Stush, trust me on this one, It's an Agave Joe hoax. Looks exactly like hoovb and Denise's , I'll tell you a secret too stush on how I got them , I actually had to do a little detective work to catch this guy, I had to make a few phone calls and finally got permission to remove the pups which were all removed with roots, ( that's a big plus,). I tried to give them something in Exchange but they insisted they don't want to add anything to their collection right now cause they don't have the time, (bummer.) And if I see any other plants growing feel free to help myself. Wow!!! Kinda like a blank check. I was very thankful and cleaned up the area also I was so appreciative. He actually rents that house out and doesn't even live in it that's why I had to make phone calls but my persistence paid off. Stush, those are very expensive agave's on the streets, and in the stores I've seen them in and their not aS common as most others, just happy to be able to help with the clean up around the hens and snatch up the chicks in the process. Plus they are simply gorgeous. Greg

The last that I checked, Sunshine Nursery in Clinton does not sell clematitis, but Sherry, the owner's wife did have clematitis established at their home with no pipevine cats several years ago. She was not willing to sell any of her personal clematitis with me at the time. I had always planned to share some cats with her when I started getting some. They may have found her plants by now. Edith lives near downtown OKC, and works at the OKC Zoo. I met her several years ago at a Monarch tagging at the the Zoo. We got to talking about Pipevines, and my dream of getting them started. She happened to say that she had a colony at her house, and invited me by to see them, and shared some clematis plants, and a few large cats at the time. My vines were quite young, as they had only been planted that year. That was the first that I and Miss Sherry had ever heard of clematis. I may check with her later today, to see if she would want your eggs. She may not want the eggs, but may be interested in newly hatched cats. She may not, if her vines are full of cats. That year, the outside butterfly garden at the Zoo was gorgeous. And, there were several pipevine vines thriving. Last year, when I went to the OKC 1st Butterfly Count, the outside garden was pretty sparse. There were no pipevines, and most of the native milkweed had died out. Years of drought, triple digit temps, lack of funds and help, had caused a significant loss. The money went to the newer enclosed butterfly garden, and now the big Centennial trails. So, the outdoor butterfly garden has been neglected. :( Last year, when I visited with Edith, she said that she did not have 1 pipevine swt. The drought had killed out her colony. Hopefully, they are getting re-established again.

Here's my update from the not used and not yet blooming lists. Four o'Clocks--Are blooming nicely now, but whenever I look inside, there's no nectar. None at all! I haven't seen the hummers at them, and this is probably why. They look great, but how disappointing! Blue Lobelias (Lobelia "Fan Blue")--I just saw a bird visit these this afternoon. I'm not sure if she got anything, but she dipped into a couple flowers before zipping over to the feeder. Interestingly, this summer I've been experimenting with making feeders out of Sculpey clay which closely imitate the hummingbird flowers in my garden. I made a blue Lobelia last week that is very realistic looking. I'm hoping that my feeders are habituating them to new colors and forms. It's hard to say because I'm not doing a round the clock study, but it seems like they didn't touch the lobelias until I put that feeder up. I put the feeder up a few nights ago, and when I got up the next day they were already using it without hesitation. I wonder what their reaction was when they first arrived in the early morning and saw a purple flower, instead of the usual red ones I've been making! I'm sorry to say I wasn't up early enough to see their astonishment. All of this probably deserves its own separate post, because it's pretty neat trying out all these different shapes and colors of flowers. I'm going to try making a nasturtium next. Cardinal Climber and Cypress vine--They're blooming sparsely on bushy, 20 foot vines. I just started fertilizing them with some "Bloom Booster," but they still aren't getting as many flowers as I would like. Maybe they don't like this ridiculous heat wave. Thank God it's finally cooling off. This afternoon, a hummer flew very near the vines, which made me think they might be getting used early in the morning. It seems I'm never up early enough to witness this, and then the blooms are kaput by the afternoon. I've still seen no action at my annual verbenas, my red petunias, mixed color snapdragons, Pelargonium geranium, Dianthus chinensis (although they might be sneaking into these), Impatiens, pompom or cactus zinnias, or my Oriental lilies. Bummer! I'm still waiting on the hardy Hibiscus (bunches of buds), and the Lobelia cardinalis is just beginning to bloom. They will be my last new flowers of the season. I'll let you know!

Perhaps you're feeling a tiny bit conflicted because, in a good way, you were the witness and ultimately, because you were, he went to jail and has now died. Be assured you have no reason to bear any burden from this experience. What you are feeling is post traumatic stress as the whole incident is back in your mind again. Know that this will pass, your mind will sort it all out and lay it to rest. Replace the uneasiness with a sense of pride that you saved a girl from being a potential victim. You're our heroine!!! Now smile.