Yep, I'm in zone 5, and the daffodils I planted in the fall are starting to poke through, as well as some tulips from the year before. Even some of the perennials are showing a tiny bit of green at the crown. The snow is almost gone in my yard, and I am ready to start digging! Happy almost spring! Bonnie

Yes, life is good again... My part time job I love resumes this coming Monday and I have another job on the side...both involve butterfly gardens :-D I just hope I can keep up c 3 jobs... Our snow is completely gone now, though I still see a little frozen ground here and there. Highs in the upper 50s and mid 60s all this week :) I'm just waiting to see my first American Lady or Red Admiral ELF...ETA around three weeks or so as soon as the host plants grow in.

Namaste Don, Nice Guardian Angels. I seem to have found a sweet spot for my Golden Meadows as it keeps it's variegation for at least a couple of months. The texture on Golden Meadows is great as well. I had another experience with monkeys in Malaysia. They came trooping along to the hotel on the power lines and were eating fruits (I assume) in the trees. I tried to call them over by whistling. One popped up on the veranda of my room and sat on the railing for a while and kept looking around me. I figured out it was eyeing the fruit basket inside my room. I went in and got a banana and the monkey took it and ate it. One by one I emptied the fruit basket. I took 2 rolls of film (long time ago). Another monkey came popping up and it was nasty. Hissing and opening its mouth. These were smaller monkeys so I just hissed back at it and it didn't want to take me on. After they gave up on any more fruit from me, they joined the pack and went over the roof to the inside courtyard and attacked the maid with her cart of linens and....fruit for the fruit bowls. She was whacking them with towels and when she went after one the others would jump in and steal some fruit. I have booklet of photos that I took on my balcony. None of the maid; I felt sorry for her. A quick look hasn't turned up any pictures, but they are around here someplace. This was back when I liked monkeys. I have the pictures of both Malaysia and Bali, somewhere, but I haven't put my hands on them yet. I certainly don't like the monkeys that live behind me. They seem to be hiding again. This little escapade is going to hurt their wallets a lot. Hopefully they will learn, but that is what I always hope. Jon

I am enjoying your photos to the MAX, Beth! I'm also waiting for your A through Z roses to start back up again, lol! Dr. Debat and Fragrant Delight are my favorite but all are lovely! And what a huge, generous bloom from Adriana. I love how your peaches always maintain their delicate hue and gradations. Not until Royal Sunset did I ever have much luck with peaches. Anything light-colored always bleaches to white in my garden. Your SHIMADAIJIN tree peony is absolutely EXQUISITE!!! Hurrray, Beth, so happy you have a real bumblebee in your garden! In Kansas we use so much grubkiller (bumblebees nest in the ground) that I haven't seen a real bumblebee in my neighborhood. Instead, we are flooded by carpenter bees which people constantly mistake for bumblebees (one of my pet peeves, lol!) so I was pretty dang thrilled to see the fuzzy yellow on its tail....It is a GENUINE! The Scrub Jay is gorgeous, I love its blue coloration and dainty build, almost like a cross between a blue jay and a bluebird. In fact it looks more like a bluebird with just the Zorro mask of the bluejay, haha! Nuthatch is cool!