connietn - you're probably safe to WS tender annuals now in zone 7 but if you're not sure, it couldn't hurt to wait another two weeks. Best bet is to check the Wintersown.org website. There are approximate dates for WS perennials, hardy annuals, half-hardy annuals and tender annuals/vegetables by zone. Just do a search on Zone 7 and you should see the link that will tell you when to WS your annuals. Using the information posted for Zone 6, I made a chart for myself that gives the WS date + sprout date of many of the seeds I'm WS this year to use for comparison with my "actual" sprout dates...when/if they sprout! I'm a newbie still waiting for the green wave to roll through and leave hundreds of sprouts in its wake! Good luck and don't forget to post photos when you have them--we're all waiting with baited breath for those sprout pictures!!!

Voles look very much like a Guinea pig but mouse brown. They are cute little "mouse-kez" but sure not a gardener's friend. Armadillos are harmless. If you get after them, they roll up into a ball like roly polies. They eat insects, but in getting after those lawn grubs and beetles, they dig up the whole yard. However, they do get rid of the lawn grubs really effectively, and by summer, the yard is mostly healed and you'd never know it looked like Flanders Field in the spring. I normally would go out every morning and rake and rake to fillin the holes, but I am in no shape right now to be doing much of that. I kick some of the dirt back into the holes and pack in down with my walking stick :) That'll fix 'em! Skunks dig for grubs and worms and insects too. They do carry rabies but do not get it themselves. They are generally friendly little creatures. They purr like cats and like to rub on your legs like cats do, too, and they LOVE cat food. Skunks do not see well, so if you walk up on them, they may not see you right away. If startled, they spray to defend themselves. The ones that come here know I mean them no harm and never act aggressively when I am out in the yard. I am still cautious, don't get me wrong. Not only does their spray stink, but it is blinding if it gets into your eyes, and who in their right mind would chance getting rabies? O'possums, are dangerous. They have dozens of razor sharp teeth and are very aggressive and have very nasty dispositions. They are also filthy animals and will eat anything. I have seen them burrow into a dead cow and raise their young inside that rotten carcus! Disgusto! They stink and probably would give you a very serious infection if they were to bite you, besides having your flesh ripped off. They are cute, though. Cute little beady eyes. I like watching them chew. "Smack, smack, smack". I posted some new pictures in my photo album. More in "Country Critters" and a new folder I called, "Wild Things". Have yet to upload the hummingbird pictures, but there are other things there to look at. These are all wild things found on my property. Hope you enjoy looking at them half as much as I do living around them. I am grateful for what I have been given in my life, no matter how small or humble and thankful for parents and grandparents who taught me to see and appreciate all things in nature - the flora and fauna and rocks! ~ SweetAnnie4u "Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul". ~Henry Ward Beecher

No, I just "converse" via the forum. Perhaps so, but I was a bit upset when she was kind of chiding us the other day for discussing changes in the zoning map, etc. People are concerned and I think it IS an appropriate place to discuss those concerns. What and where else? I felt like she was being a bit "controlling"? I really would like to see Paul James take her on his show, though. Poor Annie. You need to get some big strong help like I'm going to do. I just can't do that heavy stuff anymore. Plus, I have a disease called alacka. I lack the talent to work with fencing, posts, hammers, nails, boards, etc. Do you know that I saw Ralph Waldo Emerson's house in Massachusetts near Concord? And his garden? I went to see a lot of the writer's homes - Thoreau, Longfellow, Louisa Mae Alcott, Dickinson, etc. It is so beautiful there in the spring. Also saw Walden's Pond. Beautiful, absolutely beautiful. Gardens and flowers and trees are just stunning up there. They can grow hydrangeas much better than I. The Cape is lovely - we had breakfast at a little coastal breakfast inn - blueberry scones! Saw the sun set on Race Point (furthest point you can go on the Cape). Ferried over to both islands. Lovely, lovely, lovely. Saw the famous Merrimack, House of Seven Gables, Salem, North Church, loved Boston, seafood (can't eat it here anymore), great great great. I was lucky. I got to go with my job, so all expenses paid. Otherwise, I would never have had the opportunity. Winter is like Currier & Ives. But long, very, very long. Roads are never a problem there, though. Susan

I hear you, Penny. I just looked at the accu-weather 15 day forecast. It's going to be kinda chilly out there for what I have left to sow (Zinnias and annual Salvias) I keep thinking "Get going, girl", and then I look at the weather forecast and feel justified for sitting on my hands. But, my Freesias seedlings are up. I'm just about ready to soak another pack of Freesia seeds and WS those (to compare results). I also have Ranuculus and Dble Freesia bulbs starting indoors and one of the "R's" has little sprouts! Then, I went to Lowes yesterday and they had their bulbs in the foyer. So I bought Calla Lilies and Cannas. I think I'm starting those indoors too...at least some of them.