We have a few special bird visitors. One is a mocking bird who learned the cockatiel's squawk and cockatiel did the mocking birds calls. Quite a combo! The cockatiel died this summer, he was in his 20's. Wonder what the mocking birds will think when they return. He would sit on top of a low telephone pole and sing his heart out when we were working in the yard. We also have our favorite family of Hooded Orioles who return year after year to the banana trees, I have a couple more pups to dig up and move around so hopefully we can have a few more of them. And because mom always tosses grain to the chickens at bed time, about an hour before sunset, hordes of birds come to the yard and wait for the grain. My cousin brought his birding group from Denmark to come and visit last year, we were a good first stop and he knew that the birders would find new birds and enjoy the garden. And mom enjoyed using her Danish. The hummers come out for the sprinklers on the lawn, the finches after the thistle seed. Of all, the towhees I think get favorite status, there is almost always one there in the bushes.

Cindee, I am not really good at posting pictures yet. I hope this works. This is something I made for your swap. I don't know how you want to either give it away or what but it is yours to do whatever you want. The plants inside are called "Cryptanthus" or Pink Starlite. [URL=http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l87/JardineraFloridana/swapgift-5.jpg][IMG]http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l87/JardineraFloridana/th_swapgift-5.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [URL=http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l87/JardineraFloridana/swapgift-3.jpg][IMG]http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l87/JardineraFloridana/th_swapgift-3.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [URL=http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l87/JardineraFloridana/swapgift.jpg][IMG]http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l87/JardineraFloridana/th_swapgift.jpg[/IMG][/URL] Hope the pictures get attached. Susana

It is hot and humid here, but I bet not as hot as it is in Kansas in the mid summer. During a normal summer we frequently get afternoon showers that cool things off. This year we had a bit of a drought so it was not as nice. Also, the proximity to the water helps moderate the mid day highs. We have basically two seasons, summer is realistically from May until October. Our winter is like your spring or fall. We are not tropical here. Truly tropical plants would not like our winters. We mix the northern plants that tolerate heat, and the tropicals that will stand some cold. However, much of what you grow up there will not do well here, and to be happy gardening here, you have to learn to accept that. However, there are more than enough choices to fill your yard. Also, gardening is year round here, you do not have to put it away for the winter. I would not let the economy here bother you either, unless your husbands job is in real estate or construction. Quickly rising values led to fast growth and too many homes being built. Now with lowered propert values, and too many homes on the market, it is very tough for developers to sell new homes, and this has really affected some industries. However, the glut of homes available makes it a buyers market, and finding a home now will cost you substantially less than it would have a few years ago. Bill

I love to see everyone's visitors. Wish we had frogs. The possums would eat them though. Snakes don't worry me. If they aren't poison snakes. The little ones are soft and give delicate brushes with their tongues to see who you are. How can they go so quickly without any legs or feet? We have hummingbirds now. I found a young one on the ground and gave it sugar water and made it a nest out of moss. I put it in a hanging basket in my bottle brush tree. It called all morning for its mother and I kept my eye on it. By afternoon the mother was flying around my nest and by sunset the baby was gone.