Sus, Oh but I've always thought that you had a lot of enthusiasm, so I don't think I have you beat there. You're nice to say that though. ;) I know what you mean about biting off more than you can chew. I do that a lot. Well, most of the time actually. I have projects galore that are sitting around waiting to get done. That's great that you're getting into birding too. I've been into that for probably close to 25 years and really enjoy watching the birds out at the feeders. I have bluebird boxes up for the bluebirds and have gourds on shepherd's hooks for the tree swallows. I also get wrens nesting here and other kinds of birds and lots at the feeders. I love birds and of course also butterflies. I'll have to email you sometime about birding. You mentioned sparrows, and I have some things to say about them and some other things. Maybe none of it would be new to you but I'll at least mention some things then. Isn't that odd how you have PVS one year and none the next two! Actually, that has fascinated me about different kinds of butterflies; I'll see them here and then not again for awhile. Well, I hope that you get PVS in 2010! Oh yes, I agree with your about those being like hyperactive kids. If you take the lid off the container, you'd better keep your eye on it because those critters move fast. I had one crawling on the table one day when I just walked away from the container for a short time thinking the cats would stay put. I might be imagining things, but they almost seem to sense when I take the lid off and want to hightail it out of there. Yeah, I raise a lot of Monarchs if you call hundreds a lot. The most I raised was I think in 2007 when I released about 520. This year was 350. It's a ton of work and I want to try to come up with a better way of doing it. You sure get to see a variety of butterflies there. I wish I would get to raise some more kinds. I only saw a Red Admiral here very briefly several years ago. Wouldn't you know it, I didn't have false nettle then. I actually thought I had it here because I have plants coming up here that resemble it but isn't that (don't know what though). So I planted some last year but didn't see any Red Admirals. I'm hoping that I will eventually though. I saw a Common Buckeye here for maybe a minute in 2008 but didn't get a picture of it (dead battery). I planted Verbena hastata in hopes of getting them to lay eggs but didn't see any at all this year. The one I saw last year was nectaring on the Verbena bonariensis. Unlike you, I've never seen any Tawny Emperors here, but I didn't have any hackberry trees here until this past spring/summer. They're not much more than a foot tall, but a Question Mark managed to find them and I raised a few of those cats. I think I've had American Lady cats here every year since I planted some pussytoes that some very nice person got for me. It's kind of hard to cut those leaves off to bring inside and raise the cats in here, so I think I'm going to make an enclosure with some boards and screen (any other suggestions are welcome) and put it over the plants. It will only cover a small portion of the bed. I was thinking I could move all the cats to that area and then move the enclosure as the food supply dwindles. I really don't know if it's a good idea or not, but every year I worry when I don't see the cats on the plants anymore. I think they mostly hide during the day and come out at night though, so I always hope that nothing gets them, but I'd rather be more sure of that with a covering to protect them from wasps and birds, etc. Of course, with as tight as those plants are, I don't imagine that it would be too easy for me to try to find all of the spiders that are on them to remove them. I don't have any overwintering BSTs like I did the past few years because the three that I raised eclosed in the spring/summer. I still have the GSTs here from last year when they overwintered. I think if they don't eclose in 2010, I'll probably take them out of the containers and give them up for dead. Only one of them eclosed out of about 40. I only have 5 out there (in another building, no heat) overwintering from this year. GSTs are discouraging for me to raise because a lot of them die. I feed them rue, but eventually I'd like to try raising them on wafer ash (I just started a couple from seed). I also have gas plants, but they are very small. I hope that my Wild Indigo Duskywings are okay that I have out there bunking with the GSTs. I fed them Baptisia australis and Lupinus perennis, which they are still on but not moving (as far as I know anyway). I've never raised any kind of cats before that overwinter (I mean that the actual cats and not the chrysalids overwinter), so it's making me kind of nervous wondering how in the world they'll be okay in the spring. I don't understand why they don't freeze and die. If they are alive, I hope that they quell their appetites until after my plants have some growth on them. You're absolutely right...every year brings a surprise and I'm so looking forward to this coming year to see what kinds of butterflies and cats I get!!! My head is always so full of plans! You've helped me and I really appreciate it! Cathy

Hey Mike... It seems that mine don't get bothered by cold up until a couple of weeks ago..The nights get very cold very early now and it does not warm up around here until after about 10 a.m..Mine are just exposed to cold, below the 50's far too long not to be affected ...Sometimes I wish I lived where you live..You are in an area where the sun is much stronger and your mornings warm up a lot faster than mines. It takes longer for your nights to cool off too. I can be in the thirties by 7 p.m here and very cold as soon as the sun sets...Then it can stay in the low thirties/ forties here this time of the year until noon almost..That gives me a very short window of warmth or anything above 55 degrees..Here , the 50's which kind of stinks will only last a couple of hours before it cools off again..It's ok if I get one day here or there, but consistent cold temps drains my trees of their vital energy/reserves to produce anything, and far too long to hydrate themselves.. I have a friend that lives down there on the forums and he has the very same fragrant plants down there that I have and they start getting damaged or affected some time in November like here for me.. By the way, hope you doing good these days..Good to see you) Laura, even if he has tender growth, his nights and mornings don't stay as cold as ours for as long to affect the growth like ours...Up until two weeks ago when it would warm up fast in the a.m and take longer to cool off once the sun set, my trees and new growth were still doing fine.

Good question. Actually, my bed that will have squash has collards right now. Half of those collards will come out (it's hard to keep collards going over a hot summer), and the squash will go in their place. This bed is only 2x5, but vining squash will occupy a MUCH larger area. That's just where their roots are. You might consider other cool-weather greens, like lettuce or chard for the spring. If you have vining squash that stay close to the ground, you might put in some peppers or basil, and just have the squash crawl around underneath them. The squash will not be competing for soil, though they will get shaded a bit. Around here, a little shade is a blessing. My calendar date to do squash starts is the second week in June. I don't believe that birds are ever a problem for me. Possums and squirrels are my main pests.

BTW, has this article on the best time to buy appliances in the Boston area. https://blog.yaleappliance.com/best-time-to-buy-kitchen-appliances-in-boston Best Times to Buy a Kitchen Appliance Martin Luther King Jr. Day: Any holiday with a Monday off is in play. Martin Luther King Jr. Day is usually in the middle of January. President's Day: Without question, after Black Friday, the next major holiday is President's Day in February. Memorial Day: At this point, I need to explain that appliance buyers "buy" twice a year in late April and late August. Warehouses are the fullest after that. Memorial Day has been a big holiday simply because it is the first after a buying show. July 4th: It is huge everywhere else but Boston, mostly because nobody is around. This year with price increases, it may be more important Labor Day: Circle this day on your calendar. Labor Day is the closest holiday after the Summer buying show, and many stores and brands will have a tough time without a Tax Holiday to sell products. Black Friday: Black Friday is the biggest promotional time of the year. It is the last time for factories to move products. Once again, some major companies, like Samsung and LG, have used Black Friday to obtain share by discounting their products.