Thanks Carol, sea myrtle sounds cool; think I'll keep it around. I found some packages of Ball freezer boxes awhile back in a thrift store; so I've been blanching and freezing green mixtures for a bit now. Need to do some more this week. I put greens in just about everything. Later this week I'm going to make a crockpot lasagna where I use layered green in lieu of pasta for the lower layers. I will let you all know how it turns out. I'm am so pleased to be having tomatoes getting ripe. Starting tomato seed in November turned out to be one of my better bright ideas. It was just a few pots so carrying them in and out wasn't too much. Having early tomatoes now is so worth it. The fountain is so nice, can't wait to get all finished around it. Hopefully today I will bring home a few small pond fish. I moved some of the bright lites chard over near the fountain. It was going anyway from being in full sun; so it will be interesting to see if it stays perennial in the dappled sun. And for now, it brings some color to the area. I've also got some Florida Variegated Collards that I'm going to plant over here and see how they do. They are also suppose to be perennial. Not that I think they would taste all that good in August. Thanks for the compliments everybody .... blush ~dianne

Dianne - Mark didn't answer your question, but the answer is "yes". The DeLand Farmers Market on Wednesdays is at the Fairground. I have been away on vacation to Virginia. We checked out Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown, and the Yorktown battlefield sites. The area has lots of planted fields of tobacco, wheat, and corn. It was a very nice area to visit. After growing bush lima beans last year, and getting no harvest, I am proud to say that the Black Jungle Butterbean seeds that Silvia sent me produced nicely. Thanks so much Silvia. I didn't take a picture of my harvest because they look just like Luthur's photo. Luthur - What is the difference between the Alabama butterbean and the Black Jungle? In you picture, they look the same. I see that you have replanted. Do you think that I could get another crop if I planted another row soon? Last year my fall plantings of Black Jungle beans bloomed but wouldn't set to make pods. Silvia - As I mentioned before, my Seminole pumpkins turned out to look like the seeds got crossed with a butternut squash. No complaints about production. These are from only 2 plants: Silvia - I have so many figs ripening now too. Your fig preserves look delicious. Do you use packaged pectin in your recipes? When I make calamondin marmalade I don't have to add any so I was wondering if figs have a lot of natural pectin. Loved your vacation photos! Christine

For bug bites, we use heat. Either a hot bath, a hair dryer, or a spoon that has been resting in a mug of microwaved water. I guess the toxins that cause the itching and discomfort can't take heat. Once you heat up your bites, they stay itch-free for most of the day. And in my experience, when you re-treat a second or third time, the itch doesn't return. I have no idea how you people can grab these huge "bugs." As I've said in other posts, I can't do it. I bought a butterfly net at Old Time Pottery and I use it to catch lubbers. Then I swing the net at a wall or fence or sidewalk, killing the lubbers on impact. Works for me!

katkin - when I read your post about a bird that will eat lubbers I said to myself that it sounds like something a shrike will do and sure enough it says it on the site below. Shrikes are an interesting little bird with a small hook on the end of its bill. They are known for impaling their victims on thorns or barbed wire fences and eating at their leisure. Sounds gruesome but if they eat lubbers with no ill effects, more power to them. Although, with some of the lubber invasions we get I'd think the poor little shrikes would get too fat to fly if they ate them all. ... I wonder if grasshoppers are fattening? A site about shrikes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loggerhead_Shrike babalu_aye - Yeah, the nymphs may not be toxic, per the link below it's the bright color pattern that warn predators that they're toxic and since the nymphs are black I guess that means they taste like licorice which although nasty is not toxic. ; P Here is a link that might be useful: Lubbers