Thanks for not being mad Ms. Jean ,i do get overeager sometimes and totally miss stuff. Love your sunny bottom birdie. I think those are great pictures! That's definitely the little bird i have been seeing all week. They are fun to watch because they are so quick. They are really hunting the grass for bugs i guess because they are constantly on the ground flashing their little yellow bottoms :-) Thanks so much for the pictures. Awww Brenda, you dont have the little fluffy vacuum cleaner wrens? They have so much personality and are so much fun to watch. They are so naughty too :-) i just love love love them! They follow all the other birds around and see what they are interested in and then they start liking it too. That of course makes the other birds mad so then the chase begins and it looks like a game of peek a boo because they are so small and fast the other birds can never catch them! LOL....If one bird likes a nest box then the little Carolina wren likes it. If somebody hides food then the little wren eats it. If somebody is guarding a certain tree then that is the tree the wren wants to be in. If somebody likes guarding a vine then thats the vine the wren wants to be in, and on and on and on. They are so mischievous and fun to watch , i laugh all the time at their antics. They are just so naughty and cute. Wish i could send you some but i only have one pair and i would surely miss them just to much. They even pick the bugs off of our cars and every bug off every hanging plant too. Yep they are just so wonderful. Little reddish fluff balls with big beaks and big voices! LOL....I hope you get some, Brenda they are wonderful. I saw a male Northern flicker today and i never realized how big they are, and their beaks are huge too! Lol...I never ever want to make one of them mad. So pretty though and very shy. I have always heard them but never saw them. Very exciting for me to finally put a real face (and beak) to that wild call they have. He hung on the very tip of a branch to pluck dogwood berries and the northern mocking bird that guards that tree didn't mess with him either. I dont blame him! LOL...Bonnie

I went to the Marbletown tour a couple of weeks ago, and at $25 it seemed expensive. You provide your own transportation, and the show gardeners no doubt cover their own expenses (lemonade?). The most enthusiastic potential audience for these are the new gardeners, many of them new homeowners who are digging their own beds and saving their pennies. Charging these kinds of fees hardly seems like a good way to add new blood to the local gardening community!

Dave, I've stood outside the walls of that garden so many times and because it was by appointment only (now open for self tours during the weekdays). I have never gotten in until yesterday! I'm sure you probably understand the vocabulary of Japanese gardens better than I and you would enjoy it very much. Also, Lake Balboa Park's cherry tree bloom display is past it's peak - I drove through on my way to Tillman to see it again; next year I'll bring a picnic to spread under the trees (including some plum wine, heh heh). I know what you mean about the Huntington's price. Last year it was ~$12 to get in and $60 for a membership, this year $15 and $100 for a membership! We used to go there when we were kids for free.... At this rate I wonder how many patrons they'll have when it's $25 to get in? Unfortunately, the Japanese garden there is really fine - it is my favorite one, maybe because it is older, and situated in a gulch. Also like I said, a great diversity of species and the display house is one you want to move into! When my mother took my brothers and me there, I remember the arching bridge was bright red and there was a huge bronze bell that we would ring with the very large bamboo striker (I think it's still there, just no longer accessable/ringable). If you can spring for the entrance fee I promise you that you will be enchanted. I like many things about Descanso but their Japanese garden is not one of their strong points (unless you are a Camellia maniac - even then, IMO there are a greater number of types of Camellia at the Huntington including my favorite, the fragrant species C.lutchensis). I'm sure the gardens you choose to visit will be delightful. Do report back on your experiences won't you?

Josephine, probably because it IS On Stage. LOL. When I first started growing hostas I labeled them. I have so many old Maples in my yard I just constantly lose tags when raking, so now I go by memory--and we can see how good THAT is. I might have a few more pix to share later but things are starting to look kind of tired at this time of year and I've been focusing more on the veg garden. Thanks so much for the enthusiasm.