I have been so busy filling hummingbird feeders over the past few days that I haven't been on my computer much. OK, for more information here is an update on the HummerBird Celebration. Well, Tuesday afternoon the RT hummers came into Rockport numbering in the thousands. They were everywhere and feeding very heavily. And then Friday morning we started getting the outer rain bands from Hurricane Karl, and it has rained and rained. I haven't checked today, but as of Saturday morning we had 3.2" of rain, and that's before it really started pouring. As a result it has affected the number of hummers migrating through, i.e. they are moving through very fast. It is a very strange year for them it seems. However, on a high note three leucistic hummers have been sited, one of which is at a neighbor's house about a mile down the road from me. I went to see it yesterday, and it was so cool. In my 22+ years of being a hummingbird nut, it is the first time for me to see one, and I hope to get back down there today to see it again if it is still there. I reported it to the "hummingbird board people", and I think that they are going down there today to try to band it. That is if it every quits raining. It's pouring again as I type this. I'll post a few hummingbird reports that I have received over the past couple of days. "Hello everyone: Hope all is going well. Despite the rain reports are coming in of lots of hummers and visitors. Thank you for all the updates! Just wanted to remind you to change the feeders more frequently if they fill up with rain. The solution gets too diluted and spoils very rapidly. I will be around sometime tomorrow night with my trusty husband to pick up all the signs and sign in sheets and clipboards. If you could leave them out in front that would be great\-except if it is raining. We can come to the door to get them. Visitors we have talked to have commented on how beautiful all the Hummer Home yards are and how gracious all the homeowners are. We sure appreciate you! Thanks, Ellen" On Sep 18, 2010, at 1:26 PM, "Linda T. Collins" wrote: "Just thought that you all might be interested to hear about the hummers coming through Rockport this past week!" Sent: Saturday, September 18, 2010 12:13 PM Subject: RE: We got birds! "As you all can see in the attached pictures, our student tour guides had a GREAT time talking to the tourists about the birds and gardens. Pat Sutton who was a guest presenter came out to take pics with the kids. Thank you all for letting Fulton Learning Center be on the tour again. It is such a wonderful learning opportunity for our students. We handed out informational sheets on hummingbirds and seed catalogs. We noted that most of our hummers stayed around our flowers rather than hanging out at the feeders. We also had a lot of butterflies before the rain hit." -----Original Message---- "I can still say we are active this morning, but the peak was Wed and Thurs and tapered off yesterday. It was amazing the number of Ruby-throated hitting the feeders and flowers. In the thousand plus count. Now we are at 200 or so. Still worth seeing as most people attending have never seen more than 4 or 5 at a time. Figures we have the birds and no people this year! D**n hurricanes... Dennis and Patsy" \-\-\-\- "Linda T. Collins" wrote: "My hummers came in fast Tuesday afternoon and stayed until yesterday when we got the rain and NE wind. Today, I have only a handful out back and a few more out front. My driveway is flooded as is my yard. Right now the gate is closed because the rain must have shorted it out, so no one can get in nor can we get out right now. After it lets up a little, I'll go out to see what I can do to get it open. I don't think that there will be very many birders out today. Linda" ----- Original Message ----- "Hello everyone: We are hearing reports from all over of lots and lots of hummers. After a very slow couple of days at the beginning of this week it is sure a relief to see all of them zooming around! Let me know (email or phone) throughout the weekend if you have lots of hummers, different kinds of hummers or other birds in your yard. I will get this all posted on the white board at the high school for our visitors. Let me know if you need anything or have any problems. We really enjoyed seeing your yards last Friday. All the yards looked so beautiful and I know that is a lot of work-not to mention keeping the feeders going. Thanks to all of you. We appreciate it! Have fun! Ellen" So all in all, I hope that everyone that attended the Celebration has enjoyed it even if you did get a little wet!

I definitely would wait until its a little bit older, but definitely try it outside, they are definitely one of the hardiest palms but a big problem is too much moisture so I will probably put a plastic bowl over mine during the winter. Thanks Keith! I dont give my oleander any major protection. Last winter I just protected it about 4-5 nights when temperatures were below 20F, but the winter before I kept it protected much of the winter since it was plain cold outside. I protect it like my palms, some lights, a frost cloth, and a garbage bin. It worked well when it was younger, but last year I was only able to give it a frost cloth on cold nights since it was too big for the garbage bin. They are easy to protect since you can tie it up and make it very narrow, I think they are easier to protect than most palms. They look really messed up coming out of their protection, but all the leaves pop back up with a little sun. -Alex

