Yes, rouge, it's always fun to plant-shop and find new 'stuff' that fits the spot :-) 'under the pines' sounds a bit grander that it actually is - there is not a pine forest on our little 1/4 acre! There are just 2 white pines in our backyard, one each on the neighbour to the north's property and one of the two neighbours' properties that back onto our lot. The other neighbour behind us (the one with the metal shed and the two little dogs you can see in one of the earlier pictures) has several rather ratty old spruces. Together all that creates the 'under the pines' environment. The pines have thinned out quite a bit in the last two years - there were a lot of dead pines around this sping! Summer droughts and a couple of almost-snowless winters have taken a big toll on them. Looking out from the living room window just now, this is 'the pines': The path with the golden planting is the left side of the short loop that runs from the silver area a bit to the right of the shed to the center path that comes out at the north edge of the lawn. You can see both the begining and end of the path in this picture: Using our green shed to orient yourself, you can see all our garden's backyard paths and beds in this drawing and should be able to figure out where the golden one is: So, while I'd love to have a real forest to play with, I have to make do with our miniature 'woodland' and try to make it look much more than it is! :-)

Actually, there are two annual peepers threads going this year, either of them works. It's good to know the poor things didn't drown in Portsmouth in all this rain. Although I guess tree frogs can handle a lot of water. Anyway, I added your report to the First spring peepers reports FAQ. Thanks, Claire

Bill, 6b isnt too bad, the data they collected included the major freezes of the 1980's so that probably lowered your zone from a 7a to a 6b. But winters like this year is what kind of evens things out a little bit since it has been a very mild winter! We got down to 13F here which actually is considered a pretty normal lowest temperature for the average mild winter, but the duration of warm weather this winter is something I haven't seen here in many years. I think that if you get colder than your zone more than 2 times in a decade, then you shouldn't be classified in that zone. After looking at NYC records, its clear that it does actually fit that definition as a zone 7b which I thought was suprising. And as for Miami, the city center definitely wont go below 35F so its a solid 10b. The more rural areas outside the city did get a freeze during that bitter 2010 cold spell, but the coastal areas of Miami only went down to the mid 30s. Florida seems like it got a bit colder with this new zone map, one of a few places that showed cooling with this zone map. But the major cities of Southeast Florida (Fort Lauderdale down to Miami and points south) is all a zone 10b now and in the 1990 map, only Miami was in a small pocket of zone 10b. No Problem Joey! Randy, I always thought that the USDA zone map should be taken as just a guide. It gives people a good idea of what kind of climate they have, and I think the zone maps are really intended for those gardeners that dont really know a lot about their climate. Gardeners like all of us are aware that the zones dont tell even half the story. Minimal temperatures during the winter are probably the most important factor for most plant's survival, especially in temperate climates, but its not the only factor. And once you get past zone 9a, I think that the duration of heat and freezes is a lot more important than minimal temperatures. Its the same reason why a zone 10b in Miami can grow a ton more tropicals than a zone 11 in Malibu! And a zone 7b in New York and a zone 7b in North Carolina are 2 totally different climates. You wont see live oaks and spanish moss lining streets here in NYC, but you might see something like that in a zone 7b in the southern states. And It seems to me like some areas are a bit more detailed than others with this map. I see a lot of detail from this map in my area, but Northern Florida and Georgia dont have as much detail it seems. For example, I would definitely consider Savannah Georgia and all of Coastal Georgia a zone 9a, but on this map about half of Georgia's coastline including Savannah is only a zone 8b. And I think that some of the more rural parts of Northern Florida are a bit too warm on this map. -Alex

Elmer Fudd: We have two levels of bicycle trails in Wisconsin: touring and mountain style. Most of our trails are touring trails with asphalt or crushed and compacted limestone roadbed. Many of the trails near urban areas are old railway beds with asphalt paving. The railway beds have gentle grades except for one named the "Bug Line". It has one section of 1/2 mile with 5% grade, very high for a railroad. This originally was a spur line that serviced lime kilns in Waukesha county. It pulled a low number of cars and snaked its way among various kilns. From overhead, it had the appearance of the random crawl of a bug, thus its nickname, the bug line. Today, only the remnants of a few kilns remain as a reminder of the past. The Sparta-Elroy trail is paved and passes through 3 railway tunnels. Even in the heat of summer, the interior of these tunnels are cool and dripping. the floor may be rough and wet. It is advised to walk your bike in these tunnels. and have a jacket. In the longest of these tunnels, a light is needed. Hikers and bikers share the same trails. There is no fee for hiking. The main problem that touring a biker has in this state is that many of the trails are short segments of 5 to 10 miles long. One must travel over vehicular roads to connect from one trail to another. Our trail system is a project in process and it will be many years before there is a contiguous network of trails. The city of Madison and Dane county has the best network in the state.