got my big order from Burnt Ridge today. Didn't take pictures, sorry, but I was racing to plant before the rain... Here's the skinny: 2 figs, Italian Honey and Desert King. Both were well rooted, with IH having much finer roots but still plenty of them. Both plants were about 14-16 inches tall once potted. The top 4-5 inches of DK was moldy, so I snipped it off. I did a little root-pruning on DK before potting up it as well. Jumbo HArdy Kiwi was potted and 6 feet tall (climbing a bamboo pole. It looks great, but because much of the growth is all twined around the pole I will be cutting it back severely. This was one of only 3 plants which were leaved out (the other 2 are partially evergreen) Smokey SErviceberry. Looks great on top, one root was wrapped around the main tap-root going down. I cut the girdling root off and planted it. I have no doubts it will be fine (it was about 2 feet tall) Sugar Cane Jujube: Awesome roots. Thick 18 inches long just the roots! Top growth is ok, with the main stem and all top growth turning at a 120 degree angle about 18 inches above the ground. It will be getting pruned to retrain its top. I potted it up for the time as its final place is not yet ready (I have a tree to remove) Yellowhorn: great plant, 20 inches long above the ground. nice fat buds ready to break. Crandall currant. There must be somethign about these plants because I've ordered them from 3 different places and the roots always seem sparse. I would have had trouble telling which way to plant it had there not been buds emerging from the top. root looks like a single taproot with a right angle about 6 inches below the ground. Kokuso and Weeping mulberries. The weeper is for a friend at work. It looks good, except there are not yet any weeping branches. The stem is interestingly twisted and I think she'll love it. It is a whip about 2 feet long. The roots are orange yellow and healthy off the main tap. Kokusa is smaller, 16 inches, a whip also with similar roots. I did a little root trimming on this one as a couple roots seem to have dessicated from the trip. Empress tree: (no boos or hisses, my mother in law wanted one) potted and very small. 3 leaves emerging from a 1 inch stem. It will be fine, I've seen these things take off. Trifoliate Orange: (bought 2 as gifts for a couple gardener friends who were interested in it). great looking healthy plants with leaves (evergreen as mentioned previously). Hard to pot for my friends as they are pretty pokey plants. Each plant is easily 16 inches tall with one of them having 2 main stems and the other pitchforks into three. I ordered a fir tree that came potted and looks fine and a dewberry they were unable to supply. Not the best order I've gotten from them, but I'm still quite happy with it. I probably would have wanted to look for another jujube (given the strange shape the one I received has) but in time I'm sure it will be fine and I know I can correct the stem problem. The fig mold was likely unavoidable given that the package travelled for 7 days to get here. I'd rather have 4 inches of one plant to trim back than have plants whose roots were too dry or whose survival was questionable. Had they let me know the were unable to supply the dewberry I would have replaced it on the order (Lock Ness) and ordered the Dewberry elsewhere. Now I just have to think of where to plant some of the plants I potted until I could place them. ~Chills

Hi everybody. Kathy, yes, I want to get my little plants into the ground, but I'll have to wait a while longer---may have killed my squash plant. I need to check on him.lol Gals, I'm in a rather bad mood today! I think it's just too much "togetherness" with my DH. I love the guy, but... I need some time for myself. Know what I mean? I'm going into MY room, which is actually the dining room where I have a computer in an armoire and some of my things in a file cabinet, some books, etc.-----and chill out in MY ROOM---ALL ALONE. Walked this morning, had toast and turkey bacon and some apple butter --yum yum. Okay. I had a real egg. I'm bad. Haven't had lunch yet. McPeg, I love those flavored waters. I've tried doing some of my own flavorings, but they just don't taste as good as the store-bought kind. Peach is my favorite. Take care, all. I've got a ton to do, we haven't decided yet if everyone's coming here for Easter dinner or we're going to a lodge or something. I may vote "lodge." They have a nice buffet dinner and then we usually walk, tour, etc. Lodge, I say. Lodge! PS This year, after seeing the movie "Passion of the Christ" I just don't feel right about doing the Easter bunny thingy ( and I love bunnies and stuff) so I'm thinking about instead doing some cookies in the shape of fish and having a story with each person's gift about the resurrection and how Jesus met with Peter and other deciples along the sea and they ate fish and talked before he ascended to heaven. A celebration without bunnies. I wish there was a separate spring holiday with bunnies and stuff---aside from Easter. Oh, well. Traditions are sometimes hard to break. I'll have to find a low-fat cookie recipe 'cause I know I'll want to eat a few.

HAPPY (belated) BIRTHDAY, DONNA!!!!! We love you! Check in and tell us how your BIG day was!!!! :-) NHSuzanne: Hilarious video! Thanks for the laugh! If we had TV like THAT, maybe I would consider cable again! LOL! Bummer about your fence. This is the first year that we haven't lost a tree or two on our property. We've had some REAL windy days, but nothing took out our trees, thank goodness. Your garden beds look ready to go! I have to haul dirt and turn it into my hay/worm bin castings and spread it. Then I, too, shall be ready! Easter...I am getting the 2-three year olds again (they are becoming very special to me!) this weekend, Saturday at 11am and overnight for Easter! I LOVE HAVING KIDS ON HOLIDAYS! And, my DD got laid off, so she is here for a week. She's looking for jobs online, and she can do that anywhere. So, it's a perfect weekend! MIL arrives in 6 days for a week-long stay, but without FIL, so that should go easy. Remember, FIL has Asperger Sydrome, so it takes a lot of energy to have fun with him. DeeMarie: CPAP! It's a lifesaver! So glad you're doing this for you, your loved ones, and US!, my love! Peg: Good attitude! As far as caustic family members go, I think many of us have one or two of those. We deal, but it is painful to have family members that we can't just "be" with. :-) Since you asked, projects OUT of the kitchen are many and they are getting accomplished! It feels so good! I feel like I am FINALLY getting things under control. I need to tackle my yard and garage and just get it STARTED! Okay, back to scanning and filing paperwork for me!

Just finished John Sandford's new Lucas Davenport thriller, Field of Prey. It was like riding a roller coaster during a tornado. I could barely catch my breath. Now starting Simone St. James' newest ghost story/mystery, Silence for the Dead. From the back cover, italics are mine: "In 1919, Kitty Weekes, pretty, resourceful and on the run, falsifies her background to obtain a nursing position at Portis House, a remote hospital for soldiers left shell-shocked by the horrors of the Great War. Hiding the same of their mental instability in what was once a magnificent private estate, the patients suffer from nervous attacks and tormenting dreams. But something more is going on at Portis House - its plaster is crumbling, its plumbing makes eerie noises, and strange breaths of cold waft through the empty rooms. It's know that the former occupants left abruptly, but where did they go? And why do the patient all seem to share the same nightmare, one so horrific that they dare not speak of it?" PAM