C scanlon, Welcome back indeed, I'm also sorry to hear of your loss but glad to hear of your positive outlook " Out of darkness comes ligh.t" Congratulations on your new son what a blessing for you what did you name him? There are still many helpful peeps on this forum and the knowledge continues increasing more & more... Rosemarie & Jeff and many others as well always supply us with vast amounts of garden wisdom and cacti & succulent care. As far as the Cactus Shades I think they were OVER WATERED while in someones care and didn't make it past the last stop I'm sorry to report. Someone mentioned the other day that they wouldn't mind starting it up again but the missing link is the Shades themselves and then we can start the process again. I'm all for it seeing it's a good way to place a picture to a name, After all it's not just about plants but the people that grow them too Lol...:) Greg

Lonepiper, this is the SS that didnt seem to want to do anything. And still doesnt. One of the reasons I find this forum so incredibly helpful is because I can "tell it like it is" in a way I could NEVER do with anyone else, even DH. I appreciate the candid feedback and really learn from it. Thank you. So, SS1 spent this past weekend with us. DH asked him what his overall GPA was, and SS1 responsed that its a 3.0. Then DH asked how that could be since he had far worse grades than that. He said "In High School, that's what they told me I had". Dh explained "you aren't in HS anymore. you are in college. Your HS GPA doesnt count anymore." SS1 looked surprised. DH explained to him that falling below a 2.0 results in academic probation at his college. It also jeopardizes his ability to take student loans, get into the Department he wants, be a "Resident Assistant" in the dorm (requires above 3.0) and basically most other things. The biggest thing is that it means he might not get housing second year. DH had a very serious talk with him about taking some ownership for his future. He just sits and listens and never responds. If you ask him, he says he understands, but other than that there is no indication he gets it. His colleagues at his summer job last year nicknamed him "serial killer" because after months, they couldn't figure him out. I almost died when he came home and told us that. He told us that very matter of factly. I asked him if he understood why, and he didn't. I explained it meant that they see you as someone that they cant figure out, so you could be anything, even a serial killer. I think that this nickname is a HUGE red flag. I tried to get DH to see it that way and he said I was overreacting. I asked him if he hangs out with anyone at college, and to tell me about them. He said he doesn't. He said he sleeps most of the time when he isnt studying or in class. He hasn't gone to a meal, a game, or anything with one other person, with the exception of his roomates who he apparently ate with once. I had a long talk with my mother about it yesterday and she has thought for a long time he might be clinically depressed. his HS teachers referred to him as "aloof". What I don't get is why he hasn't ever been evaluated or why any type of intervention hasn't taken place. Problem for him is: he is good looking and appears normal and kind. He smiles and makes eye contact. He has squeaked by with below average grades. He hasn't ever participated in one sport, club, or other extracurricular activity. He has literally flown under the radar in a way that basically got him unnoticed. My mother and I have speculated about everything from sexual abuse to aspergers syndrome. We know something is going on, just can't put our finger on it. BM and DH dont seem all that concerned....if it were up to me, he would have had a complete physical and psychological work up. As I'm not the parent, I really dont have a lot to say, especially because it has become a "sensitive subject" between myself and DH. He is coming to terms that things might not be as he thought. I feel bad for him, and am here to assist when he needs me.

Violette Beauregarde is still here. Late evening photos yielded a lot of blurry ones. Thanks, Garen. I was blown off my mower seat when I sited that W.B. You know... never in a million years would a Pinus.p. W.B. be found. After I found it I emailed Edwin to ask how many had been found and it was between 6 and 8. So, very rare! Plus it cones heavily at a juvenile age. 'Sonnenburg' is turning out to be a favorite of mine. It was a gift from Rich and Susan Eyre (Rich's Foxwillow Pines) and I think it's an obsolete plant. I've never seen another... I'm slowing on grafting (a lot.) I doubt I'll purchase beech rootstock ever but you can get that plant at G2 Gardens. I'll do my best to get a Blue Angel to you. I'll add to my notes to graft some this coming winter. Dax

I about had a coronary yesterday. I went to order flexilis (reflexa) rootstocks from U of Idaho and they are sold out! Three days ago they were not. It is the actual plug that is attractive with their seedlings. No establishment necessary; just graft right on them. They're also sold out of P.strobiformis which I do not believe they were sold out of three days ago, as-well. I have some 2 and 3 year P.strobus in band pots that I may have to use. A lesson I've already learned the hard way. Old seedlings in old media tend to die 100-fold more often then fresh seedlings. Wallichiana will do you well. Dax