We have just been working for the last couple weeks, trying to get everything done. The rains came and all the pastures really greened up quickly! Looked like spring, all bright and shiny green grass. I got everything mowed again just not very short. Hoping it spurs the grass to do another growth spurt before frost hits us. I got lime spread on a couple of the fields. I did the powdered lime, supposed to be better, last longer than the pelleted lime, cheaper too. It was a real pain spreading by lawn spreader, having to wear a mask for the dust. Interesting how the wind comes up, starts blowing pretty steady about noon, then drops off again about 5pm. Made huge clouds of dust so I would have to stop, then go back. We have been working on leading the foal around without his mom, she is eating in her stall. He is getting better, she is much less excited about seperations now.He is growing like a weed in the sun. He is on his second halter, only two holes left to go. Stands about 54" now, withers level with my armpit. Much bigger than the belt buckle high of his birth! They are usually grazing apart out in the field now. I have been adding other old horses as company in her field to let him practice his herd skills. He really likes having other horses to play with, just stand and watch. He canters or gallops most of the time, both fast like a racehorse and slow as the best Western Pleasure horses. I have only seen a few trot steps all summer. Foal is a good baby, good to lead and loves brushing. He will stand close as long as you will brush him! Has had his feet done a couple times, did pretty well standing and balancing. He has grown out all his foal hoof feet, chipped and trimmed off, now has totally new BIG hooves since birth. Almost the size of the palm of your hand. I have torn out a couple of flower beds, was surprised at how many bulbs were under the ground! They were huge, got lots of babies, splits, and tubers, to replant. Some of my lily bulbs are as big as apples, with a dozen bulblets attached. Had to add a lot of dirt to raise the beds, prevent the water pooling from drivway runoff. I had a dirtpile from scraping the horse paddocks, lots of sand and "organic material" so should be good for plants. All the nurseries are having sales, found a good selection of perrenials and shrubs marked way down. Should give the yard and flower beds a new look in the spring. This is a good time to plant here, they grow until ground freezes in Dec. I like flowering shrubs, easy to grow and pretty to look at. You can get something blooming all season if you plan well. My new Witch Hazel is a fall bloomer, bright yellow, should add a burst of color with red leaves to my Oak trees in the corner. Splitting perrennials will help fill in the beds too. Husband is digging around the barn driveway, got the drainage changed behind the little barn. Water has just been like a funnel with the cloudbursts, drainage going right into the back door. I have found the horses standing in fetlock deep water several times, then had to dry out the tie stalls and drag out the mats! Told him the fall rains were coming, something needed to be done. DD and I started project, moved a lot of dirt! Tried to be done as a surprise when he was gone for the weekend. Ran into some problems, didn't finish until today. He had fun with it and came up with some stuff I hadn't thought of, filling and leveling. Looks real good, have to see how the water runs when it rains! I had DD help me clean the carriage barn, rearrange carriages and get seasonal stuff around to the front. Found the tire chains for tractor, leaf sweeper, made a pile of stuff we don't use to sell at the winter tack sales. Put the summer stuff way in the back, carriages we won't use in winter are behind. Have a pile of leather to put conditioner on, may need a couple coats. I like reins, harness, to be soft and smooth in my hands before I pack them back away. Saddles need a wipe down and some conditioner as well. I have a couple sets of synthetic harness I need to run thru the wash, so it is nice and clean when we start working horses regularly again. I do like that synthetic harness, so little work! We are doing some work with the 3yr old, he doesn't mind wearing his saddle blanket and surcingle. Bridle goes on well, just doesn't understand bit and reins directions yet. Also very unfit, totally sweaty in about 15 minutes. Of course the temps DID drop about Thursday, maybe 55F will be more to his liking than 85F of last Sunday. Sent the little Corgi to get bred. Hoping for puppies in early Dec. Little late for Christmas sales, however the male dog owner said he never has problems with selling puppies, even in January. Kind of exciting, we haven't had puppies in about 10 years! Female is red and white, marked like Lassie. Male is a tri-color, mostly black with a nice white necklace and feet. DD is hoping for puppies of both colors. I don't know what to expect. Owner of male said the red color stays brighter, when crossed back with the tri-color. Our female was bred that way, her whole litter was red and whites. Surprises are fun, they will all be cute. Fall color is just getting started, just a few splashes of red or yellow. No frost yet, though warnings are out for further north of us. Huge crops of nuts and acorns just carpeting the ground. I could use a couple more weeks of cool, not freezing weather! Have to finish the garden beds!!

Deb, Thanks for the info! I can bring to the pot luck some, goulash (including the plastic forkies), fresh fruit bowl and homemade cookies...(would this be ok?) looking for; brug cuttings(several),plumeria cuttings(several) coral bean tree rooted(for friend)grn jade vine, anything variegated, butterfly vine,white canna,SKY vines blue and white,variegated ele ear,WOODROSE VINE???,daylilies other than ditch orange,BLK iris?,CHOC cosmos,sedum or irish moss that can grow between rocks and stuff, anything diff.out of the ordinary-what cha got? Thanks and look forward to meeting EVERYONE! Sandy

Can't wait to see your Florida-friendly yard, pete! For Garden Web folks who don't know your neighborhood, here's the skinny: http://www.historickenwood.org/gallery.html Not only is Historic Kenwood in St. Petersburg possibly the largest concentration/neighborhood of Craftsman Style Bungalows in the (world), but their website has fascinating before/after photos of their annual Landscaping contests. Real transformations!

Besh - I came home from work today and crashed and burned. I didn't realize how tired I was until I sat down and fell asleep! LOL I do have to say that all 4 orientations went well. We had a few criers, but that is to be expected. We have 4-5 STRONG willed kids in my M-W-F AM class, that have the potential for problems, but I will keep my fingers crossed that all goes well. Our Steelers play on Sunday and I think we all have high hopes for the team this year, since we have a new coach. DeeMarie - I have dried herbs the way that Suzanne said, but I am too impatient most of the time to let them dry naturally. I pick them, wash them, spin them dry and lay them on a cookie sheet. Then I pop them in a pre-heated 200ºF oven and let them sit for about an hour. I turn off the heat and let them stay in the oven overnight, then crumble them and put them in a jar the next morning. I do usually make pesto with the basil first, and I freeze that in an ice cube tray. I have found that the chives are easiest to just wash, dry and chop and put straight in the freezer instead of drying. Hope that helps. NHSuzanne - I hope your face feels better now. You need to hang some orange reflective tape on those tree branches! LOL Hope you are having a great weekend with SP. I am hanging in the house tonight and tomorrow and then going to my DMIL's for lunch on Sunday. Other than that, I just want to relax. I have a crib quilt to finish by next weekend, so I will work on that as much as I can. Hope everyone has a great weekend. Marci