june 2007 There were some that I planted in other containers first mainly in my case to keep the bunnies and other things to keep from eating them. But most of them went into the ground straight from the jug. I took so long to get the zinnias in the ground that the red star zinnia (i think it is the correct name) started blooming while it was still in the ws jug so I was getting worried. But they made the move great and are blooming thier little heads off. And you can't even tell when I cut a bunch for the house. Thanks everyone. Paula

The trick to Huernia and other stapeliads is to only water when it is a warm sunny day. During the winter no water at all unless it is warm and sunny and then only every few weeks at the most unless you have consistently warm and sunny conditions. Use a soil mix with lots of grit or pumice and skip the peat or coir based soils because they don't usually do well in those for long. Mike

I can see why you'd want to show that beauty off! I'd give anything for a floor to ceiling window like that! How deep is the wood ledge? Hard to tell, but would it be large enough to have a pillow/bench made? Do you plan to display anything there? Since the space is not furnished (or furnishings are not in sight) it's hard to tell you what window dressings would work best for you other than to suggest a shade that would allow you to block the view from your dogs. Since you need to block the view, I'd do a plantation shutter on only the bottom half, leaving the top half open to expose the beauty of the windows, all with the option of leaving the bottoms open or closed. Or, a fabric roman with 'top-down bottom-up' functionality in a soft, classic pattern that matches your decor. Shutter option: (not the window style you have, but just to get a sense) Roman option:

I felt sad about putting them outside last Friday. But they seem to love it, a lot more room to move around than in large basement boxes. In a couple of days or so they will be more ranging free, once they get used to where Home Base is... not completely as my neighborhood is full of foxes, hawks and owls. But they will have a home outdoors they can enjoy. The black Australorpes and the buff Orpingtons remain really friendly. I'll let them enjoy their run starting tomorrow morning. Above, way back in babyhood... Australorpe, Orpington, and a Wyandotte lurking in the background. Buff Orpington in foreground, and over at about 11 am, clock wise. Right behind is a Buckeye. Photo taken 6/24. PS thanks for all the feedback and comments!