Don't know if anyone will see this, but my baobab pics will be updated with this post. I have two now, both Digitata, both started from seed. The young one is just about a year old now. It went dormant with only a toothpick sticking out of the soil, and I feared that it would be too young to live, but aside from the bonsai soil drying out randomly, causing a few lower leaves to crisp up, it's growing well. Due to its immediate dormancy, it's only got a few months of growth at this point, whereas the big one got the first year and a half to grow continuously in a controlled climate. Neither ever go outside. I'll be hanging both in the air with the roots out of the soil when they do go dormant again this winter, or intend to. I was wondering when I should prune the roots and repot them. Do I just pick a month, prune to my heart's content, repot them in new media, add water and light and wait for it to come to life, or do I wait for buds to appear before I prune em and stick em in the dirt? I'll be keeping both as small as possible. The big one isn't likely to ever change pots as long as I'm alive, and the small one will only be given aesthetic container updates. I'm enjoying growing these; they're pretty durable and forgiving within wide parameters. There are a few commandments that can't be broken, but I'm looking forward to starting another two or three plants out of the next hundred seeds I sow. Guess it can't all be easy. I've noticed that as long as they keep getting bright light, clean water and nutrients, they don't go dormant. I think my utter withholding of water this past winter triggered it. Maybe I'm assuming I have more control over the cycle than I have, but as much as I like seeing the (for a baobab) explosive growth, I'll be "inducing" dormancy on them both by December, if they haven't picked up their own cycle by then. On that same note, it seemed to me this April that both were clearly still dormant, (if not dead) but they came back as soon as I put them back in the window and watered them. I know that the natural cycle for many Baobabs is four months of growth and eight of dormancy. I'm wondering if I can alter that with controlled conditions. Early April is when I'd like to "wake" them up. I'd like to stop watering them in December and attempt to have them both dormant again by the new year. This only allows for four to five months of dormancy, depending on how long it takes the tree to fall asleep and wake up again after adding or withholding light and water. Logically, the dormancy cycle of many Baobabs is necessarily relative to their environment. Trees that experience the monsoon-type climate would have a few months to flourish and the rest of the year to survive. I'm assuming the dormancy cycle is important for the tree's survival on some genetic level, but I'm wondering if limiting it too much will affect the plant's health. If the conditions for growth remain constant, will the tree ever go dormant? Anyway, planning on hanging my dormant bare-root baobabs in a dark, dry place while dormant at the end of this season. I don't remember where I got the idea, what the circumstances of the article's writer's baobabs were or even if it's a good idea in mine, so looking for a little advice on that, if anyone has experience. I'll probably have to break this up into about five messages and post new questions. Anyway, in order to "induce" dormancy and leave clean, exposed roots for pruning when the time comes, I was thinking of killing two birds with one stone; after watering them one last time and letting the roots soften, I thought I'd basically rinse the soft soil (mostly sand, actually) out of the roots the next day, after the tree had gotten a good, long final drink, and let it dry out and go dormant from that point, hanging in a dark, dry closet. Thinking the process through, I'd have a few dead leaves to deal with as they went dormant, but my intention with the final watering and rinse is to ensure that the roots are supple when the soil is removed to prevent as much damage as possible. Once they're dry, they have to stay that way, so hard, dry soil will also be hard to remove without damaging the roots further. It doesn't seem like a perfect plan. Maybe someone out there has tried this and can tell me whether or not I'm heading towards disaster. Anyway, here are some pictures for anyone that might see this. Sf_rhino, if you've got any updates on your plants and see this, I'd love to see them! Adam --- having a little trouble with the pictures. I'm gonna post the text and work on the pictures.

