Well, I'm glad my pics have earned me a Bloody Mary. Thanks Kathy!! GB - Tamarisk would be really nice but those are actually the pinkish flowers of Karl Foerster grass. Marian - the chickens all stay out at night now, but in their covered henhouses. Our lowest temp has been 48F and their feathers and roosting together keep them plenty warm. Their garden could be a real mess by the time Autumn comes, but it was a spot I rarely visited up close. In fact, before the chickens I just let the invasives battle it out and from a distance the effect was pleasing. I now love digging and weeding in there as the chicks follow my every move, dashing off with a worm if I uncover one. It is so much fun:0) Ei - Big Bertha is the white one - she is supposed to grow 1/3 larger than the others but is of modest size right now. In no way are those dumb questions - I asked the very same ones myself. In fact, until this morning I didn't fully understand the anatomy of a rooster and couldn't answer the children's questions as to whether he has a male appendage or not. As the article below explains, roosters are only needed to fertilize eggs to breed. It is interesting that they only mate when daylight and temperature are right, which occurs in Spring. A hen will lay eggs without any help from the rooster, in the same way we have our cycle regardeless of male presence. Knowing our town does not allow roosters I brought our chicks from a local farmer who sexes the day old peeps so that buyers are assured a female. They are a little more expensive but it was a much better alterative than raising a chick only to find we had to give it away when it started crowing. Apparently roosters will crow at any time of the day or night if disturbed. Roosters can be magnificent and if we lived on a farm I'd have one in a second, but would house it away from our bedrooms. Mary Here is a link that might be useful: Reproduction of chooks

Apparently not all experts agree that cloning trees from cuttings is either incredibly difficult or that own root apple trees are undesirable. In fact, quite the opposite. Link: http://www.ext.nodak.edu/extnews/hortiscope/tree/apple.htm Which says: Q: My father-in-law insists he used to start new apple trees by cutting off a branch and sticking it in the ground. We doubted his story until we were looking at our childrenÂs question-and-answer book. It says sour apples come from trees started from seeds and sweet apples come from trees started from limbs. Now we are very curious. Do you have any information on starting new trees from limbs? Is there any truth to the sweet/sour story? (Brookings, S.D.) A: Your father-in-law has a "Smith" sense of humor, just like my dad. Apple trees can be propagated from softwood cuttings or seed. Trees rooted from stems are clones (asexual propagation). No one can root a branch from a tree that produces sour apples if they want sweet apples! Seedling stock (sexual propagation) will produce offspring that are widely variable in fruit quality and taste. Some will be sweet, some tart, some large and some small. In general, commercially available apples trees are usually bud or cleft grafted to take advantage of a hardy rootstock. Go to my Web site on home propagation techniques at www.ext.nodak.edu/extpubs/plantsci/landscap/h1257w.htm for more information. You may then want to explore our fruit tree publication at www.ext.nodak.edu/extpubs/plantsci/hortcrop/h327w.htm. Near the end of the publication is an explanation of the various budding and grafting techniques. Another link: http://www.orangepippin.com/articles/own-roots.aspx "Fruit trees on their own roots Growing Apple Trees on their Own Roots By Hugh F. Ermen" Here is a link that might be useful: Questions on Apples

My first thought looking at the leaves of your tomatoes was that they needed watering, or maybe they have been overwatered. Do you check the moisture of the growing medium 3-5 inches below the surface? Watering in a container is much different from watering a plant in the ground. Do you have one of those saucers that usually go with that kind of pot? If so when you water your plant, wait about 30 minutes and then drain that saucer. If you leave water standing in it, you are depriving the tomatoes of air for the roots and they will drown. GardenWebber sprouts_honor (Jennifer from Cleveland) had a wonderful suggestion on how to tell whether or not you need to water your tomatoes, and I quote here: "Get a wooden dowel rod (or two) and sink it in the ground near a plant or two and leave it. Pull it out when you think you need to water. If the top is dry and the bottom is a little damp, it's time to water. If it looks dark and feels saturated, wait to water. I use this technique with potted plants that don't like being over watered and it's helpful with in ground plants too." Also when you water a plant in a container, the process tends to wash away the nutrients in the growing medium so they will need to be fed frequently. Many container growers use a water soluble balanced fertilizer such as 8-8-8 or 10-10-10, diluted to 1/3 or 1/4 recommended label strength and use it to water every 10 days to two weeks. Good luck with your tomatoes. Betsy