I have been so busy filling hummingbird feeders over the past few days that I haven't been on my computer much. OK, here is an update on the HummerBird Celebration. Well, Tuesday afternoon the RT hummers came into Rockport numbering in the thousands. They were everywhere and feeding very heavily. And then Friday morning we started getting the outer rain bands from Hurricane Karl, and it has rained and rained. I haven't checked today, but as of Saturday morning we had 3.2" of rain, and that's before it really started pouring. As a result it has affected the number of hummers migrating through, i.e. they are moving through very fast. It is a very strange year for them it seems. However, on a high note three leucistic hummers have been sited, one of which is at a neighbor's house about a mile down the road from me i.e. Barbra a/k/a as honeybunny2. I went to see it yesterday, and it was so cool. In my 22+ years of being a hummingbird nut, it is the first time for me to see one, and I hope to get back down there today to see it again if it is still there. I reported it to the "hummingbird board people", and I think that they are going down there today to try to band it. That is if it every quits raining. It's pouring again as I type this. I'll post a few hummingbird reports that I have received over the past couple of days. "Hello everyone: Hope all is going well. Despite the rain reports are coming in of lots of hummers and visitors. Thank you for all the updates! Just wanted to remind you to change the feeders more frequently if they fill up with rain. The solution gets too diluted and spoils very rapidly. I will be around sometime tomorrow night with my trusty husband to pick up all the signs and sign in sheets and clipboards. If you could leave them out in front that would be great\-except if it is raining. We can come to the door to get them. Visitors we have talked to have commented on how beautiful all the Hummer Home yards are and how gracious all the homeowners are. We sure appreciate you! Thanks, Ellen" On Sep 18, 2010, at 1:26 PM, "Linda T. Collins" wrote: "Just thought that you all might be interested to hear about the hummers coming through Rockport this past week!" Sent: Saturday, September 18, 2010 12:13 PM Subject: RE: We got birds! "As you all can see in the attached pictures, our student tour guides had a GREAT time talking to the tourists about the birds and gardens. Pat Sutton who was a guest presenter came out to take pics with the kids. Thank you all for letting Fulton Learning Center be on the tour again. It is such a wonderful learning opportunity for our students. We handed out informational sheets on hummingbirds and seed catalogs. We noted that most of our hummers stayed around our flowers rather than hanging out at the feeders. We also had a lot of butterflies before the rain hit." -----Original Message---- "I can still say we are active this morning, but the peak was Wed and Thurs and tapered off yesterday. It was amazing the number of Ruby-throated hitting the feeders and flowers. In the thousand plus count. Now we are at 200 or so. Still worth seeing as most people attending have never seen more than 4 or 5 at a time. Figures we have the birds and no people this year! D**n hurricanes... Dennis and Patsy" \-\-\-\- "Linda T. Collins" wrote: "My hummers came in fast Tuesday afternoon and stayed until yesterday when we got the rain and NE wind. Today, I have only a handful out back and a few more out front. My driveway is flooded as is my yard. Right now the gate is closed because the rain must have shorted it out, so no one can get in nor can we get out right now. After it lets up a little, I'll go out to see what I can do to get it open. I don't think that there will be very many birders out today. Linda" ----- Original Message ----- "Hello everyone: We are hearing reports from all over of lots and lots of hummers. After a very slow couple of days at the beginning of this week it is sure a relief to see all of them zooming around! Let me know (email or phone) throughout the weekend if you have lots of hummers, different kinds of hummers or other birds in your yard. I will get this all posted on the white board at the high school for our visitors. Let me know if you need anything or have any problems. We really enjoyed seeing your yards last Friday. All the yards looked so beautiful and I know that is a lot of work-not to mention keeping the feeders going. Thanks to all of you. We appreciate it! Have fun! Ellen" So all in all, I hope that everyone that attended the Celebration has enjoyed it even if you did get a little wet!

Happy Hump Day! The 15 minute strategy is a great coping skill. I use it a lot but mine is more along the lines of just get off your arse Peggy and do one small thing on your hit list. It will lighten your load and be gone. Using that strategy yesterday worked for me too. I was in a grouchy, feeling sorry for myself mood - so I decided to do one thing which led to another and another. Started by relocating our recycle box out of the kitchen to the utility room (we're on one level). Packed away items in the pantry better. Then I spied another tote container that needed unpacking - well didn't it have my summer clothes in there? And surprise surprise - better fitting jeans I bought a couple of summers ago when I was still heavier but wanted to be at goal weight. I discovered 4 pair of jeans that now fit and a pair of jean shorts that now fit. I was going to buy jeans and now I don't have too. Talk about perking myself up. And I accomplished a few things. Our friend popped round about then with a load of red currant plants for me to plant. Yay. It was really crappy weather outside - cold, windy and starting to rain hard so we talked him into staying for a couple of movies and dinner with us. That was a pleasant surprise. So the day just kept improving. It all started with deciding to do one thing or like the 15 minute rule. Just to get moving - even if it takes a cattle prod to get me going - once I get started I normally feel better afterwards. Last night I felt beyond tired so I had a sedative - work up at 11am!!!! DH just let me sleep. Must have needed it. My problem is getting to sleep or staying asleep. I think I've caught up again. It's noon now, finished my coffee. I'm hoping it rains a wee bit so I can get those plants in the ground (drives off the black flies). Either way I have to get outside and accomplish some more planting - still have rooted tree branches for balsam fir, butternut and hickory to plant along with my berry plants. We have another week of blackfly season to go then they start to disappear. It was spaghetti last night - today I'm eating a little lighter to compensate. It's all about balance. Maintenance. To get the weight down I've learned through WW if I know I'm going out for a big meal I can start the day before cutting back and then the following days eating lighter foods to make up for a big meal. It has worked great for me over the years. How are you doing today? What are your challenges? NH Suzanne I've never done Feng Shui. Keeping a positive flow in your home does help you mentally. My positive flow will happen as we settle into this new home - get the kitchen cupboards built, remove that clutter...get the storage cupboards with bookshelves on top built, remove that clutter - all in good time then my Feng Shui will just happen here. DeeMarie I love those cards you got. Do share the positive ideas. Have a terrific afternoon/evening everyone. ...