To know "everything" is a tall order. a) Plants: Flowers that do very well here include: calendula, nasturium, montana centurea, marigold [if you can keep the slugs away], impatiens, lobelia Shrubs: all berries [blueberries, red currant, raspberry, etc.]; rhodedendron [I have one about 13 feet x 13 feet high, planted it about 27 years ago] Trees: I've planted 'exotics' like Douglas Fir and birch; each is about 25 feet high now, roughly 1 ft per year of age, but I started with 5 year olds; more usual are alder and hemlock Edibles: peas and zuchini do well; I've been experimenting with cool-weather tomatoes; the winners on taste so far are TUMBLER and BALCONI for cherry-size; those were known to local gardeners; my own trials also turned up SILETZ as a great tasting [sweet/tart] 1.5" diameter, will grow outside. An inside grower almost as tasty, slightly thick skin, was SWISS ALPINE. Some grow carrots, others potatoes; a few try corn, even. Variables: Local micro-climates, even yards away, can be quite different, depending mostly on whether a site gets light all day long, as the run rotates AROUND the sky, not across it, or only during part of the day. We get a lot of rain, often 100" per year, and nights [let alone days] are rarely over 60 degrees, so necessary for corn or tomato [most varieties]. Social seasons: We have 3 seasons here: legislative, from January to May, tourist, from late April to late September [cruise ship tourism has EXPLODED here, rising from about 230,000 annually in 1990, to about 900,000 in 2005], and dead, which some call 'local', from late September until January, however, lots of parties in early December, before people leave for the holiday Outside [as Alaskans call everywhere else] or in the Lower 48. The Juneau Advantage: Juneau is an interesting mix of coast and mountain; we have 16-ft tides twice daily, which is pretty dramatic, sometimes more than others, and mountains not so high--3500 to 4,000 ft--but quite close to town, rising rapidly from the quiet Channel [connects to the Pacific, but actually IS pacific [calm] most of the time. Juneau is also, because it is the Capital, a mix of town type jobs [many still in Government, but in summer, in tourism also] and very much outdoors--in 5-10 minutes walk, you can be outside of sight of human habitation, depending on where you start and where you go. Like many capital cities [Washington DC for example], there is a 'political' life for some, which others--perhaps in retail trades, say--largely ignore. Juneau has quite a high education level, many here have Master's degrees, or used to, or more, and, if both partners work for government, quite a number of families have incomes over $100,000 annually ... but again, life can be very different and more difficult for those in retail or not in government. Federal govt jobs esp. pay best now; then State govt, then city...or so it's said, no guarantee. Disadvantages: Housing prices have skyrocketed here in the past two years, as elsewhere across the country, because of the low interest rates that let to overbuilding and high demand for building materials and skills. The State seems about to waste a roughly $1 Billion surplus from oil revenue, oh, I mean 'intelligently spend on development projects'...instead of saving even half in the Permanent Fund [that pays dividends to each Alaskan and that really IS the biggest economic help to Alaska]. We used to have about the same number of bars as churches, but I think that, with the passage 10-15 years ago, of the automatic 3 days in jail for first offense drunk driving [DUI, DWI], the number of bars has gone down, and we still have about 1 church per 1,000 people, and, as we have 33,000 people or so, that's a lot of churches. But Juneau is now much more segmented, or divided into subcultures, than it was in 1971 when I got here. There are 5-6 radio stations, when there used to be two, and 3 broadcast TV stations, and many more on cable, when then there was 1 [that played tapes from Seattle, that came up by barge about 6 weeks late]. Now people shop at Costco, Fred Meyers and a Home Depot and a Wal Mart are due shortly, when in 1971 everyone lived out of catalogs and had to plan 6 weeks in advance. Then, after you'd been intown a year, you knew 1/3 of all the 13,000 people; now, you still see many you know, but many also that you do not. We are essentially an 'island' in that no roads connect anywhere. People usually drive 10,000 miles annually on the 40 miles of road we do have, and there are said to be more cars than people. Go figure. We had a great bus system, though it's been cut back some. Some wish there to be a connecting road, just because; others note that we average about 1 bank robbery every 10-15 years, regular as clockwork [no where to escaped to, you see]. We have great service--at equally great [high] prices--from our monopoly airline; in the old C.A.B. days, we had two airlines, go figure. Of course, back then, the State library was open all day; now, with all our oil billions, it's open only in the afternoons. Much that we seemed to do OK when we were poor, we can no longer afford now that we are 'rich'. But we do have the Permanent Fund, about $33 Billion now, which pays out half its earnings in equal shares to each Alaskan resident a year or more [well, most of 'em] ... until the Legislature or Governor 'raids' the Fund??? Hmmm... Mind, I am not speaking as formally representing any of many groups to which I belong, just as a gardener. We had a fine fellow as Extension Agent; he moved recently, hope the new one is as good. However, that service thinks mulching won't work here, and I tried dried young glass clippings, before the dandelions had bloomed, and it worked just fine [green 'manure', no horse or cow involved]. Some people bury rotting salmon in gardens, or bury kelp washed with fresh water.... Enough info for now? Ask for details....which I may not know!!