Kswl -" A few of my friends have small children and I also have a nephew close to DS’s age. We see them on a pretty regular basis. He seems to be getting to an age where he really enjoys being around other kids and gets excited when I tell him we’re going to see so and so today. Unfortunately there aren’t any small children at our church. “Getting together with other kids is a double edged sword, though, because it may or may not be that much fun for your kid.” There is one little girl that he doesn't seem to mesh with and I've limited contact. She’s friendly but VERY in his face. Until recently he would completely ignore her. I found his reaction interesting because he wouldn't do that with anyone else. I’m not really looking forward to all that comes with school. I’m mainly talking about the interaction with other kids and their families. I’m praying to find balance so I’m an informed parent, but not a hovering, smothering one as he grows. Arcy - Ah, memory games is something I've been meaning to start doing with him! I agree with you about the computer games and tv. We actually only have one computer and our phones are stripped down basic phones. I got rid of the internet and texting quite a few years back (DH never cared to do either). I know I would certainly get used to and enjoy a fancy phone, but I honestly find it challenging enough to manage my time wisely without the extra distraction; which is what it would be for me. As for technology, at some point I know we’ll need to make some adjustments or be left in the dust. Roseabbey - Thank you! We try to see that he has that interaction with small kids most weeks. He loves to sing and dance! I've noticed he’s starting to ‘joke’ around more recently which is pretty cool. We’re really seeing his personality come through. Deeinohio - I didn't think about a library because ours are pretty far away, but I don’t mind a drive. I’m going to look into that! The age thing is blowing me away too! Bestyears - “Make everything hands on and fun.” Sounds good. He really likes to help so we’ll keep going with that. He gets a kick out of helping unload the dishwasher (counting silverware) and when I announce I’m going to vacuum he excitedly puts his toys away and runs to pull out the kitchen chairs! Great ideas! Annie - “I learned to read by the time I was 3…” That’s awesome! “my cousin has a computer game on the ipad which his son started using before he was 2 that was already putting sounds to the letters and he was learning to read words.” See, now this is when I start to question if it’s time to buy an ipad. Of course I wouldn't use it as a keep busy for him, but having a program with the sounds and letters in some type of format sounds like it would be better than me doing it. I’m having a hard time finding the words for what I’m trying to say here so I hope it makes sense. Thanks for the link! Great article. From the link, “…literacy experts emphasize the importance of natural conversations with children, asking questions while reading books, and helping children identify words during playtime.” That’s good to know. In the past I wondered if that was enough or if I should be breaking out flash cards and doing more, but when we started making a conscious effort to talk with him more about every day things and would ask him questions we discovered he knows, and understands, much more than we realized, or that he can even express. Tina - I’m going to check out the libraries! I think he’d like being involved with activities there. I was asking about how kids are tested recently, but need to find someone closer to our area. Anele - Yes, there have been days of seeing the good old ABC Mouse commercials that it left me feeling like a slacker parent until I really thought about it! Pfft. I like the make a book idea. Thank you for the link! I’ve never seen her site before. Great post! Daisychain - I will definitely look at the Curious George section on PBS. Bpathome - We may end up sending him to preschool before we planned. We’ll keep an eye and see how he continues to progress. Nhbabs - Thanks for the additional ideas. We don’t have a sandbox yet, but have been talking about that. He loved the beach and I’m sure he’d really enjoy it. I wish I could get him to stay standing on a chair to ‘help’ with cooking, but that’s one thing he’s currently not interested in. Roarah - “more time on the basics like self zippering and tying shoes. It amazes me how so many three year olds who can read can not zipper their own coats or put on mittens and hats.” I just had this conversation with someone the other week and realized this is something I want DS to be able to do earlier than later. I wish more shoes would have strings instead of Velcro! The few he owns with strings are almost too short for me to tie. I may have to purchase longer ones in the future. Lyfia - Matching socks, sorting, etc. are things I never thought about either. Thanks! Lots of great ideas - loves the idea about money, comparing, and scale reading, etc. Tishtoshnm - Thanks for the book recommendations. We have a Melissa & Doug chalkboard/dry erase easel and he currently seems to prefer this over coloring with crayons. Myfoursquare - I’m hoping he takes more interest in coloring. I really enjoyed it as a kid. Mtnrdredux - That sounds great that you were both able to help in the class room at preschool. Thanks for sharing the stories about how your two sides learned at different rates. There were lots of wonderful thoughts and ideas here that I plan to incorporate. We’ll focus on keeping it fun. A big thank you to everyone!