Om my God Jojo!!!! Look at the picture someone posted in Tuscon! Ice fron their fountain? You poor thing! Look at all that work you do to take care of your babies. I am so thrilled to see that and actually quite impressed. Look like you have it all to a science. I think you need too since something is bound to bet neglected if you stop for just one minute..lol I have seen your crafts, birds, kids, plants, dogs, and yes the gritty mix, and I must say..HATS OFF TO YOU!!! What would all those people and things do without you, just exactly what I sais to Jodi the other day. I swear that if you too were to switch places for a day, you might be able to do each others work loads with no problems..lol. You guys certainly amaze me! If I ever found my slef a gal like that, one that doesn't mind getting their fingers dirty, hard work, and loves all the laife has to offer, except the cold though, I would be so lucky. I hope the hubbies see all thses wonderful qualities in you! They are so lucky! I must say, so is my dad, very lucky!!! By the way..Mom just loves you all. It means a lot to her when you ask for her and send hugs. She is going through so much and it certainly tickles pink. Thank you! She has ask3d me if you both could post a couple of newer pics of your dogs to warm her up. She loves them. And I, I would love to see more pics of the birds if at all possible. Jodi. I honestly haven't got a clue how you do it either!!! You must be running on caffiend or adrenlinine! How in the world to go go through all that snow and carry all that water to your barn? That much water might I add? They should make a NG documentary about you since the Africans do that kind of thing, and that is in the nice weather!lol The drifts here are just stupid! I have been so sick, and I still have to get out there and shovel at 5am in the morning so mom can get her errands done taking foster grandchildren and daughter to work and schools. If it weren't for her, no one would. Those kids have no one. No relatives. Their relatives are all on drugs, in jail, or the father is married to 2 other women to those kids, that my foster sister just found out. He provideds nothing and has no interest in them at all. Thank God for my mother. She also drives 30 miles each way twice a week to take her uncle to the hospital, even in bad weather. She needs a break. The drift are high and the pop up almost buried but still working..lol My mother has been going out every two hours or so to take teh heavy snow off the top for me so it doesn't collasped. I buy her a coffee everyday for this and take her out to eat. The temps in there average i the 60's now, even when outside temps are in the teens. I think the soring equinox is finally here. The sun is feeling a lot stronger and warmer now..Yahoo! Al says my Figs are going to make it. The pots froze in my shed for a day or two and they were completly dormant. Please keep your fingers crossed for me since I just spent 100 dollars for the best shaped ones I could find.;-0) I am proud to know the women I know here and at home, since they are tough and strong Mike

I myself JUST bought a bonsai'd Chinese Juniper in a 3 inch pot from a humid 55 degree F greenhouse nursery. The soil is nice dark and rich with some tiny pieces of decomposed bark. I live on the windy 3rd floor of a south facing apartment in the cold "snowed-in" northeast (ZONE 5b)...so I had to adapt the growing conditions..... 1) I placed my juniper in a non-direct sun-lit northwest windowsill on a shallow plastic tray with wet gravel for humidity. 2) I keep the window JUST barely cracked open to keep it supplied with fresh outside air (less than 1/4" of an inch depending on the outside temp). Because the juniper came from a humid 55 degree F greenhouse, it's not totally dormant....so I tried to replicate the conditions it came from so I won't shock it/kill it. 3) I "fine-mist" the foliage twice a day. 4) At night I place my small Juniper tree it in a zip lock freezer bag (barely open) either in my refrigerator or I just let it stay in the windowsill. Condensation is visible inside the bag the next morning. 5) Then when daylight comes, I take it out of the humid zip lock bag, I place it back onto the shallow tray of wet rocks in my windowsill, and I spray mist the foliage later in the day...... ****Note that the tree is NOT sitting in water, but on top of water. 6) The most important part is to NOT over-water it, as my little juniper is tightly root-bound.....and I water it about 1 to 2 times a week with NON-fertilized water...... I'm going to keep my small Chinese Juniper it in the plastic pot that it came in until spring, as I'm awaiting the springtime when the tree will be at it's strongest......and it will have the best chance to survive a root trimming transplant into a bonsai pot.....PLUS I'll be able to put it outside on my balcony where it belongs ((((fresh air does wonder))).

I hate complaining about the cold when I know that what we have down here is nothing compared to what the others of you are feeling. It's like two different worlds. We had about 10 - 12 hours of below freezing temps last night and this morning. I think the low was in the low 20s. That's enough to freeze the buds on our spring flowers. I love our entire city in the late winter and Spring. The camilleas and the azaleas are wonderful, and of course the flowering trees get their buds nipped too. I am hoping that the bushes that are under the heavy tree canopy will do well as the trees do trap a little heat from the ground. But it won't be lovely this year. The plants can stand a couple of hours of below freezing, but not this long. It will do some things good. The amaryllis bulbs will get a rest. I have them well mulched, the bulbs will probablly not freeze. Plants like the Hydrangias had already started spring growth. I suspect they will have some die back. The big tropical Hibiscus is right next to the house and looks OK. So, I guess our Spring won't be as pretty as usual. At least, this much cold should have finally killed all the pollen bearing weeds and mold and mildew. The allergy season was already getting started in fine fashion.

Hey Danny, you might want to take your question to the Bonsai Forums instead. http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/bonsai This forum is reserved for C&S discussions. As to answering your question on the soil, I looked through the product specs, it's pretty much the right ingredients at the ideal sizes. But you should still screen the soil for fines, you don't want powdery particles in your soil. IMO the bark fines can go smaller. Ingredients: 33% 1/4 Bonsai Block(calcined clay), 33% 1/4 Pine Bark Fines and 33% Turface Particle Size: ¼ Inch average (excluding Turface particles) Minimum Size: 1/8th (excluding Turface particles) Maximum Size: 3/8ths Fukien Tea is a tropica Bonsai, so long as you keep it indoors with sufficient light and water you will do fine. http://www.bonsaiboy.com/catalog/fukiencare.html Where a Juniper is a deciduous plant, you will need to keep it dormant through the winter or the plant will eventually die. See: http://www.bonsaiboy.com/catalog/junipercare.html A Juniper Bonsai is a living miniature tree and not a house plant; therefore, your bonsai must be maintained in a cool/cold environment during the winter season. As a guide, around Thanksgiving Day it is time to prepare your Bonsai for its winter dormancy period which should last approximately three (3) months. Happy Growing!