I received my package today from SassyD, and let me just say, OH MY GOODNESS!!! I am overwhelmed by your generosity, Diane. This box weighed 28lbs, people... I wrote down a list so I can remember everything that was in it, so I wouldn't leave any of the great items out when listing them on here. Here are all the wonderful things she sent me!!!!! -2 dove chocolate bars. One I couldn't wait and ate already despite it's meltiness, and it was still just as delicious, (though the family stole it away and took bites off of it first, grrrr, LOL,) and the other one I'm putting in the fridge for later. -The cutest glass bee night light, I just love it. And I do like a little light in my room, so I can see where I'm going when I get up to use the restroom which every stinkin' night, lol. So it will go to good use, I can promise that. It is so cute! -A big butterfly stepping stone, which I really like! I love stepping stones. -The prettiest little shiny blue glass petal plant mister. This is something I did not have that I just love!!! Can't wait to use it. -A package of rawhide twisty treats, which Zeus and Zoe smelled immediately when I opened the box. They were sniffing intently in the box, shoving their noses into it. Couldn't figure out what they were doing that for, until I ran onto these! Zeus and Zoe have both already devoured one. (Wish I had my camera so I could've taken a pic of them enjoying them, but Dad took my camera with him on a trip.) -The most beautiful metal birdfeeder, along with a large bag of wild bird seed to put in it. I have a big love for the birdies, and really enjoy feeding them. This is just so great!!! It is a very nice feeder, just beautiful. -And, though of course I really love every single thing in this package, this might be my favorite. The most awesome hummingbird feeder I have ever seen! It has a metal frame around it with painted flowers, it is gorgeous. I know my description can't do it justice. I love feeding the hummers and eagerly anticipate them returning every year, and this feeder will definately go to great use, can't wait to use it. And she also sent a package of instant hummer nectar to go with it. -And on top of everything else, a bag of food for my guinea pigs. I assume the fact that it is actually hamster/gerbil food was the mistake you were referring to in your e-mail. Sweetie, don't worry a thing about that. It is still greatly appreciated, and just because it isn't officially guinea pig food, doesn't mean I can't ever use it. It says it has vitamin-rich fruits and veggies in it, so I imagine if I mix a little of it now and then with their regular pellets, they will probably see it as a nice little treat. ;) Diane, you are the best pal I could've asked for. I can't believe how generous you were with this package. I don't even know how to thank you enough for everything! But, I still have to say it... THANK YOU!!! ~Summer

I don't know anything about Oregon, but I DO know about packing it all up(or in our case, selling it all) and just going! In our case, we moved from San Antonio, Texas to Fairbanks Alaska in Dec. 2006. We had been here before when DH was in the military, but it had been almost 13 years and it might as well have been a brand new city, it was so different (and probably being a civilian and not spending most of our time on base made it seem very different as well). We ended up renting for a while before we bought our house and it really helped us get acclimated to the area so we could understand where we wanted to live and how we wanted to live. If we would have bought when we first moved here, we would have been in a much different house than the one we ended up in, and probably wouldn't have been as happy. If you are buying right away, I'd definitely see if I could take a trip (or two) out ahead to really get a feel for the places you are considering. Our big adventure has been totally worth it and we're very happy, I hope you all have as much fun as we've had starting over and reinventing our lifestyle! ~~Veronica