Great support - thank you all, it is very much appreciated. MALMASON, thank you your kind words are much appreciated. ANN, thank you for all your helpful advice. I do not know if I can get in touch with the Judge, though, I would like to, believe me. My former lawyer is sending the whole file back to me. I have received another helpful letter from him laying some recommendations out to me and finishing off with "I wish you well with your applications. I believe they are well supported and I would be making the same types of applications if my grandchild was at risk. Please contact me to let me know of the outcome". Ann you gave me some really good advice which reminds me to constantly be in touch with the authorities etc. In fact I am going to communicate with the case worker on Monday. She certainly has taken on a lot of power and I know does not believe in separating the siblings, but we do get along and is quite easy to talk to. The foster mum though has become a friend and we can discuss things amongst ourselves which we do not share with the case worker, and we are in touch with each other more than once a week. I do have contact information for all the other lawyers, who now are obliged to include us in all notifications. I already have a very large file of my own and have been diligent in saving all e-mails and printing when relevent, infact anything to do with the case, Our huge affidavit, as well as our police records, home study report and anything that we have from the ministries, and our lawyer. Our son who has been involved but in the background, we believe will be more visual on our lawyer's recommendation as he is the birth father. Even though his job as a tree faller makes it impractical for him to parent Ryan, he has made affidavit to the fact that he wants and trusts his parents to do this. Thanks again. ATHENAINWI, thank you so much. Very appreciated. KATHY, thanks again dear friend for your kind words. ROSE NUTTY, you are so right, so many people believe that. If she has not changed in the last seven months the children have been in foster care, what are the chances. Obviously the children being apprended had made no difference to her. Though she says they are her life. Thanks for your encouragement, much appreciated. ROSELVR, thank you so much for your response. Firstly I want to wish you the very best in your own legal matters too. Yes, cost is phenominal. I think we are up to $20,000, but not had the final account yet, there may be a little left from the original retainer. This would have cost us easily another $10,000 if we had retained counsel for the next JDR and trial, I am sure! Anyway, in the end I trust it will not be a complete waste of money, if only to do with the knowledge that Ryan knows we were there and stood up for him, but I am hoping for a little more than that. Roselvr, I need to organize my files like you, I am sure that will be a big help. Similarly, I have one with everything and then another one with the important material I need at the time. When you talk about a binder with plastic sheets, are they attached to the binder so that it really is in book form and they keep the pages clean, or is this something where you can grab the material easily when you need it, sorry I am not sure I understand? Your last sentence is so true, and we hope and pray too. Thank you so very much. ZEFFY, Just an explanation here. Sorry for any confusion. I refer to my son-in-law a lot because he is a lawyer in Vancouver. Though he practices corporate law, he has still been helpful to us, though he does not profess to know a lot about family law. He was thinking we had no rights as grandparents, where in actual fact that is not the case when the children are in a foster home, grandparents and extended family also, do have rights! In our case there are obstacles. Anyway Florence thanks for your response, you are very kind. I do hope it turns out like your friend's situation, that would be great. Situation seems almost the same, it is, where we as grandparents come from, our grandson is important like theirs, unfortunately we have two extra things to deal with, the issue of the half sibling who is years apart in age and the geography, two provinces apart.:SIGH All of you have been great and supportive and I will keep you updated. Roselvr, good luck to. I will be thinking of you on Monday. Florence, lovely to have you back in full force and "walking" around your garden. Hope you have a great season and your daughter comes on in leaps and bounds too! Pauline - Vancouver Island

I grow spicebush now and have had butterfly bush in a previous house. The spicebush does fine, but you have to be patient with the butterfly bush. Mine died back to the snow line most years, or even back to ground level if we had little snow, but it sprouted from the roots and reached 8' or so each year. Here are my two spicebushes last fall while they were a mix of green and gold, one behind the pink hydrangea on the left side, and the other in the upper right corner. They are large shrubs, probably 8' tall and wide at 4 years old. From 2013

Given that the Needle puts out suckers, I bet a Med./European Fan Palm would be an easier partner to cross it with. If I could create my Empire Palm (within reason-meaning that any pinnate leaf palm is out of the running-given the zone 7 habitat). I'd want it to have the height and growth rate of a Filifera, the look of a Sabal Palmetto, the leaf strength of a Waggy and the cold hardiness and moisture tolerance of a Needle Palm. If that fantasy could ever be reality then "Neither Rain, Nor Snow, Nor Wind, Nor Ice, Nor Nor-easter, Nor Hurricane, Nor Blizzard Would Keep This Palm From Looking Its Best." : ) Hopefully one day in the near future- in a greenhouse in Nassau County, I will put on some Barry White music and get that sub-tropical orgy going. Bow-Chicka-Wow-Wow. 12AM and I'm talking about palm porn...I guess I'm officially turning into a mad-scientist. Help!!!

Seems to me that summers in the past few years have not been as hot as they used to be. Always have been hot but if I remember right, about 8 years ago (or so) we had numerous days over 100 degrees in the same week, day after day. You didn't really want to be out in it. I hated it. As bad as being snowed in, I think but at least you don't have to put on snow tires. FYI - I've seen Wabash Feed store (on Washington Ave) in Houston selling Avocado trees that they claim are good in Houston. They would be evergreen. Since Wabash was promoting them, I assumed that meant you wouldn't have to cover in case of a frost warning but my assumption could be wrong. Just a suggestion if you care to investigate. Urban Harvest has a fruit tree sale in the fall of those types of fruit trees that grow best in Houston. There are lots of them including many that are evergreen. Republic of Orange tree gets pretty good size, I think if you want shade as well as fruit. Good luck.