Thank you all so much for the wonderful welcome home! I'm so glad to be back! It's great to visit family and spend Holidays with my children and grandchildren... I really wish we lived closer to them. A 4 hour car ride isn't really that far away, except when you're in excruciating pain! It would be so much nicer to live right around the corner, or down the block, or even a few miles away! These car rides are not very gentle on my poor decrepit old bones! While we were gone, I was afraid my Lemon Star seed pods would mature and drop seeds all over, and I thought for sure I'd miss the blooming of Carina and Star of Holland... I also have Jungle Bells trying to poke a bit of green out its top. I got really lucky, and none of the scapes opened. None of the seed pods opened either! I'll have Evergreen, Carina and Star of Holland to cross... and then, I should have Jungle Bells and Pink Diamond blooming about the same time. Get those photos uploaded, Frank! It'll be nice to view your blooms! I think you'll find breeding and harvesting your own seeds a lot of fun... and growing them is another experience you'll enjoy! The process does take a lot of patience, but it's so worth it! I'm very excited, looking forward to the day my first seed grown bulb flowers for me! Kitty, you're very lucky to have found that Angelique! I thought I had read that it was a tough one to locate, being out of production. Beetle, I think Evergreen is the most unique cybister I've ever grown! Even Larry thinks it's extremely awesome, and he comments on it frequently! I think the two seed pods from the first scape are a lost cause, but I am going to try again with scape number 2. Well... we have less than 4 hours until the New Year arrives... this year, I'd like to lose about 25-30 more pounds... and sometime during 2009, I'd like to quit smoking. I know I can accomplish the first thing, but I'm not so certain about the second thing... and so, I make no promises. However, I'm closer to making that final commitment than I ever have been, and that's a good sign. I feel confident that I will quit... I'm just not sure when I'll set the actual date. It will be during 2009, though... of that I'm certain. I'm very tired today... I hope I can make it to midnight! If not, I wish everyone a fabulous New Year, filled with all the joy and hope we can ask for... I wish everyone good health, good fortune, and good love! You are all very special people, and you all deserve the finest this life has to offer... all the best through 2009!

I just thought I'd revise this thread since we are in the depths of spider mite season here . . . again! I've grown dahlias for years and the mites are my worse problem. Oh yeah, the earwigs eat holes in the leaves and then wreck the petals but the mites have even killed my plants! This is a hot, dry part of the country and the Colorado State U website TrowelGal recommended comments on the problems with mites in those conditions. Also, they say that Isotox is effective. I've been using that pesticide weekly and still the mites always show up in a major way. (Suspect that Cheryl would NOT want to risk her toads to Isotox for good reason.) I once worked in a rose greenhouse and the head grower was convinced that washing the plants did nearly as much good as spraying them with a miticide. But, it was in combination that the system worked best. Blasting the mites off the plants with water, allowing the foliage to dry, then spraying was most effective. It works fairly well for me also probably because the mites on the ground nearly always get sprayed whereas the mites under the leaves may be shielded. Contrary to what may have been said about my aim - I can hit the floor with both my hat and the bug spray. My question, is there anything else I can be doing? Unlike Lola, my experience using neem was absolutely unsatisfactory. And Cheryl, did you give up on dahlias? Look, I've battled the mites on dahlias for well over a decade and still put out hundreds of tubers each year. I don't think a self-respecting toad would come anywhere close to this arid landscape so I don't have them to worry about but, gosh, seeing those bright, beautiful blooms every year is worth an effort. Steve

I noted the pips are up on the first 2 of about 80 hostas ... so much the same situation as you Mary. I stuck a shovel in the ground and it went down maybe 16 to 18 inches before hitting frozen soil - I expect another two weeks of cold wet weather should get the frost finally out. In the meantime, I raked the hosta garden of a massive cover of pine and spruce needles with a few leaves mixed. I hauled away at least 5 cubic yards of material. Ken, in his inimitable way, was on my case last year for raking off and removing such good compost but the layer is so thick maybe nothing would grow through it. I always leave a generous littering of needles not for their compost value but because in my experience, there are no slug problems where there are sharp needles on the surface of the soil. Otherwise, most garden tasks and of course growing plants require warmer temps. The days are lengtheing rapidly and those long warm (not stiflingly hot) northern days will produce rapid growth letting us catch up to our more southern neighbours. Doug

Isaball, I just love that golddust! It's funny, Mason's never been much of a toy dog. He likes to tug with me but his idea of playing with a toy prior to Jovi's arrival was to rip it apart as fast as possible and see if he could eat the inndards before I got them. (Tennis balls he can "pop" quite easily, powerful jaws.) As a consequence, he only got toys when closely supervised. Well, now there are toys all over the place. The first week I was obsessed about picking them up so Mason wouldn't have access to them. (It's not the ripping up I care about, it's the eating and possibly causing an obstruction.) I finally figured out that the only time he picks up a toy, balls included, is when he wants to "tease" Jovi. He really is a very special boy and I hope some of him rubs off on Jovi. Maire cate, I'm so glad you're enjoying the photos! I really like GSDs and Rotties too. I just like big dogs and if they bred smaller Dobermans then I'd probably have stuck with that breed. As it is, I wanted a smaller dog too. That sofa and loveseat are old, about 12 or so years old. Our dogs have always been allowed on them and we've never had a problem but I keep their nails very short. How often I do them depends on their growing stage. Whit and Mason as mature adults had their nails dremeled once a week. When Mason was a pup, his nails grew so fast that I did them twice a week. Right now everyone is getting their nails done every 2-3 days because I'm teaching Jovi to accept the dremel. She did very well with it this morning! I'll try to get some new photos later today. It seems that one of Jovi's ears is trying to change from semi-erect (flopped over tip) to fully erect. I've never had a BC before so I've got no idea if this is common or what....I've sent a question in to the breeder's Yahoo group. Anyway, my little girl has one ear up and one flooped today. Oh and Marie cate? Just because I understand what you mean about size issues with a Dobe, that doesn't mean I need to make it easy for you. :-) A few more "baby Mason" photos to keep everyone until I get some new Jovi photos.