DH has been working too hard around the homesite lately. With his bad back and painful gut he doesn't need to be laying rocks! But he's doing it, because he loves to play with rocks and is good at it. The muddy morass between the back of the house and the old rock wall which contains the flower bed will be all ROCK. Spring is trying to be here..the dogwoods are just coming into bloom. The daffodils are all gone, the creeping phlox is going wild, the rhubarb is up (pie, soon) and maybe..just maybe..the berries will do something this year if we get enough rain. The peonies are full of buds. I hope we've had our last freeze. I need to mow the grass. That's my job, by my choice, because I don't like the way DH does it; and he's hard on MY lawnmower! I love driving the mower around, with the suicide knob on the steering wheel, and amazing all onlookers with my sophisticated pattern which leaves no blade unmowed without ever stopping and backing up. Tomato and pepper starts are living under the fiberglass leanto outside now, getting strong before moving to the garden. We've had too much wet in the past few days, so the garden area is untillable, and it's still really too early to plant. I planted two rows of Swiss Chard in the middle of the newly-cleaned out strawberry bed, with a row of radishes between the berries and the edging. Why not combine? It's close to the house, and I might even water it. I have rhubarb in the front flower bed, with the butterfly bushes and forsythia. The weather has been weird! A couple of warm, dry days..then two or three days of rain. The plants love it, that's for sure..but it cramps my style when I have to work on the only days that are sunny and dry. Planning a trip in August to the west coast to see kids, grandkids, and old friends. Haven't checked on prices yet, and am prepared for sticker shock. Haven't told DH I'm going, either, but he will support me in my need to connect with family and friends. It will be a busy, busy, trip; I dare not stay with DS and family for more than a week, or we would certainly NOT stay friends! Just too different! I just walked around the yard, and some asparagus is up! Spears the size of my thumb..but not enough to make a meal. I hope they do better this year than they have done in years past. I am getting creative urges..so it SURELY is spring! Replaced a wicker seat in a bench for a friend, and have been looking at my old basket books. Another friend wants me to paint an old window for her for her exercise area, so she has something to look at besides a blank wall. I have the window, and the paint, now all I have to do is do it!

I lookup the stratification requirements when I am making up my plant tags. Then I write on the tag "ws" for wintersow and "ss" for spring sow. If it is something that may need multiple warm cold warm cycles I also write on it "slow" and the date sown. That way if it isn't sprouted by summer I know to keep watering it and move it to a shady spot over the summer so it won't completely dry out before next winter. I file my seed packets I plan to sow and prepared labels in a tub with sections for sowing early winter, late winter/spring, and tender-only sow after frost. This is just to make sure I get the things that NEED cold out first. Then I can take my time doing the things that might need a bit of cold or fluctuating temps or at last can handle cold. The tender things can wait, some of them get done in my "wintersowing containers" and some get direct sown. That decision depends on how many of the seed I have, where it is going, how quickly it germinates, and of course how much potting mix I have left! I always end up underestimating how much I am going to do each year. So, there are still reasons why some of us research the seed's needs, but it is definitely not required for a successful experience. If you like researching that info - do it, if not skip it altogether or maybe just do it for those very special seeds. You will also learn what works best for you over the years and tweak the routine to suit your needs.

BG, I have never seen VFs in these numbers before, and I've been doing this for around 12 years now. One or two here and there and that's all. They are having a field day or days I should say, nectaring, mating, and laying eggs. They are not shy at all. I can stand right next to them as they nectar and they act like I'm not even there! LOL! This has been a wonderful opportunity to observe their behavior, etc. Color patterns appear to vary as well, from a butterscotch yellow to fairly bright orange. Some I can tell they are in the longwing family and not frit family, but others are shorter, rounder forewings. Much variation in size as well. I have a few blooming things right now - Dallas Red Lantana, Coreopsis 'Jethro Tull', Verbena bonariensis, Dianthus, Spanish Lavender, white clover, but that's about it. I have so much to do - plant Zinnia, Tithonia, and other seeds I direct sow. Pot up my Oscar Milkweeds and Japanese MGs. Sandy, my Purple Milkweeds are up and doing well. Slow growing, but they survived winter and probably my horrid gardening techniques Don't think A. sullivanti made it, tho. I have A. speciosa coming up everywhere and it is about to bloom, too. It's supposed to have a very pretty bloom so I can't wait. I got my plants from Almost Eden this week, too, Lavendar Porterweed, Hamelia patens, and Miami Sunrise Tecoma. Can't wait to get these planted out as well. Am very anxious to see the blooms on the Tecoma. Supposed to be orange fading to yellow, a relatively new cultivar. Christie, re: Spicebush Swallowtails. Sometimes a banner year is followed by a sparse year. Don't worry, they'll be along....... Have you planted another splendid Zinnia patch? MissSherry - of course, there are many of your butterflies I'd love to see. I know it's very unlikely I'll ever see a Palamedes Swallowtail. I have seen a couple of RSPs, but doubt I'll ever see many and they are sooooooo gorgeous! Same for Viceroys. They just are not a butterfly found in urban areas here. Occasional strays only and I cherish these sightings. I am missing Swallowtails of any kind this year. Haven't seen one at all. Too bad, I have all these big, blowsy, clumps of Fennel just waiting to whet their appetites. Maybe a bit later on....... Susan

I just looked it up to verify. I have a CD-ROM of "The Butterflies of North America, A Natural History and Field Guide", by Dr. James Scott: "Erynnis baptisiae (Indigo Dusky Wing) Like E. lucilius (658) in wing pattern and male valvae shape. E. baptisiae flies with lucilius only from s Minn. to Penn.-Mass. E. baptisiae is a little larger than lucilius (fw length usually 16-18 mm) and has a paler upf patch just inside the white dots (like that of E. zarucco, 656). E. baptisiae is usually smaller than zarucco, and its fw is wider. Habitat Gulf Coast to Transition Zone open woods and brush. Hostplants herb and shrub Leguminosae: Baptisia tinctoria, leucantha, australis, leucophaea var. laevicaulis, Crotalaria sagittalis, Lupinus perennis, Thermopsis villosa, Astragalus canadensis, introduced Coronilla varia, "hop clover." Lab larvae were raised on Thermopsis mollis and on Aquilegia (Ranunculaceae), the host of E. lucilius. Eggs laid singly on the host. Full-grown larvae hibernate. Mostly two flights, L Apr.-E June and July-Aug. (sometimes E Sep.). Males perch all day on low shrubs in open areas to await females." The larvae hiberate on the plant. Leave your Baptisia and other host plants standing until late spring. Pearl Crescents also hibernate on the plant.