Hi Everyone. It has been an "eventful" year since I last posted. I *was* doing quite well up till the point I made the mistake of re-potting the orchids. I picked the correct time to do it etc., etc., etc., -- indeed it was "by the book", and even had my homemade "book" opened throughout the procedure. Long story short: every last one of them DIED, including the one I got to bloom. I swore off orchids for good... that was until I met someone with the Tucson Orchid Society, who connected me with someone else at the TOS, etc., suddenly I found myself a member of the Tucson Orchid Society. I am rebuilding my small collection with the exact same plants that died, and a few new ones including a seedling. One advantage of joining the TOS is they have a "Cat"(tleya) person who is willing to help me next year when it comes time to re-pot my one and only (so-far) orchid ( Blc Chia Lin 'Shinsu #1' AM /JOGA ), and it is in dire need of re-potting!! (I also have a seedling but it is being raised in a joint and protected environment until next year, so it has not been counted... YET!!) This time I will have expert advice as I go through the procedure. Me?!? I suspect it was not so much my technique -- though it very well might have been -- so much as it was the combined shock of the re-potting plus the extreme environment it which it was asked to re-establish itself in. The next time after the re-potting I hope the gentleman will temporarily house the orchid in his greenhouse just long enough until it can re-establish itself. I have one question for Sarah: I am very impressed by her "indoor" greenhouse -- the one with the shelving, and what *appears* to be some type of heavy duty transparent plastic on 3 sides. Is that what I am looking at?!? If so was this some type of do-it-yourself project?!? How much did it cost you to put together?? If commercial, where did you get it from and how much did it cost?? It really is quite impressive. In many ways is similar to a poor man's Wardian Case, which would solve the problem of supplying adequate humidity. I do have one question: Given that I live in a rental unit and the walls are made of Dry Wall, management would frown on mold on their walls -- they frowned on my hanging up sheer curtains on the porch to cut down the the HOT western afternoon sun, so mold on their interior walls is probably a non starter. Still the idea of having a small interior greenhouse shows great promise. I like your design. Has anyone else built an interior Wardian Case aka an interior greenhouse?? What types of problems did you encounter?? For those of us who are renters, have restricted space, or for whatever reason where building an external greenhouse is not possible, the building of an INTERIOR greenhouse / Wardian Case by a window might just be the just the ticket. I have attached to this post the picture of Blc Robert Ferguson 'Florida Sunset' that I got to bloom last year. This was the orchid that you may recall rode the wild Wind Called Mariah... that went flying, then crashed to the floor while in bud, the damage which can be seen in this photo. This will be my third purchase (I almost forgot the seedling, plus I have a raffle winner ). DesertLynx

Outsmarting the tree rats (squirrels) around my house is a full time job. This past spring I hit on a new idea. When I plant a container I invert an empty wire hanging basket over the container and the plant gets sun and can be watered but the squirrels can't dig in it. Another idea: I bring in a lot of plants to "over winter" under lights in my garage. I have so many that it is hard to reach my hand under the lights (4 shop lights) to the middle for watering. So I bought a pump sprayer with a long wand and it works great! In late winter I add a little liquid Dawn detergent, few drops, to each gallon of water and not only does the soil get wet easier but the worms that are waiting to hatch into distructive pets just don't hatch. Don't know what it costs me to run those four shop lights all winter but I don't care. It is a small price to pay to be able to "garden" every weekend in the garage. Many people have mentioned that they mark their outdoor plants with a "permanent Sharpie". In my experience there isn't a "permanent Sharpie", they all fade and quickly too. A grease pencil/china marker or expensive "no fade" garden center marker are the only markers I have found that won't disappoint you by fading. Eight years ago I decided to learn about gardening so I tapped into my local library. I checked out nearly every book they had on gardening and learned so much. The Gardenweb forums are also a wealth of information and entertainment. There is always something new to learn and I appreciate all of you who take the time to write in your ideas. One last idea from me...I keep a small notebook on my computer table and jot down any idea I find that's new and I will want to try. Little pieces of paper get lost but I always know where my notebook is and also use it when I order "on line" so I will remember the name of the company and the order date. Tina or Trowelgal

yeah yeah i know... but couldn't resist. (Yellow) 1)Aureum for graceful leaf shape and color (runner up Jordan/Katsura/Summer Gold) (dissectum) 2) Seiryu for its soft light green elegant leaves and vase growth habit (Laceleaf) 3) koto no ito for beautiful weeping habit (followed closely by villa taranto and Aekans Le's with its great purple bark) (variegated) 4) Peve Multicolor variegation on this one is inconsistent. BUT the bark is spectacular at least mine is - a light blueish silvery color. Underrated. (ukigomo) (pink) 5) Geisha - Terrific pink color. (also GGW. Taylor I like but killed 2 already - too fickle) (bark) 6) Acer Griseum ( runner up snakebark phoenix/joe witt/Murasaki Shikibu PINK STRIPED BARK!!!) HONORABLE MENTION - Amagi Shigure/Olsens Frosted. Must stop....

Indeed it is. My oldest cat, Billy, is hyperT, hyperPTH, CRF, and has had one of his ear pinna amputated due to skin cancer. My other hyperT cat has "something else" going on, too, as yet undiagnosed. Old cats with chronic illnesses are challenging, to say the least. With your cat's history of hyperT and current weight loss, I have to wonder if he might not be one of those rare individuals whose hyperT recurs after radioactive iodine. We recently had a cat on the hyperT mailing list who had to go in for a second I-131 treatment when his hyperT recurred, though I can't remember how long after the first treatment the hyperT showed up again. In any event, it'd be a good idea to get your boy's TT4 tested again if you haven't done so recently. Hopefully pancreatitis is all he's dealing with (as if that's not enough), though you never know what else may be at play in an elderly cat. Laurie BTW, I have found the BCP pharmacists to be pretty up front about their products. It's worth giving them a call and asking how palatable their metronidazole chews are with feline patients.