Thanks Will for your "This week tour". The Picea abies 'Medusa' is a true beauty and is my favorite, especialy now with the new foliage. During our U.S. trip in January I learned that this cultivar was found as a witches' broom on a Picea abies 'Acrocona' by Jim Boyko. The temporary name he gave to it was 'Acrocona Globe', later on he named it 'Medusa'. Also your Picea abies 'Catharine's Golden Heart' is glowing among it's other colourful friends! You're showing us some very nice colour combinations! Your garden do have a much differend look now then back in January when we visited you, it's full of surprises :0)

Well, since the Common Raven is considered a songbird (the largest in North America), I guess grackles are small in comparison. Be glad you don't have a raven landing on your feeder. I have another possible take on your crows-with-snake event. The crow broods are fledging now in my neighborhood and they're flying all around with non-stop nasal cawing (I flew to this tree! What do I do now? Where is everybody? I'm hungry, feed me!). Maybe your crow is delivering the snake lecture to the kids - "This long skinny floppy thing is dangerous! Watch out! This is how to deal with it!" Just a thought. Claire

Aw, mobuddy, thank you! I feel pretty happy these days, my life has never been better. I've got my share of neurotic anxiety, but far less of the latter than in years past. I do love my little house, I always have, and now it's sooooo much better than it ever was before! blfenton - good idea. Thank you. I just put a gray and a brown Sharpie on my Amazon wish list. They were really small scratches, but still. When my counter arrived, I noticed a very small scratch/chip near the sink. The install guy used a Sharpie on it, and the flaw pretty much disappeared. Let me know if you have Living Room advice over on Home Decorating.

I feel your pain.....we live in a neighborhood that demands living one with nature (no fences) which is a good thing to a point but such a challange....we decided to try to trick the deer.....fishline first....that lasted a couple of weeks..so thought ok lets use black parachute cord so it would make more of an impression but not be visible much as we are surrounded by forested lots.....worked all Spring.....hot dang....thought we were finally going to see what are plants are supposed to look like...had no idea how lovely my hostas could really be.....then a poor skinny doe showed up....so pathetic.....dropped two twins behind our lot just as we had walked outside.....adorable.....felt sorry for her so i put food on the other side of the fence line.....gobbled it up......she respected our space until she decided she would slide under the fence line one day and follow me around the garden on my walkabout. My husband hollered for me to turn around and there she was chewing her cud waiting to see where i would go next. I chatted with her to go back to the other side of the fence...sprayed deer off and sprinkled milorgonite and she obliged for three weeks.....but i ran out of apples and corn......so today she showed up in the front yard eating my new hollies...she didnt know deer dont like them......then she invited a friend for lunch in the back yard. Waiting for the hopping fawns and relatives.......... Beetles discovered my knock out roses today as well. Between the immunex and neem and sevin, milorgonite,deer off, and anything else stinky in my garden shed, we need to wear gas masks in the yard. We live 2000 ft up and mornings and evenings have always been lovely to sit out....not this year.....my hubby had to buy a propane fogger plus we have bought so much yard guard the stock is going up...and the bugs STILL bite. We have never seen any of the copperheads, rattlers or corals that share our space but i have a feeling this might be the year......we had a bear swim across the lake across from our house last summer...i am waiting for him to show up anyday as the produce in the garden is just beginning to ripen. I just had a conversation with myself as to exactly why i garden.....??? Still waiting for my answer......i will never open the garage door again without looking up........creepy....... freaky