I have these teas or tea-noisettes already in the ground. With two or three of exceptions, most of them are young and still small: Anna Olivier Cl Devoniensis Lady Hillingdon Cl Lady Hillingdon Sunset Clementina Carboneri Madame Lambard Alister Stella Gray Crepuscule Reve d'Or (I also have Celine Forestier, but I'm taking it out this spring. For a number of years it has consistently been one of my mildewy-est roses.) I have these in pots awaiting planting sometime next spring: Le Vesuve White Maman Cochet Rhodologue Jules Gravereaux "Plymouth Fence Tea" "Edith Perry" I have these on order: Cels Multiflora Le Pactole Bouquet d'Or (Vintage's imported clone) I will probably add two or three more. I'm waiting to see what Vintage offers in the spring. I have my eye on several, including Arcadia Louisiana Tea, Creekside Manor Tea, Windsor Tea, and Mademoiselle Jeanne Phillippe. Since I have a number that will get very big, I have my eye out for some smaller ones. I also find the whole idea of found roses intensely appealing, not only because I admire their toughness, but also because they seem mysterious and beautiful to me. Quite honestly, it was the preponderance of teas among California found roses that has me re-examining a rose class I had long overlooked because of their susceptibility to powdery mildew. Rosefolly

Well, we've only had a few more showers since the rain on Monday but I'll not complain. This time of year the sun is so bright and strong that the cloud cover alone is a welcome sight. We're still in the low 80s in the day with a wonderful cool breeze so most everything is doing well. Except my yarrow -- it finally yawned and flopped. lol! I cut armloads of it for drying and will give it to a friend who owns a florist shop nearby. Steven, the roses aren't affected by the summer storms. The nights are warm enough this time of year to ward off the PM. I do get a little in the spring on the B.P. icebergs and Daybreaker but that is when we can have day temps of 70 only to plummet to the 30s in the wee hours. And yes, it is the same monsoonal moisture that rolls through AZ. It just keeps on coming and ends up in the high desert and over the San Gabriels and San Bernardino Mtns. I love it even though it does make my hair frizz a bit. ; P Georgeanne, girl, where have you been?!?!?! I'm still waiting to see a pic of you on that tractor. ; ) Yes, we are on well water but it's not our own well, it's just what feeds out local supply. We are one of the few communities in the southland that doesn't buy from the CA aqueduct and I hope it stays that way. But with the exploding growth out here (where are all the people coming from!!!), I worry about our natural supply. So far we do not have any restrictions but still, I'm careful. We have everything on auto timers and adjust them as needed, maybe 2-3 times a year. Lawd help my gardens if I had to remember to water them. lol! Leasa, lol! It's about time that furnace takes a break! I seriously do not know how you do it -- I'd be a popsicle. Our humidity is very low here unless we have thunderstorms and even then it isn't that high -- maybe 60% on average. Most of the storms that make it to So.Ca. during our rainy season (Oct.-May) come from the west and move through quickly, so by the time the clouds make it up over the mountains they have pretty much released whatever moisture they contain. When they occasionally come from the north and swing eastward is when we get dumped on, usually in the form of snow. It's the perfect climate for stone fruits like apricots, plums, peaches, pluots, cherries, plus apples do fabulously. My golden delicious tree is loaded with the little darlings. : ) It's clouding up again and getting dark. A few more showers would be nice. The native oaks look the worst to me and then the sugar pines near the ski slope. Makes me so sad to see them so thirsty. C'mon, lets all do a rain dance, shall we. Steven you be good and keep your clothes on, ya hear!

We got in from Phoenix at 12:30 this morning. It was a good trip, but much too busy. We visited my brother who had major surgery and found him to be much better than I expected. We got around a fair bit. My brother lives in Surprise. There is nothing there that attracts me. We went to Glendale which I found to be very charming and I would like to see more of it. We spent a little time in downtown Phoenix - much too congested. We took the back road to Tucson so saw a bit of Mesa and Apache Junction. I thought Apache junction looked very nice. We visited several retirement communities in the Marana/Tucson area. Now that it is built up we don't think so much of our friend's place in Heritage Hills. We visited Saddlebrooke and thought it was too remote. We thought Academy Village on the east side of Tucson was great but too remote and too expensive. It is wonderful if you can afford it, but the homeowner's dues are $450 a month for a couple. We were happy to go see our rental downtown and do a little yard work. The West University District is really gentrifying. I think it is just going to get better and better and the opportunities for all sorts of cultural experiences are tremendous. University Avenue is exploding with ethnic restaurants that are priced for student budgets. We visited the art museum on the day that turned out to be free, and we visited the downtown development that promises average heating and cooling costs for just 66 cents a day but there is a 200k premium over what houses cost elsewhere. The development was really well thought out though and close to downtown amenities. Garages were in the back, all the houses had front porches and there was a common area down the middle. Everything was handicap accessible and the houses were as wired as it is possible to get. It is Armory Park del Sol and designed by the guy who did biosphere. He is also buying some of the old downtown office buildings and is going to put in upscale urban lofts. The old downtown ice house has already been converted. The non-existant downtown nightlife is now changing as performing arts centers and cafes spring up. The downtown convention center has been a real impetus for change. I am already missing the heat. The weather was perfect. It was 80 degrees during the day and cooled to 40 degrees at night. We took most of our meals outside. In Tucson we stayed at a Comfort Inn out on Tanque Verde and we were very pleased with our choice. It was relatively inexpensive, the rooms were just ordinary, but the interior courtyards were delightful and set up to promote conversation with the other guests. They have free chips, salsa, beer and wine Monday through Friday. The breakfast was just what you would expect in most average priced hotels, but the eating area was nicer. We visited Wickenburg. That's a little higher elevevation so a bit cooler, but still lacks medical facilities though that will come. It is also heavy duty rattlesnake country which is a big turn off for me. I also think the area around Prescott and Cottenwood is more beautiful than the low desert, but since my husband can't take the cold in Seattle, he certainly wouldn't handle the winter temperatures there so it would not be an improvement for us. If we go, and we are quite sure now that we will, I think it will be Tucson for us.

One of my pet peeves is allowing mentally ill people to "choose" to live on the streets. Or drug addicted people. Both of those groups are defended as having a right to make that "choice" for themselves (to live on the streets, refuse treatment and/or shelter). While I know it's complicated because treatment doesn't work until one is ready to make that life changing choice to not use, I think allowing/facilitating harmful, life threatening choices by impaired people is a failure of our society. People who are impaired by mental illness or addiction and refuse shelter/treatment, are making IMPAIRED "choices". We don't allow impaired people in other aspects of our society to make certain choices. We don't allow Alzheimer's patients to roam the streets because they "want" to or are frustrated, angry, whatever about being forced to live in a facility. We provide secure, safe places for them. I cannot see a difference between that and those impaired by mental illness or addiction being provided with safe and secure living situations. We don't hold impaired people accountable for certain and many actions, yet we allow them to make "decisions" that threaten their health, welfare and lives. I know it's complicated and controversial, I understand it's a slippery slope, but I think what we are (not) doing now is inhumane. If forced shelter, medication, treatment is considered inhumane, as well, I'd rather we fell on that side rather than what we are doing (not doing) now.