watercolors the medium of choice for Tobaison, and plants, shrubs, trees and dirt the means through which Bentson makes her mark with meadow-like gardening.

I think Coleen is tremendously talented, Tobaison said. When I look around her yard, its like what you see in a painting. You have different colors in different textures and varieties. Its not just landscaping, planting and pruning. Its being creative with her layouts.

Tobaison, a watercolorist for 35 years, described Bentson as a landscape artist, on location at the October paint-out arranged by the Brandon League of Fine Arts (BLFA) at Bentsons Valrico home in River Hills.

To hear what other people are saying about my garden, it adds an extra purpose to what Im doing, Bentson said about her extensive landscape designs, including a gated secret garden on the south side of her corner-lot property. I never thought about it as art.

What she does consider art is the Home to Heart greeting card line for handwritten notes she started on a shoestring budget, featuring photos she takes of her garden and yard throughout the year and seasons.

The cards have been for sale at various locations throughout the Greater Brandon area, including Kiwis Exotic Plants Nursery, Car Wash on the Green and Bloomingdale Nursery in Valrico; White Rabbit Antiques & Collectibles, Victorian Grace Tea Room and Mandalay Mist Bronzing Spa in Brandon; and the gift shops at Brandon Regional Hospital and the Center Place Fine Arts & Civic Association.

She created a beautiful space here, thats a form of art, said BLFA artist Diane Newsome, who complimented the gardens accessibility for walk-through views across its many pathways. And then shes taking pictures of that art that she can share with other people.

Bentson said she was drawn to gardening as a homeowner unable to grow grass without issues.

I took the challenge to xeriscape my property, said the mother of three, whose children range in age from 22 to 26. It looked good and one thing led to another. As I got older, my kids didnt demand as much of my attention. I could spend hours on my yard without worrying about what the kids were doing inside.

Bentson said she favors a natural look, best described as something that has grown there by itself, not manicured, and yet at the same time organized and weed-free, everything pruned and looking fresh.

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From gardening to art, homeowner makes her mark

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By: Agent Marketing videos

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$589,000 - 24952 VILLARENTE ST., LAGUNA NIGUEL, CA 926277 - Video

Gardening is for old people.

That sounds like an absurd over-simplification, and besides, why should you care? What difference does it make if young people aren't interested in gardens and nature? We live in a hi-tech world, where all the worlds problems will be solved by computers, and where science will be our saviour.

So how does digging in the dirt, or mixing manure compete in this internet age, and why should it?

In South Africa, the latest statistics show that 1 in every 4 people are unemployed.

In the words of the wise Gogo "Qho" Mthethwa - young people don't want work they want jobs. As a country, we seem to be content to foster an attitude of dependence rather than an entrepreneurial mindset.

Realistically speaking, looking to technology to solve our problems, may well be fine in the long term, but we need solutions now. We need to feed people now. Science and technology alone can't give us that. So what can?

If you plant a food garden from seed, you can begin eating the food from your garden within a matter of weeks. Growing food or plants doesn't need a huge injection of cash. Seeds can very often be harvested from existing crops, providing the next seasons crops for free. Gardeners are almost to a fault, overly generous in offering their time, information or even seed/plants when they see enthusiasm and willingness to learn. There are several amazing initiatives around the country with the sole aim of passing on the skills to grow food gardens in our particular climate.

I agree with guerilla gardener Ron Finley that as with many problems in life, the solution is inside the challenge.

With our ridiculously high unemployment rates, we have 1 out of every 4 people who have the capacity to tend a garden, which could if properly managed, feed themselves and even provide an income as they feed their community. As solutions go, its not sexy, and it may not have the mirage-like appeal that science and technology offers, but it is immediately attainable and realistic.

So how can YOU go about doing this? Here's some inspiration:

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Landscape Design - blogspot.com

Before starting your garden remodel, survey your space and browse landscape ideas to figure out how best to fill it. If you love working outdoors, a large rose garden or vegetable garden is the perfect way to use your space. On the other hand, kids might enjoy a large yard, along with a playground, swing set or pool. Think about what your family would use the most, as well as what would help boost your resell value in the long run. In the end, be sure to consider your front and back yard as separate entities; after all, they usually serve two very different purposes. What should I add to my front yard? When landscaping your front yard, think about curb appeal above all else. This space is your chance to make a great first impression, so it should be inspiring, well thought out and consistent with the traditional style of your home. A flower garden is a great option, but if maintenance is an issue, you can simplify the process by opting for low-maintenance succulents, bushes or hedges instead. If you don't have a green thumb, stick with grass and use a gravel pathway, water feature, wood fence or stone wall for variation. What should I add to my backyard or garden? The backyard is for entertaining and playtime, so incorporate seating, dining areas, play spaces and sunny relaxation spots. A vegetable garden or rose garden is a common yard staple, especially if you add an interesting element like a pergola, arbor, raised bed, border, walkway or fence. You can even add fun accessories like birdbaths and feeders to aid with birdwatching. For the ultimate party house, incorporate a pool and patio or deck with a fire pit, outdoor fireplace, barbecue and outdoor kitchen. If you're an active, sports-loving family, add a basketball court, volleyball court, bocce ball or croquet. And don't forget about outdoor furniture! A bench in a garden makes a great reading or meditation spot, while a weatherproof chaise lounge, sofa and chair are nice for taking in those sunny days.

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Traditional Landscape Design Ideas, Pictures, Remodel and ...