Coupla times im my life, I've been able to sit on my hair. One of the times I said I was going to cut, DH said 'Whoa, Nelly!' I explained that he had No Idea what work long hair took, and he could have a say in the matter if he washed, combed out, and braided my hair for 7 days... (insert evil grin). We all know washing is a 'walk in the park'. Combing out takes training and patience and remembering to Start At The Ends! So, three days he did well with all of the requirements, but he begged off braiding. By day five he said 'Okay, I GET it. Do what you want...' I've had my hair long coupla times past that. I went to Colorado for four weeks and took care of my moms farm in mid-summer during the 112* days. I promised myself I would NEVER COMPLAIN about the weather again, and that I wouldn't handicap myself either. I donated 12 inches of hair to Locks of Love; they bound it near the length I was certain I wanted to go back to. They bound and cut, right there. Oooop, toooo late now! I've found good products for lift, and understand how my 32 cow licks work, and explain that style HAS to be cut in on my head. I part on the far right, my hair has a mind of its own, and I will Not Be Happy if you don't 'listen to the hair'!!! Great seeing & MEETING everyone!

Annie, I think we are only the tiniest bit hotter, but y'all are probably usually more humid. (On some days, I'd think the higher humidity would feel great, but on other days it would push the heat index into the stratosphere!) We have limited protection from south and north winds, but not so much from the west, and none from the east. Our clay holds too much moisture when it rains and not enough any other time, but it is great when well amended. We have one narrow band of sandy soil between the house and garden and that is where the guinea coop and chicken coop are, there under the shade of the big pecan tree. I have cannas and 4 o'clocks and rough-leaf dogwood under that pecan to help shelter the poultry from the predatory birds that like to eat them. Unfortunately, the soil amending has to be ongoing....year around, year in, year out. I am "only" 49, but wonder how many years I'll be able to garden at the current pace. Already, the heat bothers me so much more than it did 5 or 10 years ago. The garden gets a little shadier as the trees on three sides of it get larger, but I have to worry about their roots encroaching too. Our soil leans towards being neutral, around 6.8 to 7.2, as long as I keep it well-amended. I had alkaline soil (around 8.0) in Texas, and it was a struggle to lower it any at all. Unfortunately, our place here was once a farm where cotton was one of the crops raised, and there is cotton root rot in the soil. That gave me a lot of trouble in the early days, and there really is no "cure" for it, but I find that the more I amend and improve the soil, the less trouble I have with cotton root rot. Unfortunately, two or three thousand plants are susceptible to it, so I have to watch what I plant. I don't garden on most the land we have because the clay is like red concrete. Only about a acre or acre-and-a-half of it is tamed, about 3 acres are pastures where the wildflowers and grasses nurture the wildlife, and a little over 10 acres is forested and full of deer, bobcats, foxes, ringtailed cats, ferrets, snakes, snakes, snakes, and tons of other stuff, including possums, armadillos and skunks. We do mow 10' wide paths through the pastures so we can walk through there without stepping on copperheads (been there, done that, didn't care for the experience, but didn't get bitten either). I love, love, love living and gardening here, but I miss the longer growing season we had in Fort Worth, where the last spring freeze was often in mid to late-February and the first one often didn't hit until mid- to late-November. Still, I do like Oklahoma better even if it took me 39 years to get here! I envy the rainfall y'all get up there....in a GREAT year here, we'll have 30 to 34" inches and we'll be astounded that we got so much! I can't imagine routinely getting 35" or 40" or more. I'd sure like to try it for a year or two though! Most years since we've been here, it's been more like 26" or 28" or maybe 30" of rain, but one year it was 21" and another it was 24". In a year like that, it gets to where all you can do is water enough to keep the foundation from cracking. So, in a "good year" we STILL have drought here, and in a bad year it is unspeakably bad. I guess it is probably pretty much the same all over Oklahoma....is there ever really enough rainfall in June, July or August (well, maybe at Scott's! LOL). Our 17 keats have survived their first month and we've only had to kill two black snakes that were after them, although our predator-snake problem is usually the worst in July and August. DH keeps wanting to let the keats out of the brooder cages, but the last two times we did that when they were this old, something got them all, so they are staying in the brooder a while longer. I think the guinea coops is about 95% snake proof, but I am not convinced it is 100% snake proof. Our bunnies are disappearing, but I haven't heard the coyotes howling at night yet, so think they are still denned up with their young. A neighbor says a friend of his is seeing a cougar occasionally, but I haven't seen any signs of one near us for a couple of years, I think. Maybe it is the bobcats getting the rabbits. It has been such a great rabbit year, but I know it doesn't last long. The turtle eggs laid in the shrub bed (clay highly amended with compost) have hatched and we have little baby turtles everywhere, and we've had a huge population explosion in the hummingbird gang this year--ruby-throated, black-chinned, and rufous. Life is good! (Hot, but good.) I am very careful about exposure to the heat and sun. I don't wear sunscreen as often as I should (but I'm better than I used to be), but I always wear hats and, more often than not, I wear long-sleeved cotton shirts in the summertime. All the ranchers and farmers here do that to protect their skin, so at least I don't look like an oddball. (Being an organic gardener in a pretty non-organic county makes me enough of an oddball as it is! Not that I care. I wear my oddballness proudly!) Dawn

Annie. Your garden is so lovely! Thanks for posting the photos. And, we do indeed garden in a very similar way--with our flowers, herbs and veggies all sharing space. I especially love the poppies. I grow them here and they are one of my favorite flowers. (Hee hee--whatever is in bloom at the moment tends to be "my favorite" but I guess that is because I love them all.) Dawn

Linda...scents, Thoughts and prayers for your husband....and for you! Be well!!!!!! Susan, I am trying to remember what I sent you. I sent yours along with 4 or 5 other boxes and I do not keep a list of what I send. I believe their were daylilies, seeds (mint, Janice Brown daylily and ?), flip flops, seed envelopes, a happy/unhappy face little notebook, a pad of paper with flowers, V. S. lotion, Avon whipped lotion, an envelope of Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing...sorry you have to make it, as the bottle would not fit... (LOL)!!! Did I put Tic Tacs and gum in yours??? I think that might be it! Only a few more days in your birthday month...Enjoy! Happy Memorial Day to all! Annie