I wandered around the yard today too. I'm not discouraged yet. I still think it's too early to tell. I did see some things that encouraged me. Daffodil foliage in places where it has been established for awhile is starting to come up. One area where I planted daffodils last fall is showing tips of foliage but not others yet. I can't remember if I put in early or late bulbs there. No sign of 25 Leucojum that I planted in the fall and only one crocus so far. I still have another 9 days before I could consider them actually later than other years. I did see foliage at the base of chrysanthemums and new growth on sedums, buds on lilacs, and on Honeysuckle vines. Can't tell yet about Clematis or the roses. The Viburnums all look like they should. But this is that time of year that everything looks it's worse, before new growth starts showing and there's a lot of clean up. Bottom line, I'm not worried. I will have a lot of work to do this year, but it's like that every year for one reason or another. I always have grand plans and schemes and this year is no different than any other in that regard. I decided to sow seed under lights this year. But I wasn't able to start them as early as I intended to. I just started sowing yesterday, so I'm off to a late start, but it really looks like we will have a late spring. DH suggests we may not have a spring, that it will go right from winter to summer. That will really disappoint me if that's the case, but I guess I wouldn't be surprised. I guess I think that we all have to become as flexible as possible because every year it seems the weather surprises us more and more. And it's not just us in the north, where we are getting cold and snow. I would hate to have moved south to get away from this weather only to get hit with it down there as they have in Washington D.C., Georgia, even Florida this winter. And gardeners in the plains states and in the West are still dealing with record droughts. Even in England this spring, they had record flooding. So we're all in the same boat. I think we have to adjust and find a way to use whatever weather we get for growing something in the garden that we love. I'm looking forward to buying a few annual geraniums this year for a pot, based on photos of all of your geraniums last year! I love the spring season, but, I'm trying to have something for every season so I have something to look forward to, if one season is a dud. I'm looking forward to spring vegetablesâ¦peas and lettuces and greens, broccoli and bok choy. But if it gets hot too early, then I've got peppers, tomatoes and squash to get into the ground earlier than usual. And there's always containers of annuals. And plant shopping!

Ronald: Yes, I have two seedling abiu trees. One has fruited one time, but I never got to tatse the fruit as we went away on vacation just before they were ready to be picked and they were gone when we returned. Here are some pictures I posted previously in another thread on this forum. Unforunately this bloom pictured, was only on one of the trees, and no fruit set. Actually, this particular tree has bloomed several times over the past few years (and multiple times per year) and has never set a fruit. I may have to take the chain saw out and let it rest by the trunk of the tree for a few days to see if that gets any rise out of the darn thing. There is a wide range of quality of fruit on Abiu, just like in Star Apple. How did your's compare?

chickadeemelrose, I didn't see your last post when I posted last. I guess you are 'at home' working with wire, one of my favorite construction materials. If your jewelry wire isn't stiff or heavy enough to prevent tangling, you can switch to heavier wire. My theory is that the HOSPs are accustomed to flying together with other HOSPs when feeding, so when there is a 'startle' (a possible-predator alert), they expect to fly in unison straight outward, in 'parallel', which doesn't allow for ducking around obstacles. So the halo verticals make them feel caged and vulnerable. I think this explains why the halos don't deter HOSPs from nestboxes, because there they act as individuals. The other species act as individuals, not mobs, when feeding. The halos, especially when made with visible, stiff verticals properly spaced, will also deter starlings and grackles because birds with longer wingspans find it awkward to fly between the verticals. Unfortunately, this includes bluejays and cardinals. My guess is that it is less a problem for more agile fliers such as woodpeckers,which are accustomed to flying upside down and sideways (briefly) when needed. If the verticals are removable, it would provide an option to removing the entire halo when you want to do this. My feeders are so high that I need a small ladder to add or remove a halo, (but not for taking down a feeder). Also, I make the halo so that I can take down the feeder for refilling without moving the halo.

I'm sorry to hear that--it's devastating for them when they have that car they love and it gets banged up. Please have her be very aware of her health for the next few weeks. When DD was in an accident some years back, she went to the hospital, was checked out and X-rayed, was fine that night. But within 2 weeks, she developed a back problem that's going to give her pain and problems the rest of her life. My second suggestion is to do what we did. Turn the whole thing over to your attorney. Don't talk to your insurance (other than to alert them that there WAS an accident), don't negociate with the other fellow's insurance, don't deal with the medical bills--just let your lawyer do all that. If your lawyer is any good at all, your daughter will come out way ahead, even after his fee--I know my dd did quite well (although, no amount of money can ever compensate one for a lifetime--well, 50-70 years--of pain). But the last headache your daughter needs right now, is having to deal with insurance companies--encourage her to let a professional handle it for her.